I had the opportunity to read The Ten Worst People in New York by Matt Plass. The story centers around a late-night host's infamous list of the city's worst people and follows FBI agent Alex Bedford as she begins to suspect that a string of apparent suicides may actually be homicides.

While the premise was intriguing, I found myself struggling to fully connect with the story. The character development felt inconsistent, and with so many different players involved, the narrative sometimes became muddled. It seemed as though the author was trying to write for too many characters at once, which made it difficult to fully invest in any of them. I had hoped to enjoy this one more, but ultimately, it didn’t quite land for me.

Ten people with dark pasts are being targeted, and FBI Special Agent Alex Bedford must stop the killings before more lives are lost. Meanwhile, film director Jacob Felle tries to reconnect with his estranged sister, Elizabeth, only to find himself caught in a dangerous web of secrets. As the deaths continue, Jacob becomes a suspect and must fight to clear both his name and Elizabeth’s.

Despite an intriguing premise, the book felt slow and overcrowded with characters, making it hard to stay engaged. I expected a gripping thriller, but the pacing and complexity made it a struggle to finish.

The Ten Worst People in New York is a fun, fast-paced read. The short chapters made it fly by, and I will be anxiously awaiting whatever Matt Plass writes next!

The Ten Worst People in New York by Matt Plass is a fast-paced thriller that grabs your attention from the first page. The story wastes no time throwing readers into the action—you wake up bound in the back of a van, and if you don’t figure out what’s happening fast, things could go very wrong.

The central premise is intriguing: Ricky Talon runs a public poll ranking the ten worst people in New York, and now, one by one, those named on the list are turning up dead. Are they being murdered, or is there something even more sinister at play? FBI agent Alex Bedford is on the case, trying to determine whether these deaths are suicides, assassinations, or something else entirely.

One of the book’s strongest aspects is its pacing. The short chapters make it a quick and engaging read, and the mystery keeps you turning pages. Plass does a great job of setting up tension and keeping the stakes high. The concept itself is unique, blending elements of crime, mystery, and thriller genres in an engaging way.

However, while the plot is solid, some aspects didn’t fully connect with me. There were moments where the story felt predictable, and a few character decisions seemed frustrating or unrealistic. Despite that, the novel delivers plenty of thrills, and fans of fast-moving crime fiction will likely find a lot to enjoy.

While The Ten Worst People in New York wasn’t completely my style, I still found it entertaining. It’s a well-paced mystery with plenty of action, and even if it didn’t fully click for me, I can see how others might love it. If you enjoy crime thrillers with a unique premise and rapid-fire storytelling, it’s definitely worth checking out.

I don't think the story really matched the synopsis.

The Ten Worst People in New York is divided by two competing storylines that take a while to really mesh. In one, we follow FBI Special Agent Alex Bedford as she investigates the deaths of two men who were listed in a top ten list on a late night talk show. Their deaths happen early on in the story and are initially listed as suicides. However, Alex immediately links their deaths to murder with the most unrealistic amount of evidence I've ever read. Seriously, a pair of glasses and a piece of climbing equipment? That's some Sherlock Holmes shit. Despite the bizarre police work, Alex Bedford was incredibly likable but her character wasn't explored enough. Same with her partner, who only passes on a few messages and enjoys long lunches.

The second storyline revolves around Jacob Felle, a young man who comes to New York to find his estranged sister, who keeps dodging him at every turn. He discovers she is linked to New Frontiers, a now defunct group for mountain climbers. This is the only tenuous link between the two storylines that makes sense.

After the first two deaths, virtually nothing happens for the entire middle of the book. I was expecting more deaths, more connections but sadly nothing. I was beyond bored and confused. Finally, the ending did give some clarity but it took way too long to get there.

I did enjoy the writing and I was invested in the FBI investigation. I would read something else by this author or even another book with Alex Bedford but this one didn't work for me.

The Ten Worst People in New York by Matt Plass is a gripping and suspenseful novel.
The compelling narrative and well-drawn characters had me up so late.
The way he creates his characters is seriously the best. They are intriguing and entertaining.
Matt Plass' ability to build and maintain suspense makes this novel a captivating read for fans of psychological thrillers.

This had a fun premise, with a serial killer going down a list and killing the Worst People in New York, it built up some fun questions, but I didn't fully pull off the answers, overall a slight thumbs up, but I felt like something bigger was possible

Thank you Book Sparks for this gifted finished copy ahead of release and Crooked Lane Books for the advanced readers copy via NetGalley.

I like a well-written murder mystery and/or suspenseful thriller ut this one didn’t quite do it for me and I actually DNF’d at 52%. It never caught or kept my attention or intrigue, and I didn’t connect with the story or characters. The flow was off and there were often odd remarks or strangely phrased things, and I know that’s not my post-concussive syndrome talking. There are a lot of characters to keep track of and we are given POVs of Alex and Jacob and a brief account from each of the victims prior to their reckoning. While the chapters are short it dragged and I kept waiting for it to feel intense and suspenseful.

It felt like it was trying to do and be too many things at once and couldn’t juggle these appropriately under the weight of its own ambition. I’m grateful for BookSparks and Crooked Lane Books for giving me the opportunity to read and provide my honest opinions. Bummer it wasn’t what I hoped for.

Content includes descriptive accounts of dead bodies, some light profanity, drug use and who knows what else since I DNF’d.

Disorienting. That was my first thought after reaching the first quarter of this novel. The story is crowded with an overwhelming number of characters, names, and events that unfold so densely that keeping track of them becomes a real challenge for the reader. However, this ensemble cast lacks depth: descriptions are sparse, personalities are barely sketched—or sometimes entirely omitted—resulting in a sense of confusion that makes it difficult to form a true connection with the characters.

Yet, one figure stands out: the female protagonist. Unlike the rest of the cast, she is well-developed, carefully crafted, and vividly drawn, offering the reader a clear and engaging point of reference in an otherwise fragmented narrative.

The true paradox of this novel lies in its potential. The plot is intriguing and has all the right elements to captivate the reader, but the writing style and narrative structure make it unnecessarily complex. Despite this, curiosity kept me engaged until the final page—a testament to the fact that, beneath its challenges, the story holds a compelling core that manages to exert a certain allure.

Although I feel this story kept my attention well enough, it left me disappointed. There were so many characters, it was hard for my brain to keep track. None of said characters were very captivating aside from Alex, our detective. The twists seemed quite obvious, although they were entertaining. The premise was definitely intriguing, I think it just got lost in all of the chaos. I did enjoy the random chapters That we got from our “victims”. I liked seeing the other side of things. I’m sure those with faster working brains than I who can keep track of such a large cast will enjoy this one. The action is nonstop! 2.5?

The Ten Worst People in New York had a good premise and it was a fun read although sometimes I got a bit sidetracked by the way some of the characters behaved. It was clear, from the beginning, that the Felle siblings had problems as well as Floyd Shaw and the crew they assembled also had some really flawed characteristics, but the law enforcement guys also were flawed and seemed to be running after their tails, and the people that were being targeted and murdered were no good role models for society. But what was the reason behind those crimes? The story is fast-paced and entertaining and reinforces the power of social midia in speading false (or right) information.
I thank the author, his publisher, and NetGalley for this ARC.

Thank you to Crooked Lane for my gifted copy!

Gah! The Ten Worst People in New York had ALL OF THE hype, and all of the letdown. Come on. The premise alone sounded absolutely killer. But I was confused and lost the whole time. I could not get into it. It became a chore to read it, and that sucks. Because I really wanted to love this book. It sounded so awesome.

Talk about a unique story! The premise of the new thriller was fresh and fun, and the twists and turns kept me hooked. This one is packed with action around one bend then strategic mystery around the other, keeping readers on their toes as you try to figure out who exactly is trying to kill people from this list. Beware of all the red herrings because just when you think you’ve figured out what’s going on, trust me, you don’t (but that’s the fun part!) This was a fun, quick, and easy popcorn thriller!

Thank you Netgalley & Crooked Lane Books for an eARC ❤️

The story takes place in New York City( i love NYC setting in books 😍) , where a mysterious TV show called "The Ten Worst People in New York" is all the rage. But when one of the people on the list dies under suspicious circumstances, it becomes clear that something sinister is at play.
Enter our two main characters: Alex, a tough-as-nails FBI agent who's recently lost her husband, and Jacob, a young British filmmaker with a dark past. They're like two puzzle pieces that don't quite fit together... yet.
As they dig deeper into the mystery, they've got to confront their own personal demons and put their lives on the line. I mean, the questions are piling up: Who's behind the murders? Why are they targeting the people on the list? And who's going to be next?🤯
This book is like an emotional swings 🫣it's got twists and turns galore, and just when you think you've figured it out, the author throws in another curveball. I loved it!❤️

I was very excited for this book and enjoyed the different characters. There were points that felt confused but the idea excited me.

Had high hopes for this one, didn't feel like it really delivered on its promise. What it did well was capture the New York environment, where it lost me was with flat characters and what felt like little effort into a cohesive plot.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for providing me with an eARC of The Ten Worst People in New York in exchange for my honest review!

This smoothly paced thriller may not be doing anything too groundbreaking, but it continues to provide a suspenseful experience that leaves me dealing with a morally gray space where I'm wondering if it's a good thing to kill off these assholes. There's a grimness to the mood that I appreciate, adding weight to just how murderous this affair can get. I do think this can suffer from some pacing issues, although the matter of the plot having too many characters (something that I've seen a good amount of other reviews criticize) didn't stick out to me all that much. Sure, there are plenty of characters to follow, but it's not like they become an entire jumble for me to puzzle out.

Overall, I'm officially rating The Ten Worst People in New York 3.25 out of 5 stars, which I'm rounding down to 3 stars. It's nothing revolutionary, but I had a decently gripping time with it, and I'll keep an eye out for more of Matthew Plass's work.

The Ten Worst People in New York by Matthew Plass ⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was a solid read that reminded me a bit of The Best Lies by David Ellis - a complicated, lots going on plotted story. It was touted as similar to We Begin at the End, but I didn’t see that connection other than having a set of siblings.

The characters were ok if a little bland. Most of the conversations flowed, but a few felt unnatural and stiff. The plot was slow-moving. It bogged down frequently but the twists were the redeeming factor. There was a lot going on in this one, but no topic really done deeply. I would have appreciated more focus across less ideas.

All in all, fans of cat and mouse, slow-burn twisty reads, and books with lots of characters will enjoy this one.

A late night tv show shared a list of the ten worst people in New York. it was all fun and games until people on that list started dying. the title and the premise of the book intrigued me but for some reason i couldn’t get into the story. The pacing had me bored unfortunately.

There were way too many characters to keep up with. Loved the writing style which is why I kept reading