Cover Image: How Can I Help You

How Can I Help You

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

An unremarkable thriller with dual POVs: a woman with a mysterious past and a new-to-town reference librarian. Perfectly fine way to spend your time.

Was this review helpful?

Not at all what I was expecting, but very good! Margo lied on her resume to get a job as a librarian, and she is hiding a big secret. When another librarian, Patricia, joins the team, Margo begins to wonder if her secret has been discovered. A basic plot, but the characters are excellent. It's also filled with plenty of suspense. I couldn't put it down and read this book in one night.

Was this review helpful?

DNF @ 54%. I am just not connecting with "How Can I Help You" by Laura Sims. I was really excited about the prospect of this book, but I am finding myself bored by how slowly paced it is. It started out promisingly enough, and I was compelled by the plot where Margo, who used to be a nurse that killed people, now works in a library. I have a hunch that the most of the book's happenings will occur within the last 15% or so, but I am not really loving where it is going so far because not a whole lot is happening at the moment. It has been a quick read thus far, but I am not really feeling like finishing it because of its dullness.

Thank you to NetGalley, Laura Sims, PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, and G.P. Putnam's Sons for the complimentary ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.

Was this review helpful?

I’m not sure how I feel about this one still. I liked it while I was reading it but I found it very forgettable. I did really like the characters and the story line.

Was this review helpful?

REVIEW: How Can I Help You? ⭐⭐⭐

“Her look makes me feel as if she's turning me over in her hands, inspecting my spine and pages for wear, thumbing my table of contents. Or what she thinks is my table of contents.”
― Laura Sims, How Can I Help You

I was intrigued by this book because it mainly takes place in a library and involves librarians. I thought murderers and librarians, this has to be good.

First, I liked the dual point of view between the main characters, Jane/Margo and Patricia. It really helped to get to know each of them slowly while trying to unravel what each character knows. I especially liked how, in the beginning, there were longer chapters between the characters, and they slowly got shorter and shorter for more of a back-and-forth. It gave the story more urgency towards the end.

I also like the book concept: someone with a dark past hiding as a small-town librarian. It seems like a great way to hide yourself because who would expect anything from a quiet librarian? I feel like it wasn’t executed as well as I was hoping. A lot of the story just needed to go a bit deeper.

I hoped How Can I Help You would investigate Jane/Margo’s motives. The book discusses what she has done, but we don’t understand why. Maybe we could understand her as a character if we had a little more. I also think this book had so much tension built up to a medium-level conflict, and the book ended. I thought there should have been more conflict with all the tension building, and there should have been more to the ending. It just didn’t feel complete.

Overall, I enjoyed the book; I wish it had dove deeper into the characters and the conflict to get a better picture and more understanding. Also, with a stronger ending, the book would feel finished.

Thank you to PENGUIN GROUP Putnam and Netgalley for a free advanced copy for my honest review!

#bookreview #bookrecommendations #bookstagram #books #booklover #bookstagrammer #bookish #bookaddict #booknerd #booksofinstagram #bookaholic #booklove #bookcommunity #igreads #readingbooks #bookishpost #bookcommunity #readersofinstagram #reading #alwaysreading #netgalley #arcread

Was this review helpful?

I think my expectations for this one may have been too high. While I can't say that there is anything that I disliked, I also just didn't love this book either.

Set in a library with an array of quirky patrons, a new library worker sets out to hide who she really is while also trying to forge a new future for herself. The writing was engaging, and the characters were interesting, but the mystery just felt a bit forced in places.

A fun, easy read though that many readers will love.

Was this review helpful?

Everyone likes Margo, the friendly public librarian. No one knows that she used to be a nurse who killed patients. Enter Patricia the reference librarian, who suspects that something is up with Margo.

As a public librarian I usually enjoy books set in libraries but this one was disappointing on multiple fronts. Neither character was likeable, the library setting wasn't played up nearly enough, the storyline was surprisingly boring and much too drawn-out, and there was so much repetition, which made the book feel longer than it was. Not recommended.

Was this review helpful?

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

If you work in a library, you will identify so much with this book: the patrons, the crazy phone calls, the daily tasks.

The concept of this book was interesting. I liked the point of view of the two main characters. I thought it moved at a good pace.

3.5 rounded up

Was this review helpful?

This book was a wild, quick read. I love an unreliable narrator and when you have two?! I had no idea what was true and what was a lie. The ending literally blew my mind.

Was this review helpful?

How Can I Help You by Laura Sims is a thriller about two librarians. One is a former nurse named Margo who may have killed some of her patients, and the other is a writer named Patricia who is suspicious about Margo's different moods. Patricia befriends Margo and starts to put the pieces together regarding Margo's past. This was a quick read, but there weren't any likable characters, so I didn't find it very enjoyable. Thanks to NetGalley for the free digital review copy. All opinions are my own.

Was this review helpful?

3 stars!

I feel like my biggest issue with this book is that there was not a lot of new, riveting content - which is okay not every thriller has to be different - but the inclusion of a dual POV made it feel repetitive as we were constantly rehashing the same things over and over. I was also disappointed because it promised an exciting climax and then I was just let down. The end just didn't satisfy me in the slightest and overall I was bored. A little disappointed but it's okay!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Was this review helpful?

This book did keep me guessing, but I did lose interest and unfortunately did not finish. I believe I just wasn’t in the mood for it at the time and will definitely attempt to read it in the future.

Was this review helpful?

This book is only 256 pages long so it is perfect for a Sunday read. Margo has a secret that she doesn't want anyone to know. Patricia knows that something is up with Margo and is determined to uncover exactly what that is.

This story does take a minute to get rolling. But if you stick with it, you will be done in no time. I would have enjoyed a different type of ending to the story but overall it was a good read.

Was this review helpful?

I’ll be honest and admit that I first picked up How Can I Help You by Laura Sims because the cover intrigued me. How could it not? A flaming library book card is not something you see every day. But as you’ll find out by reading this book, it does have something to do with the story.

This book went in a completely different direction than I expected. The characters were unpredictable. It made for a very interesting story that kept me on the edge of my seat.

Keep reading for my full thoughts on this thrilling novel. And if you enjoy my review, you can read more of my book reviews here.

What Is How Can I Help You By Laura Sims About?
How Can I Help You is the story of Margo, a seemingly happy and helpful librarian. This is her first job at a library and she’s picked it up quite nicely. She gets a joy out of helping the patrons. She also gets along well with the rest of the staff at the library. She even lives close enough to walk to work. It’s the seemingly perfect gig for her.

But Margo has secrets. The things she tells her coworkers aren’t true. Her past isn’t exactly as it seems and she’ll do anything to protect her secrets. So when Patricia joins the library staff as the new reference library and seems similar to someone from Margo’s past, Margo is skeptical of her.

Patricia seems nice at first, but also a little reserved. She takes her job as the new reference librarian very seriously. But after witnessing Margo in an unusual situation with a library patron, Patricia starts taking note of the things that Margo does and says.

It’s nothing serious. Patricia is a writer who has tried many times to get published but has had no success. She gave up writing when she decided to take her position at the library. Any snippets she writes down about Margo are just little thoughts she has here and there.

But as Margo’s behavior gets stranger and stranger, Patricia becomes even more fascinated by her. Who exactly is this woman, and what is she running from?

Who Is Laura Sims?
I was unfamiliar with Laura Sims and so I did a little bit of research about her before I started writing this review. According to her profile on goodreads she is a prolific writer in quite a few genres. You can read more about her here.

The Customer Service Scenes Are SO REAL. And Pretty Funny
I wouldn’t say How Can I Help You is a particularly funny novel, but something that made me chuckle was how realistic all of the customer service scenes.

When Patricia begins working at the library, she isn’t sure what to expect. She figures people will come up to her desk and ask her reference or research questions. But what winds up happening over her first couple of days is that any ridiculous phone call that comes into the library gets transferred to her.

She is not pleased.

That made me laugh because I spent my early and mid twenties working at the front desk of the hotel and you would not believe all of the insane phone calls that we got. It got to the point where you just wanted to say to the caller, do you know how Google works? Because there’s a whole world wide web out there that can give you a better answer to that than I can!

But of course you can’t do that. You have to be polite. I also liked Margo’s scenes with library patrons. Whether she was actually helping people or telling Friday afternoon guy how it is, she always made me chuckle.

Why Is How Can I Help You A Good Thriller Novel?
Personally, I found this to be a really good thriller. I normally prefer to read domestic thrillers but the fact that this one focused on two female coworkers was really interesting to me. Laura Sims created an interesting atmosphere at the library. Combine that with their backstories and I had no idea who I could trust.

Sometimes Margo seemed like the more sane one and other times I sided with Patricia. As the story unraveled little by little and we learned the truth about Margo’s past, I was scared but also really anxious about what was going to happen next.

I enjoyed the fact that Margo and Patricia were both very curious about each other from the beginning, but also suspicious. It felt like every time they took a few steps closer towards friendship, one of them would then take a step back.

I think that’s part of what makes this such an enticing story. I really didn’t know what was going on with some of the characters.

And this is completely not thriller related but I loved the library setting. It reminded me a lot of the public library that I went to when I was growing up. The librarians all had their own personalities and some of them were nicer than others. There were always crowds of people on the public computer causing problems.

In Conclusion
I really enjoyed How Can I Help You by Laura Sims, and it makes me want to check out the rest of their work.

I love books that take place in a literary setting. For instance, I loved The Hating Game because it took place in Publishing. I liked For You and Only You (You book #4) because it was about writers. And How Can I Help You took place in a library, which is another fun book related setting.

If you like thrillers, this is a fun one because it takes place in the work place between two female coworkers. Neither of them is sure about the other one in the beginning. And as their story progresses, their pasts become more clear.

Was this review helpful?

How Can I Help You
By Laura Sims
Review and Rating 3.5 ⭐️

How Can I Help You by Laura Sims is a fun little psychological thriller! There is just something about this book that appeals to me. It could be the setting. A library in a small town. It could be the unlikable main character. A former nurse named Jane, now the mysterious Margo, who is working in said library. It could just be that Margo has secrets she needs to hide and the new librarian Patricia may be onto her.
When a patron winds up dead in a library bathroom the creep factor really cranks up a notch.
Whatever it is, this book will keep you reading right along until the dramatic conclusion.
I can’t wait to read more by Laura Sims.
3.5 ⭐️ rounded up to 4 ⭐️

Thanks to NetGalley PENGUIN GROUP Putnam and for the eARC. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.



Book Rating Key
⭐️ Not Recommended
⭐️⭐️ Readable Book
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Good Book
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Excellent Book
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Near Perfect Book
***Note*** I seldom give ⭐️or ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ratings. If I feel a book is a ⭐️sometimes I just prefer to not finish reading it and not rate it. As for 5 ⭐️books, I think of those as books I would want to take with me to a deserted island 🏝️, and this means I read a whole lot of ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️star books. Happy Reading!

Was this review helpful?

this was a fun, wild read that was deeply unsettling at points. i especially loved Margo's obsession with We Have Always Lived in the Castle (my favorite book). i liked the author's writing style and will be seeking out her other works.

Was this review helpful?

I loved the premise of "How Can I Help You" (a mystery/thriller in a public library?!), but somewhere along the line the plot went off the rails, and had a wildly unbelievable ending--even for the genre.

Was this review helpful?

A super fun, roller coaster of a book where I could not tell where it was going to twist and turn next. It's a slim book, but packs a huge wallop with a super fun and crazy ending.

Was this review helpful?

The writing was good but this book made me feel so uncomfy so I had to DNF. The main character was so messed up so if you like that then you'll probably enjoy this one! Just wasn't my cup of tea!

Was this review helpful?

I enjoyed this book. I really did not like the characters, but I think that may be the point. Overall, this kept my attention and thought it was a unique read.

Was this review helpful?