A member of a virtual book club is killed while the Zoom screen is frozen and the others listen in horror in this twisty and delicious popcorn thriller perfect for fans of First Lie Wins and The Housemaid.
THE DEADLY BOOK CLUB
by Lyn Liao Butler
Crooked Lane Books, October 2025
Helena, Sidney, Leigh, Kate, and Jessie are five of the most prominent book influencers in the US. Once a month, they get on a video call to sip cocktails, chat about social media campaigns and book events, and discuss their monthly book club pick. Their exclusive group is the envy of the online book world.
Until one meeting, when all of their Zoom screens freeze and they listen to gut wrenching screams as one of their friends is brutally attacked. It feels like an eternity before the video call drops—and thus begins the frantic texts and phone calls as each tries to figure out who was murdered and why.
As the investigation into their friend’s violent death unearths secrets each of the five women need to keep buried, the jealousies, hidden resentments, and trouble in their personal lives begin to surface. The remaining four women are suspicious of each other, pointing fingers to take the heat off their own indiscretions. But if they want to figure out who killed their friend, they need to band together and put past hurts behind them. Or one of them will be next.
Lyn Liao Butler is the Amazon bestselling author of thrillers What is Mine and Someone Else’s Life, and received critical acclaim for her women’s fiction The Tiger Mom’s Tale and Red Thread of Fate. She was born in Taiwan and moved to the States when she was seven. Before becoming an author, she was a professional ballet and modern dancer, and is still a personal trainer, fitness instructor, and yoga instructor. She is an avid animal lover and fosters dogs as well as volunteers with rescues. Her works have been praised by Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, and featured in Forbes, Parade, Pop Sugar, and more.
Dawn Decker is an American everywoman and the salt to her husband Wyatt’s sweet, media-friendly charm on their Tennessee-based home renovation reality TV show, The Perfect Home. While Dawn bristles at the trappings of their D-list celebrity status, Wyatt hungers for greater fame. The couple also faces infertility issues stemming from Wyatt’s low sperm count. He secretly orders experimental fertility drugs, and they conceive, but his personality takes a dark turn—he becomes moody, withdrawn, and even cruel.
In the glow of their children’s exciting first year of college at a small private school in Northern California, five families plan on a night of dinner and cocktails for the opening festivities of Parents Weekend. As the parents stay out way past their bedtimes, their kids―five residents of Campisi Hall―never show up at dinner.
Emily has been feeling like an outsider for months now. The Londoner can’t cope with everyday life any more, and has to give up her studies. Three months ago, her friend Liv fell onto the Tube tracks and died – Emily was standing right next to her, but can’t recall anything about the incident. The police thinks it was an accident, but Emily suspects there’s more to it. She must find a way to remember. But why is everyone she tries to talk to about it being so evasive? And what if she discovers a terrible truth about herself in the process? Little does Emily know that her life is already in serious danger…