As a dog lover I fully support the FMC and her dedication to do *anything* to save her dog's life. Me too Kim, me too. I inhaled this book because Jaime knows how to make them juicy! Each character we met had their own treasure box of secrets and I loved watching the trainwreck unfold. Seeing the characters and their stories all come together at the end was perfection and let's just say, always trust a woman who puts her dog first.

Shout-out to the real Kim Valva who had the main character named after her!

What would you do to protect your dog? Commit a crime? Well that is what is presented to Kim...a crime for money to help her dog get the surgery he needs to survive.

Their Double Lives by Jaime Lynn Hendricks is an absolute whirlwind of twists, secrets, and moral dilemmas that had me hooked from the start. Kim Valva, a struggling waitress, faces an impossible choice: commit a crime to save her beloved dog or walk away from the chance to save him and change her life. But when things don’t go as planned, she finds herself caught in a web of deceit and danger that only gets more shocking with each page.

I did not put a detailed synopsis because I went in blind and I am so glad I did! The story unfolds through multiple POVs and alternates between past and present with those characters. This story unfolds so well and keeps the pace fast and the suspense high—I devoured it in two sittings! As a dog lover, I felt for Kim’s desperate situation. Jaime Lynn Hendricks is an auto-read author for me; her books never miss.

Thanks so much to Penzler Publishers, the author, and NetGalley for my early copy. This one hits shelves on May 20, 2025—don’t miss it!

Doing everything for the sake of your dog—even becoming a killer—might remind you of a John Wick movie, but trust me, this book is nothing like that. And no, it’s not the plot of Ballerina either, because the potential killer here is a woman! This is one of those addictive books that, once you start, you simply can’t put down. You’ll find yourself flipping the pages faster and faster, eager to discover what happens next. Will karma take its toll, or will the bad guys get away? It’s a highly entertaining, twist-filled game that will keep you guessing.

Their Double Lives is a fast-paced, deliciously twisty mystery filled with unreliable and morally gray characters. The story alternates between the past and present, starting at a New Jersey country club where we meet the main players. Kim, a waitress by night and graphic designer by day, works hard to make ends meet and care for her dog, the one thing keeping her going. One day, she receives a mysterious envelope at her apartment door containing a burner phone and an offer she can’t refuse: the money she desperately needs for her dog’s surgery, in exchange for slipping a pill into a customer’s drink to kill them.

At first, this seems unthinkable. But when you’re alone, with no one else to rely on, you might be tempted to cross the line to save the one being that’s never betrayed you—your pet. Kim reluctantly accepts the offer, but two things catch her completely off guard. First, her target is Tony Fiore—now known as Anthony Fuller—a high school boyfriend she dumped due to his criminal record. And second, even though she aborts her mission at the last second, Anthony’s fiancée, PJ, drops dead that same night. What Kim doesn’t know is that PJ had plans to kill Anthony, too. Yes, the plot thickens into a tangled web of crazy schemes.

As Anthony grieves over PJ’s body, Kim scrambles to dispose of the poison she was sent to use, and police begin questioning the club’s patrons. Among them are Anthony’s boss, Ron Boswell, and Ron’s over-the-top wife, Carla, who acts like she’s stepped straight out of Real Housewives of New Jersey.

From there, the story alternates between multiple perspectives and timelines as Kim continues receiving envelopes from the mysterious stranger targeting Anthony. Why did PJ plan to kill her fiancé? Was she a simple gold digger, or was she hiding more sinister secrets? Who actually killed PJ? And who is the stranger pulling the strings? This book is a labyrinth of twists and revelations as we uncover who the true villain—or villanelle—really is.

Overall: This is a perfect popcorn read—fast-paced, twisty, and utterly unputdownable! Jaime Lynn Hendricks once again proves she’s a must-read author. I highly recommend this to anyone seeking a fun, suspenseful mystery with plenty of surprises.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Penzler Publishers/Scarlet for providing this addictive mystery in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Another binge worthy read from Jaime Lynn Hendricks. Once you pick this book up it s so hard to put down, you have been warned!!

I really do not know how to talk about this book without spoilers. The less you know the better for this one. You want all the shocks, you want all the gasp out loud twists. You don’t want to know who the villains are and who you can trust. All I will say is that I loved Kim. A woman who will do anything for her dog, Murphy. That is my kind of person. My parents had a dog called Murphy who is no longer with us so it was lovely to think about him while reading this book.

Just read this book. If you have read this author before you will know that you are in for a treat, a wild ride that will keep you guessing. I stayed up late to finish it and I am not mad about losing sleep.

Thanks so much to Penzler Publishers and Thriller Book Lovers The Pulse for my early copy of this book. I just had to read it straight away. Publishes on May 20th.

this was a great book!! It was full of lots of twists and turns, lots of emotions, and it really was like a rollercoaster. I think the pacing was good, the characters and motives were good, and the thrilling parts really did make you tense while reading.


Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complimentary ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!

I have read all of this author’s books and loved them, so I had high hopes for this book and it did NOT disappoint. The story hooked me from the first chapter and kept me interested and engaged throughout. I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. I loved the multiple POV. Once again, Jaime Lynn Hendricks has hit it out of the ball park.

This book got the whole 5 stars from me! Once I started reading I could not put down! It was very interesting because the story kept flipping between characters. Almost everyone had a double life! It makes you wonder if you truly know people or not.....

I enjoyed this book for what it is. twisty, somewhat unbelievable but a quick read. Didnt find the twist at the end to be shocking and Kims motivation to kill what was a stranger and turned out to be her ex from high school just didnt work and i am an intense dog lover. So if i don't take the book too seriously, it was good escapist reading

A quick fun read that I think students will enjoy. No one is who they say they are and no one is safe. Enjoy the ride

Jaime Lynn Hendricks writes some twisty, immersive, and unputdownable suspense thrillers and she’s done it again with Their Double Lives! I’ll read anything by @jaimelynnhendricks so I went in blind!

The story is told in alternating perspectives bridging the past and present. Kim Valva, is struggling to make ends meet despite being employed as waitress at an exclusive country club. She desperately needs money to save her fur-baby, Murphy. When she receives a cryptic offer to poison a new member of the club, she weighs the benefits until she meets the target! The man she is supposed to poison is her high school boyfriend!

Hang on, because this is just the beginning of what's packed into this book! Unlikeable characters, revenge, alter egos, etc—and I loved it all!

This was so good ! I pretty much finished it in one sitting . I don’t know how to say much without giving anything away tbh ; I kinda guessed the ending but not really 😂 I loved the different POVs and the different timelines. You may think you know what’s going on but you will be surprised !
Make sure to pick it up when it comes out later this year !

My rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 💫


Thank you to the author, @ and @Netgalley and for complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review

Jaime Lynn Hendricks is an auto buy author for me and this book just might be my new favorite of hers! We start with a down on her luck waitress, Kim Valva (excellent name by the way) who will do just about anything to save her dog who needs a very expensive surgery. Kim agrees to poison a new member of the country club she waitresses at only to be shocked when she realizes her ex boyfriend is her target. What happens after that is an absolute wild ride with chapters that alternate POV and timelines. This book is unputdownable, shocking, and twisty in all the best ways! Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

First and foremost, our FMC, Kim was so devoted to her dog and I loved every bit of it!! Her willingness to consider anything to get what the dog needed immediately hooked me. Plus, a mysterious message from a mysterious stranger - I mean, is there any crazier way to open a story? I was so invested in Kim’s story that when it switched to the second FMC, Pj’s point of view, at first I wasn’t sure what to think but then Pj’s story was equally as compelling. Then we have Anthony, the MMC who knows both women…when I tell you my jaw dropped at the first chapter from his point of view, I am not exaggerating!

The multiple points of view worked so well, switching periodically as the truth came to light. Pj’s story was tragic, really, but despite it all, I found myself rooting for her and Anthony. Filled with juicy secrets, shocking lies and twist after twist, I literally couldn’t put this book down. The pacing was perfect and kept me on edge throughout. I love this author’s books, but this one has solidified itself as my favorite.

“Their Double Lives” releases May 20, 2025! Thank you to the author and The Pulse for the ARC. This review will be shared to my Instagram blog (@books_by_the_bottle) shortly :)

Kim, a struggling waitress at a New Jersey country club, loves her dog and will do anything to provide his life-saving surgery – even murder. That’s why she agrees to the offer from the stranger who will pay for the surgery if Kim slips a pill into someone’s drink. What she didn’t anticipate was knowing the intended victim.

Told from the perspective of multiple characters, Hendricks has created an entertaining thriller with many unreliable narrators and an abundance of twists. Hendricks delivers over-the-top in the best way, and PJ and Kim are delightful characters. Although their actions may be questionable, this is a book where it is fun to root for the morally ambiguous characters.

Fans of Hendricks are sure to enjoy her latest addition.

Jaime Lynn Hendricks IS a unicorn of sorts.

I’ve read them all, from Finding Tessa to now, Their Double Lives. I think it’s safe to say they just keep getting better and better!

I don’t know why I couldn’t get Keith Morrison’s voice out of my head but I could almost picture him narrating the mysterious death of PJ Walsh and exposing all the twisted little secrets .

In true Hendricks fashion, you’ll never know who to trust. I constantly questioned myself, “am I supposed to love or hate this person?”. I picked the safest option and decided Murphy would be my favorite . I mean, bad dogs don’t exist but bad people sure do .

This book is all consuming, unputdownable and showstopping .

I’ll start begging now… please, someone make this into a movie but please don’t ruin it .

Scarlet, Jamie Lynn Hendricks and NetGalley, y’all rock! Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to read and review early in exchange for an honest review .

FIVE GAZILLION STARS

Check out this teaser:

Living a double life always comes with a cost.

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. Her live-in boyfriend recently cheated on her, her social life is in shambles, and her dog needs a life-saving surgery that she can’t afford. 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? With no one to trust and The Stranger to answer to, Kim must peel back the layers of deceit to reveal a deeply buried truth, more shocking than she could ever imagine…

I went blindly into this book, not knowing what it was going to be about. The story is told from different people's perspectives and different time frames (then and now), but it is very easy to follow. The suspense had me guessing the who, what, and why, and it made me want to read faster and further to get to the conclusion. I recommend this if you're looking for a thriller!

4.5 🌟 What a fun, twisted story!! You could not trust a single character. I loved the research that went with into the poisons that were used. This was truly a story of sweet revenge. I really enjoyed it!

“Their Double Lives” is the latest thriller by Jamie Lynn Hendricks.

Here, the individuals with the double lives are Kim and PJ. Kim works as a waitress at a high-brow country club, yet the money she earns is not enough to pay for her dog’s surgery. She receives an anonymous message with instructions to drug a particular person’s drink for a high sum of money. Kim is willing to do anything to save her dog; however, the person she is asked to drug is an old boyfriend, Tony. Meanwhile, Tony is engaged to PJ, who has her own secrets. In fact, she may be in this relationship for the wrong reasons.

Hendricks is masterful at writing a lively paced plot with plenty of “did that just happen?” twists. This was a quick read, but that also could be because you simply did not want to put this book down.

Four out of five stars for this heart-stopping read.

My thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for this nail-biter.

This book is absolutely amazing. Anything she writes is amazing! I didn’t want to put this book down. So many shocking turns. Loved it!!

This is a fun, entertaining & quick read. It has all the ingredients for a sizzling beach read! I was able to predict part of it correctly and was happy to see how all the pieces fell into place.