I'm convinced that Jamie Lynn Hendricks books are getting better and better with each release, and just when I thought it couldn't be possible she releases another one. I was a big fan of this read and made my way through the story quickly as I was so engaged. Big thank you to Netgalley and Penzler publishers for my early review copy!

This book is over the top but in a fun, addictive way. It was easy to fly through this one and as the pieces fell into place, I was really eager to see how everything would play out. Maybe it's because I am not a dog person, but I just could not get over that someone would commit murder for their furry friend. However if the internet has taught me anything, I'm sure people like that do exist. Please no one come at me for this statement lol.

Thank you NetGalley and Penzler Publishers for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Their Double Lives was a gripping, character-driven thriller that gave it all when it comes to a thriller: deception, revenge, and moral complexity.

Jaime Lynn Hendricks really knows how to build tension, and this story wastes no time jumping straight into secrets, lies, and the messy consequences of leading a double life.

The different perspectives between Kim, PJ, and Tony were what I loved about this one—each voice felt unique, and their motives kept me guessing. These characters deeply flawed yet totally compelling. I didn’t always like them, but I did always want to know what they would do next.

The twists were clever, especially as the layers started to peel back and connections between past and present came into focus. That said, the plot did get a little crowded at times, and the pacing dipped toward the end just when I wanted a sprint to the finish. But the final reveal was satisfying and emotionally resonant.

This is a smart, suspenseful read with emotional depth. If you like domestic thrillers that play with identity and moral gray areas, this one is worth picking up.

Thank you to Penzler Publishers, Jamie Lynne Hendricks and NetGalley for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Kim Valva is making ends meet by working at an elite country club. Her life is in shambles at the moment and her precious pup, Murphy, needs an expensive life saving surgery. One she cannot afford. When she’s contracted by an unknown caller asking her to slip a pill in a guests drink, she’s hesitant, but she needs the money she’s been offered. When the guest turns out to be her old flame, Tony, she couldn’t go through with it. Tony arrives with his gorgeous fiancé, PJ, on his arm, but all is not what it seems and when PJ ends up being the one dying that night, Kim is left with so many questions. Who would want PJ dead? Is she now off the hook herself AND what about Murphy? Will she be able to raise enough money before it’s too late?A clever twisty, popcorn read that will have you entertained from start to finish. Thank you to Penzler Publishers and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

Jaime Lynn Hendricks delivers again with Their Double Lives—a fast-paced, addictive thriller that’s as emotionally gripping as it is suspenseful. As one of my favorite authors, Hendricks never disappoints. I was especially taken with Kim’s desperation to save her beloved dog Murphy, which deeply resonated with me after saying goodbye to our chocolate lab. An absolute must-read for fans of smart, high-stakes thrillers with heart.

When Kim agrees to poison a man for cash, she’s shocked to discover the target is her ex. But when someone else dies instead, she’s caught in a deadly spiral of secrets and suspicion.

Read This If You Like:
• Twisty psychological thrillers with cat-and-mouse dynamics
• Multiple POVs and a now-and-then timeline that keeps you guessing
• Emotionally driven characters with morally gray choices
• Stories where desperation leads to dangerous deals
• Pets playing a pivotal emotional role
• Wow, satisfying endings that stick the landing
• Popcorn reads that are impossible to put down
• A mix of tropes and themes like the ex with secrets, double lives, femme fatales, desperation-driven choices, and justice vs. revenge
• Authors like Liv Constantine, Alice Feeney, or Sarah Pekkanen

My Rating: 4.75 out of 5

Thanks to NetGalley and Penzler Publishers for the eARC. Their Double Lives releases on May 20, 2025.

Jaime Lynn Hendricks is a new author for me, but I find that she is just my style. This novel is is a fast and twisty thriller that is full of messy characters and shocking turns. It starts with a desperate plan to save a dog, innocent enough but quickly spirals into chaos. A little dark, dramatic, and a total page turner.

Their Double Lives by Jaime Lynn Hendricks is a creative and twisty thriller. This is such an excellent thriller, with intricately woven details, multi POV, and dual timeline. There are layers of lies and deceit that will keep you guessing and intrigued the entire read.

I could not put this story down. It was a propulsive read from the beginning, and the unlikeable characters (one female in particular) were absolutely delightful to read.

I highly recommend this story. It’s such a satisfying read from beginning to end. Kudos Jaime Lynn Hendricks!

Thank you NetGalley and Penzler Publishers for this advanced copy.

.First we start off by learning that there is a sick dog, Murphy. His owner Kim needs 10,000$ to get him the life saving surgery he needs. He saved her when she was at her lowest with no family or friends, there was only Murph. Kim will stop at nothing to get that money. Well that was enough to hook me right into the book. I enjoyed it very much. I felt that some parts were a bit repetitive, but overall an enjoyable time reading it. Once I got into the story it was an easy read, easily kept my attention and was fun figuring out how this whole situation unfolded. I always look forward to books by this author.

Just how far are you willing to go to save your dog? For a struggling waitress named Kim, she has to decide whether or not she'd slip something lethal into a stranger's drink in exchange for the life-saving payout. This only gets more complicated when that stranger turns out to be her ex.

In short, this was a fun and fast-paced thriller. No one is telling the truth, and the characters are just as twisted as the plot. The audiobook production was great and the narrator did an excellent job. It was the perfect companion for my commute and one I have already recommended to others in need of a solid, diverting thriller.

I don't know if I have ever read a thriller book where I related so much to the underlying plotline.

Kim takes a murder for hire job in order to earn money to provide her dog with the surgery he needs to live. Because obviously, same. Something goes wrong, and the wrong person ends up dead, and now Kim fears that whoever hired her is now after her.

This book kept me hooked from beginning to end. It is told in a few POV's. We get Kim and her failed murder attempt, but we also get the POV of the actual victim, and that storyline is so dark and twisted and intertwined with Kim's story. We also got a few chapters from Kim's target.

It had a few plot twists, but the reader mostly knew what was going on behind the scenes before some of the characters due to the POVs, and it was so fun to watch it play out.

I have been a fan of all of this author's books that I have read so far, and this one is no different. I would recommend it to all thriller lovers.

Their Double Lives is the perfect thriller beach read! It's also a great intro to thrillers - with enough mystery & twists to keep seasoned readers entertained but not too crazy for new thriller readers.

The main character will do anything for her dog and honestly, who wouldn't!? This cat & mouse game is fast-paced & easy to read - making it the perfect vacation thriller!

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.

🎭 Jaime Lynn Hendricks’ Their Double Lives is a psychological thriller that pirouettes between moral ambiguity and emotional vulnerability, delivering a narrative as layered as its title suggests. With a premise that could easily veer into pulp, Hendricks instead crafts a story that is both propulsive and surprisingly introspective.

🧩 Plot - Kim Valva, a waitress scraping by at a ritzy New Jersey country club, is offered a Faustian bargain: poison a guest’s drink in exchange for enough money to save her beloved dog. But the target is no stranger—it’s Tony Fiore, her high school ex turned millionaire Anthony Fuller. When Kim hesitates, it’s not Tony who dies, but his fiancée PJ Walsh—who, it turns out, had her own deadly agenda.

What follows is a spiraling descent into secrets, revenge, and blurred identities. Hendricks doesn’t just ask “whodunit?”—she asks “who are they, really?”

Their Double Lives is a study in duality. Every major character is living a lie—Kim, PJ, Tony—and Hendricks uses this motif to explore how desperation can fracture identity. PJ’s transformation from grieving daughter to femme fatale is particularly haunting, her “kill book” a chilling artifact of trauma turned strategy.

Kim, meanwhile, is a refreshingly grounded protagonist. Her moral conflict isn’t just a plot device—it’s the emotional engine of the novel. Her love for her dog Murphy is rendered with such sincerity that it anchors the story’s more sensational turns.

The characters

-Kim Valva is not your typical thriller heroine. She’s weary, wounded, and wonderfully real. Her refusal to become a killer—even when the world seems to demand it—makes her a quietly radical figure in a genre that often rewards ruthlessness.

- PJ Walsh (aka Paulina Jensen) is a standout. Hendricks gives her a voice that is both icy and aching, and her chapters are some of the most compelling in the book.

- Tony/Anthony is the least transparent of the trio, and that’s by design. His past crimes and present charm make him a cipher—one that both women project their hopes and vengeance onto.

Hendricks’ prose is clean and cinematic, with just enough grit to keep the gloss from feeling artificial. The alternating perspectives—especially PJ’s—add depth and tension, and the pacing is razor-sharp. While some twists are telegraphed, others land with genuine shock.

A recap

Their Double Lives is more than a twisty thriller—it’s a meditation on the cost of survival and the stories we tell ourselves to justify the unthinkable. Hendricks has written a novel that’s as emotionally resonant as it is compulsively readable.

If you’re drawn to thrillers that balance psychological complexity with moral stakes—think Megan Abbott meets Gillian Flynn—this one’s for you.

This is not as twisty as I would have liked - saw a lot of ir coming but enjoyed the pacing and the tying up at the end. Glad I waited for it!

Jaime Lynn Hendricks is one of my favorites, and she proves why yet again with Their Double Lives, a fun, entertaining, and twisty read that I got through in one sitting. It started with a bang and was fast-paced the entire way through, keeping me on my toes guessing what in the world was going on with these people. Morally grey characters get me every time. I mean, I would do anything for my dogs also, so Kim I could relate to, but these other folks? They were just crazy. HA! The audio for this was excellent as well. I really enjoyed reading it this way. I thoroughly enjoyed this one and absolutely recommend it.

Thank you to Scarlet Suspense and Highbridge Audio for the copies to review.

Taut, smart, and thoroughly addictive, this thriller delivers suspense with style and substance. Every twist is perfectly timed, making it impossible to stop reading. It’s a fast-paced, satisfying ride that exceeds every expectation.

Boy oh boy, was this ever a good book! The mother of Paulina Jensen AKA Poppy Jade AKA PJ was killed by Tony Fiore AKA Anthony Fuller. Tony had been a thug in his previous life, cc but once he killed paulina's mother, he cleaned up his act and became an investment broker where he made millions. Paulina and her best friend Matt had a plan whereby they were going to kill Anthony for revenge. The plan was that Paulina would pose as Poppy. Jade And she would cozy up to Anthony and get him to marry her. And together, PJ and Matt put together a murder book which was a step-by-step plan to get the murder done.

Kim, who was Tony's ex-girlfriend from high school, worked at a country club that Anthony and PJ frequented. Anthony's boss, Ron and his wife Clara went to the same country club and they always dined together. Kim had a dog, Murphy, who was very ill and was about to die. She needed $10,000 to pay for his surgery. Someone known as The Stranger somehow learned about her plight with Murphy and offered to pay her to kill Anthony. Her job was to put poison in his food, And the poison was provided for her. She wasn't a murderer but she agreed to do it in order to save Murphy, who was her best friend. When it came time to do it she couldn't go through with it. She planned to tell The Stranger that she couldn't do it and she was going to give that person the money back.

It turns out, PJ actually fell in love with Anthony and decided that his friend was the one that killed her mother. She wanted. Matt to meet Anthony, but Matt continued to refuse because basically Matt was jealous of Anthony. Finally. She wore him down and he agreed to have dinner with them. The night of their planned dinner, Matt phone PJ and told her that he needed to talk to her. He told her that he had a picture he wanted her to see and while he was talking to her he sent the picture to her phone. It was a snapshot of Anthony kissing Clara in front of a hotel. Pj was incensed. She couldn't believe she had fallen in love with someone who was cheating on her. So she decided to up the ante. She was not going to marry Anthony after all. She was going to get him to change his will so that she would inherit his millions and she would kill him before the marriage.

Before she got him to change his will, he found her murder book and realized she was going to kill him. He couldn't let that happen. So he decided he was going to get her first. All along, with the knowledge PJ had, she played the good fiancé. And while Anthony knew of her plot, he played the dutiful husband to be. One night during dinner at the country club. PJ convulsed and collapsed. She was dead in a matter of minutes.

This story had all of the elements of a superb who done it. The characters were well developed and they were very believable. The storyline jumped between then and now but it was easy to follow. I really liked the juxtaposition between PJ and Anthony, and Kim was a formidable character. All in all, I liked everything about this book. I gave it five stars.

I have enjoyed other thrillers by Hendricks, so I looked forward to this novel. There was a lot of intrigue and built-up suspense through the first 2/3rds of the novel, though I did find the ending a bit rushed for my liking. I did like the storyline, but didn't love it. Overall, I found it to be a quick read, getting through it in a day.
Thank you NetGalley and Penzler Publishers for this ARC!

👯Book Review👯
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My thoughts- man I wanted to love this book from my fellow Jersey girl author! I loved her first book and haven’t quite hit a homeroom with the rest of them. I went into this blind It just felt to close to the Last Mrs Parrish and the Housemaid. If I had read the synopsis I feel like I maybe would have had a different opinion of this one. My main issue was that Kim was pretty naive and unlikable. I just couldn’t find the drive to root for any of these characters. It’s a popcorn thriller and a quick read but I definitely wanted more substance.
*
Rating-⭐️⭐️⭐️
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Summary- A down-on-her-luck waitress at a posh New Jersey country club, Kim Valva couldn’t be living a more different life from the carefree socialites she serves. Then her luck seems to change when a mysterious figure identifying themself only as The Stranger contacts her with an offer she can’t refuse: Put a pill in the new member’s drink and, when he dies, she’ll have enough money to fix her dog and her life.

Her target turns out to be Tony Fiore—Kim’s bad boy ex-boyfriend from high school. Fifteen years have passed, and he now goes by Anthony Fuller. He’s cleaned up, made tens of millions, and his gorgeous fiancée, twenty-two-year-old PJ Walsh, is on his arm.

PJ had her own agenda from the second she met Anthony. Find him, trick him, marry him, kill him. It was supposed to be easy, but she finds that while living her double life, the lines blur between who she is and who she’s pretending to be.

Stunned to see Tony again, Kim can’t bring herself to go through with spiking his drink. Instead, it is PJ who dies horrifically at the table just as dinner ends. Was someone else at the club—member or worker—tasked with poisoning PJ just as she had been instructed to do to Tony? Who would want both of them dead?
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QOTD- most of the time I read a synopsis first, but if it’s an author whose book I’m super excited to read I will absolutely jump in blind! do you read a synopsis first or do you go into a book blind ?
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3.5 stars

A fun thriller with lots of twists and povs. I enjoyed unraveling what exactly was going on but I felt like the mystery itself wasn’t as interesting as I hoped it would be. I also found Kim kinda a doormat and annoying and the only good character was Matt.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for my honest review

Just finished this and MIND BLOWN! It was my first by this author and I was pleasantly surprised! This book was well crafted, clever, deceitful, and fun! I read a lot of thrillers and found this to be super engaging, twisty, and salacious! I loved that I kept changing how I felt about Anthony/Tony and PJ. It was fun for them to oscillate between "awww" and "well aren't you a nasty thang!" about both of them as the story unfolded. I liked Kim throughout and appreciated how her character kind of kept the story grounded. I haven't read a fun thriller like this in awhile and absolutely recommend for readers who enjoy Freida McFadden or Alice Feeney. To me the best thrillers are those that don't follow the "unreliable female narrator trope" but still leave me thinking/guessing throughout and this definitely checks that box! I did guess a couple of the minor twists but it didn't deter me from appreciating the true craftsmanship of the author. Now I must devour her whole backlog!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read in exchange for my honest review.