When I started reading this, I didn’t realize it was part of a series but this surprisingly did not at all impact my enjoyment. This still read wonderfully as a standalone suspense despite not having the full back story of the characters from the first two. It was a great cat and mouse thriller that kept me hooked from the first page!

When I say a squealed upon receiving this ARC, I do not exaggerate. Brianna Labuskes once again proves herself a master of mystery and suspense. By The Time You Read This by Brianna Labuskes is a captivating psychological thriller that keeps you guessing from start to finish. The novel unfolds in dual timelines, shifting between Raisa’s struggles as she attempts to solve Isabel's murder and flashforwards to Delaney's POV as she races to fulfill Isabel's final task. As Raisa processes her complex feelings surrounding Isabel, she starts unearthing a web of secrets that twist and turn at every corner, making it hard to tell who’s trustworthy and who isn’t. Labuskes does a fantastic job of maintaining suspense by weaving together clues that sometimes seem to lead nowhere, only to reveal deeper, darker truths when you least expect it.

At the heart of the story is Raisa’s complex character development. She’s a woman trying to rebuild her life after Isabel’s dysfunction, murders, and death, but with every discovery, her understanding of both the past and her own role in it is thrown into question. The more she digs into Isabel’s death, the more she’s forced to confront her own choices, and the emotional depth of Raisa’s journey is what makes this book so compelling. Labuskes brilliantly plays with the structure of time and memory, crafting a narrative where nothing is ever fully clear and everything feels up for reinterpretation.

Well, I usually love this series. This one did not work for me. It was extremely over-the-top and had a lot of unbelievable police work. The ending was seemingly rushed, and it took a little bit too long to get into.
I still absolutely love this author and hope that the next book is a little more believable

I would like to thank Netgalley for my digital copy. This is my honest review about the book.
Being the third book in Raisa Susanto series, it can be read as a stand alone. This book had me intrigued from the start with its short chapters and fast-paced story.
I love the way Brianna Labuskes narrated the plot with mentions of different timelines and an undeniable suspense throughout the story. Everyone was on suspect list and till the last, the mystery around the killer was maintained. I could say a lot of research went behind to justify the characters of the series since our protagonist is a FBI Forensic Linguist and whole background of story requires knowledge about law enforcements.
Even though flawed, inspite of showing erratic behaviours and mental disturbance, the characters were relatable. This book also highlights the societal views about crimes, glorification/victimisation of serial killers and aftermath of murders in both murderer's & victim's family.
Overall, if you are looking for a fast-paced small-town thriller, here is your book.

By The Time You Read This started out with a bang and kept my interest all the way to the end. I love the sister characters and how they interact. This book had twists and turns and had me guessing to the end. Definitely worth reading if you a fam of serial killers. 4 stars.

I would truly like to apologize to Brianna, for my error. I did not realize that this book was the third installment in a series, and therefore I found myself very confused. I found the premise interesting, and I think that any true crime junkies would love this series in its entirety.

In this story we follow Rasia and DeLaney as they struggle to combat their messy past. Will they succumb to their destiny or rewrite their ending. The book was only confusing to me because I had not read the series beforehand. I believe that any true crime junkie would eat this book up. There is an excellent combination of other media such as podcasts, reddit posts, references to Don't F***k with Cats, that allows the reader to feel immersed. There were many times throughout the story that I almost felt like it could be a true retelling of events.

Is being a killer genetic?
By the time you read this by Brianna Labuskes explores the nature versus nurture thinking behind a female serial killer and her sisters. If all three women were raised in the same household, with similar DNA, is it possible to have more than one serial killer in a family? Can the things you go through turn on a switch of sorts?

The book definitely makes more sense timeline wise, if you keep track of the timelines at the beginning of each chapter as the book not only floats between the two sisters but also during different points in time, which was a little confusing at first, but thankfully it all came together at the end.

My favorite parts of the books were the inserts of things such As the convicted killer's diary pages. They definitely have a different insight into what was going on. I think this would be perfect for people who want to explore nature versus nurture when it comes to serial killers.

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer for providing me with this book to review via NetGalley. My review and opinions are my own.

An excellent read for any and all readers! Author comes at you with both barrels and knocks you out of your shoes! Great job fleshing out all the characters. I give this book FIVE stars! Definitely recommend!

This was the first book I've read by this author and also the first book I've read in general in quite some time. I had gotten out of reading for a bit and I'm so excited that this was the book I chose to pick it back up again- I was hooked from the start! This book had me not wanting to stop reading, page after page. I was questioning things, trying to guess plot twists, etc. and was still surprised and in suspense right to the very last chapter.
The only thing I'm not sure I liked was trying to follow along with the timeline; however upon continuing to read, I think that may have been apart of the author's tactics to keep us guessing and wanting more. Overall, I really loved this book and already am wanting to read more by this author! Would lreccommend this book to all mystery/crime lovers!

This was my very first book by Brianna Labuskes and I have a feeling that it will not be my last, in my opinion this crime thriller was up there with the best I’ve read. Page after page was filled with suspense and I really enjoyed the characters and plot twists along the way. One of the things I found most intriguing was that the main character Raisa, was a forensic linguist. I enjoyed that aspect of that type of investigation and found that it added something different to the mystery/crime thriller genre of books I’m used to reading. If I were to pick one negative aspect of the book it would be that I found the timeline of events a little confusing. Around chapter 24 it began to become more clear but there were times before that I was struggling to piece the timeline together. Maybe that was intentional on the author’s part to keep the reader guessing and not being able to predict things easily, I’m just not sure I enjoyed that at times.
Overall, I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good crime thriller that is a quick read and that you can’t put down!

I knew that <i>”By The Time You Read This”</i> was a popcorn thriller when I downloaded it from NetGalley, and so it sat on my kindle until I was in the mood to read a popcorn thriller. It is a smoothly written, twisty story, although a bit redundant. At the 50% point, I was almost ready to stop, turn it into a dnf, but I persevered, and the pace picked up after the author’s timeline distortions became more apparent.

This is Book #3 in the Raisa Susanto series by author Brianna Labuskes, but it works well as a standalone because the relevant background information from the previous books is incorporated into the first two chapters of this one.

In a review of one of the author’s other books, I wrote that she had <i>”mastered mindless storytelling”</i>, and again I felt that she was writing a story that had no substance, one that relied on twists and turns, rather than one designed to provide the reader with greater insight into the shared experiences, emotions, and challenges common to all.

So, if you are in the mood for a quick popcorn thriller, this will satisfy your needs, but you may feel unfulfilled after you’ve finished it.

Thanks to Thomas & Mercer for providing an electronic copy of this book via NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinions.

Raisa Susanto receives a letter from her sister Isabel, currently imprisoned for her many crimes. The message catches her off guard, as Isabel writes that she’ll be dead when Raisa reads it. Sure enough, her death becomes big news, as it often does when a serial killer dies. Raisa knows someone did this to Isabel but can’t get anyone to listen to her, as Isabel was found dead alone in her cell. Everyone chalks it up to natural causes and says good riddance.

Raisa is torn between not wanting to deal with more Isabel drama and satisfying her curiosity about what happened. So of course she gives in. There are two main groups obsessed with Isabel – the ones that love her and the ones that hate her. Raisa believes the key to Isabel’s killer lies somewhere in one of those groups. She works with Callum, her non-partner but basically a partner FBI psychologist, to investigate these people and anyone else who interacted with Isabel. The one person she can’t track down is her other sister, Delaney. But she doesn’t waste much time on her, still irked that Callum sees Delaney as another victim of Isabel, not an enabler like Raisa has long believed.

They uncover plenty of viable suspects, and Raisa’s work as a forensic linguist often comes into play between physical letters, posts online, and published works. That aspect is fascinating as usual, especially how people have a hard time NOT sounding like themselves if they’re trying to disguise their writing. I love how this is woven into the plot.

It’s such a great story and you may find yourself rolling your eyes at the true-crime fanatics when they come up with yet another excuse for condoning the monstrous behavior of killers. Get over it!

A suspense filled novel that stands alone, but is also part of a series. Three sisters united by blood and tragedy, all following very different paths. The plot is well crafted and the characters are all unique and well defined. The story moves fast and is very complex, great for any suspense fan.

Thank you so much to the publisher and to Netgalley for this eARC!!

"By the Time You Read This" by Brianna Labuskes is a psychological thriller that explores the great lengths one will go to uncover the truth. It’s got just the right amount of mystery and twists!! The family secrets are a plus! 😜

While this is a series, and there are two books before this one, this one can be read as a standalone (but you should def read the first two)!!

Raisa Susanto, an FBI linguist, receives a letter from her incarcerated serial killer sister Isabel telling her that “by the time you read this, I’ll be dead.” Shortly after, Isabel is found dead in her cell, and Raisa is racing to determine who killed Isabel, and who is responsible for a killing very similar to Isabel’s style.

This book is the third in a series, and I received this ARC not realizing this. However, I had no problem following along with the characters and what was going on, and I was absolutely hooked. I couldn’t put this book down, and I was deeply invested in finding the truth.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book!

This was a weird read that fell flat. I had a hard time keeping up with the million characters and to be honest, I didn’t connect with any of them. The plot had so much potential but was very convoluted and far fetched. To be fair, I didn’t read the first few books in the series and maybe that was my downfall with this one….. Regardless, I loved the premise and thought I’d be super engaged, but alas, this one was not for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the advanced reader copy.

I really enjoyed this book and plan to go back and read the first two in the series. I enjoyed the viewpoint of Raisa being the sister of a serial killer as well as being an FBA linguist. I liked all of the twists and turns and how the story weaved together. Overall, I really enjoyed this book!

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the advanced reader copy.

4.5 stars

Another great story about FBI Agent Raisa Susanto. With so many mystery/thrillers published each year, it can be hard to find an angle that hasn't been covered yet, but the backstory of Raisa's older sibling not only having killed their parents and oldest brother, but then becoming a prolific serial killer who loves to play games with her remaining siblings, makes for a very layered main character who often has to use her high intellect to outsmart her own family member. Even with the death of her serial killing sibling, Isabel, in this book, Raisa is left to connect the dots on a deadly scavenger hunt that Isabel set into motion. I hope there's another Agent Susanto novel coming after this one.

By the Time You Read This will be out on May 27, 2025

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.

"By the Time You Read This" by Brianna Labuskes is a gripping psychological thriller that delves deep into the complexities of human nature and the lengths one will go to uncover the truth. Labuskes masterfully crafts a stellar thriller.

The novel follows the protagonist, Raisa Susanto, as she navigates a web of deceit and danger in her quest to uncover the truth behind a series of mysterious events. Labuskes skillfully builds tension throughout the narrative, creating a sense of urgency that propels the story forward. The pacing is impeccable, with moments of high-stakes action balanced by introspective pauses that allow for character development and reflection.

This story explored themes including trust, betrayal, and the search for identity. Labuskes delves into the psychological depths of her characters, revealing their motivations and vulnerabilities in a way that feels authentic and relatable. The protagonist's journey is both a physical and emotional one, as she grapples with her own inner demons while trying to solve the mystery at hand.

The supporting cast of characters is well-developed, each adding a unique layer to the story. Labuskes excels in creating multi-dimensional characters that feel real and complex, enhancing the overall reading experience. The interactions between characters are dynamic and engaging, adding depth to the narrative.

Labuskes' writing style is sharp and evocative, with a keen eye for detail that brings the story to life. The settings are vividly described, creating a rich and immersive world for the reader to explore. The dialogue is natural and believable, adding to the authenticity of the characters and their interactions.

"By the Time You Read This" is a thrilling and thought-provoking novel that showcases Brianna Labuskes' talent for crafting compelling psychological thrillers. With its intricate plot, well-developed characters, and evocative writing, this book is sure to captivate readers.

Whether you're a fan of the genre or new to Labuskes' work, this novel is a must-read that will leave you eagerly anticipating her next book (personally, I am OBSESSED by this series).

By the Time You Read This by Brianna Labuskes is an electrifying thriller that hooks you from the very first page. The novel masterfully blends psychological intrigue, family dysfunction, and the chilling allure of true crime, delivering a story that feels fresh and utterly gripping.

Raisa Susanto is a compelling protagonist, grappling with the trauma of her serial killer sister's crimes while being drawn into a twisted game even after Isabel’s death. Her dynamic with Callum Kilkenny adds depth, their shared determination and tension creating a fascinating partnership. The supporting cast—especially the eerie true-crime enthusiasts—feels disturbingly real, enhancing the sense of unease.

Labuskes’s plot is a unique maze of past and present horrors, with each twist raising the stakes. The pacing is relentless, and the emotional complexity of Raisa’s struggle with her sister’s legacy makes this more than just a standard thriller.

The only minor drawback is a few moments where the psychological themes could have been explored further, but this hardly detracts from the story's impact. For fans of dark, character-driven mysteries, this is an absolute must-read. (Full Rating: 4.75 stars)