Often when I read I take on the emotions that the characters are feeling. That can be difficult to deal with when I read thrillers. But I love twists of a good thriller. Life is stressful enough without adding fictional tension so I was happy to find this suspense novel.

It's not a roller coaster read, but it is intriguing as bits and pieces of the story are doled out.

While the book is in third person, we get chapters focused on particular characters so we get a more in-depth look into their thoughts and motivations. Most of the story is told in alternating chapters by Poppi Jade "PJ" and Kim. But later in the book other characters come in. It is an interesting storytelling method and it worked really well for this story.

It is not a traditional mystery in the sense that there is an investigation with a detective (amateur or otherwise). It was fun to get little pieces of the puzzle with each chapter and I was able to put most of the puzzle together before I got to the end. Which made me feel very satisfied.

This would make a great book to read by the pool this summer, as it is a real page-turner.

My review will be published at Girl Who Reads on Wednesday - https://www.girl-who-reads.com/2025/05/the-games-afoot-can-you-solve-these.html

Their Double Lives by Jaime Lynn Hendricks will make you wonder who's who?

"Kim works as a waitress at a fancy New Jersey country club. She is desperate to find the money for a life-saving operation for her dog. She gets contacted by a mysterious person known only as The Stranger. They want Kim to poison a person at the club. The person targeted is an old boyfriend of Kim's and she can't go through with it. instead his fiance dies at the table. Kim must peel back the layers to find out what really happened."

This is a dual-timeline story. It opens with the death in the country club restaurant and then fills in the backstory. No one is who they appear to be. Hendricks keeps you guessing until the end. There are rich people behaving badly (imagine that) Hendricks makes her characters desperate and also shows how immense wealth can change someone. The ending works (although it's a little vague) but you can easily fill in the blanks.

Another good story from Jaime Lynn Hendricks.

Kim is a waitress at a country club who is trying to save up for a life-saving surgery for her dog, Murphy. When she is propositioned to kill a guest at the club for $20k, she agrees. But things don't go as planned when she realizes the guest is her ex boyfriend. She starts to second guess, but before she makes up her mind his fiancé drops dead at the table.

Liked: I loved this one so much I read it in one sitting. I thought the pacing was great and I loved the alternating POVs. I felt like the dog storyline was very relatable for millennials. Could I be swayed to take out a stranger to save my dog? Well I would never put that into writing....

Disliked: I called who the killer and stranger were pretty early on, but in all honesty it did not take away from the enjoyment of the overall story.

Thank you NetGalley for an arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.

PJ is out for revenge, Tony is in the midst of a transformation, and Kim wants to save her dogs life.

So many unexpected twists throughout the whole book. I din't know where the plot was going or what role each of the characters played until the book neared its end. I couldn't stop listening to the audio book because I needed to know what happened. There are so many suspects with strong motives, and then there's the question of who could be next?

Jamie Lynn Hendricks has created an entertaining, page-turning mystery.

*Thank you to Netgally and Highbridge Audio for the advance audio copy in exchange for my honest review.*

Their Double Lives by Jaime Lynn Hendricks
#fortyfourthbookof2025 #arc #theirdoublelives

CW: death, murder, blackmail, adultery, fake identities, poisoning

Waitress Kim is given an opportunity: she can spike the drink of a country club guest and receive a cash payment that she desperately needs. As luck would have it, the mark is her ex Tony, now going by Anthony with a new last name, the high school sweetheart who made it big in the years since they dated. At the end of the evening, Kim can’t go through with it but Tony’s fiancé PJ ends up dead. Now Kim is in a race to find out who was targeting Tony and PJ, and whether she is the next target.

My thoughts: I liked the author’s previous novel a lot so I was excited to read this one. It’s a fun story, and I really enjoyed the multiple perspectives (Kim, PJ and occasionally Anthony) and dual timelines. I especially enjoyed when the (spoilers!) multiple double crossings were revealed. This is a summer popcorn thriller, a super quick easy read, and I really enjoyed it. Absolutely worth it.

Thank you to @scarletsuspense and @netgalley for the advance copy. (pub date is 5/20/25)

Their Double Lives by Jaime Lynn Hendricks was a riveting, fast-paced thriller.
I loved this twisty thriller. I couldn’t read it fast enough. Hendricks is a thriller master and her books keep you on your toes.
I could not put this twisty, surprising and addictive thriller down.
This book had fantastic characters and a plot that kept me guessing.
It was an entertaining and engaging read. I definitely think it had a nice flow and built up the suspense for what was going to happen.

Thank you NetGalley and Scarlet for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

To save her dog with a very pricey surgery, Kim is “hired” by The Stranger to poison a man named Anthony Fuller while at her job as a waitress. She’s freaked out about doing it BEFORE she learns that the man is actually Tony Fiore, an ex-boyfriend of hers. Before Kim, can even attempt it, something else tragic happens.

There’s Kim’s POV in the present, PJ (Anthony’s fiancée) POV in the past and even some later chapters with Anthony’s POV.

This is a quick read full of bad people. It isn’t too suspenseful, though, as the reader was told everything - what they were doing and what their motives were. The twists weren’t too shocking.

Thank you to Penzler Publishers (Scarlet) and NetGalley for an advanced readers copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Twisty, addictive, and impossible to put down—Their Double Lives is a deliciously tense thriller that had me second-guessing every character. Jamie Lynn Hendricks masterfully peels back the layers of deception, betrayal, and double lives in a story where no one is exactly who they seem. The dual timelines and morally gray characters had me hooked from page one, and the final twist? Chef’s kiss.

This is domestic suspense at its best—perfect for fans of The Last Mrs. Parrish and Behind Closed Doors.

Huge thanks to Panzer Publishers and NetGalley for the advance reader’s copy in exchange for my honest review. Be sure to grab your copy when Their Double Lives hits shelves on May 20, 2025!

This mystery thriller kicks off with an intensity that keeps your heart racing and the pace doesn’t slow down. The narrative is told through multiple points of view and alternates between then and now, creating a complex storyline that demanded my full attention, especially with so many characters. This revenge story is packed with lies, deceit and murder as well as non-stop action, suspense and wild twists.
The narration made the story even more compelling.
Thank you to the publisher/author for the opportunity to read this complimentary advanced copy. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Kim is a country club waitress trying to save her dog her needs surgery, but she needs money to do so. She takes a job from The Stranger to poison a new member’s drink. Her target ends up being her ex, who has cleaned up his act with a new fiancé by his side.

Full transparency, the last few of the author’s reads werent my favorites, but this one absolutely knocked it outof the park for me! It’s funny how we have different tastes and moods at different times. The plot of this is right up my alley for a thriller and it was perfectly done. A revenge thriller that’s also a cat and mouse, going back and forth, all while the reader is getting more and more pieces of putting it together. I loved the characters, I loved the beginning, end, and everything in between!

“He needs to think he’s above me, and he can think that all he wants until he’s six feet below me.”

Their Double Lives comes out 5/20.

Thank you Penzler Publishers and Netgalley for this ARC!

Waitress turned assassin and another smash hit from Hendricks. I recommend going in as blind as possible but I think you'll be happy you did!

Many thanks to NetGalley, Penzler Publishers | Scarlet, and High Bridge Audio for gifting me both a digital and audio ARC of the latest thriller by Jaime Lynn Henrdricks, with the audio perfectly narrated by Emma Love. All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4.5 stars rounded up!

Kim is desperate to come up with money to get her dog life-saving surgery, so when an anonymous caller promises her money to kill someone, she decides to go ahead. But on the night it’s supposed to happen, instead of the mark dying, it’s his fiancé who is dead at the table. But Kim did nothing, so just exactly what is happening?

This was such a twisty thriller, told from the POV of both Kim and PJ from different timelines. Best go into it with as little info as possible, so that you best enjoy it. The characters felt real – their motivations, their feelings – even though some aren’t likeable in the least. The plot was perfectly planned out and I suspected pretty much everyone and was so surprised at the end. I mostly listened to the audiobook and loved the narration – I could feel the snark! Be sure to add this one to your summer TBR!

Thank you Penzler Publishers and Netgalley for this ARC! When Kim gets a mysterious proposition to slip some poison in a guests dessert for $10,000 she agrees, she needs an operation for her dog and this would pay for it. When the time comes she realises the hit is on her ex boyfriend from 15 years ago and she can’t go thru with it. But turns out suddenly his new fiancés dies at the table! What happened? Who wanted her dead? This book was non stop suspense with multiple points of view and no one seems innocent after all! Literally could not put this down and loved every twist and turn in it!

A waitress who needs a fast chunk of cash is recruited to be an assassin

Kim Valva is the last person anyone would expect of killing a total stranger for money, but that is kind of the point. She's still reeling from her last boyfriend's betrayal...they were living together but he somehow managed to get one of co-workers pregnant, so she kicked him to the curb...and the one thing that kept her going through those dark days was her Goldendoodle Murphy. She works as a waitress at a ritzy beach area country club to supplement what she makes as a freelance graphic designer (having lost her permanent position in her field during the pandemic). Its not where she dreamed she would be when she left behind her working class Brooklyn neighborhood to better herself years earlier, but its paying her bills...but now Murphy has been diagnosed with a tumor that will kill him in a few months if she doesn't get him the (very expensive) treatment to cure it. She'd do just about anything to save her beloved canine companion...and somehow a mysterious person who identifies themselves only as The Stranger knows that, and has offered her enough money to get Murphy his treatment if she slips something into the food or drink of a new member at the club. She's desperate enough to do it, rationalizing it to herself that its OK because she doesn't know this person and chances are they deserve it. When it turns out that the proposed victim, Anthony Fuller, is actually the former love of her life from high school Tony Fiore that rationale starts to slip. Somehow the bad boy with a criminal record that she left behind in order to make something of herself is now a wealthy, respected businessman and the new member at the country club where she works. Oh, and he has a much younger, drop-dead gorgeous fiancée named Poppy Jade aka PJ in tow. Talk about awkward! Even with Murphy's life on the line, though, Kim knows she can't kill her old boyfriend and flushes away the poison she was supposed to use. Much to her shock, later that evening it is Poppy Jade who is lying dead on the floor of apparent poisoning. Was their a second assassin floating around? Did PJ get killed by mistake, or was she also a target? Who is the mysterious Stranger, and why did they want Anthony and/or PJ dead? Is Kim next on the list to be eliminated for having failed to complete her "job", or has she been set up to take the fall for a killing she didn't actually commit?
Their Double Lives is a fast paced thriller that poses the question: would you really be willing to do anything to save someone (or in this case, something) you love? While I had a bit of trouble accepting that Kim, a seemingly normal person whose life has taken a downward turn of late, would actually agree to kill someone to get the money she needed for her dog's operation, she was otherwise a pretty relatable character. Most of the club members, particularly the odious Carla, are downright vile, but Kim grins and bears it to keep herself financially afloat. There are so many lies, secrets, and deceptions going on it is clear that no one is exactly who they seem. The chapters are told from the revolving points of view of many characters, some written in the time before the night of PJ's death and others in the "now", i.e. from that night onward. Many of the secondary characters are somewhat clichéd, but given the overall gossipy tone of the story that isn't a huge distraction. There are plenty of twists within the plot that keep the reader guessing about who can and can't be trusted, and who in the end was behind the plot. Readers of Liv Constantine, Sarah Pekkanen, and Vi Keeland should find this right up their alley, and it will make a great beach/lake/poolside read over the summer. My thanks to NetGalley and Penzler Publishers/Scarlet for allowing me access to this engaging read in exchange for my honest review.

This is a masterclass in suspense story with a twisty, character-driven thriller that keeps readers on the edge of their seats from start to finish.

The novel centers on Kim Valva, a waitress at an exclusive New Jersey country club, who is struggling to afford life-saving surgery for her beloved dog. When a mysterious figure known only as "The Stranger" offers her a large some of money to poison a wealthy club member, she reluctantly accepts. However, her target turns out to be Tony Fiore, her high school ex boyfriend, now known as Anthony Fuller. Unable to go through with the plan, Kim watches in horror as Anthony's fiancee, PJ Walsh, dies instead. As the investigation unfolds, Kim finds herself entangled in a web of deceit, revenge, and hidden agendas, questioning who she can trust and what truly happened that night.

Twisted, Whodunnit Mystery, and Suspense! 3 stars!

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy! This book will be released 5/20/25.

Their Double Lives by Jaime Lynn Hendricks was everything I wanted in a thriller. It was fast paced and full of manipulation, double crossing, secrets and lies. There were two main points of view, with a few more added in later, that gave a boost to the storytelling and how everything unfolded. While I did figure out a couple of the twists, I was still very much invested in Poppy Jade’s story and thought she deserved so much better.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #PenzlerPublishers for the book #TheirDoubleLives by #JaimeLynnHensdricks. This book blew mw away with all the conspiracies, revenge and murder. Kim, a waitress living paycheck to paycheck, is trying to find the money for surgery for her dog. So when an opportunity falls into her lap for that money, she reluctantly agrees to put a pill into a guys drink. When his girlfriend does instead, she has to figure out what’s going on. Who did this, why did they want him dead and why his girlfriend died instead? What she finds out is Disturbing and crazy.

𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬:
Looking for a quick, binge-able book that you cannot put down?! This is the one🙌🏻 This may be my new favorite book by Hendricks! I was sucked in from the first chapter and could not put this book down. I loved the characters, the dual timelines, the alternating POVs, and the plot itself. This book centers around secrets, lies, revenge, unreliable characters, and murder. Hendricks knocked it out of the park with this twisty, fast-paced, fun, and suspenseful thriller. BRAVO Hendricks-this book is AMAZING and a must read!!!🙌🏻👏🏻

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗜𝗳 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗘𝗻𝗷𝗼𝘆:
✦A binge-able, quick, fast-paced read
✦Popcorn thrillers
✦Dual timelines and alternating POVs
✦A book that centers around secrets, lies, revenge, unreliable characters, and murder


𝐌𝐲 𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️5/5

I listened to the audiobook for this one and I really liked the narration a lot. It started with quite the bang and a beginning that really hooked me. The book has several different perspectives and is primarily from Kim, a waitress in a country club, and PJ, a woman at the country club with a rich husband. I don’t want to go through many details because I think the book is more fun if you don’t know what you’re about to get into. This book is full of some fun twists and turns and while I could predict most of them I still enjoyed every second of the wild ride. I liked all of the characters (although some I just admired their awfulness). This was a super quick read and the story really just flowed and I listened to most of it in one sitting. Overall I gave this one 4.5 stars rounded up because it was such pure enjoyment even if there were more than a couple of cheesy moments.

𝖳𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝗐𝖺𝗌 𝗌𝗎𝖼𝗁 𝖺 𝖿𝗎𝗇 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖾𝗇𝗍𝖾𝗋𝗍𝖺𝗂𝗇𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗍𝗁𝗋𝗂𝗅𝗅𝖾𝗋 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗉𝖾𝗋𝗁𝖺𝗉𝗌 𝗆𝗒 𝖿𝖺𝗏𝗈𝗋𝗂𝗍𝖾 𝗈𝖿 𝖩𝖺𝗆𝗂𝖾'𝗌 𝗍𝗈 𝖽𝖺𝗍𝖾. 𝖨𝗍 𝗐𝖺𝗌 𝖺 𝖻𝗂𝗍 𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗋 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗍𝗈𝗉, 𝖻𝗎𝗍 𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝗂𝗌 exactly 𝗐𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝗆𝖺𝖽𝖾 𝗂𝗍 𝗌𝗈 𝖻𝗂𝗇𝗀𝖺𝖻𝗅𝖾! Just forget everything and get lost in the book

𝖨𝗍 𝗌𝗍𝖺𝗋𝗍𝗌 𝗈𝖿 𝗐𝗂𝗍𝗁 𝖺 𝖻𝖺𝗇𝗀 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗄𝖾𝖾𝗉𝗌 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝗍𝗎𝗋𝗇𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗉𝖺𝗀𝖾𝗌 𝗁𝗈𝗉𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗍𝗈 𝗉𝗎𝗍 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗉𝗎𝗓𝗓𝗅𝖾 𝗉𝗂𝖾𝖼𝖾𝗌 𝗍𝗈𝗀𝖾𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗋.
𝖳𝗈𝗅𝖽 𝗂𝗇 𝗆𝗎𝗅𝗍𝗂𝗉𝗅𝖾 𝖯𝖮𝖵, 𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝗉𝖾𝗋𝖿𝖾𝖼𝗍𝗅𝗒 𝗉𝗅𝗈𝗍𝗍𝖾𝖽, 𝖿𝖺𝗌𝗍 𝗉𝖺𝖼𝖾𝖽 𝖽𝗋𝖺𝗆𝖺/𝗍𝗁𝗋𝗂𝗅𝗅𝖾𝗋 𝗁𝖺𝗌 𝖾𝗇𝗈𝗎𝗀𝗁 𝗍𝗐𝗂𝗌𝗍𝗌, 𝗌𝗁𝖺𝖽𝗒 𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗋𝖺𝖼𝗍𝖾𝗋𝗌 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗌𝖾𝖼𝗋𝖾𝗍𝗌 𝗍𝗈 𝗄𝖾𝖾𝗉 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝗁𝗈𝗈𝗄𝖾𝖽 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗋𝖾𝖺𝖽𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖺𝗅𝗅 𝗇𝗂𝗀𝗁𝗍.

𝖨 𝗅𝗈𝗏𝖾 𝖺 𝗀𝗈𝗈𝖽 𝗋𝖾𝗏𝖾𝗇𝗀𝖾 𝗉𝗅𝗈𝗍 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝗈𝗇𝖾 𝗐𝖺𝗌 𝗌𝗈 𝗐𝖾𝗅𝗅 𝖽𝗈𝗇𝖾 𝗐𝗂𝗍𝗁 𝗃𝖺𝗐 𝖽𝗋𝗈𝗉𝗉𝗂𝗇𝗀 , 𝗎𝗇𝗁𝗂𝗇𝗀𝖾𝖽 𝗆𝗈𝗆𝖾𝗇𝗍𝗌.

𝖣𝖾𝖿𝗂𝗇𝗂𝗍𝖾𝗅𝗒 𝖺 𝗌𝗎𝗆𝗆𝖾𝗋 𝗁𝗂𝗍 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝗐𝗈𝗇'𝗍 𝗐𝖺𝗇𝗍 𝗍𝗈 𝗆𝗂𝗌𝗌 𝗈𝗎𝗍 𝗈𝗇. ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5