"A Dangerous Friendship by Robin Merle is a thrilling, twist-filled ride through the adventures—and misadventures—of Tina and Spike, two friends whose bond is as intoxicating as it is unpredictable. As they navigate a world of secrets, betrayals, and unexpected turns, their friendship is both a lifeline and a powder keg waiting to explode. With every chapter, the stakes climb higher, leaving you breathless and eager to know what happens next. And when the final page turns? You’ll wish there was more."
—Michelle Renaldo Ferguson, Author of Women Mentoring Women: Strategies and Stories to Lift As We Rise

"Written in tight and unassuming prose, Robin Merle's A Dangerous Friendship is a psychological dreamscape that explores grief, loss, and obsession. Set against the backdrop of an eccentric artist colony, the reader is left questioning what is real and what is illusion on the quest for connection in an alienating and chaotic world. In a world of fake news and deep fakes, this read couldn't come at a more critical time, as we ponder authentic connections we make to ourselves and others."
—Jill Di Donato, author of Beautiful Garbage and Contributor-at-large for HuffPost

"A Dangerous Friendship is a smart and piercing portrayal of Tina’s relationship with Spike, a woman whose magnetic pull drags her into thrilling yet perilous territory. Their friendship is a collision of ambition, desire, and insecurities. Attracting men who never fit the bill, they become constants in each other’s lives despite their competitive writing aspirations and fragile egos. With biting humor and vivid language, Merle masterfully delves into the intoxicating highs and crushing lows of obsessive friendship."  —Jeanne McWilliams Blasberg, Author of Daughter of a Promise

"This is one wild ass ride full of sex, fun, survival and a bit of madness. I found myself needing a cigarette after reading and I don’t smoke."
—Chef Rossi, Author of The Punk Rock Queen of the Jews and The Raging Skillet

"Can a novel be cozy and corrosive at the same time? In Robin Merle’s addictive new novel, A Dangerous Friendship, two young New York writers, Spike and Whirly, land like Dorothy and Toto in rural upstate New York, where they rent a rundown cabin with the best of intentions, it seems. They will devote themselves to their craft and their burgeoning new friendship. Soon they are seduced by the backyard pond, the glorious country roads, and the bon vivants they encounter at local bars. Before they know what has happened to them, they find themselves members in good standing of a “charmed” circle of barflies, neighborhood studs, goofball brothers, and the occasional emissary from wealthier communities. Friendships and courtships grow, dissolve and explode, sometimes in the same day, but Merle uncorks her most powerful surprises in the seams of conflict. I clutched my pearls and gasped to myself when a character decided to do something as simple as call her mother. By the knockout surprise ending, I was ready to have a celebratory beer at the novel’s iconic Starlite bar."
—Ben Neihart, author of Hey, Joe and Rough Amusements

"Robin Merle has written a brave book about ending things and starting things—about the friends we choose and the friends who choose us.  Her characters and the choices they make during a sometimes funny and sometimes heart stopping summer escape from New York City will stay with you long after you have read through to the explosive conclusion."
—Diane Cohen Schneider,  author of Andrea Hoffman Goes All In