Review: I Need You to Read This
3/5 stars
I Need You to Read This, by Jessa Maxwell (2024)
TW: Domestic Abuse
The Golden Spoon was very fun, so I decided to try another one of Maxwell's murder mysteries! I Need You to Read This is a more of a thriller with some darker themes than that one, but the writing is just as engaging.
Alex Mark has moved to NYC to get away from her past. She works as a copywriter in pharmaceuticals, and keeps mostly to herself, with the exception of two people at the diner she frequents - the brash but lovable waitress, Janice, and a grumpy but kind-hearted retired detective, Ray.
When Alex learns that her favorite advice columnist, Francis Keen, has been murdered, she decides on a whim to apply for the position, shocking herself as much as anyone else. She is offered the job of writing the "Dear Constance" colum, and starts in immediately reading hundreds of emails and hand-written letters, trying to find the perfect one to respond to. As she dives into these strangers' lives, she finds something else - threatening letters that may have been for Francis, or could be targetting her.
With the help of Janice, Ray, her assistant Lucy, and a man she meets at a bodega, she starts her own investigation into Francis' murder. Along the way she has to face her own troubled past, which seems to be catching up with her.
I did think the reveals were a bit too predictable, and a bit too convenient. But it was a good, twisty plot with well developed characters (Janice and Ray are especially entertaining).
UP NEXT: The Last Bookstore on Earth, by Lily Braun-Arnold
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