I’m Not Done With You Yet by Jessie Q. Sutanto – a Review

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Description:
Jane is unhappy.

A struggling midlist writer whose novels barely command four figures, she feels trapped in an underwhelming marriage, just scraping by to pay a crippling Bay Area mortgage for a house–a life–she’s never really wanted.

There’s only ever been one person she cared about, one person who truly understood her: Thalia. Jane’s best and only friend nearly a decade ago during their Creative Writing days at Oxford. It was the only good year of Jane’s life–cobblestones and books and damp English air, heady wine and sweet cider and Thalia, endless Thalia. But then one night ruined everything. The blood-soaked night that should have bound Thalia to Jane forever but instead made her lose her completely. Thalia disappeared without a trace, and Jane has been unable to find her since.

Until now.

Because there she is, her name at the top of the New York Times bestseller list: A Most Pleasant Death by Thalia Ashcroft. When she discovers a post from Thalia on her website about attending a book convention in New York City in a week–“Can’t wait to see you there!”–Jane can’t wait either.

She’ll go to New York City, too, credit card bill be damned. And this time, she will do things right. Jane won’t lose Thalia again.

Review:

I’m Not Done with You Yet by Jesse Q. Sutanto is a stand-alone suspense thriller.  I have read and enjoyed all of Jessie Q. Sutanto’s books. I did read this new book, with some mixed feelings, which I will detail later in this review. The story revolves around Jane Morgan, who has always considered herself as a sociopath, even in her early years as a child, with a mother who treated her badly.  The story switches back and forth in the current time, where she is a struggling novelist and married; and in the past (9 years earlier) when she attended Creative Writing classes at Oxford. 

It is at Oxford, where Jane meets Thalia, who in a very short time, finds herself totally obsessed with her. Thalia befriends the quiet dark Jane, as well as everyone at the school who adored Thalia. Thalia was everything Jane admired, beautiful, charismatic and self-confident; something Jane lacked, always always angry at others. We also meet Ani, who also becomes close friends with Thalia, most to Jane’s annoyance. Jane loved her time at Oxford, with Thalia; until one night when Jane helped Thalia out of a terrible incident, and she has never seen Thalia again until the present time, nine years later.

Jane’s marriage to her husband, Ted, she is not happy, as he is irritating, and she feels trapped;  as well as struggling. with the budget. Jane has written two novels, which were not very successful. She sees an advertisement of a New York convention, showcasing the author, Thalia Ashcroft, with a new bestseller.   Jane is determined to reconnect at convention in NYC, and will stop at nothing to attend, the SusPensCon event. When Jane was at the University at Oxford, she had the magic touch to write stories, and she wanted to get those vibes back when she met Thalia again.

When Jane manages to push her way into seeing Thalia again, everything changes; as Thalia welcomes her; including Thalia’s sister-in-law, Ani.  But things are not what it seems. I’m Not Done with You Yet turns into a twisty cat/mouse plot, with dark twists, shenanigans, that keep you guessing until the end. My mixed feelings revolve around the lead characters, especially Jane, who for most of the book, I frankly did not like; and I also felt the first half did drag a bit.

I’m Not Done with You Yet was an interesting story line, that picked up in the last third of the book, being fast paced and exciting, with some major twists. I am a fan of Jesse Q. Sutanto, but where her other books were fun & entertaining, this one was more of a thriller. 

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher