⇢ 5 ★

i am trusting my favorite booktuber, hailey hughes, with book recs for the foreseeable future. my goodness, this book was SO riveting!! what i loved about this thriller is that, while we do have an exciting plot, i'd say that it was more character driven. this is the first thriller that i actually cared for the characters more than the plot. in my opinion, if there ever was a film adaptation, i think yorgos lanthimos, A24, or david fincher would nail it.

ruby simon is thrown into an interrogation room and is informed that she is being accused of four murders, one including her husband, but the truth is... she's only guilty of three, and she KNOWS she did not kill her husband. i had a roller coaster of emotions for the main character, ruby. she is far from perfect, but that somehow makes her ten times more likable. at times you will question her decisions, and others, you will truly feel for her.

the only thing that i wasn't a huge fan of (but i understand why it was a part of the plot) was the unexpected and abrupt animal death. i was under the guise that this would be a fun and mysterious pool read, and there was a set of particular chapters i landed on while at the pool on vacation that really dampened my mood. if animal death, specifically PET death, is something that you are sensitive to, this book is absolutely still worth the read, but please be aware of this before diving into "blood sugar". in fact, it would be wise to check trigger warnings in general for this book, because there is a handful of them. the ones i listed aren't even the exhaustive list.

as someone who is planning to go into a career of psychotherapy, i LOVED the mental health representation and rothchild's portrayal of psychologists. it felt very authentic, which was a breath of fresh air compared to some other thriller books i have read.

if you want an unputdownable, unforgettable thriller that you will devour in no time, get your hands on "blood sugar" asap!!

౨ৎ TRIGGER WARNINGS
✧ murder
✧ drug use
✧ animal death
✧ death of a loved one
✧ grief
✧ sexual assault
✧ chronic illness
✧ child death
✧ racism

5 stars! woww

Ruby is being accused of her late husband's murder. Which is outrageous, because she obviously didn't kill her own husband! But.... She did kill others....

The book runs on two story lines. One is right now, as she is sitting with the detective, being accused. And another, running us through her whole life starting childhood, and her other murders. To top it all, Ruby is a therapist - she prides herself on knowing people and judging them correctly.

I was taken by this incredibly fast-paced novel! It plays it Miami too, making it a great summer read. Ruby is so dang likeable, that the murders of her past feel basically justified. The people she has offed seem like they had it coming. I found myself loving her, and rooting for her, despite everything going on.

HIGHLY recommend!