Title: Their Double Lives
Author: Jaime Lynn Hendricks
Publisher: Penzier Publishers- Scarlet
Genre: Mystery Thriller
Pub Date: May 20, 2025
My Rating: 2.6 Stars
Pages: 304

Kim Valva is thirty-three year old freelance graphic designer who lost her steady job and is now working as waitress at a posh New Jersey Country Club, She lives a much different life than the rich and famous she serves. Her live-in boyfriend recently cheated on her, and her beloved dog Murphy has a tumor and needs a life-saving surgery that will cost thousands of dollars she doesn’t have. Then her luck seems to change when a mysterious figure identifying only as The Stranger contacts her with an offer she can’t refuse.
Simple just 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 Poppy Jade “PJ” Walsh, is with him. Kim has the poison in her pocket but is not going to use it. As the dinner is nearly over PJ has an attack and falls to the floor dead. ……WHAT?
It appears PJ had plans to kill Anthony but somehow it backfired. Now Kim is trying to get rid of the poison before she is accused of something she didn’t do.

Story goes back and forth between multiple characters – then and now. A lot goes on and all gets wrapped up in the end.
We find out who and why PJ was killed and good news Murphy got his surgery.

This is my fourth Jaime Lynn Hendricks story. My first and still favorite was " Finding Tessa" ~totally loved it!
Unfortunately this one was only okay.

Want to thank NetGalley and Penzier Publishing – Scarlet for granting me this early eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for May 20, 2025.

I was given this book by NetGalley for an honest review-
A stranger sends Kim a message— put a pill in his drink for ten thousand dollars. Kim could really use the money as her puppy is ailing. At the restaurant when she see who they want her to drug she is shocked to discover it is her ex- boyfriend. She decides she can’t do it.
What’s shocking is he is with PJ who is trying to trap him into marriage and then to kill him. Now Kim wants to find out who wants them both dead?
People with double lives- a captivating read!

Kim works at an exclusive country club in Jersey, her recent relationship ended with her discovering her ex had cheated on her. Her dog Murphy has been there for her so when she discovers he needs a life saving surgery she feels stuck. So when she gets an offer from The Stranger who offers her money the only catch is she needs to poison someone at her work and when he dies, she’ll have enough money to fix her dog and her life. So to her shock she discovers her target turns out to be Tony Fiore—Kim’s ex-boyfriend from high school. It’s been fifteen years , and he now goes by Anthony Fuller. He’s cleaned up, and has made tens of millions, and his gorgeous fiancée, twenty-two-year-old PJ Walsh, is on his arm. Kim can’t bring herself to go through with spiking his drink. Instead to her shock it is PJ who dies horrifically at the table just as dinner ends and Kim had nothing to do with it. 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…
Unknown to anyone PJ had her own agenda from the second she met Anthony. Find him, trick him, marry him, kill him… so whose playing who???

This was such a fun read. I binged it in one sitting because I couldn’t put it down! The mix of characters was so good. Everyone has their own secrets so you don’t know who really to believe as the plot unfolds. You will have empathy for a cast of unlikeable people because they each feel burned in their own ways (rightfully so!) I guessed who The Stranger was but it didn’t take away from the books enjoyability. The ending perfectly matched the tone of the book. I would highly recommend this one!

Told from multiple points of view in the past and present, the latest from amazing Jaime Lynn Hendricks is a stunner of a mystery! I was enthralled throughout with characters that couldn’t be trusted against each other & secrets abounding at the end!

Bravo!
A wild ride of twisty events including lovers, ex’s, strangers, affairs and murder. What do you do when your beloved dog needs a ten thousand dollar life saving surgery? Well Kim gets anonymous letters at her doorstep telling her to murder someone and she will be paid enough to afford the dog's surgery. This stranger also sends her a phone so everything is set up on how and where to poison the person. Well on the night of the arrangement she comes face to face with her high school boyfriend who she’s supposed to murder. And now comes the unexpected.

I love a good who dun it book and this one was my second book by this author, Now I plan to read all of her books.

#domestic thriller #pyschological

What an addictive suspenseful thriller with such a fitting cover! It’s full of love, hidden secrets and revenge. The dual timeline told in multiple POV’s really keeps the story flowing. You think you know the direction it’s going and then it suddenly changes. There are different character backstories along with sinister motives. It all ties together with an unpredictable ending.

Thank you to the author @JaimeLynnHendricks as well as to @PenzlerPuishers and @NetGalley for a free e-ARC. The opinions are mine alone and not biased in any way.

This is some of Jaime’s BEST work! I had to force myself to put it down and get some sleep and I ate up the ending in between neglecting all responsibilities!

Their Double Lives was jam packed with secrets, betrayal, scheming and blackmail and I loved every second of it! I cannot WAIT for this gem to hit the shelves - MARK YOUR CALENDARS - on May 20th! You’ll definitely want this at the top of your TBR as a perfect summer read!!!

🌟 F I V E S T A R F R I D A Y review 🌟 featuring “Their Double Lives” by Jaime Lynn Hendricks!

MY RATING: 🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤/5

Kim Valva’s struggle is real as she scrapes by financially doing freelance graphic design by day and waitressing at an upscale New Jersey country club at night. She puts up with all the snooty socialites she serves because she is desperate to make money for a life saving surgery needed for her beloved dog Murphy.

A mysterious envelope is left at her front door with a proposition from “The Stranger” that would change her financial status and save Murphy. All she has to do is slip a pill into someone’s drink at the country club and the money is all hers.

But when it’s time to do the deed Kim comes face to face with her high school boyfriend Tony. What’s even worse is that he IS the target. There is no way Kim could kill him after all their history … so what has he done to deserve this?? And how uncanny is this coincidence?? Moments later, Tony’s new fiancé drops dead at the dinner table and everyone becomes a suspect! Is this a case of a missed target or something more sinister?

🎙️ MIC DROP! Yet another banger from Jaime Lynn Hendricks that SCREAMS of revenge, sinister motives, double lives and a tangled nasty web of lies! I read this popcorn thriller in one morning and couldn’t put it down! Told in multiple perspectives and dual timelines, you barely get a moment to breathe as the shocking story unfolds!

Thank you kindly to @jaimelynnhendricksauthor @penzlerpub @penguinrandomca @netgalley for my #gifted advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review! This book releases on May 20, 2025!

Revenge. Oh sweet, sweet revenge! How far would you go to even the playing ground? Do you believe in an eye for an eye? For me it would all depend on the situation. This book is highly addictive, unputdownable, the twists and turns will take you by surprise. I devoured it in an afternoon, at the edge of my seat, trying to untangle the threads that have come together in a jumbled mess. Trying to figure out who The Stranger is and why they are seeking their revenge!

Kim Valva has been having a moment. She has just kicked her boyfriend out for cheating on her. Her two-year-old puppy has been diagnosed with cancer, and she needs to come up with a pile of cash to save him. Pushing Kim into a gray area of what she is capable of. Surely not murder. Kim has been working as a waiter at the country club. The men leer at you with a look of hunger in their eyes and the women are downright hostile and rude. Kim is taken aback when her high school sweetheart walks in with his fiancé on his arm. He has changed his name, and he is no longer the bad boy from the block. When someone at their high-class table ends up dead in the most horrifying of ways. Who did it and why is the question on everyone's plumped lips?

This book is intense and left me flying through the pages. It is told through multiple points of view, which always makes the story much more intriguing. Thank you to Jaime Lynn Hendriks, Scarlet, and Thriller Book Lovers the Pulse for my gifted copy.

Their Double Lives is an unputdownable, addictive popcorn thriller that had me glued to the pages. If sleep wasn't needed I would've binged this one cover to cover in one sitting. Right off the bat Hendricks plunges you in the action, the pacing never lets up from there. There are no dull moments, no fluff, it's just a constant building of suspense, it had me saying just another chapter every time. I thought the author executed the plot flawlessly.

The characters were absolutely delicious. They were conniving, manipulative, deceitful and they each brought their own flare to the storyline. The mystery is unraveled piece by piece, just at the right time to keep the reader guessing and on their toes. The twists were good, well placed and had the desired impact.

Overall, this was a highly entertaining read that is unputdownable, kept me guessing until the end with a deliciously twist filled ending. Another hit from Jaime Lynn Hendricks!

✨️Thank you to @netgalley, @thrillerbookloversthepulse, @penzlerpublishers & @jaimelynnhendricks for my gifted ARC in exchange for an honest review.

One of my favorite authors that never fails to keep me guessing and entertained! I could feel my heart racing at times as I frantically turned the pages to see what happened next! Keep your head on a swivel with this one because it could be anyone!!

Their Double Lives has so many twists and turns, I was constantly on the edge of my seat. I love thriller books when a couple takes center stage and something nefarious is at play. When PJs plan to target, marry and kill Anthony Fuller goes completely sideways, it was apparent anything could happen.

I loved how the story was written, in multi POV with a dual timeline all converging at the end. So well done!

Their Double Lives was definitely a binge-worthy book. I read it all in one day! It had so many twists and turns that I wasn’t sure how it would end until the very last page. I’ve never read a book by this author, but now I want to read them all. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this book!

This was such a gripping listen! The tension builds right from the start, and I found myself second-guessing everyone. It’s one of those twisty thrillers where nothing is quite what it seems, and I couldn’t stop listening. The audiobook narration was fantastic—great pacing and emotion that really pulled me in.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to listen!

I’m gonna say 4 stars cuz this was a heck of a ride but the ending made me wanna say “WHAT??!” That’s putting it nicely, I assure you there were plenty expletives. As a reader, you know if you are that invested, it’s good stuff. Would’ve been a 5 star read had everything ended perfectly wrapped up. But, how often does that really happen?? Bravo, JLH👏🏼💗

I love Jaime Lynn Hendricks, her books are always a fun read. I love the multiple perspectives and timelines, easily 5 stars in my opinion. Thank you NetGalley and Scarlet for this advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review.

Lately, I have been enjoying more novels in the suspense and thriller genre. Some plots are too predictable, but Their Double Lives was captivating, and I had to finish it in one day. Kimberly's story about her sick dog pulled me in quickly. I enjoyed the Jersey/NY vibe. If you are looking for a well-done suspense story, try reading this new novel by Jaime Lynn Hendricks when it comes out in May!

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced copy of the book.

This was such a fun book to read! I found myself truly rooting for Kim (and Murphy!), and even for PJ, despite where her storyline begins. It's not a secret that PJ dies in the very beginning of the book, but interspersed between sections of Kim (now), there are sections of PJ taking over the narration, in the past, before her untimely death (murder). Aside from Kim, it was hard to know who to trust at times, but that was part of the fun. Who exactly was The Stranger, and why did he choose Kim to kill her ex-boyfriend? What was PJ hoping to gain from being in a relationship with someone twice her age? Was Carla Boswell simply jealous of PJ, or was there more to it? And is Anthony Fuller really a changed man? So many questions, and luckily everything is answered by the end; no ugly loose threads. I'd absolutely recommend this book to our customers, as well as to my friends and family. It would be a great beach book, or one to read on a vacation. A perfect book to pick up this summer!

What a ride! I love that it's in multiple POVs and it's easy to follow. This was definitely a good read.