This one is a slow burn to start with, but it definitely cranks up to thriller status! Alex has been hired as a replacement for Frances, a beloved advice columnist who was murdered at her beach house. The entire book swirls around Who Murdered Frances? And What Happened that Caused Alex to Leave Her Hometown?

I really enjoyed this one a lot more than The Golden Spoon. The characters are 3-dimensional, and the author nicely keeps a plot twist hidden until close to the end. The two suspenseful issues are also not fully revealed before the climax.

I look forward to the next one from this author!

Four lovely stars!

When the writer of the popular advice column Dear Constance is murdered, Alex decides on a whim to apply for the job. She never expected to actually get the job. On her first day, she is immediately overwhelmed with letters and soon discovers office secrets. I suggest going in knowing nothing more than that.

I Need You to Read This by Jesse Maxwell had so much potential. Normally I love books that immediately start with a murder. But in this case, the opening chapter was the most interesting thing to happen in the book until 76% of the way through.

The story was extremely predictable. When I read a thriller, I want to be shocked. I want my jaw to literally drop. There was absolutely zero of that happening with this book. I figured out all except one twist. And it just wasn’t enough to redeem the book for me.

Overall I rate the book 3 stars. It sort of fell flat for me and we just ok. Thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for the gifted eARC.

Alex Marks was hoping to get a fresh start in New York. She has a troubled past that no one knows about. She mostly keeps to herself besides 2 friends she's made at a diner near her. She has a WFH copywriting job, but once she finds out that her childhood hero, Francis Keen has died, she applies for her job as an advice columnist.

She gets the job, but feels uneasy because Francis' killer has never been found. Her boss, Howard Dimitri, makes her uneasy.

She is finally starting to make decent money and starts dating a new guy, Tom.

But her past finally catches up to her. I previously read the authors other book, The Golden Spoon and knew I would enjoy this one. She really made you feel for Alex, and she was a reliable narrator.

3.5 Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed this book, which was an engaging but not particularly memorable psychological thriller. Like others in the genre, it requires the suspension of disbelief.

Jesse Maxwell's "I Need You to Read This" is a fun, easy read. I could not put this book down.
I enjoyed following FMC who takes on a new job as the Dear Constance writer in a newspaper after the former writer was brutally murdered. I really liked the advice column inclusions.
Overall the story was well-executed.
Thank you to Jessa Maxwell, Atria Books and NetGalley for the ARC.

Having enjoyed Jessa Maxwell's "The Golden Spoon," I was excited to give "I Need You to Read This" a try — and I was pleasantly surprised to find that she's taken it up a notch with this book! Essentially a cozy amateur detective story, "I Need You to Read This" has a darker, grittier side to it that flirted close to being a thriller. I felt this edge gave the novel a more relatable feel compared to her previous book. While the pacing of this was quite slow and best suited to those with lots of patience, it's a good choice for readers who are just wanting to dip their toes into gentle thrillers. The twists were a bit over the top but nonetheless enjoyable. Thank you to Jessa Maxwell, Atria Books, and NetGalley for providing an advance copy for my honest review.

Dark and twisty literary urban gothic, with a hat tip to the classics. I never read this author before, but I really enjoyed spending time in the MC’s head, and I loved this book! Will definitely look out for more books from Ms. Maxwell.

3.75 STARS (rounded up!)

This was such an interesting premise! I loved the idea of writing a thriller centered around an advice column similar to Dear Annie.

Alex Marks was once an avid reader of the Dear Constance column. That is until Dear Constance (Francis Keen) was found dead in her beach home. Foul play suspected, but no one ever accused. Eight months later, the prestigious Herald opens up a job posting to finally fill the role. But can Alex fill her shoes? And should she when she’s looking around every corner? And who did kill Francis? I guess you’ll have to read to find out!

The book was fast-paced and a true page turner! I do feel like the page turning died down a little towards the end (no pun intended), so that’s the only reason I docked it a few points, but overall a quick, enjoyable read. Oh, also, I really liked the dynamics between Alex, Raymond, and Janice as their own crime solving team!

Super fast paced mystery that was a little different from the usual cozy mystery of that authors prior book. It was a good quick light thriller.

While the premise of this book was so intriguing, I left wanting a lot more than what we were given. I loved the idea of our main character taking the job of one of her heroes, especially something so niche as an advice columnist. Through reading the book, however, this seems far fetched because this girl did not have any street smarts about her! I found her to be incredibly frustrating at times causing me to literally roll my eyes, and other times I found her to be just dull. I thought the book was a bit too slow, and truly very little happened until the reveal at the end, which left me wanting a lot more. While others might enjoy this book, it just left a lot to be desired for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for an advanced reading copy of this book. All opinions within this review are my own.

This book is a quick, fun thriller that’s easy to devour in one sitting! The unique storytelling of following a new advice columnist, Alex, adds a fun, nostalgic layer reminiscent of magazine advice columns like I used to read as a teen. Although some of the protagonist’s decision-making can be frustrating at times, the fast-paced plot kept me powering through. The secondary characters, some of which are Alex's acquaintances adds charm to the personal development.

While the story is not perfectly plotted and has some predictable elements (or questionable decisions), it offers a refreshing and almost comforting twist on the serial killer genre. If you’re looking for something easy and fun, this is a great pick!

Alex is a copy writer living in NYC who is rather discontent with her little life but keeps herself small to stay safe from a slowly revealed past trauma. On a whim, she applies to be the replacement for a beloved newspaper advice columnist who was murdered and is shocked when she lands the job. As she settles in threatening notes begin to arrive. Can Alex figure out who’s sending the notes before it’s too late?

This was a fast paced, fun, twisty mystery. I loved the concept of using an advice column to drive the plot and was pleased with how the various parts of the story came together.

TW: domestic violence

If you are looking for a quick cozy-mystery read this is the book for you, It is just shy of 300 pages! This was the first book I read by Jesse Maxwell and I loved it. It was very fast paced and I was hooked from the beginning. I recommend going in blind for this one.

I’d say this was a “cozy thriller” if I had to put it in a box. It was a fast, fun read, that had me wanting to see what would be uncovered next. I was drawn in and kept engaged throughout. I liked the “realness” of Alex’s character. She had OCD and a mild case of agoraphobia, which really had my heartstrings. Although I read the synopsis, I felt it wasn’t quite align with the story, I felt it was more about Alex then the job itself. I didn’t know this was a “cozy” story, so the ending was a bit too well wrapped up, but it was a good book!

"I Need You to Read This" took me by surprise with its darker themes in a murder mystery that kept me reading! Alex moves from her childhood home to Manhattan to escape her past. She's a writer for a pharmaceutical company. But After Alex Marks's childhood hero, advice columnist Francis Keen is murdered, Alex applies for the "Dear Constance" columnist job and gets it! In no time, Alex is investigating Francis's murder and tripping over the secrets that she's desperately trying to keep hidden. Alex is now a public figure and has threatening letters to prove it. Will someone help her or will they think it's all in her head and leave her to the wolves?
I appreciate the comic relief provided through some characters in this otherwise intense book. The inclusion of the "Dear Constance" letters was so endearing and interesting. I hadn't read a Jessa Maxwell book before, and I will be back for more!

Thank you to Atria books and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review

I loved this! Fast paced, engaging, and a plot that twisted and turned. I loved the formatting between present day and letters from the past. I enjoyed the way the story was developed, and I always enjoy my thrillers when more than one mystery is developing at once. I was satisfied with the solution to the story and the twist. I enjoyed the main character and her development throughout the story. I also loved Ray and Janice!!! Dream crime solving team. Fast paced and fun!

3.5 stars. I was really enjoying this book, but eventually there were just too many random things that didn’t have a purpose and didn’t drive the story or the characters. Raymond’s whole background being suddenly revealed and then he disappears for half the book? The two diner pals suddenly showing up at the beach house when it was established that it was a four hour drive, Janice called Alex’s office even later than when Alex talked to Jonathan and he told her Howard was being arrested, because Jonathan told her where Alex had gone. Even if Janice and Raymond had dropped everything to rush out, it would have been 4 or more hours to get to Alex. But Alex wasn’t laying there bleeding out for 5 hours with Brian and Lucy just hanging out. The timeline of these events just don’t make sense. Then Lucy kills her beloved brother over the exposure of his lies? Nah. I could see her shooting him in the leg or holding him at gunpoint until police show up, but from what we knew about her and what the general audience knows about people who grow up like that, she wouldn’t have murdered the one person she thought she could trust. And then a drugged and groggy Alex manages to outwit the smartest person in the book, Regina? It’s just not believable. Ultimately, there were just too many things I disliked to give this a higher rating. I thought it started out strong and then just got weaker as it went.

Thank you, NetGalley and Jessa Maxwell, for this e-ARC! I was really looking forward to this read as the description gave me the chills with the advice columnist dying and Alex taking over after being a reader/writer of the column for years. + a murder mystery, duh! I think the premise and idea of the book are excellent - something I have not read or encountered much. Unfortunately, Alex, as a few reviewers said, fell a bit flat for me, and she was hard to read sometimes. I feel like I just wanted more, but I cannot put my finger on it. I always love it when authors put letters or texts into the novel, so having the advice column for us to read was a plus! Overall, the story was a solid read, a good thriller to keep me busy between books but not something that made me turn the last page and say, "Wow."

I would read another of Jessa's books!

🗞️ murdered advice columnist
📝 mysterious past
🗞️ amateur sleuthing
📝 set in N.Y.C.

Francis Keen, beloved writer of the Dear Constance advice column was murdered and her killer remains loose. Eight months later, The Herald newspaper has put out a job listing for her replacement, and not all are happy as Francis was admired by many. One of these people is Alex Marks, who recently moved to New York City for a fresh start. Alex applies after being curious about the newspaper's criteria for the job, but ends up being hired. Nervous but excited to try and fill Francis' shoes, Alex dives head first into the job which requires she read ALL the Dear Constance letters. She very quickly begins to receive eerie anonymous letters and starts to wonder if she's also heading toward a similar dangerous fate.
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I really loved Maxwell's debut, 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙂𝙤𝙡𝙙𝙚𝙣 𝙎𝙥𝙤𝙤𝙣 last year. While I try not to compare an author's other books when trying to decide on a rating, it's also hard not to be disappointed. That said, I still liked this one. The inclusion of actual letters to the Dear Constance column was fun and added another layer of mystery. The mystery itself was predictable to me, but solid and wrapped up fine. Overall it just didn't knock my socks off but it was a fairly quick and entertaining mystery/thriller and I'll continue to read more by this author.

I was not expecting to love this book as much as I did! I enjoyed the different cast of characters, the murder-mystery plot, and the creepy atmosphere. The ending was just a little bit lacking for me, but I still enjoyed it! I will definitely read more from this author in the future and need to go back and read the Golden Spoon!