A Dark and Twisty Thriller with a Unique Voice ★★★★☆ (3.5 Stars)

Amina Akhtar delivers a dark, intriguing thriller in Almost Surely Dead, blending psychological suspense with biting social commentary. The novel pulls you into a world of secrets, manipulation, and unexpected twists that keep you engaged from the start.

Akhtar’s writing style is sharp and atmospheric, creating an unsettling yet immersive experience. The protagonist is complex, and their descent into the tangled web of deception is both fascinating and chilling. The novel also explores deeper themes, adding layers beyond just the mystery.

However, while the premise is gripping, the pacing is uneven at times—some sections move quickly with high-intensity moments, while others drag a bit. Additionally, a few plot twists feel slightly predictable, which takes away some of the suspense. That said, the novel’s strong voice and eerie atmosphere make it a compelling read.

Overall, Almost Surely Dead is a solid thriller with a unique perspective. While not perfect, it’s an engaging read for fans of dark, psychological mysteries with a touch of satire. Worth checking out if you enjoy slow-burn suspense with a sharp edge.

A psychological thriller with a twist, Almost Surely Dead is a chilling account of how one woman’s life spins out of control after a terrifying—and seemingly random—attempt on her life.

Dunia Ahmed lives an ordinary life—or she definitely used to. Now she’s the subject of a true crime podcast. She’s been missing for over a year, and no one knows if she’s dead or alive. But her story has listeners obsessed, and people everywhere are sporting merch that demands “Find Dunia!”

In the days before her disappearance, Dunia is a successful pharmacist living in New York. The daughter of Pakistani immigrants, she’s coping with a broken engagement and the death of her mother. But then something happens that really shakes up her world: someone tries to murder her.

When her would-be killer winds up dead, Dunia figures the worst is over. But then there’s another attempt on her life…and another. And police suspect someone close to her may be the culprit. Dunia struggles to make sense of what’s happening. And as childhood superstitions seep into her reality, she becomes convinced that someone—or something—is truly after her.

For the adults who enjoyed the "A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, " but wanted an adult novel: this one is for you.

I love Amina Akhtar's books and was psyched when I saw she had a new one out. It's rare to read something that works equally well as a thriller and a comedy, but she always ties in a wry world view that has me laughing. Almost Surely Dead has a unique premise: Dunia Ahmed is missing, the subject of a true crime podcast, and also the target of several attempted killings. If that sounds like a crazy plot...well, it kind of is. I could not stop turning pages to uncover each twist.

9h this was a great psychological thriller. I was hooked, but ... that ending though?

Thank you netgalley for my advanced reader copy. I enjoyed this book.

Loved the premise, would recommend to thriller lovers of all ages. I wish the ending was longer and more intricate.

Unique and intriguing...Gripping, twisty psychological thriller which made me ripping though the pages.. unfortunately the ending fell flat for me. It was still a good read though.

I received an advanced copy of this book through Netgalley.

This book was an enjoyable read, though it turned out to be more of a supernatural novel than the classical mystery/thriller I expected. The premise was interesting, with folklore elements that added depth, and the podcast segments were a nice touch.

However, I found the main character a bit flat and the ending, too, felt a bit underwhelming.

Overall, this is a good quick read. While it didn’t fully meet my expectations, I’m planning on exploring more from this author in the future.

The pages turned themselves. This whole story was super engrossing, really creative, lots of lead up -- and then THAT’S how it ends??? Are you kidding me??

The story cuts off about 50 pages before it should, leaving tons of loose ends. Like, almost all of them.

And I get that there should be unanswered questions. This whole ordeal is beyond mysterious, and we should expect to accept the unknown.

But this was a non-ending. A zillion questions are all laid out on the table and we begin to get a peek into what really happened, and then SLAM! The author shuts the door before even a single storyline gets wrapped up.

I feel so let down.

I love a thriller. This one had an interesting premise that I initially had trouble getting in. Overall, really enjoyed the story!

📚: Almost Surely Dead by Amina Akhtar
⭐️: 3/5

The gist: Dunia Ahmed just survived a subway attack in Manhattan. Terrifying? Yes. By chance? No. And now she’s completely disappeared.

The good: I partially audiobooked this one - and the audiobook production is AMAZING. This was a stronger listen than a read — highly recommend that experience. (And on Kindle Unlimited the audiobook comes with the digital download.)

The eh: There’s A LOT going on in this book. Some of the paranormal plot points didn’t fully land for me, and while reading, the podcast plot line landed flat vs. shining in the audiobook version.

Thanks to Mindy’s Book Studio via @netgalley for the post-release digital ARC!

A psychological thriller with a twist, Almost Surely Dead is a chilling account of how one woman’s life spins out of control after a terrifying—and seemingly random—attempt on her life.

Solid mystery. Decent atmosphere. Nothing too special.

I've been enjoying fiction with supernatural elements lately so I really liked the way this novel weaved folklore into the story. I thought it was creative and set it apart from other psychological thrillers.

If you're a fan of twisty suspense, magical elements, stalker plots and ghost stories you might enjoy this one!

Thank you NetGalley and Amazon Publishing for access to the e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars round up to 4.

Almost Surely Dead is about Dunia and her life but also about who or what is trying to kill to her. This psychological thriller with a twist is a page turner from beginning to end. The author was new to me but I can not wait to read more books by her since this one was so well written and one that I highly enjoyed. The book was so captivating and each of the characters in the book were so interesting. I loved the lore that was apart of this story as well. I would highly recommend this one to any reader but especially to any reader who loves a good psychological thriller. Thank you to NetGalley and Mindy's Book Studio for this thriller book in exchange of my review of Almost Surely Dead.

Final read of the year and it was a doozy. Literally couldn’t put it down, read it in one sitting and loved it.
It’s not often a book pulls me in this fast and this hard. I spent the whole read guessing what was going on, switching in and out suspects and suggestions - and no doubt annoying my partner which the number of exclamations of surprise / shock / horror that I made during the book!
Written in three different formats / timeframes / voices, including one of a true crime podcast, we encounter the story from a range of perspectives and each one has its own voice. I didn’t expect to like the podcast sections (mostly because I find true crime to be a touch ghoulish, and at times downright offensive to the people it used as subjects), but Akhtars’ use of these additions to move the story forward and give us different characters perspectives was masterful. Plus she was about as kind to the podcasters as I wanted to be, which was super.
I cannot explain enough how clever the story is, weaving in Desi folklore, modern life, the experience of being a woman, generational trauma, and a bloody good mystery. Intensely compelling, beautifully written,
Almost Surely Dead is shocking, smart and one of the best thrillers I’ve read in years.
Due for release on 2nd Feb 2024 from @mindykaling’s imprint Mindy’s Book Studio, I cannot recommend this enough

Dunia Ahmed lives an ordinary life—or she definitely used to. Now she’s the subject of a true crime podcast. She’s been missing for over a year, and no one knows if she’s dead or alive. But her story has listeners obsessed, and people everywhere are sporting merch that demands “Find Dunia!” In the days before her disappearance, Dunia is a successful pharmacist living in New York. The daughter of Pakistani immigrants, she’s coping with a broken engagement and the death of her mother. But then something happens that really shakes up her world: someone tries to murder her. When her would-be killer winds up dead, Dunia figures the worst is over. But then there’s another attempt on her life…and another. And police suspect someone close to her may be the culprit. Dunia struggles to make sense of what’s happening. And as childhood superstitions seep into her reality, she becomes convinced that someone—or something—is truly after her. I did not realize this was more on the paranormal side when I started it so I am not sure I appreciated it as much as I should have. The story kind of bounces around and there are some pretty glaring plot holes that surprised me were not caught. This will appeal to some but not really to me.

This was an interesting paranormal thriller, but I wish it had been structured differently. I could have done without the podcast segments sprinkled throughout. The hosts were vapid and annoying, they didn't add anything to the plot progression, and they were full of so many teasers and "wait, not yet!" foreshadowing that they became frustrating. I liked the concept of the Djinn and the mystery of whether something bigger was going on, but ultimately the twists were predictable and the pacing was too frustrating to really get lost in the mystery.

Lovely prose, tense, and atmospheric. Kept me guessing and wondering and reading! A great read for thriller fans.

This was an interesting read, however, there were too many plot holes to excuse. This concept had so much potential but ended up falling flat. Also, I understand the podcasters are supposed to be insufferable, but it was just so unrealistic and overexaggerated. I was really interested in the story and wanted to see how it all played out, but the ending was extremely unsatisfying.

In this book, we follow Dunia as she is attacked several times in New York, eventually goes missing. Where did she go? What happened to her? This book weaves Pakistani folklore into a gripping thriller.

Thank goodness for a good thriller that doesn’t revolve around a dumb white lady. I mean, Dunia actually keeps the police in the loop about all her attacks, unlike some of the protagonists in thrillers.

I really liked the character work in this book. I really enjoyed the podcasters, because you know true crime podcasts will use a victim’s name as a coupon code for a meal kit or some shit

this was a pretty solid supernatural tinged thriller, I enjoyed learning about the culture and lore and i’ve enjoyed Akhtar’s books before. this was a quick read which perhaps prevented it from having a lasting impression but it’s a fun story.