Suspenseful and engrossing, I Need You to Read This is a creepy yet satisfying murder mystery. One that tackles difficult subjects while also eliciting nostalgia for newspapers and famous advice columnists. A gripping and intense, yet easy to read and entertaining novel by Jessa Maxwell.
Alex Marks lives in New York City and has a steady but boring job writing copy for a pharmaceutical company. But after her hero, Dear Constance advice columnist Francis Keen, is murdered, she applies for and is hired to take over the weekly column. As she dives into her dream job, she starts receiving threatening letters and noticing the strange behavior of the paper’s editor-in-chief as well as her assistant. As she starts to investigate, she worries what she will find about her heroes and fears her own dark past will finally catch up with her, leading to a deadly outcome much like her predecessor.
The murder mystery on its own is engaging, grabbing your attention and propelling you through this book. But the more intriguing aspect of I Need You to Read This are the themes of mistakes people make, how we avoid moving on from mistakes in a timely manner and therefore let them control our behavior, and that sometimes you need to reinvent yourself to find happiness. This is what gives the characters in this story depth, especially Alex, and has you rooting for a successful outcome.
Additionally, with the book centered around an advice column with the purpose to help people who are struggling, it’s a good reminder that everyone has something going on in their lives and that having empathy for others is a critical skill that we all need to exhibit on a more regular basis to make the world a better place.
A mystery that entertains while also making you think about life. Can’t go wrong with that combo.
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Barrington Books
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