Alex Marks has been running from the past for years and when she finally decides to take a risk as the new advice columnist of the most popular NYC newspaper she finds herself watching her back at every turn. Just because the old columnist was murdered doesn’t mean she has anything to worry about right?

I really liked that Jessa Maxwell wrote this book from her own experience as an advice columnist (without the murder). This story took a little while to pick up, but I was still invested throughout the entire book and rooting for Alex to break away from her past.

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to read this e-ARC!

Another gripping, twisty, and riveting page-turner that you’ll devour in one sitting—this book keeps you on the edge of your seat, biting your nails as you reach the shocking climax, packed with revelations. From the author of Golden Spoon, I have to admit this book is even better than her previous work.

I liked the synopsis of this and the incorporation of the Dear Constance letters but overall, this book wasn't a big win for me. This is my second book by the author and both times I just felt the implementation of a great idea wasn't strong enough. I give Maxwell credit for adding layers to the characters and story but for a thriller, I need more edge-of-my-seat, heart racing thrill. I did not have that instant pull to stay with this book that you can get from some thrillers in the first couple of chapters.

Quality of Writing 3/5
Pacing 4/5
Plot Development 3/5
Character Development 3/5
Overall Enjoyability 3/5

Alex lands her dream job as an advice columnist and is set on solving a murder. This is a slow burn mystery set in NYC with a solid set of characters. A few of the twists I saw coming but some I did not, which I always love. The backstory of the main character Alex was intriguing and complex. You’ll be suspicious of every character until the end!

Thank you Netgalley and atria books for the eARC

Full confession...I love advice columns. Do I always agree with them? No, but I'm always fascinated by not only the answers, but the questions...the people behind them. I Need You to Read This is a fun read. It's twisty enough to keep me flipping pages without getting whiplash, and, although it is a bit of a slow burn at times. the ending is a twist from what I was expecting, making it a an enjoyable mystery/thriller, perfect for summer (or anytime) reading.

This one was enjoyable, and I recommend going into it blind and just trying to figure out what is going on.

Don't go in expecting a normal thriller. It is more of a light slow burn of a mystery than anything else.

I wanted to connect more to the main character than I did, but it didn't stop me from enjoying the book.

The ending was different than what I was expecting, which is always a good thing.

I Need You to Read This is a mystery in which an advice columnist, Alex Marks, attempts to discover who murdered her predecessor. I enjoyed Maxwell's previous murder mystery, The Golden Spoon, and looked forward to her sophomore effort.

Unfortunately, this novel didn't quite work for me. The pacing felt uneven, with an inordinate amount of time spent on Alex's personal life and professional acclimation rather than the central mystery. The slow burn of the early chapters made it difficult to maintain interest in the murder investigation. Additionally, the circumstances surrounding Alex landing the advice column position strained credibility.

While the novel does delve into darker themes, the climax takes an unexpected turn that hinges on a series of coincidences. While certain elements of the plot are foreshadowed through anonymous letters to the advice column, the ultimate resolution relies on overly convenient circumstances and characters whose motivations and actions border on the implausible.

I appreciate what Maxwell was trying to accomplish with this second novel, but I was able to guess many of the twists and too many circumstances in the novel seemed implausible. While the premise of an advice columnist investigating a murder is intriguing, the novel spends an excessive amount of time on character development and world-building at the expense of the central mystery.

This review will be posted to Goodreads on August 11, 2024.

Jess’s Maxwells follow up to her debut novel of The Golden Spoon is a story of the advice columnist; or the obsession we have with those that feel like family but we don’t even know.

Alex gets the opportunity of a lifetime, when Frances, a popular advice columnist, is found dead but her advice column isn’t. In comes Alex, excited for the new opportunity but hiding a secret of her own. Besides leaving the reader wondering what happened to Frances, we start to wonder what is Alex hiding from? Is she next? Is it all connected? Can Jessa Maxwell keep the suspension building to keep the reader invested?

Not really. An Interesting concept but the suspense never really feels that tense or as tense as I was wanting. A little too much of a predictable Lifetime movie for me. I liked the idea of the trio at the diner but the whole time I felt like I was missing out on some inside joke and always felt like I was on the outside looking in. I think it’s because as the reader, we are Alex, as this is Alex’s story and she was written like a third wheel in the trio. And Alex as a character didn’t bring much to the table in personality- she was rather bland. However, The Dear Constance letters were a nice touch.

Some good writing. But overall, more of a yawn.

FYI- this is totally how I found out they just re opened Century 21

I Need You to Read This by Jessa Maxwell is an interesting, riveting, claustrophobic, story.
I loved her debut The Golden Spoon and her second novel was no different.
This is a fantastic mystery! I could NOT stop reading it! Just when I thought I had figured it all out, twists and turns caught me by total surprise!

Thank You NetGalley and Atria Books for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

I got hooked at the beginning. Kinda got slow and boring in the middle. Ending got exciting again. I liked the letters as part of the story.

Alex is struggling while living in New York City trying to find her way and her dream job. She's always been a fan of the advice column "Dear Constance" and when the opportunity to apply for the position arises she impulsively applies. The previous author was murdered 6 months prior and will Alex find herself next?

I enjoyed this book a lot. There were multiple "mystery" storylines in this book. You can tell Alex has a past that she doesn't want to talk about or is running from. There are multiple letters throughout the book to Dear Constance from Lost Girl and I figured out pretty quickly that they were written by Alex but I liked getting to know her backstory in this way. I did suspect Lucy wasn't what she seemed and that turned out to be correct. The mystery about who killed Francis was a little predictable for me. Overall I enjoyed this book. I would say it's 3.5/5 stars for me!

I read Jessa's first book, The Golden Spoon last year and loved it. So when I saw she was releasing a new book, I definitely jumped at the opportunity to read an advanced copy and review it. I Need You To Read This was even BETTER!

This book is labeled as a thriller, and while I agree with that a little bit, I think mystery would be more appropriate. None the less, definitely loved this story overall and it had me on the edge of my seat trying to figure out not only Alex's past back story, and her new story going forward.

Alex takes on a new job as the new writer for a column, Dear Constance, in a big time newspaper. The original writer, Francis Keen, was murdered in her home just 8 months prior. Alex Mark has always been a fan of the Dear Constance column, even submitting a few letters herself. Alex meets a lot of new people when she takes on this job: the editor in chief, Howard Demetri, his assistance, Jonathan, and her assistant Lucy.

Alex soon starts receiving threatening letters, raising the scary possibility that someone is watching her. She's worried they know who she really is, and will dig up the past that she's tried for years, to bury. Is this person angry she took over the column? Is this person coming after her, too? Alex takes it upon herself to conduct her own investigation into the murder of Francis Keen - enlisting the help of her friends from her local diner, Raymond and Janice. Doing so, Alex is risking her life and confronting her own dark past.

This was a well written, second book by Jessa. I really enjoyed the story line - the characters we got to meet, and the look into past Alex's life and current time. A great read if you need something that gets you thinking, and makes you second guess who done it.

3.5⭐️rounded up!

this was a book that made me excited to read, more so because of the ease of writing and layout of the book than the actual plot. i was curious to see what each new day would bring and what letters would show up.

the reason for it not being a 5 star is that, for me, the twists were too predictable. i wasn’t as excited to uncover the mysteries because there weren’t many.

HOWEVER, it was still a fun book to read and see played out. a few details left out in the beginning could have helped it not be so easy to figure out— at least for me. :)

I received an ARC copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

What It’s About: Alex Marks is surprised when she’s hired to take the place of her favorite advice columnist after her shocking murder. While trying to navigate the landscape of her new job, she finds herself compelled to solve the case of her predecessor’s demise, which leads to a surprising reckoning with her own past. I was immediately drawn to the concept of this book. I love pretty much any thriller, but especially one with a kind of twist before the story even starts, and the advice column did that for me. I hadn’t ever really considered how vulnerable and open the giver of advice would be in that situation, and that’s exactly what happens to Alex when she manages to snag the job of the idolized writer who came before her. The insights about giving advice were a fun addition to the fraught narrative.

Plot: I read a lot of thrillers, which I really do try to consider before I mark a plot down as predictable. I did feel like the author was assuming I was more in the dark about certain aspects of the story than I really was, and I think people who are naturally drawn to these types of books will probably figure out a lot of the turns before they get to the end. That’s the only reason I docked this book a star. But I have to say that it’s not that the journey there wasn’t fun. It was just that some of it was pretty obvious, and in a genre known for twists, readers aren’t necessarily going to appreciate that.

Style: The style here was very straightforward, and also very intimate. I really felt drawn in by Alex’s inner struggles, which colored most of her actions throughout the novel. I thought that was very realistic and a good way to approach her as a main character.

Trigger Warnings: Murder, infidelity, domestic abuse.

Final Thoughts: Overall, I thought this was an intriguing and uplifting addition to the thriller genre. It’s rare that a thriller’s ending feels so happy, if that makes sense. I don’t want to say too much and spoil things, but Alex was better off by the end, rather than having been traumatized by what she just went through, and that was kind of nice. I’d definitely read other books by this author, and I think thriller readers will like this addition to the genre, even if they guess the ending first.

2.5⭐
I'm conflicted as to where I want to rate this. 2.5 is right in the middle.

This book and I didn't jive, but I know a lot of people will like it. I have never read a book and said "It's YOU!" almost instantly after meeting the antagonist. After that, I was able to piece everything together. It felt very YA, and I felt as though the characters were very reactionary, making everything feel overly dramatic.

“Dear Constance” has been the advice column and staple of the Daily Herald for decades, until the columnist is found murdered in her summer home. Months later, a young writer named Alex applies to be the new columnist and is surprised to hear she’s been hired. It’s her dream job, until she starts receiving threatening letters that could expose her dark past. She’s also hoping to help solve what happened to the woman who had the job before her, but it seems like she’s not the only one.

This was written by the same author as The Golden Spoon, and I actually liked this book more! The story had me hooked, the work building had spooky vibes, and there was a fun twist or two that I didn’t see coming. Add this one to your TBR if you like creepy thrillers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the free digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

4.5 stars

When beloved advice columnist Frances Keen is found murdered, her readers are left reeling. Alex, a devoted fan, leaps at the chance to fill her hero's shoes when The Herald advertises for a replacement. But as Alex delves deeper into Frances's world, she uncovers a web of secrets and dangers. With an unsolved murder looming and her own mysterious past lurking in the shadows, Alex's new role becomes a high-stakes gamble.
Jess Maxwell’s I NEED YOU TO READ THIS is a gripping mystery that unfolds in the heart of New York City. The story’s clever structure, weaving together present-day intrigue with poignant letters from the past, creates a compelling narrative. Maxwell masterfully builds suspense, leaving readers on the edge of their seats. If you crave a slow-burn thriller with a fresh perspective, this book is an absolute must-read.

After thoroughly enjoying The Golden Spoon by this author I was excited to receive an advance copy of this book, and it didn’t let me down. Alex, the main character lives in New York City in a carefully constructed tiny world of her own. The author slowly peels back the layers of Alex’s life to show us why, often in the form of letters to an advice columnist, a part of the plot I really enjoyed as it took us back in time and really gives us insight in to Alex’s choices she’s made.. Alex makes a snap decision, fueled by a bottle of wine, to change her world and the consequences are not all pretty as she lets people into her life after hiding for years. The only people Alex sees daily are Janice, the waitress at the Bluebird Diner where Alex has her morning bagel, and Raymond, a retired police detective, and Alex doesn’t even know them well until they begin to help her try to solve a murder, the bonds they build ease her loneliness as well as Raymonds. I’d love to know more about Janice’s hidden past that involves a hidden, high class bar myself! I saw a few of the twists and turns coming, but made plenty of wrong guesses as to where the story was going too. It was a fun mystery to read with a satisfying conclusion, and the descriptions of the old parts of the skyscraper incorporated into the new one really gave a creepy vibe. . Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Aria Books for my copy, I highly recommend it!

Alex Marks is a woman who is running from her past and barely leaves her NYC apartment. She only leaves to visit the diner across the street and converse with her friends Janice and Raymond. One day Alex sees a posting for the job of the murdered Francis Keen, the writer of the Dear Constance advice column. When Alex jokingly applies for the job & gets hired she begins to snoop around and question everything that goes on at The Herald. While Alex is digging she begins to get letters from someone who seems to know about her past - one she ran away from years ago. Should Alex continue to dig for the truth? Or will the fear of her past stop her dead in her tracks - just like Francis Keen.

WOW! This one was dark and twisty! Though the FMC is not my favorite character ever written I really appreciated how Jessa Maxwell portrayed different disorders such as OCD, Agoraphobia and Anxiety! I couldn't help but root for Alex as she tried to solve the murder of her beloved hero, come over her fears and run from her past.
While I did predict some of the twists early on, I still found this book to be a page turner and I could not put it down! I highly recommend if you love Mystery/Thrillers and figuring out the pieces to the puzzle!

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Atria Books and Jessa Maxwell for the ARC!

First I would like to thank Netgalley and Atria books for the ARC of this novel.

I went into this book hoping it was going to be a great thriller read and unfortunately I think this book has been mislabeled. I think this would be better described as a cosy mystery in the same way her first book was.

It was a little slow moving for me but I really did enjoy the MC and it did have lots of fun twists. A few were a little predictable for me but overall I was a fun read. Just not as fast paced as I was expecting.

It was a solid 3.5/5 stars rounded up to 4 for this review.