I read this book quickly and felt that it moved at a fast pace overall, but it fell a little flat for me. The story centers primarily on Joni, who runs a production company with her daughter Chris and best friend Val. Joni has gotten away from suspicions that she killed her husband 5 years ago and is just living her life when her estranged brother Marc shows up and she worries he has an ulterior motive.

There are some pretty major events here (Marc's arrival and subsequent disappearance, the dognapping of Joni's beloved dog, the fact that Marc might be leading a double life, etc.) but those tended to get buried in day to day miniate and Joni's internal dialogue. I felt like really huge things were not taken all that seriously in some cases, while smaller things seemed like they got more attention. The whole dynamic between Joni and Blair (and even Val, at times) didn't seem real I found myself questioning the depth of some of these characters. Overall, I enjoyed the plot twists but wish that there had been more detail attached to some of them rather than staying surface level. I thought the ending fit the rest of the book, though there was no major event that tied everything together.

Overall, this was an OK read but there were a few things that caused it to fall a bit flat. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I’m one of those readers *obsessed* with writing style. The way an author crafts sentences can truly make or break a book, period. Some authors overdo it, but I loved Katia Lief’s writing - it’s simple, straightforward, yet brilliant and eloquent. Plus, she’s witty and insightful in her portrayal of a woman’s struggle versus the male specifies. For example:

<i>“When men did their thinking with their penises and women felt empowered by that, the women usually lost when things went off the rails. In the end, men still held most of the power. When they got sick of those women, they still tossed them out like garbage and society still snapped on the lid.”</i>

<i>“After all that, how much had society really changed? Had history just looped in on itself? Was it back to the inevitable ending for women: be quiet or be destroyed?”</i> (Facts.)

Plot-wise though, I struggled. A lot. There were just so. many. plots and subplots that I got lost in; my focus was being pulled everywhere and nowhere at the same time. And let me get into that:

(i) We’re introduced to Joni, who might’ve killed her husband - main plot potential, right?! But it got overshadowed by other plot threads.

(ii) Then Marc shows up (the sleazy brother from the synopsis), hinting at family drama. One would think, “OOOH, it’s starting to get juicy here!” But it didn't quite deliver on its promise.

(iii) And then, we get Marc’s 2nd ex-wife who accuses him of fraud and murder [of his first ex-wife]. (GASP!) (THIS in particular - not only was it unresolved, but it felt [to me] disconnected from the main storyline and contributed almost nothing to it. (Although at this point, I didn’t even know what the main storyline was.)

(iii) And if that wasn’t enough, Marc then pulled a Houdini on Joni and kidnapped Stella, Joni’s beloved dog. (DOUBLE GASP!). It added to the chaos rather than contributing to a cohesive plot. I just… really didn’t get it.

(iv) Oh you thought that was it? No. Because here’s more. When Blair, Joni’s PA, supposedly became unreachable, I was FUMING because instead of pointlessly asking everyone where she was, couldn’t Joni or anyone for that matter just GO to Blair’s apartment to check?? It was these kinds of moments that left me frustrated and questioning the narrative's direction.

Thats not it, by the way. So when I tell you my attention was going everywhere and nowhere, I wasn’t joking.

On top of alllllllllllll that, what bothered me as well was the lack of reaction and urgency from the FMCs that didn’t quite match what was happening and it ended up falling incredibly flat. Everyone was just going through the motions, even when things were getting intense. As someone who loves thrillers, I was disappointed by the lack of it.

Furthermore, the loose ends REALLY bugged me. I mean, for example, what happened to Billy the doorman? And Blair!? Because her disappearance in particular was just left hanging. It was frustrating to be left with sooo many unanswered questions 😭

In the end, the great writing style and tone just weren't enough to make up for the massive drama-filled plot and underwhelming ending. Sigh.

***

Many thanks to NetGalley, Morgan Entrekin (Publisher of Grove Atlantic), and the Grove Atlantic team for allowing me to read and review this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book didn't quite work for me, the premise was interesting and there were interesting questions raised, nature vs nurture among others. A woman who is denial for years about her husband predatory ways, kills him, her friend suspects and then she is forced to question who her brother is. A lot of it was internal and a little flat to me, it moved faster towards the end but it never felt believable

This is a slow moving book for the most part and I dont think my students will like that. It deals with a lot of very serious topics but not in a way that felt serious, felt more matter of a fact, so not a book to recommend to them

Joni Ackerman runs a production company with her daughter Chris and her best friend Val. She lives a normal looking life after the tragic death of her husband Paul, who had just been outed as a perpetrator of a Me Too-esque pattern of abuse. However he didn’t just die, he was killed by drinking antifreeze, a murder orchestrated by Joni herself.

Joni’s life is further complicated when her sketchy younger brother Marc shows up unannounced at her house needing a place to crash. She unenthusiastically agrees but is pleasantly surprised when he turns out to be an amenable houseguest, bonding with Chris and taking a shine to Joni, dog Stella. Marc even agrees to watch Stella while Joni and Chris head out on a business trip. Things quickly go south when Val gets contacted by Marc’s current wife, an entity completely unknown to Joni, Val and Chris. Marc flees the house taking Stella with him and the situation devolves into a manhunt to track down Marc, who is revealed to be a conman and possible murderer.

I really enjoyed this book. Not only is it the story of chasing down Joni’s criminal brother, but one about the deeply conflicted friendship shared between Joni and Val. Though different from many other thrillers, focusing mainly on the hunt for Marc, and tracking down Joni’s beloved dog, I still enjoyed the plot and the elegantly penned language throughout. 4.25 stars for this complex, compelling thriller.

I received this advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review and feedback.

“Joni was dangerous; she came from dangerous people.”

Katia Lief’s tortured protagonist, the acclaimed director Joni Ackerman, returns in this follow-up to Invisible Woman. After fleeing media scrutiny over the suspicious death of her philandering, sexual predator husband Paul, Joni spends five years getting sober and building a budding, women-empowered production company. Though plagued by guilt and confusion about Paul’s shocking demise, everything seems to be going well for her and the women around her: Val, her best friend; Chris, her daughter and co-worker; and Blair, her trusted assistant. But it all goes pear-shaped when her brother Marc shows up on her Los Angeles doorstep with his meager belongings, looking for a place to crash.

Marc has never had a real job, just bounced around life trying to live off the quarter-mil inheritance after their parents’ death through a bunch of failed get-rich-quick schemes. He was a cruel kid but a charming feller as a young adult, charming enough to ingratiate himself to a few ex-wives, one of whom met an early end. Joni’s cautious, but in the first weeks of his stay, he seems to have changed: he’s pleasant, fun, and wonderful with her beloved dog, Stella.

But another twist happens when Marc’s last ex, a New Jersey woman named Louisa, contacts Joni, desperate to know his whereabouts, claiming terrible misdeeds that fall in line with his checkered past. Joni’s torn: does she turn him in, or serve as a family buffer? Then, while she’s deciding…he vanishes. Worse, he takes Stella.

These are two sharp, inventive, and fascinating plot points. Just having an interloper, a suspicious character with a questionable past, enter the stage is one thing. But let’s consider an underlying theme to these books: #metoo. Paul was a great villain: he built his Hollywood success on abusing women and getting away with it – for a time. Marc fits the bill as well: he’ll sneak into your life with a smile, but it won’t be long before his true colors emerge. Lief does a great job describing him, giving us a slow reveal of what a misogynist, abusive dirtbag he is. As the crescendo builds he becomes more and more dangerous. It reminded me of those creepy 90s movies with a shady killer you just can’t nail down.

But even better is the turmoil going on inside Joni’s head. I’m not one for internal monologue, but her questioning her self-image, as beautifully summarized in the quote above, is detailed with style and tension. Joni hated Paul and is relieved that he’s gone, but do her actions or her motive make her just as much a psycho as Marc? Does murder run in the family? Is Joni dangerous?

How it plays out can, as psychological thrillers often do, require some patience from the reader expecting non-stop action. Joni isn’t parkour-ing off buildings or sword-fighting a Yakuza boss. Instead, there’s a good deal of coffee-drinking, staring at the New York skyline, and hardcore brooding. But the brooding is first-rate, full of self-doubt, shame, anger, and all the motive-questioning for which Lief is getting to be known.

I don’t often like perspective shifts, but the occasional change to Val works very well. She loves Joni but there’s a small chasm between them. There seems to be a small part of Val’s conscience that wants to turn Joni into the police, an internal conflict that produces a “will-she-won’t-she” side quest that’s woven into the larger story exceptionally well. Hearing from her and Joni together supports that empowering women vibe that Lief seems to champion in her work.

And the ending, the climax, is really strong. If you’re smarter than me (and there’s a better-than-average chance you are), you saw it coming. But still, the tension and violence make it worth the price of admission. It smacks, again, of those 80s and 90s movies wherein the underdog confronts the villain, but it delivers the shock lying underneath all that mental chaos. The circumstances are suspect and drag all the women (the “Women Like Us,” if you will) into the murderous mire. And the door’s wide open for a tasteful, exciting sequel much in the same style with an outcome very much in doubt.

A nice note: revitalized 21st Century Brooklyn takes center stage, with all its interesting neighborhoods and cultural and culinary offerings. She employs the borough’s features in the same vein as the great Paul Auster. Truly a setting worthy of Kings. (See what I did there? Ha-cha-cha!)

Tantalizing, frightening, and loaded with palpable tension, Brooklyn’s own Katia Lief delivers once again in the psychological thriller genre.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publishers for this eARC!!

For me, this was more character driven than it was plot driven, but by no means is that a bad thing!! This was such a good read and I found it very eye opening and enjoyable!!

This one was a tough one to review. To start, the characters were AMAZINGLY written - lots of background and detail, great development, and I had very strong likes and dislikes toward them. That being said, it felt more like a biography than a thriller. I liked the premise and the character relationships, but there were a lot of times I had a difficult time staying engaged - but then everything picked up dramatically at 80% and I couldn't put it down? I hesitate to say I didn't like this one because there were so many well-executed elements in this story, they just didn't have the flow I usually look for. While this one missed the mark for me, I think Lief has a lot of potential and I'll look forward to what else she comes out with! Thanks for the ARC!

Joni Ackerman killed her husband. And now she’s left to wonder how to she was able to commit such a heinous act and simply move on with her life. When her brother resurfaces after a decades-long separation, she’s forced to confront the fact that violence may be genetic.

This book dragged for the first 75%. It was very much a character study, rather than a psychological thriller. That is generally not my style, but I can enjoy it if the writing draws you in. This one did not draw me in until the last 25%.

I think that this book is definitely going to be more enjoyable for people who enjoy character driven books over plot driven books, but the writing style still leaves a bit to be desired. With some editing, the flow could be greatly improved and make the characters and their introspections much more interesting.

CW: descriptions of violence, animal abuse, mentions of child abuse

This was such a wild ride! It definitely feels very “Gone Girl”. It also reminded me a lot of Dirty John, I think it would make a very good tv series or movie! Joni is passionate, intelligent, and (at times) a bit unlikable, but somehow I still found myself rooting for her. Val is my favorite character, though, I think. She was very real, very flawed. Supportive, yet everyone has a breaking point (or do they?). Fans of Gone Girl, You, shows like that will love this!

It gives me the same vibe as the series "Dead to me" with Applegate and Cardellini. The crime is only 10% of the story - the rest is just living with it and living with yourself. If you enjoyed that, then I might recommend this.

It's a book that defies genre, adding character study with thriller elements. I want to describe it as "thriller realism." Because thrillers often have a faster pace, and a more mystery element to it, while this book is slower in pace and we're given the crime up front - Joni killed her husband. And while she's gotten away with it and is now running the company he started, her life get's turned around again when her estranged brother suddenly shows up.

We examine female relationships, with Joni, her best friend Val, her assistant Blair, her brothers ex-wife louisa and her daughter Chris.
Her daughter Chris also raises the question of genetics and generational trauma.

My favorite scene was one where Val preps Joni for a meeting where she has to lie and she’s nervous. They do role playing, and it's both funny and exciting. And the relationship between them, as they try to get through the trials thrown at them and still remain friends. Their friendship, the things that pushed them apart and kept them together were the most interesting to me. Especially since Val is happily married and Joni killed her husband. It creates an imbalance that they try very hard to deal with.

In real life, I don't think their friendship would have survived. Or maybe it would, since Joni is loaded; rich people get away with things poor people just don't. Which is also demonstrated in this story.

I honestly thought this was a debut because a few things just felt a bit out of place. Like some vocabulary and using of the simile "Marc rose to his feet like a balloon man pumped with air" in the fight scene where he is killed. I laughed during the most pivotal scene because of this comparison. And I don't think it was supposed to be funny.

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!

3 stars.

Joni Ackerman killed her husbaned, Paul and now she and her daughter, Chris run the production company he founded. But Paul Lovett needed killin’ (think Bill Cosby.) Everyone believes he killed himself after his secrets became public; only Joni knows the truth.

Out of the blue Joni’s brother Marc shows up to Joni and Chris’s home in Malibu. The two haven’t had contact in years. Marc was a bully when they were younger but he seems to have changed for the better.

Also involved in the tale are Joni’s best friend Val, who was one of Paul’s victims and wrote a book about it. She now works for the production company. There’s also Val’s husband, Russ, Joni’s longtime assistant, Blair, newly hired editor, Frank and a sweet, sweet dog who is only good to everyone (of course.) Joni is beginning to worry she might be a psychopath. Don’t we all, Joni, don’t we all?

So, as you can see from my half-assed description, characters play a large part in this book, but there’s only a small bit of story holding the whole thing together. How much am I supposed to care about all this? I swear the dog is only included to give you someone to root for. It’s not a bad book at all, in that the characterizations are good, there’s just not loads going on.

A really interesting and engaging read, asking the question does psychopath run in families. beautifully executed against a backdrop of strongly written, complex female characters and a deep understanding of female friendship. It had real depth to it, very enjoyable.

Part literary fiction, part general fiction, part thriller, this novel is hard to pigeon hole into just one genre. The plot is as much about these women's relationships with each other as it is about Marc, Joni's manipulative and cruel brother. Many moving parts, so well executed.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this novel.

I really liked this book! It was real and I loved the themes of womanhood, friendship, adult relationships, and gender norms. It was so good and it was eye opening and informative while also being funny and enjoyable.

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

#WomenLikeUs #NetGalley is a fantastic book that really had me captivated from the beginning.
The characters in this book are amazing and I read the book in one day, it was that good.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for selecting me to read an advanced copy of this book.

Women Like Us revisits the question if one person in a family is a psychopath, will there be a close relative with the same diagnosis. We are immediately told that Joni killed her husband years ago and got away with it. Joni now channels her aggressiveness and runs a highly successful production company, begun by her husband. This book is also about the power of relationships and friendships between women. Joni, her grown daughter Chris, and best friend Val are closely intertwined in the business and in everyday life. When Joni’s brother Marc shows up unexpectedly, his reappearance rocks the foundation of Joni’s life and all she has carefully built. Has he changed? This is a very clever book, humorous at times, with fully developed and interesting characters. The story is quickly engaging and the plot moves along seamlessly. I really enjoyed it.

Women Like Us by Katia Lief was the latest read I’ve finished. It was an enjoyable book that I recommend to fiction readers.

Great book. Enjoyed the story and the characters. One untied up part that I would like to know more about, but thoroughly enjoyable.