Hello beautiful people! Welcome to a new review! For this review, I get into a new author I haven’t checked out before, Marshall Karp’s Don’t Tell Me How to Die. Originally, I wasn’t sure I would like it, but it ended up being a fantastic and twisty book, filled with great writing and a lot of heart. One of my fav’s I have checked out this year so far. So, let’s get into it!
Main Characters:
Maggie Dunn: A successful Mayor of a cozy New York community who has her world turned upside down when she discovers she may not have much time left with her family, in an effort to gain some control, she decides to try and find her husband a new wife before she dies
Alex, Kevin, and Katie Dunn: Alex is Maggie’s husband and a successful surgeon in the community, Maggie struggles with how he will function once she is gone, their children Kevin and Katie, unknowingly are being viewed through a lens that Maggie understands all too well, which is why she is desperate to have things set up before she goes
Lizzie: Maggie’s sister, who understands just like Maggie why Maggie is so intent on having things a certain way before she dies
My Review
As mentioned, this is the first read for me by Marshall Karp, and I for sure want to check out more of his books in the future. I wasn’t totally sure what to expect going into Don’t Tell Me How to Die, and originally was pretty on the fence as to whether I would like it. Originally, the pace and the subject didn’t seem up my usual alley, but as the book goes on, you are engrossed in the characters’ stories, connected to the love and pain, and desperate to figure out what the next twist could be. I did not see this book being as lowkey twisty and mysterious as it was, but those sneaky parts really tie everything together. This book hits on so many interesting things. Love, grief, control, mental health, family, and genetic illness, and that’s just a few. You would think it would make it overwhelming, but it flows really well, and everything fits together super nicely. I ended up rating Don’t Tell Me How to Die a 9/10, and while it’s a quick read, its jam packed with interesting pages and totally worth checking out.
Don’t Tell Me How to Die follows Maggie as she navigates life, love, and the looming reality of a genetic illness that could define her future. What starts as a deeply personal and emotional journey, grappling with family, relationships, and impossible decisions, slowly reveals itself to be something much more layered. When Maggie learns that she has the same life-ending illness that took her mother when she was young, she becomes obsessed with controlling her death. As the clock runs out, Maggie makes it her mission to find her husband Alex the perfect new wife and the perfect stepmother for her children. Grappling with the struggles she, her sister and father dealt with after the loss of her mother sends her into a spiral to try and leave her family with something safe. As she goes on this journey, secrets come to light and truths of the past and present begin to unravel; the story shifts into something darker, twistier, and far more complex than it initially appears.
As I mentioned before, this one completely caught me off guard, in the best way. At the start, I wasn’t totally sure how I felt. There’s a lot of backstory, and I remember thinking, is this filler? Like, where are we going with this? But trust, it all matters. That foundation ends up being so important, not just for the plot, but for understanding the characters and the weight behind everything that happens later. It’s one of those books where you don’t realize how intentional everything is until it starts coming together. And when it does? So good.
The twists really got me. I didn’t see most of them coming, which made it such a fun reading experience. As a few things started to be revealed, I could piece together some of what might happen next, but overall, it stayed unpredictable in a way that kept me hooked.
What really stood out, though, was the emotional side of this story. The grief feels real. The family dynamics feel real. The fear surrounding genetic illness? Very real. It taps into something that a lot of people can relate to, that uncertainty about your future, your health, and what you might pass on or carry with you. And then there’s the more unique aspect of the story, this idea of essentially choosing a partner for your loved one after you’re gone. It sounds a little wild at first, but the way it’s explored is actually really compelling. It adds another emotional layer that I didn’t expect to be so invested in.
Maggie, especially, makes this book work. She’s flawed, she’s complicated, and she doesn’t always make the “right” choices, but she feels real. And that makes it easy to stay connected to her, even when she frustrates you. The tone balances a lot, there’s humour, there’s grief, there’s tension, and it all blends together really well. It’s one of those books that’s hard to put down once you’re in it.
On the surface, the plot might seem a bit more low-key or even mundane, but underneath, it’s layered, twisty, and way more complex than you expect.
Overall, I just didn’t expect to enjoy this as much as I did, but it ended up being such a strong, engaging read. Since it’s a new book, I don’t want to spoil the ending, but trust that if you check this one out, your jaw will be on the floor with the way some of this goes.
I hope you enjoyed this review! Thank you for checking it out. Feel free to subscribe to the page to be one of the first to know when I release a new review.
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