Margo, a circulation clerk at Carlyle Public Library loves her new and her new life in small town Illinois. Rarely does she dwell on the life she left behind. But then a new woman, Patricia, arrives into town and she reminds Margo of her past. Back when she was Jolly Jane, a nurse who loved to help people before she had to flee town. Soon the pair become obsessed with one another. 

This was a fun, quick little read. Thought technically this could be classified as a thriller I was surprised by how funny some of the moments were. Margo's interactions with all of her more troubling library patrons (like Friday guy) and even coworkers were hilarious. I thought the writing was great and would love to read more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam for a review copy.

Genre: thriller/suspense 
Format: kindle
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and PRH for this eARC. I’m sorry to say I did not love this one. This felt like a knockoff of Misery mixed with A Novel Obsession by Caitlin Barasch which in my opinion were both better executed. I was thoroughly entertained which is why it earned 3 stars. It was also a quick and easy read. However, the plot felt random and a lot of things were left unexplained. To me, it felt like this author took random thriller tropes and just threw them together. The plot was all over the place and just not believable. I also think that the characters could have been better developed. I would’ve like to have been able to understand or relate more to them. I did not understand the motivations behind their feelings or actions which is very important to me as a reader. I need to know more background and what made the antagonist the way they are. I just needed more from this story.

A killer nurse and an inspiring writer find themselves working at a small town library.  This thriller is a quick page turner.  I loved the characters and never knew what was about to come next.  thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this read.

Margo is on the run from the police.  She has changed her appearance and is living her life on the run just fine.   until Patricia walks into her life.     Patricia starts to dig into Margo's past and uncovers alot about her new friend.   When a patron ends up dead in the bathroom of their workplace Patricia is on high alert.   The unraveling of Margo's past is very interesting worth the wait for the ending!

WOW! I feel like as someone who loves thrillers, it's sort of rare to pick one up that feels really original and unique. How Can I Help You absolutely met that challenge. The entire time I was reading I really had no way to gauge who had the upper hand in this relationship. A killer nurse? Scheming librarians? I was strapped in! And it was an honest ride! I at no point could guess what may come next, and that's the mark of a wonderful thriller. This was beautifully paced and wonderfully shocking until the final moment.

As a librarian myself, and a huge fan of thrillers, of course I was interested in this book! I'm so glad I picked it up, I found myself really enjoying it. I loved the dual narrators, especially when recapping the same events. I don't know that I've read something like that often, but I really enjoyed seeing the same situations from both points of view. I loved how there were really no likable characters throughout, and I appreciated how accurate the author's portrayal of working in a public library is!

How Can I Help You is a short, psychological suspense novel. The author did a really great job of making the reader uneasy with the main character Margo. She’s an unreliable narrator, narcissistic, self-centered and psychotic. The book alternates between the point of view of Margo and the new librarian Patricia. Patricia is intuitive and is on to Margo’s true nature. I felt on edge worrying that Margo would do something to Patricia. I appreciated the fact that the novel was short (under 300 pages). The book’s conclusion was very fast paced and it felt like it ended abruptly. However, it was also nice that the author didn’t drag the novel out past the point of readers potentially losing interest. Please note that the best part of the book was the psychological development of the character Margo not the ending itself. Readers who enjoyed “For Your Own Good” by Samantha Downing and “The Push” by Ashley Audrain will enjoy this novel.

This review was posted on Instagram and Threads as well.

A former killer nurse and a jaded writer have both left their pasts behind to work at a public library- or have they? This book is an interesting character study featuring two deeply unsettling characters dialed into a cat and mouse game neither realizes is going on. 

Pros: I work at a public library, so I really enjoyed the setting of this book. I read that the author works as a reference librarian, and it’s clear that she drew on personal experience and insider knowledge, which was really cool. She really nailed the rewarding, yet bang-your-head-against-the-wall frustration that comes with working in a public library, which was sometimes validating and sometimes hit way too close to home, lol. I also thought the writing was super accessible and the pacing was solid throughout.

Cons: Something that’s a bit frustrating to me as a reader is when a book’s summary gives too much away. I wish the summary was a bit more vague; having certain pieces of information sprinkled in as reveals would have made things much more compelling rather than just learning the details and how things tie up. The ending of the book really pops the fuck off, but unfortunately I was a little bit bored by the time I got there. My interest was waning instead of keeping me on the edge of my seat. 

Overall this was an easy read that I liked fine. But you’re an avid thriller/horror reader, I don’t know that it will do anything special for you past being something fun and easy to read.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in an exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a review copy of this book. 

I was immediately hooked and felt unsettled by our main character Margo. She was a nurse but she left that profession behind, changed her identity and her job and is now working at a library. She is very sinister and an unreliable narrator. It is fascinating to read from her perspective as it gives you  a peek into a serial killers mind. 
Then we have a co-worker, Patricia who set Margo off. Patricia is a failed writer and is working at the library as a backup job. She begins to notice odd behavior from Margo and the spark to write is reignited. The two are circling around each other trying to keep their secrets. 
They are both very interesting characters to read about. It is a very short and quick read. If you are looking for an entertaining suspense novel, this one might just fit the bill.

Heart pounding thriller that left me on the edge of my seat. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one.  Definitely one of the best books this year.

Unfortunately this one wasn't for me. Characters fell flat, the story was repetitive and the climax was too abrupt.

A perfect psychological suspense novel that drew me in from page one, especially since a library plays a large part- what book love wouldn't like that? A fast read that kept me reading as fast as I could until the very end.

I was initially drawn to this book because of the cover. I am a librarian, and I thought the image of the library card going up in flames was intriguing. I loved the library setting and the descriptions of the various patrons. I also like the allusions to Margo's mysterious past and how the narration switched back and forth between Margo and Patricia, allowing the reader to glimpse events from both characters' perspectives. The ending was unexpected, and the story kept my interest the entire time. Definitely recommend.

This book wasn't my cup of tea. The plot was incredibly slow, focusing so much on the goings on at the library, mixed with Margo's creepy thoughts. It felt like not much was happening throughout the book, and the chapters were so long, I kept losing interest. The characters were really hard to understand or relate to as well, so I didn't really care what happened to either one.  The story picked up towards the end slightly, but it really wasn't enough to save the rating for me.

How Can I Help You is a dark and mysterious cat and mouse psychological suspense novel. Margo is hiding who she really is and her past from her fellow library co-workers. When newly hired Patricia is brought on board, she can sense there is something odd about Margo.  Her obsession into who Margo really is leads to an explosive ending. The pace of the novel kept me engaged and intrigued. Told between the alternating point of views of Margo and Patricia the author does a great job of putting the reader inside each of the characters minds and giving them an individuality that comes across on the page. Neither character is likable but that is okay in this setting, although it made it tough to root for one or the other. I was still interested in finishing the novel to learn the fate of the characters. At a bit over 250 pages this is a quick read, and one that is easy enough to speed through. I would have liked to have a bit more suspense and friction between the characters, most of the action took place in the thoughts of the characters, making for a good psychological experience. Overall, a good novel. 

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for offering an advanced complementary digital copy for me to review. All opinions are my own.

Sometimes my desire to know nothing about a book going into it really isn't my best practice. I saw library theme, decided based on nothing that is was prob lit fic and jumped in. Spoiler alert, it is not! It's horror/creepy and while I did end up enjoying it, it was not exactly what I decided it was going to be. Definitely if you enjoy creepy books that make your skin crawl, this is the book for you! Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

This story will appeal to a very specific audience. We try to find books with mass appeal so it's not a good fit for our libraries. I personally stopped at 9%. It's very readable, but I found the amount of inner monologue tiring personally.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin for the ARC.

The premise for this book was very interesting - I even found the eerily complicated and intriguing character of Margot/Jane appealing. But the ending fell flat and short. With how creepy Margot was, I wished the author did more with that especially with how the book resolved. Again, it ended too short. Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced reader's copy!

Dueling narrators are the driving force of Laura Sims's HOW CAN I HELP YOU. They're equally compelling & propulsive, rocketing the narrative forward at a relentless pace. We leap between two perspectives - Margo & Patricia, local librarians - back & forth, back & forth. This not only makes for an engrossing read but it infuses the pages, already growing with obsession, with a paranoia so thick you can't shake it even after reaching the back cover.

Laura Sims has done it again. After having loved her debut, Looker, I was eager to get my hands on her latest release and she did not disappoint.

Margo is a circulation clerk at the Carlyle Public Library. She loves her job and more importantly loves helping people. She enjoys her quiet life and daily routines until a new reference librarian is hired. Patricia is young, pretty, and stylish - all things Margo wishes to be. She's also intuitive so when Margo asks her out for a coffee and informs her that she used to be a nurse that left abruptly due to an investigation, of which she insists she wasn't guilty of, Patricia's mind starts simmering with curiosity of why this straight laced librarian would make such a career switch so late in life.

What Margo doesn't realize is that Patricia is a failed writer. Her first novel was rejected from every publisher which promptly ended her dream but Margo has sparked something in Patricia and with a little research she finds out just who Margo really is. Now the words are simply pouring out of her while she writes notes frantically on the page. This book could be it. The one to catapult her stardom.

Margo suspects Patricia. Patricia suspects Margo. Who will prevail the victor in this game of cat and mouse? You'll need to read this to find out!

What a gem of a book. I was hooked on every word. Laura Sims fleshed these characters out perfectly and I assure you that you won't be looking at your local librarian the same way again. The ending is what did though, what sealed the deal - I officially love this author! 4 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for my complimentary copy.