Peter Pulaski Must Pay by Jen Lancaster is the book that pulled me out of my reading slump! It’s a sharp, funny comedy-mystery with strong 9 to 5 energy, a dash of suburban chaos, and a cast of characters you can’t help but root for. I laughed, I gasped, and I read it late into the night. Highly recommend if you want something smart, sassy, and just plain fun. I might be back on my reading game thanks to this one.

I enjoyed Peter Pulaski Must Pay by Jen Lancaster. In it, Eli, Frankie, Carmen, Stella, Jazz and Diana are The Doom Crew, a team of true crime obsessives who connected online to discuss cold cases and have since become great friends. They meet weekly and share their thoughts and theories and naturally start to share their personal lives. The group gets along well even though they all have very different lives and outside interests until the group starts to notice that Diane’s husband treats her horribly.
Following a Japanese trend they hear about wherein petty crimes are avenged by average people delivering ‘justice’, they start to investigate Peter. Things quickly escalate and they find out by following Peter and invading his privacy in every way possible, that he is leading an illegal double life.
The story is fun, and it’s easy to imagine getting involved in a group like this, my only qualifications being extreme nosiness… and the fallout and twists are fun to read. This is a multiple character POV story which got slightly confusing as they all have pretty similar personalities. Overall, I would recommend it as a fun light read cozy mystery.
Peter Pulaski Must Pay is scheduled to be released in September of 2025. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I’ve read quite a few of Jen Lancaster’s books, and Peter Pulaski Must Pay is probably one of my favorites. The plot is fun and engaging. I’m not a true-crime follower, but I loved how this group bonded over a shared interest, became a found family, and ultimately fought for one another in ways that mirrored their obsession. The characters were mostly well written and developed, and I enjoyed watching their relationships evolve alongside the unraveling mystery.

My chief complaints with the book center around the use of multiple POVs. The story is told from four perspectives, and it felt a little uneven—if you’re going to include most of the group, why leave one member out? I also found Jazz and Frankie’s voices too similar, which occasionally pulled me out of the story as I had to go back and remind myself who was talking. In my opinion, the novel would have been stronger and more cohesive if it had focused the POVs on just Eli and Diana, offering a balanced perspective from both inside and outside the relationship. The extra voices sometimes muddied the tone and made it feel a bit more juvenile than necessary. That said, I still enjoyed the book and would recommend.

This was a netgalley auto-approval, and I understand why. I expected this to be a cozy/funny mystery (like Thursday Murder Club), but what I got was a book with an identity crisis and characters that have so much development but are so similar that it's impossible to keep anything straight.
This is about a group of friends who met through a true crime Reddit thread, and then became close friends in real life, leading to them creating their own true crime blog and becoming intertwined in each other's lives. One night after their meeting, one of the members, Jazz, stays behind to play chess with Diana's son. She then witnesses Diana getting berated by her husband and he throws their foster cat out of the front door. She then hacks into his work laptop and discovers that basically he is a quack doctor, and all of their family's money has come from him putting procedures that didn't happen through client insurance, and he also hands out pills like candy. This all culminates into the group deciding Diana's husband, Peter Pulaski, needs to pay for his transgressions.
That's the spoiler free version, because though nothing really happens between this and the group almost killing Peter, we get HUGE paragraphs on top of paragraphs about these characters' backstories. It's told through multiple points of view (FOUR of them), but none of these characters have a unique voice so half the time I was reading Frankie's POV but wondering why Jazz was referring to herself in third person. There's a 63 year old woman who frequently talks about not understanding people's "vibes." I'm not saying older people can't use slang, but it was just all so ridiculous and made it so much harder to understand what was going on.
The ending was so stupid. We end up at a log cabin where Peter has requested just his wife to meet him with a flashdrive that holds a crypto wallet. Of course, the whole group ends up going, along with Diana's daughter, Lilly. This Russian man who Elinor, the aforementioned 63 year old, has a crush on, shows up with a gun, then immediately puts it away saying he won't kill anyone. He also had a son who died because Peter Pulaski was giving him false prescriptions. There was a stupid joke about how he was known as the Butcher of Bergdorf, but it was a bad translation and he was actually known as the baker. He then reveals that he was the online escort that Peter was cheating on Diana with, and he wants the crypto wallet to send it to aid the war in Ukraine. Peter begs for Diana to give him the flash drive, that the two of them and Lilly can run away to Europe together and everything will be okay. It ends with Diana throwing the drive to the Russian man (I forgot his name and I can't be bothered to find out) and saying "You have a son too, asshole."
Now, I've left out the whole scene where they put on trashbags and end up almost shooting Peter, but this is truly too long already and I could complain forever. The most disappointing part is that the idea could be super fun, but as it stands now I fear there is no helping it without starting completely over.

Jen Lancaster delivers another wildly entertaining ride in The Friday Night Doom Crew, blending laugh-out-loud moments with sharp insights into friendship, revenge, and deception. From the first few pages, the humor hits—snappy one-liners, absurd true-crime rabbit holes, and a crew of gloriously over-the-top vigilantes make this a bingeable read for anyone who’s ever bonded with friends over podcasts, wine, and the question, “Could we actually pull off a murder?”

The Doom Crew itself is where the story shines. Their bond is genuine, messy, and heartwarming, filled with ride-or-die energy that many readers will relate to. The friendship between the friends is the emotional core of the book—there’s something deeply satisfying about watching them rally, even if their plans go a little... off the rails.

That said, there were sections that felt like fluff—long detours that didn’t move the plot much but instead leaned into the characters’ quirks or side commentary. Funny, yes, but at times it slowed the momentum just when the stakes were ramping up.

Still, Lancaster knows how to weave chaos with clever pacing. Just when I thought I had everything figured out, the ending delivered a twist I didn’t see coming. It didn’t feel neat or tidy, but it offered closure—the kind that fits the messy, human reality of friendship and secrets.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A cozy mystery that’s not really a mystery.

The book is really short but I found myself struggling to stay fully invested at times. There were five different character POVs but I didn’t connect with any of them. They all felt like they were written to complete a character stereotype checklist. I also kept forgetting whose POV it was. The characters were all written in a similar way so there wasn’t enough distinction between the different POVs. Also, I've never heard people talk like this. It was so annoying, like why are you talking like that?? It didn’t feel natural at all.

The pop culture references in this book gave me the ick. There was too many of those that took me out of it a bit (still interested in the Chappel roan karaoke though).

The plot was too slow at the beginning but then, the ending felt so rushed and it wasn't really resolved enough for me personally.

Not my cup of tea.

I’ve been a fan of Jen Lancaster since “Bitter is the New Black,” and I was excited to get a chance to read her new novel. “Peter Pulaski Must Pay” is a super fun novel centered around a group of friends who are into true crime. One of the friends has a husband who is up to some awful things, and the group decides he must pay for his misdeeds. This book is an addictive page turner with lots of entertaining characters. It is set in Chicago, which I love, and has Lancaster’s trademark wit throughout, which I love even more! Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

This an absolutely addictive read!!
Paying close attention enhances the enjoyment of this read. Though the pages practically turn themselves, this book is well worth savoring. Frankie's sass kept me chuckling all through the read, and the banter between everyone was fun.

The author’s shifting perspectives between characters allowed me to connect with each one equally, which I enjoyed. I can’t choose a favorite; they all enhance each other beautifully. I couldn’t stop reading because I was curious about why Peter needed to pay, and he absolutely needs to pay!!! :)

What I enjoyed most was how the found family theme revolved around Diana and the circumstances Peter caused. Although vastly different people, Frankie, Diana, Eli, Carmen, Jazz, and Stella were all integral to the ultimately positive and manageable resolution of Diana’s situation, and I enjoyed their relationships. The resolutions for these characters was exactly what I wanted for them, and I ended this read very happy. I highly recommend this engaging and thoroughly detailed story; every element contributes to its captivating nature. Make sure to preorder this book and add it to your TBR list so you can start reading as soon as it’s released. It's a very entertaining read!

I was fortunate to receive and ARC of this one from Netgalley, and happily leave my review.

this was a really fun read - certainly not a serious one - with a fun cast of characters perfect for people who love true crime. the characters were quite tropey and 2D at times but their personalities were quite strong. i think millennials would really like this one lol

thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC!

I remember reading a Jen Lancaster book almost 20 years ago for book club. I recall almost nothing, just that there was a black dress on the cover and I did not connect with the writing for some reason. This one has a hilarious title and description so I decided to give it a whirl!

Here we have a hodgepodge team of true crime junkies that connected over the pandemic and now meet every Friday. They call themselves the Doom Crew: Eli, Frankie, Jazz, Carmen, Stella, and Diane. Everything seems to be great, until one day they realize how awful Diane’s husband, Peter treats her. Things quickly escalate and they find out Peter is leading an illegal double life.

The story as a whole was light hearted and fun, but the writing was a struggle to get through. We switch POV’s constantly, yet despite how different these characters are, they were all written with the same voice. I would have to flip back each time to recall whose POV it was this time. I also had issues with the twist. It just wasn’t great. The better reveal would be the obvious mental illness Diane suffers from. Epitome of a beach read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have loved Jen Lancaster since Bitter is the New Black. Her fiction work has been harder for me to enjoy, but I liked this one! It was a little preachy, which is expected from Lancaster, but I liked the characters and the storyline. It was a solid 3.5-4.

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC of Peter Pulaski Must Pay by Jen Lancaster!

This book is a darkly funny revenge romp where a group of pandemic-bonded true crime fans—aka the Doom Crew—decide to take down the cheating, scheming husband of their beloved friend Diana. What starts as petty payback quickly snowballs into chaos, secrets, and some very questionable choices. Jen Lancaster nails the balance of snark, suspense, and heart. The cast is big, but their antics are wildly entertaining. Great for fans of Big Little Lies and the Finlay Donovan Series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Little A for providing this book, with my honest review below.

Peter Pulaski Must Pay takes a look at a group of True Crime fans, self dubbed as The Doom Crew, who’ve turned their passion into a forum. The 6 unlikely friends who bonded over the isolation of the pandemic have grown close and explore all things True Crime including, most recently, the concept of vigilante comeuppance. Given each member has a unique personality and some talents that prove quite helpful, it’s no surprise when they sniff out the opportunity to mete out some light self help revenge for a group member they’re all over it.

The group as a whole have vibrant personalities that lead to hilarious shenanigans and some heartwarming moments. With a name like Peter Pulaski Must Pay I expected some revenge and some fun, and this book has not only all of that but goes beyond. I hope to see it continued as a series!

Long a fan of Lancaster’s non fiction this was a pleasant switch, it did take a while for the plot to build and unfold but once it did the story took off and didn’t stop, could have used less narrators but at the end saw how they were useful.

Jen Lancaster is BACK! I have long loved Jen and her books. The last couple felt a little off track. When my family sees me laughing until tears come, or laughing at seemingly nothing, they know it's a Jen Lancaster book.
This one was funny, had some touching parts, and had a group of women that were all so different, but come together to start a true crime site (no...it's not overdone). When the husband of one of their own seems to fit the bill for their criteria things get interesting.

Thank you to Little A, NetGalley and the author for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

#JenLancaster #NetGalley #PeterPulaskiMustPay #LittleA

This book is the furthest from bad, but just was not my type of read.

Pros:
1. Super fun characters who have fun stories
2. Chicago is the backdrop of the story, and makes it fun to picture
3. Strong female and male characters
4.Fun conversation between the characters

Cons:
1.Two many characters to keep track of at times.
2.Not a huge fan of the typical "the kids hate me" story line.
3.Dragged on at times

I had very mixed feelings about Peter Pulaski Must Pay. The story was exciting and held my interest for the whole book, but I really didn't like any of the characters--they just felt more like caricatures. And some of the things the main characters did made no sense, which pulled me out of the story a bit. Overall, a fun read, but I didn't love it.

Jen has done it again! This one started a little slow but quickly i found myself engrossed and couldnt put it down.

Twisty, fast-talking, and full of bite. Peter Pulaski Must Pay reads like a revenge comedy filtered through a therapist’s notebook and a group chat gone nuclear. The characters are sharp, wounded, and hilarious in that painfully self-aware way that sticks with you. There’s real heart buried under the snark, and when it lands, it lands hard. This is what happens when dysfunction is given a mission. I tore through it.

This book has it all. Funny characters, great group dynamics, loyalty and true crime. A group comes together to make one of their husbands pay. Lots of feel-good moments and lots of laughs!