Dear Rebecca Makkai: Janine brought this book to my attention, knowing my fondness for thrillers and dark academia. I wouldn’t say this book is a thriller, exactly; a mystery would be a more accurate categorization, or rather literary fiction with a mystery at its heart. (My dividing line between thriller ... more >
Dear Ms. DeStefano, When Jayne asked us if anyone wanted a review copy of this book, I was probably the most natural choice, but I demurred. Sure, I enjoy a good twisty thriller, but I’m philosophically opposed to serial-killer protagonists. Still, I had to admit, the blurb was compelling: Make ... more >
All suspense this time, and I didn’t read much. Janine and I reviewed Moira’s Pen together. The Break by Katie Sise This was another “new mother in New York” thriller; this feels like a little sub-sub-genre I’ve stumbled upon (I really like Mother of All Secrets which I read a bit ... more >
Dear Ms. Ichaso: I’m not sure if I knew this book was tagged as Young Adult Fiction when I requested it. I just knew it was suspense set at a posh boarding school. It does feel YA in some way I can’t quite describe. Or at least not without seeming ... more >
Dear Ms. Ware: I was alerted to this book by a friend who knew it was in my suspense wheelhouse. I’ve read probably half a dozen books with similar descriptions: dual timelines that start with a group of friends in college, one ends up murdered, and years later the protagonist ... more >
If This Gets Out by Sophie Gonzales and Cale Dietrich After enjoying Sophie Gonzales’s 2021 YA novel, Perfect on Paper, I decided to try this one, also YA, since it had been recommended by Dear Author commenter Susan S. Like Perfect on Paper, If This Gets Out has queer characters, ... more >