Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC!

This story had a drastically different tone than the Golden Spoon. Less cozy, more of a thriller! But still kept the same themes of redemption and found family! It’s a bit of a slow burn at first but I couldn’t put it down after the first few chapters. There are some triggering or sensitive subjects to be wary of before reading this! Despite that, a unique read!

TW: abusive relationships, gaslighting

This was a great thriller! The twists didn’t really surprise me but it was a great ride to get there. Some stuff took me out of the story, like the annual salary for a weekly newspaper columnist being over a hundred thousand dollars. It honestly led me to think that financial crimes were going to be a big part of the plot. That being said I think Alex was a great protagonist! She was a complex, three-dimensional, character and her actions and motivations felt realistic. None of the characters were explored in depth but they were great additions to the story. I’d love to see a sequel since I feel like there’s so much more to explore with Alex!

Alex lives in NYC with a boring copywriting job. One day, she sees an ad fora replacement for the writer of an advice column. She starts to investigate her predecessor's murder, and finds herself trapped between her current life and the previous life she is hiding from. Will she solve the murder or end up dead herself? 3 stars.

"I Need You to Read This" by Jessa Maxwell is a thrilling novel featuring Alex Marks, a young woman trying to leave her past behind. When she's tasked with taking over a popular advice column following the shocking murder of her predecessor, Francis Keen, Alex finds herself navigating a world filled with drama, twists, and seedy characters.

As a fan of Maxwell's previous work, "The Golden Spoon," I was eager to dive into this new novel and wasn't disappointed. The story is filled with suspense and keeps you on the edge of your seat as Alex confronts her past while taking control of her future.

What I found particularly clever was the premise of using an advice column as the backbone of the story. It added an intriguing layer to the narrative and allowed for unique insights into Alex's character development.

Overall, "I Need You to Read This" is a gripping read that left me hoping for a sequel to continue Alex's journey as an advice columnist.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Atria Books, and Jessa Maxwell for the opportunity to read “I Need You to Read This!”

I enjoyed author Jessa Maxwell's "The Golden Spoon" quite a lot last year, so I was happy to get her sophomore effort "I Need you to Read This". It's another mystery, but this one's quite different in tone, a much slower burn and much more character driven as we follow writer Alex who has mental health struggles as she stumbles into the murder of a predecessor at work who was an advice columnist, will she be next?? I did enjoyed the advice column format that was used & some secondary characters were great. Overall, a solid, if slow, read. My thanks to Net Galley & the publisher for the complimentary DRC - thoughts & opinions expressed are my own

Alex gets a new job as an advice columnist. This seems like a perfect job until she’s gets caught up in the murder of the former columnist. I felt that Alex’s character was really well-written and it had a good plot. The story was engaging!

I received an early copy through Netgalley, but all opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC! Alex Marks applies to become an advice columnist after the previous writer (and Alex’s idol) is murdered. Alex must navigate the role of her new job, while trying to determine what happened to her predecessor.

For me, the plot was slow and there was little character development. I liked the representation of OCD and anxiety. The Dear Constance letters were a unique addition, giving writers some insight into Alex’s past.

Alex ends up with the dream job of a lifetime as an advice columnist for Dear Constance when the previous columnist is murdered. Very similar to the real life Dear Abbey, writers send in their struggles for Alex to offer feedback and solutions. I love true crime and other people's drama, so this seemed like the perfect read for me. Unfortunately, I Need You to Read This was a bit of a dud, and one that I won’t tell others to spend their time reading.

Alex is an overall like-able character. For reasons that are not revealed until late in the novel, she is struggling with paranoia and PTSD. She trusts no man, but makes careless and stupid mistakes that end up biting her in the rear. I think the author did a good job at describing her anxiety, but for such a smart woman, she made too many dumb mistakes.

The ending of the novel was cringeworthy. The characters that end up being the bad guys (no spoilers here) left me with vicarious embarrassment. It was cheesy and took away from the overall creepy feel of the novel. Additionally, we spend the majority of the story being invested in who killed Francis, only to have it become a minor reveal in the last couple of pages.

2.5 stars ⭐️⭐️💫

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Wow, what a ride! After reading (and loving) Maxwell's novel THE GOLDEN SPOON last year - I could not wait to see what she would come up with next...and she did not disappoint! This was suspenseful, thought-out, endearing, and more - just like her last novel!

While this book is told from a single POV, it is intercut with a variety of "Dear Abby" letters, which adds another "voice," so to speak, to the story.

rating: 4 STARS ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
genre: suspense, mystery
format: digital
release date: Aug. 13, 2024

Things I liked:
- Not knowing who to trust. Or even if you could trust Alex, the MC. There was so much going on that everyone sort of went back and forth in my mind on whether or not they could be the culprit.
- I love Maxwell's writing style. The voice of her main characters is always really well done.
- The side characters - specifically her friends in the diner! So good.
- I 89% called the ending - which, if you know me, almost NEVER HAPPENS.

I recommend this one whole-heartedly! I think even if thriller isn't usually your genre, you might get a kick out of it.

Thank you Atria Books and NetGalley for my advanced copy provided in exchange for my honest review.

This was a fun ride! A twisty mystery that I was invested in from start to finish. When the writer of the famed “Dear Constance” column is murdered, Alex finds herself filling her hero’s shoes with no prior desire to do so. We see Alex struggling with her past, but much of it is not revealed until the end.

I’d say a solid third of this story is told via “Dear Constance” letters, which was a refreshing change up. Alex struggles with her mental health in the wake of what was clearly a traumatic event, and she attempts to work through this while also attempting to solve her predecessor’s murder.

Two mysteries entwining themselves together, and I loved it! I will say the middle gets slow and at times a bit boring. But other than that, I enjoyed this. I liked Alex’s character and thought she was well developed. Overall, an enjoyable read.

A big thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for gifting me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

No sophomore slump here from Maxwell! I loved "The Golden Spoon" and this twisty, fun thriller was even more enjoyable for me. I found Alex to be a very complex character and she reminded me a lot of the FMC from "The Woman in the Window." We had a little agoraphobia going on and that added another layer. I was a little bored with the letters, but overall an enjoyable read.

Alex has been living in NYC for quite some time and has her routines down perfectly. Until, her dream job is posted and on a whim she applies and is offered the position of being the author of an advice colum in a prestigious New York newspaper.

As much as she wants this position, she is haunted by hidden secrets from her past and teased with clues of the mysterious murder of the previous writer, Francis Keen.

With the help of her peculiar sidekicks - the retired police detective and the diner waitress - will Alex solve the murder mystery or will Alex's own past step into the light and ruin everything?

While I enjoyed the perspective of the Dear Constance letters, at times it felt a bit repetitive and underwhelming. I felt the suspense building and wanted answers. Chapters are short, which made ofr an easy, but tense read. I enjoyed the little glimpses of what could be some mental health issues for Alex and that she wasn't painted as a victim. Her empathy and abilities to relate to people was very enjoyable and a different perspective in the thriller world.

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for the ARC in exchange for a review.

I’m probably going to be in the minority but I really didn’t like this book. I feel that it was over dramatized, and that it was written like we had went on a journey that we just hadn’t. I didn’t feel connected to any of the characters, and ffs I was just glad that it was over in the end.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for this ARC.

The Golden Spoon was one of my favorite books that I read last year, so when I found out that Jessa Maxwell’s upcoming release was available for request on NetGalley, I jumped on it!

Before I even made a dent in this book, I could tell that this one had more suspenseful vibes compared to her debut cozy mystery. This didn’t deter me in the slightest — Maxwell’s writing style nicely compliments both genres.

As for the story itself, this book sucked me in right from the start. The concept of this book felt very unique, as I’ve never read a book revolving around a “Dear Abby”-type plot. The letters that were intermixed between that chapters kept the story going at a fast pace.

I also had an immediate liking to the trio of characters at the diner — I could clearly picture Alex, Janice, and Raymond sitting and chatting about their detective work over breakfast.

As a mystery/thriller aficionado, there were certain parts of the story that I was able to piece together, but there were also some twists that I didn’t see coming!

Keep your eyes out for when this book hits the shelves this summer!

(Please note that I will add a link once I post to my reviewer page)

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for this ARC!

This book is definitely more of a slow burn in my opinion, but once the twists hit, they don’t stop coming. I loved the character development between Alex, Janice, and Raymond also.

I was so excited for this one, as I thought the premise was interesting and I really enjoyed The Golden Spoon. But this one just kind of felt flat to me and I can't quite identify why. Part of it was that it all seemed a bit illogical and unrealistic and the character behavior felt flat to me. Also, the writing felt like it needed one more edit- for example, and this might be a personal preference, but there were so many places where contractions weren't used that I thought should have been and it kept everything feeling very stiff and stilted. Overall entertaining and I did want to find out what happened.

The Golden Spoon was fantastic and when I saw the author had a new book I was super excited to read it. It didn’t capture my attention right away but I read on and the story expanded and developed. I was entertained and liked the twists. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I really liked the main character and the display of mental health issues that are common. I thought it was accurately portrayed. I also enjoyed the twists even though I felt one was a bit obvious but the author did an amazing job. I loved the ending !

Mystery novels under 300 pages should not be boring. I'm almost impressed.

Imagine getting your dream job because the previous employee was murdered, which is not exactly an ideal situation, but Alex is ready to escape her old job. When she takes over an advice column dear to her heart, she's determined to make her predecessor, Francis Keen, proud. Until she starts getting threatening letters. Alex doesn't know if the sender is someone from her past coming back to finish a job, Francis's killer, or someone new entirely. All she knows is she needs to find out before it's too late.

This was more of a character study than a quick mystery to breeze through, but it left me wanting in both aspects. Alex is a frightened woman who has serious trauma, dealing with OCD and anxiety. The book follows her trying to process and break through these struggles, but it's written so oddly. As someone with OCD, the overall representation was written well. However, a specific life event is making her OCD crippling to her quality of life. It's not revealed why Alex is so frightened or the extent of the trauma, so she just comes off as overtly paranoid a majority of the time. Her mental struggles, while valid and well-written, were presented in a way that made it hard to understand and connect.

You can piece Alex's mysterious past together, but that took away from the main plot: who killed Francis Keen, and who is trying to kill Alex? On both fronts, you are getting clues agonizingly slow. The rest of the time is spent in Alex's head. Nothing happened til the last 15%, but the "big reveals" gave me severe second-hand embarrassment. Alex's previous intense caution is thrown to the wind despite her incredibly vulnerable state, and she makes stupid decisions that lead to cheesy villain monologues. I couldn't physically restrain myself from rolling my eyes at times.

This isn't bad, and it's a relatively easy read to get through, but I don't know if it's worth the time. If you like mysteries based on characters overcoming anxieties, you might like this one, though.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own!

(Review has been shared to Goodreads and Storygraph as of March 3, 2024. Review will be reshared on previous mentioned sites and Amazon, Goodreads, and Tiktok upon publication in August.)

This one was entertaining but lost points due to how frequently I was struck with "that's not how the real world works" moments. I'm aware this is a work of fiction, but there were definitely moments that took me out of the story. I will say that while most of the twists I saw coming, one gobsmacked me.