Book Club Confidential: A Novel

Once upon a time, friends Tessa, Kate, and Hallie dreamed big. Now they’re all that’s left of a once-thriving book club, meeting weekly to drink wine, talk novels, and quietly wonder how their lives got so small.

Tessa, a lifelong people pleaser, excels at a corporate job she hates, while influencer Kate grows weary of chasing false perfection and true love. Meanwhile, independent Hallie drifts toward a wedding she never really wanted—nursing feelings she’s too afraid to name.

But out of their growing regret comes a decisive pact: For one month, they’ll make every choice boldly, like they’re the protagonists of their own stories. The results are immediate, transformative…and chaotic. Careers stumble. Relationships fumble. Carefully crafted images start to crack.

It turns out, having agency is easier said than done. But with their friendship intact, they each come to grips with their new character arc—and discover what they’ll risk to find their happy ending.

Julie Hatcher is an award-winning and bestselling author of mystery and romantic suspense. She has published more than fifty novels under multiple pen names since her debut in 2013.

Writing as Julie Anne Lindsey, Hatcher has earned many accolades for her work, including the 2020 National Readers’ Choice Award for Romance Adventure and the 2019 Daphne du Maurier Award for Mystery/Suspense, among others.

When she’s not creating new worlds or fostering the epic love of fictional characters, Julie can be found in Kent, Ohio, enjoying her blessed Midwestern life—and probably plotting murder with her shamelessly enabling friends. Today she hopes to make someone smile. But one day she plans to change the world.

What if you stopped playing it safe and lived like a main character? Three book club friends make a pact to live as boldly as their favorite heroines—with messy, hilarious, and totally life-altering results. Fans of Katherine Center and Jenny Howe will love this bookish, big-hearted novel about the enduring power of friendship and the beautiful chaos of rewriting your life.

—Emily Freidenrich, Editor