I Need You to Read This

A Novel

By: Jessa Maxwell

Narrated by: Carlotta Brentan

The author of the “clever, atmospheric, and creepy” (Andrea Bartz, New York Times bestselling author) The Golden Spoon returns with a sly and addictive new mystery about an advice columnist searching for answers about her predecessor’s murder.

Her most important letter might be her last…

Years ago Alex Marks escaped to New York City for a fresh start. Now, aside from trips to her regular diner for coffee, she keeps to herself, gets her perfectly normal copywriting job done, and doesn’t date. Her carefully cultivated world is upended when her childhood hero, Francis Keen, is brutally murdered. Francis was the woman behind the famous advice column, Dear Constance, and her words helped Alex through some of her darkest times.

When Alex sees an advertisement searching for her replacement, she impulsively applies, never expecting to actually get the job. Against all odds, Alex is given the position and quickly proves herself skilled at solving other people’s problems. But soon, she begins to receive strange, potentially threatening letters at the office. Francis’s murderer was never identified, turning everyone around her into a threat. Including her boss, editor-in-chief Howard Dimitri, who has a habit of staying late at the office and drinking too much.

As Alex is drawn into the details surrounding her predecessor’s murder, her own dark secrets begin to rise to the surface and Alex suddenly finds herself trapped in a dangerous and potentially deadly game of cat and mouse that takes her all the way from the power centers of Manhattan to Francis Keen’s summer house, where her body was found and where the killer may just be waiting for her.

©2024 Jessa Maxwell (P)2024 Simon & Schuster Audio

Great Book That Had Me Hooked!

I loved the story. Plot was great, really interesting, had me hooked.

However, the narrator of this has a strange accent/pronunciation that is so distracting. As soon as I started listening, I realized I have heard her before, and really strongly dislike the way she speaks. I’ve listened to so many audiobooks before and have never felt this way but this narrator is one I cannot listen to.

Fantastic!

I'm so glad I gave this book a listen! I was sorry when it ended. The characters were unique and each had their own story that unfolded to support the twists and turns of this creepy mystery. The advice aspect gave the book an extra layer of depth with many places that made me stop and consider.

Good story. Distracting narration.

The story was okay, but I was constantly distracted by the narrator’s mixed pronunciations. Precise pronunciations with sporadic long vowels and clipped consonants were awkward and made me think she was struggling to mask an accent or imitate one, but missing the mark. It distracted me from really getting into the story. Through to the end, I kept trying to figure out what was up with it and how she landed with such an awkward mix of pronunciations. Fake and irritating. Sounds harsh, I know, but it ruined the book for me. I just couldn’t take it seriously.

Great narration, entertaining quick listen

A swift, well-paced story with enough twists and turns to keep you listening. The narrator was fantastic, the performance intensified the eerie suspense and emotional weight of the characters' terror, and upped the creepy factor. The character voices were a perfect fit and pulled you right into the story.

Interesting Concept

Alex, a copywriter at a pharmaceutical company, is seeking a change in her routine. When a local newspaper advertises a job opening for the role of long-time advice columnist Constance, she is intrigued and, on a whim, decides to submit an application...

This was my first book by Jessa Maxwell, and I was not sure what to expect. While I had a few suspicions that were eventually confirmed, the plot and the reveal turned out to be far more complex than I could have imagined. The multiple points of view and different timelines kept me guessing for quite a while, and I suspected several characters as the story unfolded.

I found the idea of an advice columnist to be very engaging! I am not sure if advice columnists or their radio host equivalents still exist, but there is something nostalgic about them that feels relevant to today's society.

Overall, this was a very interesting plot with plenty of mysteries and reveals along the way! It was also a quick read; I finished it in a day.