Please note that this ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

WOW. This book had me hooked from the very beginning. Truly a masterful work- weaving together heartbreak (MC losing her mother) with thriller (body in the pond, Alex’s disappearance) and topped with jaw-dropping surprises. The MC never ceased to amaze me. My heart broke for her, then I rooted for her as she faced a similar fate as her mom, and then shock about some of the things she did. I won’t say more, but again… wow. Very much worth the read!

Don’t Tell Me How to Die by Marshall Karp is a brilliant mix of love, loss, and suspense that had me hooked from the first page. Maggie Dunn’s fierce determination to protect her family is both heartbreaking and inspiring, taking readers on an emotional rollercoaster packed with secrets, betrayals, and twists I never saw coming. The edge-of-your-seat suspense builds to a jaw-dropping finale I’m still thinking about. If you love smart, twisty thrillers with heart, this one’s a must-read! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐”

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for early access.

I went into this book with no expectations and no idea what it was about other than it was a thriller as I saw another bookstagrammer sing its praises, and I got sucked up into the hype of it. Found it on NetGalley and immediately dived in.

Throughout the book I had no idea what was going on or what made it a “thriller” but it had me hooked from the get go and I binged this in one sitting. The first half had me feeling sad for the characters and really felt for them and then when things started to get revealed, which I was able to guess a part of it I was gobsmacked and literally went into I’m not ok mode when I finished. I was a little disappointed with the way the story just ended but overall, it was very well written and the way everything was weaved together, and the way the twists and turns were revealed had me page turning like there was no tomorrow.

Highly recommend not reading the synopsis and just going in blind.

Woah. This is one of those "just trust the process" stories. I saw another bookstagrammer call this phenomenal so I went in hunt for it, found it as read now on NetGalley, and dove immediately. I blinked and I was 40% in, and completely invested. The character development is deep and well crafted to the point I feel like they're people I actually know. Then as I got to about 60%, I paused and thought "wait isn't this meant to be a mystery/thriller?" I looked it up and yup that's how it was labeled so I was confused and a little worried. But let me tell you, TRUST THE PROCESS OKAY?! It's worth it. I would call this a character driven slow burn mystery, something like Chris Whitaker's All The Colors of the Dark. It's page turning, but not in the heart racing thriller way. There is a big focus on grief and it actually made me feel so many emotions. The way this story is weaved together is so well crafted, I had to stop and process the entire thing over when I got to the end. I was truly shocked. And here's the thing, I was nearly crying in the first half. Then the last third has my jaw on the floor. How often does that happen in a mystery? I'll tell you, not often.

I really applaud the way this story is written and weaved together. I want to comment on it but don't want to give a single thing away so I'll say this; dive in, trust the process, and dm me when you're done cause I'm sure you'll be dying to talk about it just like I am!

Thanks Marisha for making me want to read this. And thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for early access. I can’t wait to get a physical copy!

Thank you Blackstone Publishing for the gifted digital ARC!

It's been quite awhile since a book has completely captivated me like this one did. I found myself fighting tears through the first part of it, leaving me to ask myself "wasn't this supposed to be a thriller?" So if you find yourself in the same position, please soldier on to the end, it'll be worth it!

As a mom of a little girl this one packed a particularly brutal gut punch in a couple storylines. I have to give big kudos to the author for making me feel our female MC's pain so viscerally.

Now onto the thriller aspects: the way the alternating timelines end up weaving themselves together is absolutely masterful. There were several twists at the end that actually made my jaw drop.

I'll be pre-ordering this one because it's undoubtedly going in my Top 10 of 2025! Pub date: March 4.

Thank you, Blackstone Publishing for the copy of Don’t Tell Me How To Die by Marshall Karp. Other than the dead body in the river, I was worried this book would be too ‘tame’ for my thriller palate, but I found myself absorbed by the story of Lizzie, Maggie, and their mother. And just wait until all of the threads come together! I loved how the timeline was constantly changing, showing us so much of the characters’ lives. I also love how we get to know the minor characters over the years. I haven’t read this author before but I loved this book so much I will read more! If you love three-dimensional characters, an engrossing story, reveals galore, and stellar writing, give this one a try! 5 stars.

This was such a good book!!! I love the premise of this woman needing to find a perfect woman for her husband since she is going to die within the year, and she had this situation occur in her own life growing up. She lived through what it was like to have a terrible step mother, so she was desperate to make it right for her own husband in this upcoming situation. It was very well written and kept me entertained for sure!!!

Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complementary ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!

Great story! The author has moved from his usual novels and created a domestic thriller. The protagonist tells her story, moving constantly from past to present, in a logical, satisfying way. The “her” is the mayor, wife of a leading physician, and daughter of a mom who died in her early forties of a blood disease that is passed from parent to child But that’s just the background. The story opens with the death of a realtor that nobody is sad to see dead. It ends with a funeral. In between there are murders, suicides, affairs, and more. Never a dull moment!

I'd never read any of Karp's books before but this one had me hooked from the start! It begins with Big Irv, the weather man reporting on a dead body surfacing in the Magic Pond, an idyllic place townspeople go to swim and relax. Then we meet protagonist Maggie Dunn, the current mayor who has a fatal blood disease that killed her mother. She's determined to find a new wife for husband, Alex before she dies. Vacillating in time, the novel details Maggie and twin, Lizzie as they navigate school and marriage--as well as all the secrets and lies that come along with them. It's a great and unusual plot that kept me riveted until the end!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

I have read other books from this author and was expecting a suspenseful mystery. However, this book is more a domestic fiction. It did have some good twists at the end. Although not what I was expecting, the book was well written, with a good storyline, and well developed characters.

Thank you to Netgalley and Blackstone Publishing for the arc to a book by one of my favorite authors. When I see Marshall Karp has a new book, I don't hesitate. I have to read it.
This story starts off with present day Maggie Dunn, wife, mother, and mayor. An incident happens at the beginning of the book that brings us to teenage Maggie. We learn of how her childhood has shaped her and how she handles day to day life.
This book is a page turner but I will say somewhere near the middle, I was a little frustrated with Maggie. Almost to the point where I was angry at her. But isn't that what a good book should do? Make you feel all the emotions? That frustration didn't last long as the story started to pull together and it was a ride right to the end.
Loved, loved this book! Marshall Karp has not let me down!

I really enjoyed this book! It was actually kind of heartbreaking with the mother’s illness. And then when all the secrets started being revealed, I was so into it! I had a hard time putting the book down, so mostly I didn’t!

Don’t Tell Me How to Die by Marshall Karp is an easy to read twisted thriller that grabs your attention right from the start. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this.

Don’t Tell Me How to Die by Marshall Karp is a fast-paced, brilliantly twisted thriller with a unique premise that grips you from the very first line. It follows a woman, facing her own mortality, who is determined to find the perfect replacement for herself in her family's life before she dies. What could have been a straightforward story becomes a labyrinth of unexpected turns, tension, and Karp’s razor-sharp humor.

Karp’s writing is brilliant—he juggles suspense, emotional depth, and biting wit effortlessly. The characters are all well-developed, particularly the protagonist, who is complex, driven, and wonderfully flawed.

If you’re a fan of psychological thrillers with a dark sense of humor and plenty of jaw-dropping twists, Don’t Tell Me How to Die is an absolute must-read. Marshall Karp delivers a story that is both emotionally resonant and wickedly entertaining, and you won’t be able to put it down. Five stars, without a doubt!

This was fantastic. I really enjoyed reading it and didn’t want to put it down. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for providing this book, with my honest review below.

Don’t Tell Me How To Die was delightful, bringing together a few different genres but shining in its mystery and thriller element. Maggie is our main character and we get to see her in the present when she’s been given a prognosis of death which she has been preparing for all her life. We get to explore the why behind that in great flashbacks which visit her young adulthood and how her mother’s death shaped some less than stellar behavior. Couple that with a few (yes few) mysteries in the present and this is just a perfect read.

What I loved about this book was the layering from the past that make the final chapters extremely satisfying, with a true understanding of how everything got to an amazing finale.