This was just the unreliable narrator book I needed and I loved the shady protagonist. I wouldn’t necessarily categorize this as a thriller though- more of a women’s fiction/suspense blend.

This book was a quick read that kept me guessing. I enjoyed the back and forth of perspectives through the years and the sister's lives. Felt a little slow in the middle, but the whiplash ending gave the book a 4th star.. It snapped so many things into perspective.

I always know when a psychological suspense story will be good because it makes me uncomfortable. This book did that times ten but not in a bad way. The main protagonist has issues with boundaries and she stretches those boundaries to the breaking point. As her life unravels she is helpless to stop her spiral. But the absolute stunner is the zinger at the end. At that point some of what she has been doing makes if not sense, at least explainable. This book will stay with me for a long time.

Good Intentions had a strong setup: grief, sisterhood, and the unsettling pull between strangers who meet in a hospital waiting room. The writing was immersive at times, and the premise promised a layered exploration of loss and obsession.

But for me, the execution didn’t quite deliver. Cady’s spiral felt more repetitive than tense, and instead of building suspense, it often circled the same ground. Her delusional fixation could have been compelling, but I found myself more frustrated than intrigued. By the time the predictable twist showed up in the last chapter, I was mostly just ready to finish so I could look away.

There is an interesting voice here, and Walz does create an atmosphere that captures the messiness of grief, obsession, and mental health. It just didn’t grip me as much as I’d hoped. Two and a half stars rounded up because it does have an intriguing cover.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book. It will be published on February 3, 2026.

Wow, loved this book! I was hooked from the very first line to the very last. The main character was a real piece of work. Such an intriguing psychological thriller! 5 stars, for sure!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the Kindle ARC in exchange for an honest review. The description of this book intrigued me and the story itself delivered. Cady is a party planner for wealthy clients. When her twin, Dana, dies in a tragic car wreck, Cady spirals into grief and mental health issues. She comes obsessed with a woman that she sees in the hospital waiting room, Morgan, who is receiving horrific news of her own. Cady starts neglecting her marriage, her party planning business and herself as she continues to spiral into grief and obsession. Good Intentions has a twist at the end that I didn't see coming that perfectly sums up why Cady loses control.

From the very first chapter, Good Intentions creeps under your skin and refuses to let go. This debut psychological thriller is dark, sinister, and emotionally unsettling—exactly the kind of story that drags you out of your comfort zone and forces you to wrestle with obsession, grief, and the fragile boundaries of mental health.

At its center is Cady, a luxury event planner whose picture-perfect life is shattered when her identical twin, Dana, dies suddenly after a tragic accident. Cady, who has always defined herself in relation to her sister—their bond more than just close, almost symbiotic—is left with a raw, festering grief she doesn’t quite know how to process. To make matters worse, she had argued with Dana shortly before her death, leaving her with a toxic cocktail of guilt and sorrow.

But instead of navigating her loss in the expected ways, Cady fixates on a stranger she meets in the hospital waiting room the day Dana dies: Morgan, a grieving mother who has just learned of her own devastating loss. What begins as a moment of shared pain spirals into an unhealthy, consuming obsession. Cady convinces herself she needs to help Morgan to heal, but the deeper she sinks into this fixation, the more readers begin to question her true motives—and whether even Cady fully understands what she’s after.

What makes this novel so compelling is Cady’s voice. She is at once brutally honest and deeply unreliable, laying bare her thoughts in ways that make you squirm. At times, you pity her. At others, you want to shake her. Walz crafts her with unnerving precision, forcing us to walk the razor’s edge between empathy and revulsion. The effect is claustrophobic and addictive—you can’t look away, even when Cady’s behavior becomes disturbing, manipulative, and frighteningly unhinged.

Thematically, the book masterfully explores twinhood, identity, and the psychology of grief. The relationship between Cady and Dana haunts every page, shaping not only Cady’s unraveling but also her desperate need to cling to someone—anyone—who might fill the void her twin left behind. Walz doesn’t rush the tension; instead, she builds it slowly, allowing unease to accumulate with every interaction, every half-truth, every questionable decision.

This is not a thriller that relies on flashy twists alone (though the final act packs a wallop). Instead, its power lies in its atmosphere and character work. The prose is sharp, immersive, and suffused with dread. Walz’s talent shines in the way she captures the looping, fragmented thinking of someone spiraling into obsession while keeping the reader both horrified and riveted.

By the time the final revelation lands, the novel has pushed you into uncomfortable moral territory: How much can grief excuse? How far can “good intentions” stretch before they become something twisted, selfish, and dangerous? The ending is chilling precisely because it feels inevitable, the natural result of a mind consumed by both love and loss.

Overall, Good Intentions is a gripping, thought-provoking debut that cements Marisa Walz as a fresh and formidable voice in psychological suspense. It’s an unsettling journey into the darker corners of grief and obsession—one that leaves you unsettled long after you turn the last page. Fans of character-driven thrillers with unreliable narrators will devour this one in a single sitting.

A very huge thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for sharing this unputdownable psychological debut thriller’s digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest opinions. I deeply appreciated the chance to read it early and cannot wait to see what Marisa Walz creates next.

When Cady's identical twin sister dies suddenly in a car crash, she is devastated and can't seem to move on with her life. Her business falls apart, her marriage is on the rocks and her dog is missing. She becomes obsessed with the mother of a young boy who died the same night as her sister that she observed in the emergency room. She begins stalking Morgan trying to mold her into her dead twin. As Cady and Morgan begin a friendship, it seems like Cady is finally getting her act together until she goes overboard by trying to control Morgan's life.

Grief counseling isn't helping and as her therapist suggests, grief may not be the emotion that Cady needs to face head on.

At times a depressing slog through Cady's non-functioning everyday life; at others the scary knowledge that this behavior isn't from someone with a rational mind and Morgan may be in real trouble here. Allowing readers to follow her every inner thought allows us to see how easily Cady has spiraled out of control. Will she finally admit to herself what it is that is causing her so much pain? She's been told to leave Morgan alone but will she ever let Morgan go?

The writing was so clean and easy, but the story was deceptive and unexpected. Cady’s identical twin sister is killed in a car accident and the reader experiences what Cady goes through mentally, emotionally and physically in the aftermath. Cady is generally unlikable but like a bad car accident (pun intended) you just can’t stop reading to see what happens next. The ending was unpredictable and worth it.

It’s hard to believe this is a debut from the author. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

Thank you Netgalley for this e-ARC.

Wow! This book was incredible! I loved every minute of it. Every chapter made me wanting more, and needing to know what was going on.

Cady has a secret, and it's a doozy! I never figured it out until it was revealed, and I was stunned. Cady is paranoid. She loses her twin sister and unborn niece in a car accident. She stalks a new friend, runs her business into the ground, and ruins her marriage. But Cady's big secret is the worst thing of all.

Thanks NetGalley for the free ARC! I really enjoyed this book. I loved the storyline and complex characters. I loved the personal issues we were akin to from the protagonist. I liked how her thought process played out and we were able to understand her choices and intentions. The ending was NOT predictable. Great book… 5 stars!. I did look up this author and saw that this is their 1st book… wow, an amazing debut!

In the book Good Intentions, Cady intends to do good, to the point she's too intense! In fact, her family describes her as the intense twin. The more you read about Cady in Good Intentions, the more you shrink back from her.

This was a book that lept me on the edge of my seat. Love the unique narration. I will be recommending this book to all interested in the suspense drama.

Wow!!! Is all I can say about this absolutely outstanding book. I loved every paragraph, every sentence and every word of this masterpiece! I read it in 12 hours, which is a lot for me to do! It had everything and more laid out in the novel! I sure hope there is more to come from this author! I am totally hooked! This was an outstanding novel from the cover to the last page!

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me an early ARC for Marissa Walz's debt novel. Cady, a luxury party planner loses her identical twin sister Dana and Dana's unborn baby in a car accident, At the hospital, she meets Morgan, a mother who loses her 12 year old son on the same day. She becomes so fixated on her that Cady's marriage and business starts to suffer, This book is an intense, psychological suspenseful debt that had me hooked from the get go. At first, you feel for her, but soon you're left wondering what is she doing? A Chilling exploration of grief, obsession, and blurred morality,

This book takes on several tough subjects as part of its winding plot involving two terrible accidents on Valentine's Day: one twin sister and one child are killed in two separate auto accidents. The surviving twin and the boy's mother are brought together in grief, as their worlds fall apart. The twin runs her own event management business, and her husband has his own business too. The psycho drama of these three adults is woven expertly by the author as we watch their conflicts over loss and adjusting to various circumstances that I don't want to reveal to spoil the plot. As someone who has lost an adult child, their grief journeys aren't sugar-coated and seem very realistic and raw. And the strong ending is somewhat surprising but brings the novel to an appropriate close. Highly recommended.

Marisa Walz is a promising new voice in the psychological thriller genre. Her debut novel, Good Intentions weaves the tale of Cady , who loses her twin sister in a car accident. The loss of her sister and a chance encounter with a woman at the hospital send Cady spiraling out of control. Her life is turned upside down by her “good intentions”. But you know what they say about the paved road to hell. Cady has always been obsessive and controlling, but her new tragedy takes it to new levels. It starts effecting all aspects of her life and when she finally goes over the line she must deal with her secrets and to hope she can bring her life back to”normal.”
I really look forward to this author’s future novels.
Thank you to the author, St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read an advanced copy.

What a psychological suspense debut novel! That last chapter brought me to tears and explains Cady’s actions during the grief she faces after the death of her twin sister Dana. Absolutely loved this and I am still thinking about it! So well done. I cannot wait for Marisa Walz’s next book. Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the ARC. All opinions are my own. 5 stars, expected publication date 03 Feb 26.

I really enjoyed Marisa Waltz’s debut—Good Intentions was a dark, twisty ride that kept me hooked. The book follows Cady, a successful event planner whose life falls apart after losing her twin sister, Dana, in a sudden accident. Cady’s grief takes a strange turn when she meets Morgan, a grieving mother she runs into at the hospital. Instead of just mourning Dana, Cady throws herself into helping Morgan heal, believing that if she can fix Morgan, she can somehow fix her own pain too. That fixation becomes the heart of the story. If you’re into stalkers like Joe Goldberg from ‘You’, this book is definitely up your alley.

This is a psychological suspense more focused on emotion and obsession than fast-paced action. The writing digs deep into grief, morality, and blurred lines between compassion and obsession. I thought the pacing was tense and unsettling, and I liked how the relationships kept me second-guessing everyone’s true motives. I couldn’t predict the ending which is uncommon for me so I throughly enjoyed this novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Very good story. Several things really tugged at my heart. The character development was fantastic. The ending.....SHOCKING!!!! I did NOT see that coming. I really wish the one thing I wanted to know how it worked out was left unresolved. Now I will be wondering....for the rest of my life. Highly recommend. Thank you for allowing me to read this book.