If I could have read the first 100 or so pages and the last 50 alone, this book might have been a 5 star read. I was pulled in and intrigued from the start. Ruby Simon is a vigilante of justice, starting at the remarkable and unbelievable age of 5. The premise of the plot gives away the basics: Ruby has killed 3 people, but is accused of killing her husband. It's her proximity to the other 3, in addition to an unintentional enemy related to her husband who casts a suspicious light on her by the Miami police. Part of what works is Ruby's 1st person narration and candor. Certain details are left out on purpose to draw up some suspense. Unfortunately, Ruby describing her life after getting into Yale and meeting her husband Jason is kind of dull. Every person Ruby met will either support or judge her. What's unfathomable is that the police detective would have any reason to suspect foul play in an open and shut case. The cause of death by the coroner was quite clear, but despite this, circumstantial evidence is brought out to ruin Ruby's reputation and solid practice as a successful psychologist in Miami.

What works in the book is when the author SHOWS less than the middle part that TELLS, which dragged. I can see more impatient readers dnf the book. I was satisfied by the who & why of Ruby's "victims" and finally we have a smart, veering on mostly likeable main character. Our every day impulses might get tested but most of us wouldn't actually follow them into action. It makes me admire Ruby, in a way. Everything she did was well thought out and calculating, even at the age of 5. Which is somewhat difficult to believe, that any parent would let their 5 year old swim in the ocean alone. But Ruby has the foresight to swim away before appearing to take air. The implied malice with one of her other victims was so clever and careful. It shows that the thorough study of humans can be a quite useful skill to possess as well as blending into the background and snooping on conversations.

TW for animals suffering (not at the hands of the narrator), sexual assault attempt, death from diabetes

Excellent story. Told in the first person. If I tell anything, it will give the story away! Just read it!

Book Review

A bit of a slow burn thriller, but a very good read. Gave me a bit of a Dexter vibe.

Never mind that Ruby is a murderess. She just isn't guilty of THIS murder in question. She's an animal-loving therapist capable of feeling empathy, having long-lasting friendships and adoring her husband. When readers first meet Ruby, she is being accused of murdering her husband. Ironically, this is one murder she did not commit.

The narration in Blood Sugar alternates between Ruby being interrogated at the police station and her memories of past crimes. It is meant for readers to like Ruby and even sympathize with her being wrongly accused. A great debut thriller idea but it just fell short.

Stories are not complete without three (3) parts: beginning, middle and end. A perfect novel has a perfect balance of these key parts. Unfortunately in Blood Sugar, that balance was off. I appreciate a good backstory but geez. It should not take damn near half the novel (~ 40%) to get to the victim in question. By the end of the novel, I lost interest and still found the main character extremely unlikable. I recommend bookhearts skip this one.

Happy Early Pub Day, Sascha Rothchild! Blood Sugar will be available Tuesday, April 19.

~LiteraryMarie

A very fun read! I loved how I disliked the protagonist initially and then was completely rooting for her.

"I could just

Ruby is the most likeable murderer you'll ever meet.

Despite her thriving therapy practice, successful
relationships, and charity work, she's killed three
people in her lifetime (for good reason; she'll tell you all
about it). When we first meet her, she's in an
interrogation room being grilled as the prime suspect in
her husband's untimely death. The only issue? She
didn't do it this time. But as she faces a police force
armed with suspicion about her previous three kills
a vindictive mother-in-law, and a guilty verdict in
the salacious court of public opinion, Ruby quickly
realizes the deck is stacked against her. Told from her
enigmatic, sardonic, charming point of view, Ruby
makes the perfect narrator.

There are twisty thrillers and there are holy moly twist thrillers! This is definitely the latter. Let me say, that if you think our altruistic MC is seemingly the least likely person to be a murderer, you’d be wrong.

An avid true crime watcher, this book sent chills because it demonstrates the extent to which devious people can masquerade as good-natured neighbors, committing heinous acts undetected.

Our MC, Ruby, was so witty and likable, even as we traveled her mind to her violence—I still rationalized that she seemed kinda cool.

This book lives up to the thriller label. I couldn’t stop reading and I’ve been turning it over and over in my mind since I finished it.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC. It was masterful!

This was an OK, kind of dark and kind of fun thriller. It’s not a spoiler to say the narrator is an antihero; she’s a psychologist who is also a serial killer. I found it kind of annoying that Ruby seems to be very insightful, except when it comes to her crimes. She is constantly beating it into the reader that it was OK for her to commit her crimes because these were bad people doing bad things and someone needed to stop them. Never does she consider the impact it may have on those around the victims, their families, friends, loved ones. It makes her seem truly cold and not half as smart as she thinks she is. I was hoping she’d get caught.