Their Double Lives is a gripping thriller that will captivate readers from the very first page.
Kim Valva will do anything for her dog (SAME!). Her dog needs a lifesaving surgery that she cannot afford. Things change when a stranger offers her the money. She must put a substance in a new members drink at the club she works at. However, once she realizes the member is her ex boyfriend from high school she backs down. Things take a turn when it’s his fiancé, PJ, that falls over dead at the dinner table that very night. Who is the stranger that wanted him dead? And who killed PJ?
We get POVs from Kim, PJ and Anthony, the MMC, told in then and now timelines.
This book is a roller coaster of twists, drama and juicy secrets. A must read for thriller fans!

I enjoyed this book! The characters were very complex and were all up to something. While I had a few things figured out, there were some major twists that made this a fast paced read. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

"Living a double life always comes with a cost."

Prepare yourself for an emotional rollercoaster with "Their Double Lives"! If you're a dog lover, this thriller will tug at your heartstrings in ways you never anticipated. It’s not every day that a suspenseful story elicits such an emotional response, but this one does it beautifully.

Diving in without a quick refresh of the synopsis was a great choice. The element of surprise kept me captivated, and I found myself finishing it in just two sittings, eager to discover how it would unfold. I was torn between wanting a heartwarming resolution (yes, gag me! 🤦‍♀️) and craving a more suspenseful, revenge-driven climax. Ms. Hendricks has consistently delivered remarkable stories, and this one is no exception. Bravo!

Kim’s world is turned upside down when she learns that her beloved dog, Murphy, faces a life-threatening situation that requires an expensive surgery she can’t afford. Murphy is more than just a pet; he’s her rock, a constant through all the ups and downs of her life, including unreliable boyfriends. The thought of losing him is unbearable.

Then, when things seem bleak, an intriguing stranger offers her a tantalizing proposition: a generous sum of cash for a seemingly simple task. It sounds like the perfect solution, doesn’t it? But hold on—this task involves poisoning someone. As a waitress at an upscale country club, she never imagined being in this position. The evening unfolds with nerve-wracking suspense when her target walks in, and everything spirals out of control. With each page, the stakes as Kim navigates this treacherous path to save her beloved companion. Prepare for a thrilling journey of twists, tension, and emotional depth!

Thank you to the author, Scarlet Suspense, and The Pulse, for an early copy of this thriller! All opinions are my own and left voluntarily.

❓Do you like thrillers with an emotional twist?

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🩷𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗜𝗥 𝗗𝗢𝗨𝗕𝗟𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗩𝗘𝗦
𝔱𝔥𝔯𝔦𝔩𝔩𝔢𝔯
🗓️𝙿𝚞𝚋: 𝙼𝚊𝚢 𝟸𝟶, 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟻
🤩𝕄𝕪 𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘: 𝟝 𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕣𝕤! ★★★★★

🤏𝚃𝚎𝚎𝚗𝚢 𝚝𝚒𝚍𝚋𝚒𝚝...go in blind..the title is enough!

🌺𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝙸 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚊𝚢...Gosh, I love me some JLH! This one had me hooked from the very beginning. 🙌I felt for Kim, our MC so much! In order to save her dog 🐶with a life saving surgery she had to commit a crime, but of course things go haywire & the twists 🌀& turns don’t stop from there. I would do just about anything for my animals so I felt for Kim BIG! This one is packed with so much fun(think deceit, revenge with a fast pace🏃‍♀️& incredible writing✍️). You get multiple POVs & you will feel exhausted with how these peeps have to live these literal double lives. I don’t want to say anything else 🤐 except save the date for this gem of a thriller! 👏

Kim is a waitress at an upscale country club who is just trying to get by and desperately needs to make enough money to afford the surgery needed to save her dog’s life. When she suddenly receives a letter from a stranger offering her the money that she needs, it’s hard to turn it down. The only catch is that she must put a pill in a member’s drink and, when he dies, she will get the money she needs.

Her target turns out to be Tony Fiore, her bad boy ex-boyfriend from high school who after fifteen years, now goes by Anthony. He is now a millionaire with a beautiful young fiancé named PJ. Kim is surprised to see Tony again and can’t bring herself to go through with the plan to poison him. Instead, it is PJ who dies at the table in front of everyone just as dinner ends. Kim is left shocked and confused, wondering if someone else at the club was given the same offer that she was, but to kill PJ instead? Who is behind all of this and how is Kim going to save her dog now?

This was such a fun and entertaining read. It’s full of unreliable characters and I really had know idea who to trust. I enjoyed the multiple points of view and and alternating timelines, which all come together to create a twisty thriller that was hard to put down! As the story unfolded, my opinions about the characters, especially PJ, kept changing and I felt for Kim who really just wanted to save her dog and ended up tangled up in this crazy situation! I knew this book was a must-read for me when I saw it was written by Jaime Lynn Hendricks. Full of secrets, lies, deceit, blackmail, and twists, it was everything I expected!

The premise of Their Double Lives is so original and I knew it would be packed with twists. However, the characters came off as, well, caricatures, and the writing didn't grab me. It looks like a lot of other readers connected with the style of this book, which is great! It's just not a fit for me.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to receive this book for an honest.

I was so excited when I received this book. I love Jaime Lynn Hendricks. She really knows how to get you hooked from the beginning. I read this while on vacation and I did not want to put it down. The only down side I found was in the beginning I was confused with the back and forth between Then and Now but once I got into it wasn't a problem.
I cannot wait for her next book. I highly recommend this book!

This one was FUN - another book I stayed up wayyy too late to finish, but was well worth it! In a rotating POV style, we explore the history of Kim and her old friend Tony; she fled from him 15 years ago and suddenly bumps into him at a country club...except now he's rich, goes by "Anthony," and has a young, influencer-looking fiancee on his arm.

Kim was such a strong woman lead - she was well developed and written, and I could feel her anxiety through the page! I also appreciated going back and forth with the POVs of different characters to get a more well-rounded idea of the backgrounds and the storyline. While I felt the ending was a little predictable, there were plenty of fun twists that threw me off at first and I enjoyed seeing how everything came together. Thanks so much for this ARC!

We all love us some @jaimelynnhendricksauthor up in the @thrillerbookloversthepulse joint! Excited to have early access to this bad boy!

In this thriller we meet Kim who is a struggling waitress. She’s down on her luck trying to make ends meet when a mysterious person asked her to drop a pill in someone’s drink while she waitresses. She really needs the money because her poor pup needs a life saving surgery and she simply will do anything to help him. The person she’s supposed to drug is a man named Anthony, her ex-boyfriend. But little does she know his own finance, PJ has plans of herself. When the night comes to an end, PJ is dead, Anthony is alive and Kim is left with even a larger mystery on her hands.

Oooh this book is a juicy wild ride! I highly recommend this for anyone that likes twisty tales and is a lover of dogs! 🐶 Jaime writes these character as relentless, snarky, sassy people and I’m here for every last moment! I love the multiple POV, the deception, betrayal and outright insanity of these characters which made this book unputdownable! Once again Jaime simply knocks it out of the park! I can’t wait to see what she writes next!

Kim is a waitress at a posh country club scrapping to get by. She is devastated that her beloved dog, Murphy needs a life saving surgery that she can't afford. She will do anything to save her dog. The Stranger contacts Kim with a way to save her dog all she has to do is put something in a members drink at work and she will get the money she needs. She says yes but when it comes down to it she can't do it because she knows the member.

The last person she expected to see was her ex-boyfriend and his fiance. This will be someone's last supper but who is behind it and why? This was a great cat/mouse as each trying to outsmart the other person but only one will achieve their goal.

This is one fast paced, twisty mystery of revenge alternating between past and present. PJ is a woman with a plan. Anthony is happy he has left his past behind and started a new life. The past has a way of catching up with you no matter how far you run. This had so many moving parts and it kept you guessing until the end.

Told from multiple points of view but some very unreliable narrators, this one is twisty and dark and will have you flipping those pages.

Honestly, the only characters I liked at all was Kim. And how can you not like a woman who is doing everything she can to raise money to save the life of the one man she can always depend on - her dog!

Her life is a mess. Her boyfriend cheated on her, so she's working at a Jersey country club waitressing part time to make extra income to survive and try to save for her dog's surgery. An envelope shows up on her doorstep with a burner phone. She gets instructions to put a substance in a new member's drink one night, and she will get paid well. She doesn't want to do it, but she needs that money.

When the time comes, she realizes the man she's supposed to slip the substance to is her high school boyfriend. He's there with his new fiancee. Kim can't go through with the plan, but things take a turn and someone winds up dead. And then the real stories start to emerge.

I love unlikeable characters and this was just a twisty, dark, satisfying read for me.

I saved this one for vacation, and damn, it was the ideal poolside read! Jaime Lynn Hendricks knows how to keep me turning pages.

📖: Kim’s dog is sick, and someone knows she’ll do anything to afford the surgery he needs. “The Stranger” wants Anthony Fuller gone and is coercing Kim into completing the task. But when the time comes, Kim realizes the target is her ex-boyfriend, and someone else at his dinner table ends up dead.

🤝: This may be a good fit if you enjoy:
- snarky characters
- con artist tropes
- rich people problems

💭: Once again, Jaime Lynn Hendricks hits the spot with her fast-paced, twisty thrillers. She’s become so reliable that I save her books for when I need a breath of fresh air.

Con artist tropes can be hit-or-miss for me, and this was a hit! I didn’t have to work too hard to keep everyone’s stories straight. And I chuckled at the blunt, sassy characters. Hendricks knows how to create delightfully nasty characters to balance the ones we’re rooting for. I can’t wait to purchase this one to add to my collection!
B
⭐️RATING⭐️: I really liked it! (4.5⭐️ rounded up)

Pub Day: May 20th, 2025

Thank you to Penzler Publishers, Scarlet, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ebook early in exchange for an honest review!

Jamie Lynn Hendricks knocks it out of the park again. Kim is down on her luck when her dog needs a serious surgery to live. Kim will do anything to save her pup, When Kim is approached with a dangerous task that will have a huge payout, she is down for it, despite the consequences that may come with this.
One fateful night, Kim is at work and sees her ex boyfriend from high-school and the tables turn,
This was told in different POV which adds to the story. I enjoyed the twists and turns that this book had. It had spice, dogs and many twists and turns that left me in shock.

Thank you to #netgalley and #thrillerbooklovers

Their Double Lives - Jaime Lynn Hendricks

JLH does it again! Their Double Lives is the definition of unputdownable—twisty, relentless, and absolutely addicting. If you love thrillers that keep you guessing until the final page, this one is a must-read.

Kim Valva is barely scraping by, stuck in a thankless job and desperate to save her dog’s life when a mysterious stranger offers her a deal: slip a pill into a drink, and all her problems disappear. As a dog lover, I can’t even blame her for considering it. But when the wrong person dies, Kim finds herself tangled in a deadly web of deception where no one—not her ex-boyfriend-turned-millionaire, not his too-young fiancée PJ, and certainly not the person pulling the strings—can be trusted. The layers of lies unravel at breakneck speed, leading to a jaw-dropping finale that proves once again why Jaime Lynn Hendricks is one of the best in the genre.

As a longtime fan, this book exceeded every expectation. A Lovely Lie was my #2 ranked book of 2024, and Finding Tessa remains one of the best thrillers of the last decade—Their Double Lives absolutely belongs in that same league. Jaime Lynn Hendricks crafts characters with razor-sharp precision, and her signature dark, twisty storytelling is in full force here.

Huge thanks to Jaime Lynn Hendricks, Penzler Publishers, and NetGalley for the ARC. If you’re looking for a thriller that will consume your entire day, Their Double Lives is it. Publication date May 20, 2025.

After reading I Didn’t Do It I quickly became a fan of Jaime. So when I found out The Pulse had access to her latest I couldn’t say yes fast enough!

Once I started, I did not want to stop reading. If it weren’t for my son and adult responsibilities I would have finished it in one sitting. Multiple POV/ dual timeline is my favorite format and it was done so well here. The pace was great and the characters left you confused on who to trust. Plus as a dog lover I greatly appreciated and understood Kim’s love for her dog.

Okay I need to just stop procrastinating and get to the rest of Jaime’s backlist asap. She’s quickly becoming a favorite, autobuy author for me!

Read if you love:
❤️ Dogs
👫 Multiple POV
🕰️ Dual timeline
🤫 Twists and secrets

The queen of twisty turns, Jaime Lynn Hendricks just knocked this one out of the dog park. This is one book that is so hard to review without giving away the excitement. In Their Double Lives, Jaime touches on the subject of how far one would go to save their beloved pet (child). We are introduced to Kim whose pup (child) Murphy requires a much needed, expensive surgery to save his life. Kim is a waitress at a country club and does not earn the money needed to save Murphy when she receives a call from "The Stranger" who offers her a large sum of money in exchange for simply adding some poison to the food of a new member at the country club. Will she do it? How much does she want to save Murphy? What are the twists that come next - I can't tell you, you will need to read this one yourself to find out. I love how Jaime writes stories in multiple character views and telling when is happening today vs what got the character to the point where they are. This is a not to miss book it's her best book yet, not sure how she will top herself in her future books.

Absolutely twisty right from the very start!!! I totally enjoyed the characters and loved how it all came together! This is a total must read!!!

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced reader’s copy in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my e-ARC of Their Double Lives!

𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔
☠️ would poison someone to save your dog
🤫 ever lied about yourself
🫂 have a ride or die bestie
 give people you hate awful nicknames

• 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐈𝐓’𝐒 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓

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…

• 𝐌𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒

This was a twisty one, right from the start! I enjoyed the different POVs, as it helped me understand everyone’s roles a bit more clearly. PJ was probably my favorite character after Kim, because I liked her easy ability to be cunning and deceitful. She was a lot of fun. I loved her best friend, Matt, as well. He was a real ride or die friend who never stopped gunning for their end goal. Overall, the characters all felt relatable in their own ways. While I did guess the twists (the Stranger for example) it didn’t really take away from the book, as I enjoyed getting to know the whys of everything. The ending was a lot of fun too, and I could see this being an awesome movie!

There’s never a dull moment in this character driven thriller. Give yourself plenty of free time before starting this one, because once you start, you won’t want to put it down.

When Kim’s dog, Murphy, gets sick, she’ll go to the ends of the earth to save him. But first she needs money, so when an envelope shows up on her doorstep offering a large sum of money to kill a man, it’s not out of the question for her. All she has to do, in her capacity as a waitress in a high end country club, is put some poison on a guest’s dessert. Easy peasy. Until she comes face to face with the guest, and it’s an ex-boyfriend. She can’t do it. Or can she?

Fantastic story, great characters and superb ending. Of course, that’s no surprise with a Jaime Lynn Hendricks book. If you like thrillers, or just enjoy a great book, I promise you’ll love this one.

Thank you, NetGalley and Penzler Publishers for the opportunity to read this 5-star book.

Oh my goooddddnessss!!! This book was freaking GOOD! I absolutely devoured it and it surprised me in all the best ways! Every time I thought I had something figured out, Hendricks threw me for another loop!

Imagine being paid a hefty sum to slip something into someone's drink. You desperately need the money, there's no way it can be traced back to you, and theoretically, you have no idea who this person is. But then in walks your ex - a person from another lifetime ago - and that's your target. Could you do it? Could you have done it before? I loved pondering these questions and following Kim as she dug herself into this wild and crazy hole. I had the hardest time knowing who to trust, wondering if any narrators were reliable, and figuring out how the storylines were connected.

This book was flawlessly executed. I loved that I had all the outside edges of the puzzle but had absolutely no idea what the picture in the middle might be and Hendricks unraveled the mystery piece by piece. The various narrators all added so much to the storyline and the characters were overwhelmingly dreadful (it was utterly delicious!).

I couldn't put this book down and loved how everything came together. Hendricks has been a household name at The Pulse for some time now and she has earned her way to auto-read quite quickly for me! Don't miss Their Double Lives!! It releases 5/20/2025.