Book Review: "This Story Might Save Your Life" by Tiffany Crum

We may be only one-quarter of the way into 2026, but I feel pretty confident saying that this is going to be another year of fantastic debut novels! Tiffany Crum’s book, a hybrid mystery/romance, definitely was a great read.

Benny and Joy are best friends and cohosts of a satirical survival podcast. Each episode envisions a somewhat improbable scenario, but inspired by real life—what happens if you get swallowed by a whale, for instance—and they have to brainstorm ways to survive.

The podcast is an enormous hit, thanks to the charm and humor of the hosts and the business strategy of Xander, Joy’s husband. Things are about to get even bigger, as they’re about to sign a lucrative distribution contract and publish a co-written memoir.

But one morning when Benny goes to Joy’s house to finish recording, it appears Joy, Xander, and their dog have disappeared. No one can figure out what happened, and as the police begin to investigate, it appears there are a lot of secrets that were hidden. And soon their attention turns to Benny.

The book shifts between the present and the chapters of the memoir that Joy wrote. Both narratives introduce just as many questions as they do answers.

Although the pacing ebbs and flows, I found this tremendously compelling. I don’t know if I was completely enamored of Joy as a character, but the banter between her and Benny was terrific. (Extra points for the Happy Days angle.) On the whole, I couldn’t put this down and can’t wait to see what Crum does next!

Book Review: "Tell Me What You Did" by Carter Wilson

When you see that two of your friends said that this will be one of their favorite books of the year, you get it as soon as it is released. Now I can see what they mean!!

“See, that’s the thing about trauma. You never get to quit it. You never get to walk away from it and rediscover the innocence and joy you felt just before The Thing happened.”

Poe is the host of a popular true crime podcast, one in which people anonymously confess the crimes they’ve committed. She doesn’t guarantee that these “guests” won’t face arrest or prosecution, but the opportunity to unburden themselves to an unseen audience seems to outweigh any potential downsides.

Her most recent guest seems strangely familiar to her but she cannot seem to place him. Then he makes a shocking claim: he murdered Poe’s mother. Of course, Poe knows that can’t be true, because the man who murdered her mother is already dead. And because Poe killed him.

This man has information that only the real killer would know. Did Poe unknowingly kill an innocent man? And when the alleged murderer demands that Poe record his interview live—and she must confess to her own crime—she starts to wonder what is true and what is a lie.

I’ve said before that I think the whole podcast angle in thrillers has been played out, but it really worked here. This is a story of regret, revenge, fear, guilt, and courage under fire. Carter Wilson had me hooked from the first page and I completely devoured this book. I couldn’t wait to see how everything tied together.

Book Review: "The Lake of Lost Girls" by Katherine Greene

“It’s hard to escape the memory of someone who has become perfect through the very act of remembering them.”

In 1998, Jessica was a freshman at Southern State University in North Carolina. Like many new college students, she was struggling academically and emotionally, and partying a little too much.

The university was rocked by the disappearance of three female students. One evening, when Jessica was home (she lived in the same town as the university) for her younger sister’s 6th birthday, she went out to get the cake from her car, and disappeared. No trace was ever found.

Now, 24 years later, a new true crime podcast starts looking into Jessica’s disappearance as well as those of the three other students. Her sister Lindsey, whose life was forever changed the night her sister went missing, is hoping the new attention to the mystery might finally lead to answers.

When bodies are found at a local lake, Lindsey hopes they may find Jessica’s remains. But the discoveries highlight the ineptitude of the initial investigation, as well as some secrets that might have been better left submerged.

The book is told in dual timelines: by Lindsey in the present day and Jessica in 1998. The pacing was a bit slower than I would’ve liked, although there were some good twists. But I think it’s time to put the true crime podcast story angle to bed for a while. I’ve read at least four mystery/thrillers this year with this gimmick, and IMHO, that’s three too many.

Book Review: "Listen for the Lie" by Amy Tintera

Maybe I needed some time away from reading thrillers to appreciate them, because this month I have read some fantastic ones! Many thanks to Celadon Books for the advance copy of this one!

Several years ago following a wedding, Lucy is found wandering around, covered in blood, and her best friend Savvy is dead. Lucy has no memory of what happened but her family and much of her hometown is convinced that she murdered Savvy. With no way to prove her innocence (or guilt), Lucy heads to Los Angeles to start a new life.

And then her purported involvement in Savvy’s death becomes the topic of a true crime podcast. The host seems pretty convinced of Lucy’s guilt. When she returns home for the first time since the murder, nearly everyone agrees. But when she meets Ben, the handsome (and immensely smug) podcast host, she’s determined to help him find the truth—even if it proves her guilt.

As she struggles to remember what happened that night, she finds that no one has been entirely honest about what they know or what they saw. While painful memories are dredged up, there’s still enough uncertainty for Lucy to wonder if she might really be guilty.

This was such a fantastic book. Lucy is snarky and flawed and amazing, and there are so many times that I really had no idea what the ending would be. You will definitely want to read this!

The book publishes 3/5.

Book Review: "Radio Silence" by Alice Oseman

Alice Oseman's second novel is a poignant story about friendship, loneliness, finding your voice, and rescuing those in need of help.

Frances is determined to study English literature at Cambridge, and everything she does is toward achievement of that goal. She works incredibly hard all the time and rarely has time to spend with friends, not that she really has any. The one person she felt a connection to, Carys, disappeared shortly after the lines of their relationship got a little bit blurry.

The one guilty pleasure she has is listening to her favorite podcast and drawing fan art for it. When she gets to know Carys’ twin brother Aled, she discovers he’s the creator of the podcast. That deepens their relationship, as both are fairly lonely people who are forced to behave in certain ways, and when they’re together they finally feel free to be themselves.

But when the trust between them is shattered, Frances starts to wonder what she truly wants from life and who she wants to be. And as she sees Aled falling further and further into despair, she realizes she has to be brave, to confront all of her own issues and fears, in order to save her friend—and herself.

Radio Silence was a lovely story, one that is full of emotion and that feeling of being seen by a friend for the first time. It’s also a sad book, and there are triggers (abuse, cruelty) that could prove painful to some. I found myself fully immersed in the story and I needed to know what happened.

Oseman is the author and artist behind the amazing Heartstopper graphic novel series which I love so much, but I’ve had a few of her novels on my TBR as well.