Book Review: How Can I Help You by Laura Sims

 

My Rating: 3.5⭐

Meet Ms. Margo Finch – an upbeat, cheerful, and ever-helpful librarian at Carlyle Public Library – a position she secured based on false credentials and under an assumed name. Unbeknownst to everyone she works with, she has a sinister past– a past that she misses and believes was her true calling - and is wanted for a series of crimes.She seems to have found a sanctuary with her new life as a librarian, though she does spend most of free time alone, indulginging in reminiscence.

Enter Patricia, the new reference librarian, an aspiring novelist who is looking for a place to land after the "GREAT REJECTION" of her debut manuscript. She observes a few slips in her colleague’s carefully constructed façade and when Margo mentions her previous occupation in casual conversation, that is all Patricia needs to dig deeper into Margo's past and uncover her true identity. Not only does her research into “Margo” provide a thrilling angle to her otherwise boring job, her fixation with Margo also fuels her motivation to write – and so she writes and writes and writes – with hopes that this would lead to a great book, fulfilling her dream of becoming a successful writer and eventually exposing Margo for who and what she really is. But Margo is nobody’s fool, and exposing her won’t be easy, nor will it be easy to hide the fact that she is onto her.

How Can I Help You by Laura Sims is an engaging read with an intriguing premise. This is a slow-burn psychological thriller that revolves around two very interesting female characters. The narrative, shared through dual first-person PoVs in alternating chapters, is mildly repetitive but given that it is a short book (barely 250+ pages, easily a one-sitting read) and we get into the heads of both characters, it does not detract from the overall reading experience. Though the plot isn’t what I would call twisty (we know everything about the characters well before the halfway mark), I did enjoy the cat-and-mouse game between the two characters and the author does a good job of building up the tension as the narrative progresses. However, I found the ending a tad underwhelming after such an intense build-up, which is why I really can’t give this novel a higher rating. Overall, this is a good read that could have been better!

Many thanks to author Laura Sims, Penguin Group Putnam and NetGalley for the digital review copy. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. This novel is due to be released on July 18, 2023.