I thought this was going to be a more typical mystery, but there was a lot of focus at the beginning on Maggie's loving family. Maggie lost her mother too young to a disease she knew she might inherit, and this influenced Maggie as she went through life, becoming a lawyer and mayor.
It was deceptive how compelling the story was even during the times the stakes seemed to be low, making it that much more powerful at the end when all the pieces fell into place.
The narrator was amazing, keeping me engaged and not giving anything away. This was such a fun read.
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me listen to this audiobook

If you are expecting a fast paced thriller then you will probably be disappointed. There is a dead body at the very beginning of the book but it seems pretty insignificant at first. Instead Don’t Tell Me How to Die starts out as a beautiful story about family, heartbreak, love and loss. It is a coming of age story and you will cry but you will also laugh, especially at the interactions between Maggie and Lizzie. And, then you will start to understand that you have been tricked into imagining things as you think they should be. The way the story was told was brilliant and I loved listening to every moment of it.

I am going to intentionally be vague about the description. Like other reviewers I agree that the GoodReads blurb gives too much away.

Maggie Dunn’s mother is battling a rare blood disease and has only a short time left to live. Her final request is for her two teenage daughters to protect their grieving father from opportunistic women who might try to take advantage of him. It’s up to the daughters to decide who will be the next Mrs. Dunn. Fast forward 25 years, and Maggie is diagnosed with the same fatal illness that claimed her mother’s life. Now, she faces the challenge of preparing her own children for her impending death.
* The narration is fabulous.
*I wouldnt classify this thriller as much as a mystery/suspense.
*Even though I cried and laughed and cried some more - I would totally recommend it.

The first half is a little slow, but you need to understand it is important to get emotionally attached to everyone. The second half flies by. I would also recommend reading this as a group. You will want to talk to someone as the story progresses.

“‘Cause, baby, now we got bad blood
You know it used to be mad love
So take a look what you've done
'Cause baby, now we got bad blood (hey!)” - Taylor Swift

Let me preface this review by saying that I don’t usually enjoy reading anything that will make me sad or cry. I read ONLY for entertainment. So, I hesitated to request this book considering the fact that most of the early reviewers said that they were balling their eyes out after the first half.

But, two factors drove me to pull the trigger despite never having read Marshall Karp’s books…January LaVoy’s narration and the promise of an earth shattering twist. Can you blame me for wanting to give it a shot?

Maggie Dunn’s mother is dying from a rare blood disease and only has a short time to live. Her dying wish is for her two teenage daughters to watch out for the female predators who will swoop in and take advantage of her grieving husband. THEY must be the ones to choose the next Mrs. Dunn.

25 years later, Maggie is diagnosed with the same fatal blood disease that killed her mother. Now it is her turn to prepare her children for her death.

I am intentionally stopping there with the plot summary in order to avoid spoilers (the Goodreads blurb gives too much away!)

I would classify this book as more of a domestic suspense novel, not a thriller. It takes a very long time to figure out where the plot is going and by the end of the first half I was deeply invested in characters and CRYING. But…I was right about January LaVoy! Her fantastic narration made me want to keep on reading! If I hadn’t been listening to this book I probably would not have finished it.

The second half flew by and despite its predictability, I wound up enjoying the ending.
As a very female character driven novel, I was surprised that it was written by man! Overall, I give the narration 5+ stars and the writing 3.75 stars.

I am intrigued to read more from this author!

4/5 stars

Expected publication date: 3/4/25

Thank you to NetGalley and Blackstone publishing for the ARC of Don’t Tell Me How to Die in exchange for an honest review.

This is a great thriller from the wonderful characters and the author’s dry sense of humor to the absolute best choice for narrator with January LaVoy. The author and voice actor team here are gold.

The story is so original and the wonderfully flawed characters had me completely captivated. Lizzie is simply fantastic. How these characters and the plot came full circle is brilliant and so fun. The twists just kept coming!