The Advice Columnist

The Advice Columnist is a standalone (possibly a series opener?) mystery thriller by Cade Haddock Strong. Released 27th June 2024 by Bella Books, it's 268 pages and is available in paperback and ebook formats. t's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. 

There's a strong romance (F/F) element in the book, about 50/50 with the mystery. The book never really makes a firm decision about genre, so romance readers who don't mind mystery, or thriller fans who like romance, will likely be fine with the hybrid nature of the story. 

The dialogue is uneven in some places, with unnecessary repetition to provide info to the readers (superfluously as it turns out). The mystery itself (a serial killer, striking apparently randomly whom MC Lydia (the titular advice columnist) connects to letters sent to the paper she works for). The characterizations are sketched in and many of their actions and dialogue seem to belong to people much (much) younger than the 30something of the characters as written. It's *full* of angsty drama, especially on the part of Lydia and her fairly loathsome ex, Carrie, a social climbing, back-stabbing, jerk. 

There are a number of page-filling side trips (like the yoga retreat which took up about 5% of the page content) and didn't forward the story in any meaningful way. Many of the secondary characters are just distinctly *odd*. 

That being said, it's a light, readable, and somewhat engaging. The language is R-rated, with strong cursing (not egregiously, and used in context). There's not much on page violence (there is threatened violence and some descriptions in the unhinged letters sent to Lydia at the paper. The mystery, denouement, and conclusion are self contained, and complete. 

Three stars. It would have benefited significantly with a few rounds with a ruthless editor. That being said, it's readable and complete in the form it is in now. 

 Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.