From #1 New York Times bestselling author Greer Hendricks comes a chilling story about the hidden cost of perfection.
Anne is barely keeping it together. A frazzled ghostwriter and aspiring novelist, she juggles nine-year-old twins and a listless marriage from an overcrowded Manhattan apartment, spreading herself thinner each day. Just as Anne is about to give up on her dreams, she lands her biggest client Melody Wells.
Melody paints a picture of serenity and empowerment in the lavender haze of her visualization workshops—however, the one thing she can’t manifest are the pages her publisher is demanding for her new motivational book. Enter Anne.
As Melody invites Anne deeper into her magical world, Anne finds herself working impossibly long days and traveling far beyond her comfort zone.
When Melody passes along a lead on a spacious sublet complete with East River views, built-in closets, and three bedrooms, Anne can’t believe her luck. Melody seems to know just what her family needs. But as small, unsettling incidents begin to accumulate, Anne starts to wonder what price she’s willing to pay for the good life.
I'm the number one New York Times bestselling co-author of THE WIFE BETWEEN US, AN ANONYMOUS GIRL, YOU ARE NOT ALONE, and THE GOLDEN COUPLE.
Prior to becoming a novelist, I obtained my master's degree in journalism at Columbia University and spent two decades as an editor at Simon & Schuster. My writing has appeared in The New York Times, Allure, Publishers Weekly and other publications.
I always enjoyed the author’s collaborations with Sarah Pekkanen, so when I saw that this short story was FREE in March for Amazon Prime members, I quickly downloaded it.
Melody Wells is the latest “trending name”. It seems like everyone is subscribing to the “Lavender Serenity” she is selling in her visualization workshops—
But the one thing she can’t manifest are the pages her publisher needs for her new book, so she hires Anne, a Ghostwriter, to give clarity to her thoughts on paper.
But the job isn’t “Lavender Serenity” for Anne. Nor is the SUBLET, that Anne and her growing family move into after receiving a “lead” on the apartment from Melody.
Although the story was engaging enough, I am not sure I completely understand the ending, which felt abrupt and left me with questions, hence the 3 star ⭐️ rating.
I have read some good short stories recently, but sadly this was not one of them. Personally, I found the whole book to feel pointless and boring. While there was some suspense built up about 3/4 of the way through, the ending was anticlimactic and I found myself feeling like I wasted my time reading this.
Thank you to Amazon First Reads for this free advance copy.
The award for dumbest protagonist of 2025 goes to… 🏆
In The Sublet, Anne is an exhausted ghostwriter trying to hold her family and career together when she takes on her most important client yet, Melody Wells, a popular and empowering wellness coach. As Anne is drawn deeper into Melody’s world and accepts a beautiful sublet arranged for her, strange things begin to happen, leaving her wondering what she has really stepped into. 🪻
The trend this year seems to be ghostwriting careers… and honestly, I’m not complaining. This type of setup always works for me.
There were also a few other tropes I tend to enjoy, and they delivered again here: the spooky apartment building vibe, the cult-like wellness influencers, and the author perspective in general.
Because of all that, I was able to overlook how clueless Anne was, ignoring every red flag. I get that she has reasons, but she definitely made me shake my head more than a few times.
One thing that always bothers me in books like this is when the protagonist goes from being the least aware person in the entire story to suddenly becoming the smartest one at the end. It feels like such a jump, and this story falls into that somewhat too.
Still, this story kept my attention and was entertaining to follow. I’d recommend it if you want something quick and somewhat twisty.
Anne is a ghostwriter who has her hands full with twins and a very demanding client named Melody. Anne has been tasked with writing her inspirational self-help book.
Melody is obsessed with all things lavendar! She even has her own line of supplements. She reminded me of Masha from Liane Moriarty's Nine Perfect Strangers (played by Nicole Kidman in the movie). Both are eccentric and controlling. They both also like to release bad energy from spaces.
When Melody leads Anne to a beautiful sublet with nice views and a perfect floor plan, strange things begin to happen. Has someone entered their own horror movie?
This is a short story so I look for great content on a short amount of time. I felt it delivered in the beginning, but was disappointed by the ending which I felt lacked something. There was simply some unanswered questions about what happened, and that made me a bit annoyed. But besides that, it was worth reading.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc in exchange for my honest opinion
2.2 "drink your lavender tea and chant ...a missed opportunity..a missed oppurt..." stars !!
Thank you to Netgalley, the author and Amazon Original Stories for providing an ecopy. This was released today April 1, 2025. I am providing an honest review.
There was a lot of very good potential here with a tale that could have been wicked and deliciously dark. The prose is half decent chick lit style but enjoyable.
There is way too much here for a short story and the last third becomes a whirlwind of lazy cheap nonsense...
Could have been very good to excellent thriller but instead was just a quick dollar for the author.....aw shucks ....
One star for the idea of a ghost writer who gets tangled up with an author who’s not what she seems to be and one because the grammar is properly written. That’s all I can muster for this short story by author, Greer Hendricks.
Writing good short fiction is not easy. It requires hooking readers but it’s so much more than that. I want characters to care about and all the story elements, (protagonist, antagonist, conflict, resolution), done in a truncated but well written, engaging style. As I said, not easy and this offering falls woefully short.
Both main characters are underdeveloped to the point that neither rises to claim the role of protagonist or antagonist. They definitely have a conflict(s) but it grows too complex for the length of the story and the resolution is ridiculous, IMO; totally beyond tropes. After finishing the last paragraph, my reaction was “ugh”, what a waste of time.”📚
Anne is employed as a ghost writer for Melody Wells' latest motivational book. She feels she has been very lucky to get this well paid work but then things start to become very strange. The atmosphere was good and I felt it was building up to be haunted house type scary but in the end it was just clever.
I had to read the last page a couple of times to confirm in my head what had just happened. I always like that much better than a boring ending that I can see coming however tidy it may be. A short entertaining read. 4 stars.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.
Ghostwriter Anne is struggling to keep everything together as she navigates marital troubles, twins, and her career, all in a tiny Manhattan apartment. When she receives an opportunity to ghostwrite for motivational guru Melody Wells, she accepts. But working long days for Melody creates even more stress for Anne— until Melody recommends a sublet on the East River with spacious closets and the writing space of Anne’s dreams. But as unsettling incidents begin to occur left and right, Anne’s dream threatens to become a nightmare.
Y’all, I have never been so confused by a story in my entire life. I didn't dislike it, really I didn’t. However, I honestly have very little idea what happened in this fever dream of a short story, despite listening multiple times. Perhaps that is, in fact, the point? Unclear. What is clear is that every time I thought I had it, I in fact, did not have it, which led to questions galore and an overall sense of frustration. I would probably suggest reading this one with your eyes, not your ears, as I did.
Read if you like: ▪️bite-sized thrillers ▪️books about books ▪️NYC setting ▪️horror-lite stories ▪️fever dreams
Thank you, Brilliance Publishing, for the advanced copy.
I totally forgot I read this during the month - which is not a good thing. LOL! Think I thought the same as other reviewers that it had more to say & could have been longer.
A free bonus story as part of Amazon First Reads March offerings.
An easy quick read that was described on Amazon first reads page as being written by a bestseller author of psychological suspense novels ..... so, like me, you would be forgiven for thinking that this book would be dramatically twisty and intense.
It isn't. There is no suspense at all until the very ending, which neither makes sense in the end nor fits with earlier narratives and character profiles. You could see some of it coming a mile off so those parts were no edge of your seat twist and when there is a part that you didn't see coming it's not because it's a thrilling twist it's simply because there was no point to it.
Short stories have the ability to really grip you in the drama and tension from the first page and pack a punch with the limited pages without going into too much backstory, fluff and world building. This book, on the other hand, seemed to approach in the opposite way. It was more like this was a first draft for a longer novel, and this was all the fluff they usually add around the actual storyline 🤷🏻♀️
The writing wasn't particularly bad in itself it just didn't have much to work on with "plot" (if you can call it that)
If I was to sum up the storyline in one sentence it would be "ghost writer for celebrity nutritionist find out more than she expects about her client when writing her book and moves into a new apartment that upsets her cat"
Then there's parts within the story that just don't need to be there given the limited words, for example nearly two pages about the writer and her husband leaving their nine year old twins at home while they view a new apartment. Firstly. Who is leaving nine year olds at home alone? Nothing happens to them except them getting into a row and watching modern family on the tv so there was no point to that bit and certainly no need for the in depth description about what snacks they had and what they were watching on tv. The kids could've just gone with them (given that's probably what most people would do) or been left with a neighbour. A sentence rather than two pages of filler for no reason would have sufficed.
To sum up, it's an easy read to add to your book count of the year but don't expect to be blown away!
the setup… Anne is a married mother of nine-year old twins living in a tiny Manhattan apartment. She’s a ghostwriter who has dreams of becoming a writer but with all her responsibilities it feels elusive. That is until she’s hired by Melody Wells to ghostwrite her new motivational book. Melody is a mist of serenity and pixie dust, sprinkling her wisdom and luring Anne further into her world, even facilitating her move into a spacious Upper East side sublet. Anne can’t believe her good fortune until weird things start to happen.
the heart of the story… You know that saying about if it seems too good to be true it probably is. It starts early for Anne and she’s smart enough (more than I gave her credit for) to look under the mattresses. All the while trying to work on Melody’s book without a lot of substantive input from the woman.
the narration… Karissa Vacker was excellent in her storytelling and voice distinctions, especially for Melody. I could visualize that pixie dust.
the bottom line… I thought I knew where this story was going until I didn’t and was dealt a clever little ending. It’s subtle enough that I needed to rewind it and hear it again. It’s a short story that had me nervous but then made me smile.
is a very short predictable novel. About a writer who is middle age and a bit bored. Her family moves into a haunted apartment her guru suggests to her. She begins work as a ghost writer only to find out her apartment has ghosts.
An Amazon First Reads bonus story. I normally like the author’s novels, but this short story was underwhelming. Entertaining to a point, but the ending was convoluted and anticlimactic.
Greer Hendricks, known for her ability to weave psychological tension into everyday situations, delivers a gripping short story in The Sublet. This compact yet impactful tale revolves around two women, Anne and Melody, whose lives collide in a way that is both unsettling and thought-provoking.
The story begins with Anne, a ghostwriter by profession lands a high paying job to help Melody, a self-made guru, to write her first self -help book. Time is of the essence, the book must be written fast or Melody may lose her fandom. She has become the latest tick toc star.
Anne cannot figure out why she was hired, especially behind her publisher’s back, since she has not ghostwritten any other self-help books. She is asked to participate in Melody’s classes in order to understand her brand and what she is all about.
Enter Melody Wells, the guru of empowerment and poise. She teaches yoga and gives words of wisdom to all her students. She always dresses in Lavender and has her own line of products. She freely gives them to Anne, who is not exactly interested in them.
In the meantime, Melody becomes more demanding of Anne’s time. The pay is good, but Anne is already stretched thin having a husband and twins. This does not make her happy.
Melody offers Anne a larger place to live and the offer is too hard to refuse. But strange things keep happening at the new apartment. Things are not what they seem.
Greer Hendricks keeps you engaged all the way until the end. The ending, however, is somewhat unclear. I must ask the obvious, why not just quit the job? When is it time to say, “No more, too weird for me.”
Thank you to Netgalley and Amazon Originals for the Advanced Readers Copy. All opinions are my own because I have freedom of speech.
This was my first book by Greer Hendricks. At the beginning, I thought, "Oh, I've read this before," and I was a bit disappointed that there was no horror element. However, by the last few pages, something unexpected happened that left me sitting still, trying to process what had just occurred.
Overall, the book was amazing. The ending was unpredictable, and the story was easy to follow. I only wish it had been a bit longer.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
A quick and entertaining novella by Greer Hendricks who usually is part of a literary duo with Sarah Pekkanen. I quite enjoyed this and I felt it did actually have the potential to have been a full blown novel. As such it is very faced paced and blows right through all the fluff and gets right to the nitty gritty. The story centers around Anne a ghostwriter hired to write a wellness book for wellness guru Melody who is very demanding and soon becomes a bigger part of Anne's life than she anticipated. As far as Novella's go this one is solidly entertaining. Many thanks to Amazon for providing me with a copy of this Novella via NetGalley for review. All opinions are my own.
Imagine closing a book with furrowed brows, blinking in confusion, and thinking, "What the hell did I just read?" That was me with this one.
The idea had potential, but the execution? A mess. It felt like half the story was missing, like I dozed off mid-read and woke up with gaps in my memory—but no, the book just didn’t fill them in. The pacing was off, the development lacked depth, and by the end, I was left with more frustration than satisfaction.
Thankfully, this was a free Amazon First Reads pick because if I had paid for it, I’d be furious. Sometimes, I genuinely wonder how certain books make it to publication.
I enjoy this author.. when I saw you was part of the Amazon first reads program I squealed with excitement!! The Sublet was entertaining, I rather enjoyed it. Sure it’s hard for an author to capture an audience with limited words…and it’s not without its faults, but I was really interested in this story!! I was a little shocked by the ending. Had to read that last chapter over to truly take it all in. Wow.