The premise was okay. A ghostwriter who needs an extra bedroom for her growing boy/girl twins is offered a sublet in NYC via the client she’s ghostwriting for. I thought a family who needed another bedroom would actively seek out the going rate and look at other options before deciding on this one. But I let that slide.

Once they move in, the cat freaks out. And she meets a neighbor who said the previous tenant died in the bathtub. That’s the extent of the creepiness. No creepiness.

And then the main character figured out what’s going on off the page and confronts the owner. And poisons her.

The end. Poorly executed.

I love Greer Hendricks’ other books so I was so excited to see something new from her.
This story immediately grabbed my attention and was an instant Page Turner. I understand that it’s a short story, but I thought the ending could have been explained better. However, I did not predict the ending or see it coming, which is a sign of a good thriller, I look forward to what this author publishes next. Thank you for the advance copy

This opens as ghost-writer Annie lying to her husband telling him she's supposedly going to meet a well-paying prominent client (wellness guru Melody Wells) before going back to over a month earlier when Melody first tells Annie about a sub-let she's aware of. Annie and husband Paul and 9yr old twins are in a cramped apartment and the sub-let is everything they dreamed of. Until Annie learns that the previous tenant died in the apartment and the letting agent lied to them about her.

I've enjoyed Hendricks's collaborations with Sarah Pekkanen but this really didn't 'do' it for me. The pacing felt very off... with the early stages and backstory being drawn out before rushing to a confusing conclusion. I note some other reviewers suggest it would be better suited to a full-length novel to allow characters to be more fully developed and us better understand their motivation.

The early writing also seemed a little clumsy and I wondered about the editing...
'My heart beats quickly; it feels as if a brick of firecrackers is exploding in my chest.' (!!!!)

#SPOILERISH And ultimately the conclusion didn't entirely make sense - when 'something' (I can't say cos #spoilers) is used as a weapon but it only killed someone else because of a range of factors converging... which wasn't the case for the final almost-victim who seems to think it will kill them?!

Fast-paced mystery novella about a FMC (Anne) who takes a dream job as the ghostwriter for a female health & wellness guru (Melody). While I could not put it down, I was disappointed by the ending. The foreshadowing was a bit too obvious, the ending felt rushed and, without spoiling the twist, it did not really make sense how Anne handled the big reveal. Then everything was quickly wrapped up in a tidy bow. It left me wanting more, but not in a satisfying way.

Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for an ARC of this novella in exchange for my honest feedback.

I received this short story for free from Amazon Prime reading and overall, I rated it 4/5 stars. I enjoyed that it was a fast-paced story that did not skip on setting the scene or the emotional build up. I did not, however, enjoy the ending as much as I would've liked. I felt like there was such a big, suspenseful build up and then it just fell a little flat as far as resolutions.

★ [2.8/5] ★
This was a fun and quick read! The beginning was really intriguing, but it lost me as it went on. The twist didn't shock me. It felt a bit predictable and didn’t quite deliver the turn of events that I was hoping for. That said, Greer Hendricks’ writing is super digestible and engaging enough that I'd try reading her other work.

Huge thanks to NetGalley for providing me with the digital ARC of this book! 📖💗

I liked this a lot. Love how short it was “duh it’s a short story” but I feel like I would read this even if it was a 300 page mystery/thriller book. Plus it was my first ARC. I loved when it all came together, it was super satisfying and the line when Anne called Honey Hemmingway made me laugh. Really good book :)

Annie is ghost writing health guru Melody’s book, and melody helps Annie’s family move into a bigger and better apartment. The apartment gives Annie the creeps, and as she learns more she grows even more at ease. What’s the truth behind the apartment.

A nice quick short story. In and out, right to the point. Interesting, could have done well as a longer story, but also was complete enough for a short story.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC copy. This has not affected my review at all, which are my own thoughts.

What a banger I just read. From start to finish. Until the truth exploded in our protagonist's face. A truly good story to keep me company on my way to work.

A ghostwriter with a stressing life, Anne is barely keeping it together both for her sake and her family's, juggling nine-year-old twins and a listless marriage from an overcrowded Manhattan apartment. She's musing about giving up on her dreams of writing her own novels when Melody Wells enters the scene and offers her a job: to write her motivational book, featuring her "lavender method".

They start working together and Melody, apart form demanding and wearing Anne too thin to get her book the sooner the better due to deadlines, also gets Anne and her family a new apartment with views to the East River. It all seems too real to be true, but the place is perfect, so when some strange things start happening that leave Anne confuse, she'll do anything to find the truth.

So, "The Sublet" started strong, right in the middle of it all, with an initial scene that show us who Anne is, giving context to what she's doing and a goal. After that, it declined a bit, only to come back strong at the end with the revelation. But, since it is such a short read, it didn't really suffer from the slowing down, in my opinion, though the contrast between the first scene being so high point and then, the next one, bringing the action down, was a bit jarring.

Anne was a character interesting enough for me to want to follow her around and find out what's really going on. I only wish that the rest of the cast had been just as good, because they were a bit lacking in personality and plot-affecting actions. Not even Melody was a good enough supporting character, she didn't have enough personality for that. But Anne made up for the lack of a stronger cast of secondary characters. Maybe a longer narrative/story could have helped this.

Still, I enjoyed Anne and Melody's relationship, cordial enough to get the book written, but demanding to a point of robbing Anne of her life with her almost not noticing until she explodes. Even though Anne was more develop as a character than Melody, their relationship definitely was well written, believable and disturbing enough to carry the story.

Last but not least, the mystery was average for me. Some details were perfectly woven within the narrative for the ones paying attention to every word to catch, while other were there in plain view. So, at the end. the mystery was a good twist, but most of its aspects were quite predictable.

Overall, I had an amazing time reading this, fled trough it in a few hours, glued to the pages until reaching the finish line. Recommended for fans of short stories and a thriller about the high price of perfection and overachieving

Thank you NetGalley! I enjoy this author. This was a cute novella that I loved. I’m impressed how the author paints a story with so few pages

An engaging short story. I was a little confused at the end but overall I quite enjoyed the story, it obviously moved along quite quickly, the main characters were interesting.

This is a quick short story by one of my favorite thrilling authors. Don't let the short length of this story keep you from reading this twisty tale. True to Greer Hendricks fashion, you will be asking yourself "who did it" right up until the last page. Make sure to read this thriller this Spring.

Great little short story from a great author! This story was fast paced and kept you wondering what was going to happen next.

I read this short story with some excitement and was let down. The ending was lackluster and didn't fit well. This is a story that is kind of gimmicky - we always know a too good to be true sublet or rental is not going to end up well. There was not much else the author could have done to kept the suspense going.

I did not enjoy it as much as I thought I would but will look out for more books by the author. 💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚

The Sublet by Greer Hendricks is a tightly woven psychological thriller that kept me hooked from beginning to end. The premise—a seemingly perfect sublet that turns sinister—is executed with a clever balance of tension and emotional depth. Hendricks does a great job building the protagonist’s inner world, making the reader question what’s real and what’s paranoia.

The pacing is solid, with just enough reveals to keep the suspense simmering. I especially appreciated the layered characters and how the story slowly peeled back their secrets. That said, some plot points felt a bit convenient, and a few twists were more predictable than I would have liked—hence the missing star.

Still, it’s a compelling and well-written read that fans of domestic thrillers will definitely enjoy. Would recommend!

One of the worst things I've ever read. Was this satire? It wasn't clever enough to be satire.

In this one short story all these brand names/pop culture references are explicitly mentioned, for no good reason that I can discern:


Apple Maps
Amex
Suits
Elsa from Frozen
Zoom
Modern Family
Rolling Stones
Nike
Squid Game
Crocs
TikTok
The New Yorker
Montblanc pen
Matthew Perry
Whitney Houston
Anne Hathaway
Nicole Kidman
Hemingway

Worst line:
"Two months of desk work plus nine months carrying twins have not done me any favours; my tummy sags like a deflated balllon."


Just... wow.

I don't read that many short stories. But a while ago I read one in this series. I really enjoyed it. So I wanted to try another one. One from a writer I didn't know yet.

This story was a bit disappointing. The characters didn't appeal to me. I think if this story was a little longer, I would have enjoyed it more.

3,5 stars

For such a short book, this one had me hooked from the start.
We follow Anne who is barely keeping it together as a ghostwriter. She just landed a big client and maybe her life is turning around.
For a short story to be good for me it needs to intrigue me and give me some tension. I feel like this book did that.
I enjoyed it and was pleasantly surprised how fast I got through it.

**Features:**

- A short story where things really are too good to be true
- A quirky and demanding celebrity ‘health’ specialist
- Main character is a writer

**Synopsis:**

Trying to raise a family in Manhattan is a challenge that has started to wear on Anne. Though she is spread thin, she jumps at the chance to be a ghostwriter for Melody Wells, the latest trending wellness guru. Despite the demanding deadline, the money is good and things really start looking up when Melody connects her to a sublet opportunity that is everything Anne could hope for. However, after moving her family, strange things begin to happen and Anne finds she is dedicating more and more of her time bending to Melody’s increasing demands.

**Thoughts:**

This is an interesting story with some light thrills and an ending that will leave you thinking (in a good way). Where there’s definitely a creepy atmosphere and some suspenseful moments, I found the story as a whole more thoughtful/mind-bendy than scary or intense. Anne is a person who has become so mired in the chores and schedule of family living that some of her ambitions and pleasures have been shoved to the side without her fully recognizing it until she is encouraged to reflect. I really appreciate this more subtle and relatable approach to being “overwhelmed” and it makes her evolving relationship with Melody compelling. The story was surprisingly though provoking in the end and feels like it wraps up nicely even if there are still some lingering questions.

Though an enjoyable story overall, I was definitely left feeling like it tries to cover too much ground for this shorter format. There is a lot of potential, especially with the characters and their relationships, that is never quite met because the story jumps from moment to moment a little too quickly. While I definitely don’t expect the pacing and level of detail of a full novel, there were things that felt skimmed over in order to cover the whole scope of the story.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review!