5.0/5.0⭐

Mark your calendars for January 2025 because this is an absolute gem of a thriller that you won't want to miss. If you enjoyed Netflix’s "Worst Roommate Ever," this book will be right up your alley.

Meg Russo’s story is one of resilience and courage. After the heartbreaking loss of her husband, she and her college-aged daughter are determined to rebuild their lives and their family bookstore. But when unsettling threats from a group of unhinged conspiracy theorists—who believe a book predicted COVID-19 and that Meg’s musician father worshiped the devil—start to chip away at their sense of safety, the tension skyrockets. As the pressure mounts, these two strong women must dig deep, confront their fears, and uncover the truth before it’s too late.

I’ll admit, the first chapter had me bracing for a typical hormonal-middle-aged-woman-in-crisis-whose-kids-hate-her story or a confusing multi-timeline plot, but I was pleasantly surprised. The narrative stays focused and engaging.

It reminded me of my college days when I was assigned a persuasive paper on an off-the-wall conspiracy theory and chose the one about Paul McCartney being replaced after a car accident. The book perfectly captures that fringe backward logic and wild speculation, like people playing records backward and seeing clues that aren’t really there. And set in a post-COVID world, with Facebook and Reddit fueling rapid misinformation, it feels more relevant than ever.

If you consider yourself a light conspiracy theorist, you’ll likely find this book intriguing without feeling offended or put off. The characters each fall somewhere on a spectrum of skepticism. However, if you’re very sensitive to themes of mental illness, particularly schizophrenia, this might not be the right fit for you, though it’s not overly dark or scary. I’d also note minor trigger warnings for antisemitism, illness, car crashes, and loss of a parent.

This would make an excellent, quick book club read, opening up rich conversations about the spread of misinformation, the spiral of delusion, and how wild theories—amplified by the anonymity of the internet—can take root and lead to real-world harm.

Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for the advanced copy.