Book Review: This Story Might Save Your Life
Here’s my review of This Story Might Save Your Life by Tiffany Crum. Leave a comment if you’ve read it, plan to read it, or have any book recs to share. And don’t miss today’s writing prompt.
This Story Might Save Your Life by Tiffany Crum is a genre-bending novel I sped through in two sittings. It’s suspenseful yet heartfelt at the same time— a rom-com tied into a domestic thriller centered around a propulsive missing-persons-turned-murder mystery you’ll be invested in solving. And it’s full of witty banter, which many readers will appreciate, especially those listening to its audio version.
The dialogue and banter between Joy and Benny were my favorite parts of this novel. I read the ebook while listening to the audiobook and highly recommend doing that to get the full experience of this novel. Their banter during podcast episode excerpts is laugh-out-loud funny and engaging, so much so that you’ll wish there were more of them in the book, and that it was a real podcast you could go listen to later. Potential readers will also want to know about the bonus podcast episode at the end of the audiobook version, which is amazing.
That being said, I wished there were more and longer excerpts of the podcast episodes throughout the book. And I wished there were more romantic scenes between Joy and Benny. Maybe we’ll meet them again in a sequel? Because I could easily see, and would be eager to read, a second book about their specific relationship and high-stakes stories centered around their podcast.
The structure, pacing, and suspenseful elements of this novel were also executed very well, as each section of the novel easily flowed into the next and kept me wanting to learn more about what happened to Joy and her husband. I always felt I was learning just enough to keep me engaged and invested in figuring out what happened while never feeling bombarded by too many details or red herrings. And I never felt like I was left in the dark about what was going on for too long. This novel is an example of mystery and suspense done well. Once you start reading it, it is very hard to put down.
Yet I do wish I had seen more graphic first-hand accounts of what Xander did to Joy from her perspective earlier on in the book, even if they would have been incredibly hard to read. I do realize this might be a wildly unpopular opinion, and I get why they weren’t included. I’m also sure many readers won’t share this sentiment. Still, I was left wanting to understand more of what Joy experienced and went through with Xander.
By the end of the novel, I also wanted to have read more about Joy’s experiences with the characters in the novel who really come through for her, in massive ways, and how those relationships became so tight. I felt surprised by those characters who come through for her, as I didn’t get an intimate sense of how close they were to her before the end of the novel, or what really motivated them to come to her aid in such major ways.
Overall, I would recommend this novel to readers who would be interested in reading a thriller centered around a podcast that also has witty banter, a dash of romance, and elements of mystery and suspense.
Have you read this book yet, or plan to read it soon? Leave a comment to start a discussion. Or tell us what we should read next. And don’t forget to subscribe to receive future book reviews in your inbox, along with other engaging posts.
© This work is not available for artificial intelligence (AI) training. All Rights Reserved by K.E. Creighton; Creighton’s Compositions LLC.
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Today’s Writing Prompt
Writing Prompt: Podcast Episode
Write dialogue from a podcast episode, either real or imagined.
Writing Tip
Use this writing prompt to practice writing engaging dialogue, and make it funny if you can. To get ideas for this prompt, listen to a few podcast episodes and pay attention to verbal patterns and cues, etc.
