I loved this! I was not expecting my a book set in a newspaper office to be so compelling and suspenseful, but Maxwell has done an excellent job here. This is a great suspense/mystery if you don’t want to go too dark, but still like surprising twists and turns.

From start to finish, I thoroughly enjoyed this mystery suspense thriller. I found the plot, the setting, and past letters to Dear Constance, an advice column in the newspaper interesting enough that I wanted to know how it all ended. While it was predictable, it didn't take away from my enjoyment of seeing how it all unraveled. I will note that the characters were all one dimensional, but I enjoyed the parts where it came together for our FMC that added some depth to the story.

I Need You To Read This is the second book by Jessa Maxwell and it's just as good! | loved The Golden Spoon, so when I saw she released this book I was so excited to read it!
I Need You to Read This is a quick, twisty thriller. I felt instantly connected to the main character, Alex. If you haven't read either of Jessa Maxwell's books yet, this is your sign to pick on up! I Need You To Read This was just released this month and you don't want to miss it!

this page turner is a must read! Alex has a past she wants to keep hidden. She gets a new job that the former holder was murdered. she becomes ensnared into trying to find who committed the murder. Lots of twists and turns, mayhem and unpredictable outcomes! I loved this book so much!

Not my favorite. I’m used to a thriller main character making stupid decisions but this girl was a new level of dumb-dumb. I knew where this book was going pretty early on and so it just felt like a slow march to an ending I wasn’t going to like. Interesting concept for a thriller, not well executed.

TW: Domestic Violence

I was interested in this book after Jessa Maxwell's cozy murder mystery: The Golden Spoon (picture if British Bake Off had murdered someone!). I definitely think this is a fun thriller that will keep you guessing until the end but that being said, the book's plot wasn't particularly strong. It felt like some of the characters were obvious red harrings from the beginning and I wish the side characters were slightly more fleshed out. But the story of a advice columnist being murdered and her replacement running from a dark past was very intriguing premise.

This was a solid mystery, with some decent twists and turns, but overall this one felt a little slow for me. I felt like I was able to guess everything pretty quickly (or at least who was not to be trusted) and I was frustrated that the main character took longer to catch on, so the plot dragged a bit. However, I did love the NYC newspaper setting, and the found family that supported Alex, and loved the message about starting fresh.

This one is a slow burn to start with, but it definitely cranks up to thriller status! Alex has been hired as a replacement for Frances, a beloved advice columnist who was murdered at her beach house. The entire book swirls around Who Murdered Frances? And What Happened that Caused Alex to Leave Her Hometown?

I really enjoyed this one a lot more than The Golden Spoon. The characters are 3-dimensional, and the author nicely keeps a plot twist hidden until close to the end. The two suspenseful issues are also not fully revealed before the climax.

I look forward to the next one from this author!

Four lovely stars!

When the writer of the popular advice column Dear Constance is murdered, Alex decides on a whim to apply for the job. She never expected to actually get the job. On her first day, she is immediately overwhelmed with letters and soon discovers office secrets. I suggest going in knowing nothing more than that.

I Need You to Read This by Jesse Maxwell had so much potential. Normally I love books that immediately start with a murder. But in this case, the opening chapter was the most interesting thing to happen in the book until 76% of the way through.

The story was extremely predictable. When I read a thriller, I want to be shocked. I want my jaw to literally drop. There was absolutely zero of that happening with this book. I figured out all except one twist. And it just wasn’t enough to redeem the book for me.

Overall I rate the book 3 stars. It sort of fell flat for me and we just ok. Thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for the gifted eARC.

Alex Marks was hoping to get a fresh start in New York. She has a troubled past that no one knows about. She mostly keeps to herself besides 2 friends she's made at a diner near her. She has a WFH copywriting job, but once she finds out that her childhood hero, Francis Keen has died, she applies for her job as an advice columnist.

She gets the job, but feels uneasy because Francis' killer has never been found. Her boss, Howard Dimitri, makes her uneasy.

She is finally starting to make decent money and starts dating a new guy, Tom.

But her past finally catches up to her. I previously read the authors other book, The Golden Spoon and knew I would enjoy this one. She really made you feel for Alex, and she was a reliable narrator.

3.5 Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed this book, which was an engaging but not particularly memorable psychological thriller. Like others in the genre, it requires the suspension of disbelief.

Jesse Maxwell's "I Need You to Read This" is a fun, easy read. I could not put this book down.
I enjoyed following FMC who takes on a new job as the Dear Constance writer in a newspaper after the former writer was brutally murdered. I really liked the advice column inclusions.
Overall the story was well-executed.
Thank you to Jessa Maxwell, Atria Books and NetGalley for the ARC.

Having enjoyed Jessa Maxwell's "The Golden Spoon," I was excited to give "I Need You to Read This" a try — and I was pleasantly surprised to find that she's taken it up a notch with this book! Essentially a cozy amateur detective story, "I Need You to Read This" has a darker, grittier side to it that flirted close to being a thriller. I felt this edge gave the novel a more relatable feel compared to her previous book. While the pacing of this was quite slow and best suited to those with lots of patience, it's a good choice for readers who are just wanting to dip their toes into gentle thrillers. The twists were a bit over the top but nonetheless enjoyable. Thank you to Jessa Maxwell, Atria Books, and NetGalley for providing an advance copy for my honest review.

Dark and twisty literary urban gothic, with a hat tip to the classics. I never read this author before, but I really enjoyed spending time in the MC’s head, and I loved this book! Will definitely look out for more books from Ms. Maxwell.

3.75 STARS (rounded up!)

This was such an interesting premise! I loved the idea of writing a thriller centered around an advice column similar to Dear Annie.

Alex Marks was once an avid reader of the Dear Constance column. That is until Dear Constance (Francis Keen) was found dead in her beach home. Foul play suspected, but no one ever accused. Eight months later, the prestigious Herald opens up a job posting to finally fill the role. But can Alex fill her shoes? And should she when she’s looking around every corner? And who did kill Francis? I guess you’ll have to read to find out!

The book was fast-paced and a true page turner! I do feel like the page turning died down a little towards the end (no pun intended), so that’s the only reason I docked it a few points, but overall a quick, enjoyable read. Oh, also, I really liked the dynamics between Alex, Raymond, and Janice as their own crime solving team!

Super fast paced mystery that was a little different from the usual cozy mystery of that authors prior book. It was a good quick light thriller.

While the premise of this book was so intriguing, I left wanting a lot more than what we were given. I loved the idea of our main character taking the job of one of her heroes, especially something so niche as an advice columnist. Through reading the book, however, this seems far fetched because this girl did not have any street smarts about her! I found her to be incredibly frustrating at times causing me to literally roll my eyes, and other times I found her to be just dull. I thought the book was a bit too slow, and truly very little happened until the reveal at the end, which left me wanting a lot more. While others might enjoy this book, it just left a lot to be desired for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for an advanced reading copy of this book. All opinions within this review are my own.

This book is a quick, fun thriller that’s easy to devour in one sitting! The unique storytelling of following a new advice columnist, Alex, adds a fun, nostalgic layer reminiscent of magazine advice columns like I used to read as a teen. Although some of the protagonist’s decision-making can be frustrating at times, the fast-paced plot kept me powering through. The secondary characters, some of which are Alex's acquaintances adds charm to the personal development.

While the story is not perfectly plotted and has some predictable elements (or questionable decisions), it offers a refreshing and almost comforting twist on the serial killer genre. If you’re looking for something easy and fun, this is a great pick!

Alex is a copy writer living in NYC who is rather discontent with her little life but keeps herself small to stay safe from a slowly revealed past trauma. On a whim, she applies to be the replacement for a beloved newspaper advice columnist who was murdered and is shocked when she lands the job. As she settles in threatening notes begin to arrive. Can Alex figure out who’s sending the notes before it’s too late?

This was a fast paced, fun, twisty mystery. I loved the concept of using an advice column to drive the plot and was pleased with how the various parts of the story came together.

TW: domestic violence

If you are looking for a quick cozy-mystery read this is the book for you, It is just shy of 300 pages! This was the first book I read by Jesse Maxwell and I loved it. It was very fast paced and I was hooked from the beginning. I recommend going in blind for this one.