Oh I did not see that twist coming. I truly enjoyed this mystery/thriller by Jessa Maxwell. I enjoyed her previous novel, The Golden Spoon, and I was not surprised to have loved this book just as much. Good pacing, easy to read, captivating enough to have you staying up late to figure out what happens next. You think you have it all figured out - but you don’t, well at least I didn’t. The ending was fitting for the book, and wrapped everything up nicely with sensible conclusions. Overall, great book and truly enjoyable read. Highly recommend!

3.5 ⭐️ rounded up! This was such a quick read for me! I enjoyed the plot, the letters that broke up the chapters and brought in the back story of Alex’s life. It was interesting, quick, if not a touch predictable. I’d recommend it!

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced digital copy of this book.

This started slow, with a lot of confusing parts, but when they finally came together, what a bang!!

Alex lives alone in New York City, writing advertising blurbs for a pharmaceutical company from home. She really only interacts with two people who she sees each morning at a nearby diner where she goes for breakfast. Otherwise, she mainly stays securely locked up in her apartment. She is afraid of everything, it seems, and her two friends/acquaintances from the diner constantly encourage her to live a life. But she just can't.

Then one day she sees and ad for a replacement for an advice columnist who was recently murdered and who Alex had long followed and depended on. She thinks she may be able to do the job, so, on a whim and with a lot of encouraging wine, she fills out the online application. And she is offered the job! She is terrified that some mistake has been made, but it turns out she is good at the job. But someone is sending threatening notes and she is not sure if they are aimed at her or her murdered predecessor, whose murder has never been solved.

She becomes obsessed with solving the murder and looks at her boss as the possible murderer. When she follows a lead to the dead woman's beach house, things get really complicated, but the mystery DOES get solved. And a lot of Alex's problems also get solved as we find out what she is so afraid of, and how important the previous columnist was to Alex.

Many thanks to Atria books and Netgalley for my gifted copy.

There is just something so refreshing about Jessa's writing. I loved The Golden Spoon and I was so excited to read this one. I actually never knew I liked "cozy" books until I read this author. I definitely recommend!

A quick read, but not very rewarding. So much of the plot was unbelievable—namely, Alex getting a columnist job with zero experience and just one interview? Characters felt trite and the NYC setting cliché. Alex herself was not the brightest sleuth.

I loved the premise (murdered advice columnist?? so good) but it just didn’t sparkle. I nearly DNFd several times but I stuck with it. Not much happens until about 75%. And that final quarter is just a little *too* confusing.

It’s entertaining enough, but is it worth your time? I’d say no.

I Need You to Read This by Jessa Maxwell was a quick, suspenseful read. Once I got into it I didn’t want to put it down. While there were parts that felt pretty obvious, there were others that truly surprised me.

I adored all the characters right off the bat. They were real and felt like old friends. I couldn’t wait to unfold the mystery of what Alex was hiding from. I enjoyed being fed small bits of information about her past through the Dear Constance letters that were shared throughout the book.


Thank you to Atria and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

We meet Alex Marks who moved away to New York City to escape a secretive past and hopes to find a new life. Since she was a child, she has followed and loved the column Dear Constance and its writer Francis Keen. When Keen is murdered everyone including Alex is shocked. So when she hears they are looking for a replacement writer for the column, on a whim she decides to apply. She’s not a writer but Alex pours her heart into the application and to her surprise and shock she gets the job. she finds out all too soon that there is someone out there who may know her secrets. When she starts receiving threatening letters she’s scared it may be Keen’s killer now coming after her. Every one around her seems suspicious, this includes her new boss Howard Dimitri and even her new love interest Tom. It doesn’t help she’s working in Keens old office in the creepy dark side of the building alone. To help with the mounting pressure, Alex decides to conduct her own investigation into Francis’s murder, asking the help of her only friends from the diner— also risking her life and confronting her own dark past. Alex finds herself trapped in a dangerous and potentially deadly mystery. Will she solve the murder and save her own skin? Or will Alex face a similar fate?

This was a calm thriller. I didn’t really feel like I was kept at the edge of my seat, but it did keep me hooked enough to want to come back. The story follows Alex, a woman with a wishy washy past and a lot of baggage. Unhappy with her current job and a copywriter, she applies for an advice column writer position and somehow lands the role. There’s a whole roller coaster of events that follows, which makes for a really interesting read.

I wasn’t the biggest fan of the writing style, or the tone, which felt really drab and depressing… though I think that that may be what the author was trying to go for. I think this would be a pretty good book to read during the fall or cozied up in the winter. This book doesn’t have cozy vibes per se, it has this energy of wanting to be better, wanting to be more. That really resonated with me.

This book took me a long time to really immerse myself into, but once I was in it… I was IN IT. The final half of this book was great, some of twists were really predictable and easy to pick up on, but if you don’t clock it early (or work overtime to try and figure it out) and just go with the flow to enjoy the story, you might really enjoy it.

This novel is more literary fiction with a touch of mystery rather than the fast-paced thriller I was expecting. While it incorporates elements of suspense and intrigue, the book leans heavily on character development and the protagonist's personal journey, which slows the pacing. As a result, the stakes never felt particularly high, giving a more cozy mystery vibe than anticipated. However, this slower burn might appeal to readers who enjoy character-driven plots with a sprinkling of mystery rather than a heart-pounding thriller.

The main character, Alex, is likable and has a relatable, flawed personality. However, her decision-making throughout the book left me frustrated at times. She consistently jumped to conclusions based on little evidence, which often took the plot in predictable directions. Her tendency to act on impulse had me rolling my eyes more than once. While I appreciated Alex’s vulnerability, her naivety and sometimes poor judgment lessened my love for her.

From early on, I could guess the major plot point, which took away some of the tension and mystery for me. The twist, though well-written, felt obvious, and I was surprised that the protagonist didn’t pick up on certain clues along the way. That said, the book still had enjoyable moments, particularly toward the end, where the author introduces a twist that slightly redeemed the story. I also enjoyed the epistolary elements, especially the letters to Dear Constance, which were cleverly woven into the plot. They provided rich backstory and added emotional depth to book as a whole.

Despite its shortcomings, I found the novel an easy and quick read. There were some suspenseful moments, particularly in the climax, and the supporting cast—especially the diner trio of Raymond and Janice—added a touch of warmth and humor. I also appreciated how the author tackled sensitive topics like domestic violence and abuse in a realistic manner, though some of the scenes were quite disturbing.

In the end, while this book didn’t fully live up to my expectations, it was still enjoyable, and I appreciated the author’s writing style. I’m curious to see how the author’s future works evolve and would be interested in reading more. Although the mystery was predictable, the journey was entertaining enough, and the story held my attention for the most part.

Thank you so much to netgalley and the publisher for the arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I thought this book would be great for me but unfortunately it was a DNF. The writing was just too clunky and it felt like a slog to get through. I also just found the pacing to be too slow for me. I don't think a mystery/thriller should be slow. I just didn't care enough to finish this one.

I hope others love it.

(I wrote this back in late March early April)

I Need You To Read This
Alex Marks moves to New York City ready for a fresh start. Alex lives a mundane life working as a copy writer. Around this time, murder of her childhood idol, advice columnist Francis Keen the behind the Dear Constance letters throws Alex & many of Francis’s fans for a loop. Alex sees an advertisement for Francis’s job, and impulsively applies for it never expecting to get it until she does! While starting her dream job, not everything is as glamourous as it seems. Alex starts getting strange letters and she can’t help but wonder if editor in chief Howard Dmitri was somehow involved in Francis’s death. Alex must find out who murdered Francis before she meets the same fate.

Writing, Characters, Twists & Turns
Where do I begin? I requested a copy from netgalley and was excited that they excepted. So of course, I began reading speeding through it yesterday and finishing it today. Jessa Maxwell does it again. I like the fact that Alex Marks is an advice columnist whose been through a rough patch of her own, trying to find out who killed her childhood hero and why which makes this murder mystery original. The characters both good and evil were well written & my favorites were Alex, Janice & Raymond. There were so many twists & turns, I won’t go into too much detail because I’m afraid I’m going to spoil it, but Jessa Maxwell is a master at her craft. If you thought Jessa’s debut novel The Golden Spoon was excellent, she does even better with I Need You To Read This. Theres nothing I dislike about this book, I just wish it were longer because I enjoyed it a lot!

Overall
If you love murder mysteries & you’re a fan of Jessa Maxwell’s The Golden Spoon, then you are going to love I Need You To Read This. If you don’t have a physical or digital copy of I Need You To Read This, the book will be available on August 13th! I suggest preorder it now! Thank you so much Jessa Maxwell for another twisty murder mystery! I look forward to our Behind The Book Q&A discussing it!

This book was much better than I expected! I loved the mystery and the main character. After finishing this, I read The Golden Spoon and enjoyed this one much more than that one. I will definitely read more from this author.

If you’re looking for a fun, cozy mystery to get you through a fall weekend, look no further than I Need You to Read This. I enjoyed The Golden Spoon, so was excited to get the next Jessa Maxwell book and it was just as delightful of a read as her last.

Alex Marks moved to New York City for a fresh start as a copywriter, but her lackluster life takes a turn when her favorite columnist is brutally murdered. The famous advice column, Dear Constance, helped Alex through many dark times in her life, so when she sees that the job is up for grabs, she throws her hat into the ring and gets the job.

Skilled at solving other people’s problems, Alex quickly gets sucked into this new world. But when strange letters begin to arrive, Alex must look to those around her to solve who killed her predecessor before she’s next.

This was a light, engaging read that I found enjoyable. I felt like I was along for the ride and had a few ideas as to whodunit, which I may have gotten right! Hooray!

Thank you to Jessa Maxwell, Atria Books and NetGalley for an advance e-copy for an honest review.

An interesting and thrilling read. I think my favorite part was the incorporation of Dear Constance letters throughout the story, a nice touch to connect past and present while also giving the readers reasons to question what was going on.

I think the story did a good job of redirecting suspicion to multiple people. I liked that it wasn’t an easy one person suspect, but that almost everyone had a reason to be a suspect.

Interesting that this was told through the main characters third POV.

TW: domestic abuse

If you’re on the hunt for a light, engaging read with a touch of mystery, Dear Constance might just hit the spot. The novel follows Alex, a young writer trying to escape her past who unexpectedly lands a job as the replacement for her late idol, a renowned advice columnist. Things take a dark turn when Alex starts receiving threatening letters similar to those her predecessor got before her tragic death.

Determined to uncover the truth behind the murder and the ominous notes, Alex enlists the help of her quirky friends from the local diner she frequents. The stakes are high—she’s not only on a quest to find out if the advice column is linked to the murder but also if she’s the next target.

While the story unfolds in a predictable, slow-burn fashion and the characters don’t quite leave a lasting impression, the “Dear Constance” letters themselves add an interesting twist to the narrative. They seamlessly weave into the plot and keep the mystery engaging.

This was a fairly good mystery - there were some surprising twists. It was definitely darker than Jessa Maxwell's last book. I feel like Alex should have been smarter about a lot of things given her situation - it would have taken a quick google search to find out more about Tom or Lucy. But I did like the book and will continue to read any more book the author writes. Thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC.

The comfort this book brought me is unmatched. This is a quick read with a great story. Really there are so many intertwined stories and mysteries that will be solved by the end. One question I couldn't answer until the last few pages was, who was Howard speaking to in the stairwell about the knife? I came to the conclusion that it must have been his private detective.
Some parts of this book didn't make sense when the first happened, like Lucy and Howard's relationship. The questions and things I had chopped up to be poor writing turned into a more complicated and advanced literature.

You will enjoy this mystery, and I look forward to reading more from this author.

TW/CW: Language, drinking, alcoholism, assault, anxiety, cheating, domestic abuse, violence

*****SPOILERS*****
About the book:
Alex Marks’s move to New York City is supposed to be a fresh start. She plans to lay low with her mundane copywriting job but the news of the murder of her childhood hero, Francis Keen, throws her for a loop. Beloved staff writer and the woman behind the famous advice column, Dear Constance , Keen’s death is a shock to her countless fans and readers.

When Alex sees an advertisement searching for her replacement, she impulsively applies, never expecting to actually get the job. But almost immediately, she begins to receive strange letters at the office and soon, Alex wonders why the murderer has never been found. Worse, she can’t help but question if her new boss and editor-in-chief, Howard Dimitri, was involved with Keen’s death.
Release Date: August 13th, 2024
Genre: Thriller
Pages: 304
Rating:

What I Liked:
1. Writing was descent
2. Quick chapters

What I Didn't Like:
1. Many plot conflicting things happening
2. Nothing happens
3. Boring
4. That ending
5. I hate Alex

Overall Thoughts:
{{Disclaimer: I write my review as I read}}

I wish that the author would have told us how she met Raymond and how she became friends with him. It's so vague and this person's just there.

"On today’s docket : Colesna , a stomach pill to offset the damage from one of the company’s other medications. From there the day yawns and then contracts. An afternoon snack, rarely a full dinner. Some popcorn from a bag, kettle corn if the corner deli has it. Maybe a few cookies or a bowl of noodles. Always a glass of wine, maybe two, usually three."
Why can't books ever let women eat? Have you noticed this lately? Every book has women eating the bare amount of food. But notice men in the books always are gorging on a ton of food. Raymond at the diner is gorging on tons of coffee and eight slices of toast smothered in butter but all that she gets is a bagel with cream cheese and jam and then she ends the day with a bag of kettle corn. What is this obsession with making women eat so little in books?

And of course of course she drinks glass after glass of wine for dinner because we can't have a sane woman who isn't an alcoholic and doesn't eat.

They went through 500 emails that fast in a few days?? Isn't that abnormally fast? She managed to answer the sample questions so perfectly while drunk too.

"We are prepared to offer you the job on a probationary basis.”
The offer that she ends up getting though makes it sound like it's a permanent position it even gives her like insurance and how much she'll make for the year so I'm confused how this is probationary if it's not even included in the offer.

I guess the Hareld newspaper does not do background checks because she goes to an interview on Thursday and is already starting work on Monday. I mean I've had jobs I've done less and still had to complete a background check, but okay in this world they just hire anyone and don't care about their history. Not only that but she didn't even really give her work any kind of notice.

I am really confused on her relationship with Janice and Raymond. She sees them almost every morning and tells them about her life for the last - I guess seven years, but they're not in her phone and she wouldn't call them to tell them about the job first thing.

There's a knock on Alex's office door and we already knew it was going to be a woman and we already know that they're going to start hanging out going to lunch. Just this is my prediction.

I bet Frances was blackmailing people from all the letters she got and emails.

Another mention that Alex is living on coffee muffins and bagels. Of course we can't go a few pages without being reminded how little Alex is eating.

How has Alex turned this cushy job into this complex job where she can't even eat or sleep all week. She literally has to pick one email or letter a week and then reply back to it with some stupid irrelevant piece of advice. It's not that complicated. She answered three sample ones in no time and very randomly all well drunk. Suddenly now she can't even function.

Alex goes on a date with Tom for dinner I guess they order pasta but it bothers me that we skipped over that she even ate any of it because it's not even mentioned she even took a bite. We get a part where Tom takes two bites but Alex is never mentioned even eating the salad nor the pasta. I just I can't tell if the author is saying that Alex has an ed or we just skip over women eating in books totally. Yes yes I know that I've mentioned this a hundred times probably three or four different times in my review but I swear to God this is my pet peeve a thrillers. They do the thing where they starve women.

130 pages into the book and nothing has even happened. Is there anything thrilling going to happen???

How have we jump from Howard having an affair with a woman in his office that suddenly Francis caught them having sex and that's why she was murdered? I tell you thrillers are the most jump the shark story lines ever. Like why would you put those two things together? Why is she so obsessed with her boss? Why doesn't she just go to work and do the job? I am finding Alex a ridiculous character. She is building a mountain out of a molehill. There is nothing here but she is just inventing this crazy story. She's been there for a week!!!

What year is this book taking place in? It must be like 1998. I think that was the last time newspaper articles for advice were relevant. But we have these people running around at the newspaper acting like Alex's column advice was amazing so life-changing it's been posted everywhere on social media. I just again what year is this? I don't understand why she has to be in the office 5 days a week to write this article. Why would she need to be there in person when they could just send her all the stuff to work from home or she would just go into the office once a week. I am confused how this is $120,000 job.

I think Lucy was sexually assaulted but it's hard to tell if he hit on her and nothing happened past that or that he forced himself on her.

Would love if Alex quit calling Lucy "young". Over and over.

Lost girl = Alex.

How ridiculous that the piano player would remember Howard as a famous newspaper person and can even remember the person he was with what she was wearing and what she looked like.

Lost girl says that she has money but all that's stopping her from leaving her man is a ride to the airport... What? That's it??

It's so weird fight with Tom and Alex is so over the top and insane to me. He's like not shaving because he's so upset and she's like bitterly angry at him, but let's remember these two have only went on a date twice. Two dates and they are going through this.

Oh no Lost Girl is Alex who could have seen that. She's randomly getting this letter that she wrote but did not send now in her mail at the office. Perhaps it's the man she left behind who is the one doing all this

I'm trying to understand why Alex feels this obsessive need to solve the death of Francis. It doesn't make any sense. She literally learns that someone knows who she is and has her letter from her old life but she overhears Howard talking about the murder weapon at the beach house, so this is the biggest thing she has to go do now is find the murder weapon because she wants to prove it was him. Why is she causing so much more drama in her life?

How does Alex know where Francis is beach house is? Does she just remember it from memory from the newspaper?

We learned that Francis actually did right back to Alex and all she did was tell her everything Alex already wanted to do, which was leave so I suppose this is why Alex feels this sense of responsibility to solve what happened to Francis, but it's been 8 months and she hasn't done anything suddenly now she feels this overwhelming since of responsibility.

Jonathan even tells Alex that there is no person named Lucy that was an assistant of Francis but all the lights are off in the house and does Alex leave the house when she has an opportunity hearing this news, no she goes to ask Lucy if this information is true. Why would Jonathan lie to her? Why does she feel the need to go and do stupid things? I want to hit Alex so bad.

How did Alex never once mention to Johnathan or anyone else abiut Lucy???

Oh my God so Lucy is the brother of Alex's ex-boyfriend. She's seeking revenge for her older brother. Did I step into a soap opera? How stupid. Talk about setting us up for an ending we would have never guessed. How did we even know that Brian had a younger sister? I don't even remember this. And that she would be this obsessed to help her brother find this woman that he was dating.

This book exhausted me. Why would Lucy pick this time upon any other time to want to have Brian show up and approach Alex if she thinks that Howard is on his way to the house? It doesn't make any sense.

Janice shows up to francis's house because she called the office randomly to ask about where Alex is and he who has never met Janice before gives her the address rather than calling the police. What are we even doing in this book? Why would Janice show up? It doesn't make any sense. Is this normal behavior that if someone doesn't answer their cell phone then clearly call their office. Why would she need to get a hold of Alex this badly that she would then need to call her work to try and figure out where she was to then be directed that she went to a beach house. Oh and then Raymond shows up with a gun too.

Look I'll tell you who killed Francis. It was Regina. Regina killed Francis because she found out about the affair with her husband and her she wanted to get her husband out of the way so she put the knife in her husband's drawer that day when she was in the office. She wanted to get her husband out of the office because remember she said she wanted that job so my guess is that she framed her husband for the murder of his mistress so that she could get the job.

I can't the whole time Lucy has been obsessed with her brother so much so that she kidnapped a person so that he could talk to her and was even willing to have her murdered, but what really changes her mind is that she finds out that her brother lied about the suicidal attempt from Alex and that really her brother was trying to kill alex. But wasn't he going to kill Alex now anyways and Lucy was okay with it? She then shoots her own brother.

Oh then Regina admits for some weird reason to Alex that she did Kill Francis and buried the knife in the garden. So Jonathan manages to approach the hospital room right at that time and says he heard it too. Well that's great grand and wonderful but good luck proving it because of her fingerprints aren't on it what is that going to do. Is the thing we like to call in the law world called hearsay which means that just cuz she's somebody else heard it doesn't mean that you can take somebody to court over it.

Oh my God Regina really does go to prison in this book all because Jonathan overheard her saying that. Get out of town seriously. I just can't even believe this so the father just kept on Jonathan and Alex despite them being the one that had his daughter sent to prison. Am I reading this right?

Is it ever explained how Regina caught on that they were having an affair? Cuz I don't remember reading how she knew.

Also why is Regina keep talking about how Alex helped put Howard in prison when she didn't even do anything??

Final Thoughts:
Normally I would have some great thoughts about some stuff that happened in this book but I'm going to be honest with you this is the worst book I think I've ever read. There are so many plot holes and conflicting things that happen in it that make no sense. This is the most ridiculous book I've ever read in my life.

Thank you NetGalley!
I really did not like this book. The Golden Spoon was such a fun thriller but this one fell so flat for me. This book started so slow and boring. I didn’t love the main character Alex either. I did not care about anything that happened whatsoever. I’m disappointed I didn’t enjoy this book.

The story begins slowly with Alex Marks relocating to New York City for a fresh start, only to land a mundane copywriting job. On a whim, she applies to take over the “Dear Constance” advice column from her idol, Francis Keen. However, 30% into the book, the plot hasn’t progressed much. The column snippets are frequent, and the identity of “Lost Girl” is apparent from the second letter.

The narrative then shifts to an investigation into the murder of Francis Keen, the original “Dear Constance.” Alex embarks on a new meet-cute relationship, and the past of her friend from the diner is revealed, leading to a convoluted exploration of Alex’s troubled history. The plot feels scattered and unfocused.

Despite being marketed as a captivating mystery with elements of suspense and thriller, I found these aspects lacking. There is a twist at the end, but it wasn’t compelling enough to justify reading the entire book. The sudden revelation of a character’s identity felt obvious and out of place.

I was lukewarm about Jessa Maxwell’s first book, The Golden Spoon, and this latest work has confirmed that her writing style doesn’t resonate with me.