Set in 1950's New York, where an aspiring sculptor Edgar finds his long lost childhood muse Fiona. Their reunion is both beautiful and ugly. Together they embark on a convoluted journey, that is not always what it seems.

I got a strong gothic horror vibe from this book. It's set in the art world, which is quite unfamiliar to me, but I did recognice many of the artists that were mentioned. I've noticed that Barker collaborating with another author does not always work very well for me. Unfortunately that was the case with this book, too. All in all, I did like the atmosphere, pace and the tension of the storytelling.

A Novel With Too Many Issues

Fiona Cadwell finds baby Edgar Maguire in a basket on the steps of St Mary’s orphanage. She takes him inside. He is such a cute baby. He quickly becomes Mother Abagail’s favorite. One day, Mother Abagail showers all of her attention on him. That night, the serpent in Fiona boils over. She goes downstairs and mutilates Edgar’s face with the knife. She makes him ugly. She becomes Edgar's only friend at the orphanage. The next chapter jumps around two decades later, in 1952, New York. Edgar is looking for Fiona. From this start, a very dark and macabre thriller starts.

This novel has three main storyline threads. The first is the last testament of Fiona Haberstein, née Cadwell. This thread provides much of the background on the Edgar and Fiona relations while they are in the orphanage, and how she left before he did. This thread is the best one and offers much insight into the nature of those two and how their relationship grew. The second thread deals with the sculpting and murder spree of Edgar and Fiona. Trying to follow this thread was difficult as it did not seem to be leading to an end. It was just a matter of murders without much forethought, then sculpting, and finally using Fiona’s foster mother’s gallery to sell his work. This thread lacked all direction except escalation. The third thread was the police investigation of the murders. This investigation is best described as ineffective. The main storyline, as a whole, never captured my interest. The author tried to raise the suspense by having Edgar and Fiona have close calls with the police and the possible discovery of the secret of his sculptures. It did not work for me. Then, right at the 50% point, I did write myself a note that what I had just read was interesting. Unfortunately, it was just a blip and not an inflection point to a better story.

Many aspects of this novel can cause some readers to stop reading. There is a very brief, intimate scene and a reference to a crime against a woman. The bad and impious language is present. The violent savagery of the attacks is implied or described after the attacks. The content is definitely adult.

Horror is this book's genre. My basic assessment is that this is a no-brainer action book. Horror is not a genre that I usually read. There is not even one aspect of the book that I liked. This author is one of my Must-Read authors. I have read ten previous novels, and they have not been five or four stars. This one was the first where he was the lead coauthor. I still look forward to the author’s next novel. For this novel, I do not recommend reading it. I rate this novel two stars, as it has problems, and I was disappointed.

I received the free, pre-publication e-book version of this novel from Hampton Creek Press through NetGalley. My review is based solely on my own reading experience. Thank you, Hampton Creek Press, for the opportunity to read and review this novel early.

The Finer Things by J.D. Barker, Kyle Dunn

I read the beginning of this book and was horrified by the act one child perpetrated on another in St. Mary’s home for orphans. Why would an adult admit in writing what was done to another and have it given to the person harmed? After reading the beginning, I read the end and found that it was as horrific as the beginning. My next action was to skim a bit in the middle and found out what happened to the two children in St. Mary’s during their time apart and then when they met up again later in life. I found out that there was blood, murder, obsession, art, sculpting, and crazy happenings with police looking for a murderer, too. At that point, I gave up. I had not read this author before and have a feeling I will not read his work in the future. I am sure others will enjoy this story, but it did not work for me.

Thank you to NetGallely and Hampton Creek-Simon & Schuster for the ARC – This is my honest review.

2-3 Stars

The Finer Things is a dark, graphic thriller set in 1950s New York, following Edgar—a disfigured sculptor obsessed with his childhood friend Fiona—as his passion spirals into madness. While his art gains acclaim, a trail of gruesome murders draws the attention of Detective George Snyder, leading their stories to collide.

The premise was intriguing, and I appreciated the themes of obsession, ego, and mental health. However, this story didn’t grip me the way other Barker novels have. The relationship between Edgar and Fiona felt intense but predictable, and I struggled to connect with the characters. The plot was atmospheric but lacked twists, and some moments leaned more horror than thriller.

Though it wasn’t a favorite, it still offered an unsettling look into the darker side of art, ambition, and identity.

Thank you to NetGalley, Simon & Schuster/Hampton Creek Press, and the authors for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Whoa, JD. What happened here? I live out work, but not here.
It took a long time to figure out what was going on, and not in a good slow burn way. The writing is all over the place and if I had not committed to review on NetGalley it would definitely be DNF

I saw J. D. Barker's name and I had to get this book. I'm a fan of his wirting, althought I had never heard of Kyle Dunn. The description sounded interesting.

Description:
His art will take your breath away.

In the shadows of 1950s New York, a brilliant mind teeters on the edge of madness. Edgar Maguire's sculptures are taking the art world by storm, but behind each masterpiece lies a horrifying secret.

When Fiona, the object of Edgar's lifelong obsession, reenters his life, it ignites a passion that blurs the lines between creation and destruction. As his art evolves into something terrifyingly beautiful, a trail of bodies begins to surface across the city.

Detective George Snyder is closing in, but can he unravel the connection between the murders and Edgar's rising star before it's too late?

My Thoughts:
Definitely not my kind of art. An interesting story and I guess you could call the art unique - but criminally unique. The sculptures gave me a creepy feeling just reading about how they were built and what Edgar and Fiona did to create them. Fiona and Edgar, the main characters had an intense relationship - I would say obsessive. I really didn't care for either of them. I did enjoy reading about the political nuances in the art world and how Fiona's mother handled her successful business. The artists have major egos! Definitely not my favorite J. D. Barker book, but it is well written and has good pacing. I don't think I like Barker's collaborations as much as the books he has written himself.

Thanks to Simon & Schuster | Hampton Creek Press through Netgalley for an advance copy.

I'm a fan of J.D. Barker. I loved The Fourth Monkey and We Don't Talk About Emma. This book was still a great read, and I'd recommend it to fans of serial killer thrillers. However, if someone asked for a recommendation, I'd suggest reading the 4MK series first. This one is 3.5 stars for me.

** I received a copy of this book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review **

What a strange and chaotic book. And I don't mean that as a compliment. The concept of an artist going mad over his muse and leaving a trail of bodies in his wake sounded so interesting. I thought it would be such a cool, interesting read. I was, unfortunately, wrong.

The first twenty chapters of this book seriously had me wanting to mark it as DNF. Probably should've. The writing was so choppy, we didn't get enough of a lead into the action, and I genuinely could not keep the attempted setting in mind. 1950s New York sounded neat, but I never felt that, it always felt pre-WWI to me. And it being around Christmas? Each mention violently reminded me, because it was so spread out. The writing of the dialogue was also annoying. There was nothing setting up the emotions being portrayed and felt so choppy. It was almost painful to read.

Even as we finally started getting somewhere interesting plot-wise, these problems persisted. And I never understood the characters and their motivations. They kept going back and forth, up to the end, and I never fully got them or connected with them.

The last thirty-ish pages where it all got chaotic was confusing more than anything. The chaos of everyone killing and Edgar going mad wasn't written well and just lost me. Especially the last two pages.

Overall, not great. Cover is really cool, though.


Rating: 1.5/5

Recommend? No

I really struggled with this book. The characters felt off, the plot didn’t improve, and I ended up skimming the second half. Maybe someone in the art world would connect with it more, but it just didn’t work for me.

3.5 stars

The Finer Things by J.D. Barker & Kyle Dunn is  a thriller about a sculptor and the woman he loves.

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher  Simon & Schuster/Hampton Creek Press and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.   All opinions are my own.




My Synopsis:    (No major reveals, but if concerned, skip to My Opinions)
Edgar and Fiona grew up in an orphanage.  Fiona, a beauty, was adopted when she was twelve years old by Sylvia Haberstein who opened an art gallery in New York.

Edgar's facial scars seemed to put off potential families, so he stayed at St. Mary's even after he could have left, helping with janitorial duties.  But he never forgot Fiona.

In the 1950's, Edgar searches New York for Fiona, and finally finds her modelling in the nude for a professor, but she disappears again.  He has been sculpting her from memory since he was a child.   Finally, he finds her again, and this time, his obsession with her sends him to the brink of madness.  His sculptures start taking the art world by storm, but beneath the clay lives a secret.

Meanwhile,  Detective  George Snyder is hot on the trail of a killer leaving a gruesome trail of bodies across the city, and all roads seem to lead to Edgar.




My Opinions:
First, I really enjoy Barker's work, and grab each one as soon as it is available.  I find I enjoy the books where he writes on his own more than his collaborations, but this does not really deter me.  This book didn't bring me the satisfaction that others have.  However, that could just be the topic.  I'm not an "art world" reader.

However, that's not to say this wasn't good.   It just didn't grab me as much as his other work. The dynamic between Edgar and Fiona, although predictable, was intense. I was at least able to find some sympathy for Edgar (most of the time), but Fiona never grew on me due to her actions as a child  and then her actions as an adult.   There weren't really any true likable characters.

The book really looks at egos and jealousy, passion, obsession, and murder.  It also looked at mental health.  The overall plot held no twists or surprises...everything was inevitable.

It was a dark and graphic tale, filled with enough gore to make it somewhat horror, but as with most of Barker's work when he collaborates, something was missing.

 Anyway, until next time....

It’s important to go into this book remembering this is co-authored and not your typical JD Barker solo novel. I think many people have given a low rating because they had too specific of expectations going into it. I found it to be unique, dark, but entertaining, platte cleanser compared to my recent reads. This quirky noir is set in the 50’s and follows an artist’s obsession and spiral into madness. At times while I read I pictured it as a play in my mind. Many of the gruesome scenes play out calmly vs thrilling slasher scenes, which tied everything back to the “art” of it all.

Thank you NetGalley and Hampton Creek Press for this ARC. This review will be shared on NetGalley and Goodreads.

Pub Date Jul 08 2025

Thank you to NetGalley and Hampton Creek Press/Simon & Schuster for the ARC. I’m so disappointed in this book. I normally thoroughly devour any book written by Barker but this one was a struggle from start to finish. I really wanted to quit on this book and I probably should have but I was hoping at some point it would take a turn and be up to par of his previous books. Sadly it didn’t.

I will read anything that has J.D. Barker’s name on it. Unfortunately I did not find Barker’s voice in this novel and so it was a miss for me. This whole story reads like a fever dream in black and white. Set in New York during the 1950’s, Edgar Maguire is a rising star in the art community as a sculptor. But behind each of Edgar’s works of art is an alarming secret. And when his beloved muse, Fiona, comes back into his life their passion and obsession for each other could lead to devastation. While the murder cases increase in the city, Detective George Snyder has his work cut out for him trying to tie the killings to Edgar.

Thank you Netgalley, Hampton Creek Press/Simon & Schuster, and the authors for this eARC in exchange for my honest review. This book will be available for purchase on July 8, 2025

1950- Edgar, a talented but unknown sculptor, crosses paths with his longtime obsession Fiona. Their relationship ignites Edgar’s creativity resulting in an exhibit of disturbing creations that exhibit an unexplained beauty for some. Meanwhile, Detective George Snyder, is searching for a killer as a rash of murders continue to lead him back to the same man…Edgar.

The Finer Things reads like a descent into madness and obsession. A young man with a troubled past appears almost savant like in his artistic abilities but you immediately recognize that something about him is very wrong. Although I figured the plot twist out almost immediately I kept reading hoping for something original but unfortunately this concept has been used several times. I didn’t really love this one but if you’re looking for something dark and tragic then this might be the perfect read for you

Y’all, this book is like stepping into a smoky 1950s art gallery—gorgeous, haunting, and just unsettling enough to make you sweat. Edgar Maguire’s sculptures are the talk of New York, but behind every masterpiece????? His art will take your breath away… maybe permanently.

When Fiona, his lifelong obsession, reappears, Edgar spirals from genius to unhinged artist real quick. Passion turns deadly, and Detective George Snyder is hot on the trail, trying to piece together the blood-streaked puzzle.

Creepy, atmospheric, and chillingly beautiful, it’s a twisted tale of love, madness, and marble. One star off for a slow stretch mid-book, but otherwise? A dark, delicious ride. Just don’t read it alone in a quiet room.

Full review at Chapter And Charm
👉 https://vanessakeck.wordpress.com/2025/07/05/📚-the-finer-things-by-j-d-barker-kyle-dunne/

Thanks to Hampton Creek Press / Simon & Schuster for providing this advance copy via NetGalley for my voluntary review. #NetGalley #TheFinerThings

3.5 upped to 4
I'm on the edge as I loved and hated this book at the same time. The mystery was intriguing but the characters were a bit flat at times
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Welp! It pains me to write this review. I am a HUGE fan of J.D. Barker and have now read 10 of his books. Many of which were five star reads for me, but The Finer Things was not fine at all. I had to check a few times to see if he did in fact write this book because this was not on par to his usually wonderfully written and executed books. I'm still scratching my head and wondering how much he wrote as opposed to how much the person he co-authored the book with wrote. I am always instantly gripped and instantly addicted to his books and writings. This one did not work for me at all.

1950s New York

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and Edgar Maguire seems to have the skills that delight the eyes of many. He is a sculptor, and his art is to die for. When Fiona, re-enters his life, his passion is ignited, and his creations are well - unique!

Sigh We can't love every book a writer writes, and we certainly can't love every book that we pick up. This book blurs the line between madness, genius, skill, obsession, and art. Normally, I would find this to be intriguing, but I found the dialogue to be off, the scenes were odd and clunky. I don't know how else to describe them. The characters of Fiona and Edgar have a connection, but I never felt it. They were supposed to have a deep connection, but it felt very surface and dull.

UGH! I am at a loss. Again, I love J.D. Barker's writing but, in this book, it did not feel as if he wrote it at all. He is such a beautiful writer and writes intriguing, interesting and unique characters but all of that was lacking in this book. If you have not read J.D. Baker's work before, I strongly suggest you read Dracul,She Has a Broken Thing Where Her Heart Should Be, or any book in his 4MK thriller series starting with The Fourth Monkey. They are amazing, addictive, thrilling and hard to put down books.

What did work for me in this book was the atmosphere and the setting. This book did play out like an old black and white movie in my mind.

There are reviewers who enjoyed this book more than I did, so please read their reviews as well. As I mentioned, I love J.D. Barkers other books and will happily read what he writes next.

This book reads like a satire in a straitjacket. What begins as a stylish noir quickly morphs into something more surreal, a dark, twisted reflection on the all-consuming nature of art and the industry built around it.

JD Barker and Kyle Dunn have delivered a book that feels like it's sculpted from the bones of the victims in the pages.

This isn’t just a story of madness. It’s a discussion on the cannibalistic nature of the creative arts industry, of how talent is discovered, hyped, exploited, and discarded. The book satirises the art world’s obsession with novelty, its hunger for genius no matter the cost. Art is held as sacred, but it’s also parasitic, demanding not just the artist’s time and mind, but their body, memories, and soul. It's also a discussion on the immortality of beauty, and what beauty means to the audience or, in this case, the witness.

The characters are functional more than layered, shaped by the story’s frantic pace and warped tone. The prose is jagged and unrelenting, like watching a plot unfold through warped glass. It’s not emotionally rich, but it is conceptually rich.

But even though the characters may be thin, there's not denying the dark spiral you'll journey down with this story. This is not a comfortable read. It’s eerie, unsettling, and deliberately alienating. But as satire, it lands hard and if you let it sink in, it becomes something memorable, like a sculpture built from madness, obsession, and the brittle bones of ambition.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing a copy of this book for an honest review.

Thank you for the opportunity to review this book. I usually love J.D Barker. I don't know if the addition of another author accounts for the difference or not. This book was just weird. I was able to guess one twist very early on.

Review of The Finer Things by J.D. Barker and Kyle Dunn:

Woah—this was not what I expected! The Finer Things pulls you in with what feels like a familiar setup, then completely flips the script. Just when I thought I had it all figured out, the story hit me with a twist that changed everything. Suspenseful, smart, and full of surprises, this is a thriller that keeps you guessing until the very last page. A must-read for fans of the genre!