Release date: May 20, 2025
Publisher: Scarlet Suspense
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Synopsis:
Living a double life always comes with a cost.
A down-on-her-luck waitress at a posh New Jersey country club, Kim Valva couldn’t be living a more different life from the carefree socialites she serves. Her live-in boyfriend recently cheated on her, her social life is in shambles, and her dog needs a life-saving surgery that she can’t afford. Then her luck seems to change when a mysterious figure identifying themself only as The Stranger contacts her with an offer she can’t refuse: Put a pill in the new member’s drink and, when he dies, she’ll have enough money to fix her dog and her life.
Her target turns out to be Tony Fiore—Kim’s bad boy ex-boyfriend from high school. Fifteen years have passed, and he now goes by Anthony Fuller. He’s cleaned up, made tens of millions, and his gorgeous fiancée, twenty-two-year-old PJ Walsh, is on his arm.
PJ had her own agenda from the second she met Anthony. Find him, trick him, marry him, kill him. It was supposed to be easy, but she finds that while living her double life, the lines blur between who she is and who she’s pretending to be.
Stunned to see Tony again, Kim can’t bring herself to go through with spiking his drink. Instead, it is PJ who dies horrifically at the table just as dinner ends. Was someone else at the club—member or worker—tasked with poisoning PJ just as she had been instructed to do to Tony? Who would want both of them dead? With no one to trust and The Stranger to answer to, Kim must peel back the layers of deceit to reveal a deeply buried truth, more shocking than she could ever imagine…
Review:
Despite the over the top premise this was such a fun popcorn thriller! Yes, you have to suspend all the disbelief but for sheer entertainment value? Perfect for a summer poolside read. I loved the drama surrounding the entire plot line here, it was juicy and delicious and kept me flipping the pages. The pacing was fast and furious and the multiple POVs kept me on my toes, I really had no idea which direction things would go and it was a wild ride. If you like addictive and twisty thrillers with drama and intrigue try this, such a fun one!
Overall rating: 4/5
Thanks to the publisher for my review copy.
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