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Make No Mistake: The Novel
Make No Mistake is a page-turning thriller about a women’s rights activist, a life-changing event she cannot remember, and an underground book club poised to take down the patriarchy. The bold courage of THE WOMEN (Kristin Hannah) meets the intrigue of THE KEEPER OF HIDDEN BOOKS (Madeline Martin) in this upmarket novel with a feminist edge.
Maggie Carpenter has faced it all – death threats, blackmail and financial disaster – building an international women’s rights organization over decades. The speed with which the newly elected President of the United States eliminated women’s rights caught her by surprise. With Congress, the Supreme Court and the police under his control, his plan to entrench white conservative ideals across the country seems unstoppable.
But he has underestimated Maggie.
Her call to action, code name “Book Club”, sparks a revolution and a coalition of unlikely allies including an undercover agent, an investigative reporter, and the First Lady. As the protest movement gains ground, Maggie receives information that changes everything and forces her to choose between justice and revenge.
The outcome may not be what you expect.
Maggie Carpenter has faced it all – death threats, blackmail and financial disaster – building an international women’s rights organization over decades. The speed with which the newly elected President of the United States eliminated women’s rights caught her by surprise. With Congress, the Supreme Court and the police under his control, his plan to entrench white conservative ideals across the country seems unstoppable.
But he has underestimated Maggie.
Her call to action, code name “Book Club”, sparks a revolution and a coalition of unlikely allies including an undercover agent, an investigative reporter, and the First Lady. As the protest movement gains ground, Maggie receives information that changes everything and forces her to choose between justice and revenge.
The outcome may not be what you expect.
291 pages, Paperback
Published May 20, 2025
5 people are currently reading
1846 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
June 13, 2025
Make No Mistake is a cleverly crafted mix of spy thriller and guide to fostering action against oppressive forces. I was always truly curious about what was going to happen next — the story pulled me in and kept me guessing in the best way.
The characters are well crafted, and their parallel stories are weaved together in a compelling way. If you are inspired by strong women, like to get absorbed into a good mystery, and read stories that make you think, check out this book!
The characters are well crafted, and their parallel stories are weaved together in a compelling way. If you are inspired by strong women, like to get absorbed into a good mystery, and read stories that make you think, check out this book!
August 27, 2025
A contemporary novel about a corrupt American president and his billionaire cronies who dismantle democracy starting with women's rights. Written in 2019, published in 2025, readers have called it prescient, and a fictional manual for resistance.
A review from the BC Review of Books calls Make No Mistake "a fast-paced and exciting feminist thriller about a heroine, Maggie Carpenter, who fights for justice for women everywhere." To read the full review by Valerie Green: https://thebcreview.ca/2025/08/20/263...
A review from the BC Review of Books calls Make No Mistake "a fast-paced and exciting feminist thriller about a heroine, Maggie Carpenter, who fights for justice for women everywhere." To read the full review by Valerie Green: https://thebcreview.ca/2025/08/20/263...
August 10, 2025
Book Review: Make No Mistake by Julie Wise
Rating: 4/5
Julie Wise’s Make No Mistake is a gripping, politically charged thriller that merges the urgency of contemporary feminist discourse with the taut suspense of a resistance narrative. The novel follows Maggie Carpenter, a seasoned women’s rights activist, as she mobilizes an underground movement—codenamed Book Club—against a tyrannical U.S. president hellbent on eroding gender equality. While the premise echoes dystopian tropes, Wise’s sharp sociological lens and unflinching portrayal of grassroots activism elevate it beyond genre conventions.
Emotional Resonance & Feminist Critique
Wise’s novel is a visceral rallying cry, evoking equal parts fury and hope. Maggie’s resilience in the face of systemic oppression—death threats, institutional sabotage—feels achingly relevant, particularly in a post-Roe landscape where reproductive rights are under siege. The underground book club, a clever metaphor for subversive knowledge-sharing, channels the legacy of second-wave feminism’s consciousness-raising groups while critiquing modern neoliberal feminism’s limitations. My emotional investment peaked during Maggie’s moral dilemmas (justice vs. revenge), though some secondary characters (like the undercover agent) could have been fleshed out further to deepen their ideological clashes.
Sociology Meets Suspense
Wise deftly interrogates intersectional feminism, particularly through Maggie’s coalition-building with marginalized allies. The novel’s exploration of coded gender discourse—how women’s resistance is often framed as hysterical or irrational—echoes academic analyses of 19th-century feminist literature. However, the pacing stumbles in the middle act, where political exposition occasionally overshadows character development. A tighter balance between theory and action would have amplified the stakes.
Constructive Criticism
-Strengths: The novel’s unapologetic feminist ethos and timely themes (e.g., bodily autonomy, state violence) are its backbone. Wise’s prose is razor-sharp in moments of tension, particularly during protest scenes.
-Weaknesses: The antagonist’s motives lean into caricature (e.g., entrenching white conservative ideals lacks nuance), and the First Lady’s arc feels underexplored. A deeper dive into class and racial dynamics within the movement would have enriched the sociological critique.
How I would describe this book:
- A thunderous love letter to feminist resistance—Wise’s thriller is The Handmaid’s Tale with a Molotov cocktail twist.
- Maggie Carpenter is the antiheroine modern feminism deserves: flawed, furious, and utterly unforgettable.
- Book clubs will debate this novel’s incendiary questions long after the last page.
Personal Remarks & Gratitude
As someone who studies gender and power dynamics, I admired Wise’s refusal to sanitize activism’s messiness. The climax’s moral ambiguity left me unsettled in the best way—a testament to the novel’s refusal to offer easy answers. A heartfelt thank you to the publisher for the review copy via Goodreads Giveaways; the bold cover design perfectly mirrors the story’s defiant spirit.
Final Thoughts
Make No Mistake is a compelling, if imperfect, addition to feminist thrillers. Its sociological depth and unrelenting pace make it a standout, though deeper character work could have solidified its impact. Ideal for readers of Kristin Hannah’s The Women and fans of Margaret Atwood’s speculative activism.
Rating: 4/5 (Docked a point for pacing and antagonist development, but a must-read for feminist fiction enthusiasts.)
Rating: 4/5
Julie Wise’s Make No Mistake is a gripping, politically charged thriller that merges the urgency of contemporary feminist discourse with the taut suspense of a resistance narrative. The novel follows Maggie Carpenter, a seasoned women’s rights activist, as she mobilizes an underground movement—codenamed Book Club—against a tyrannical U.S. president hellbent on eroding gender equality. While the premise echoes dystopian tropes, Wise’s sharp sociological lens and unflinching portrayal of grassroots activism elevate it beyond genre conventions.
Emotional Resonance & Feminist Critique
Wise’s novel is a visceral rallying cry, evoking equal parts fury and hope. Maggie’s resilience in the face of systemic oppression—death threats, institutional sabotage—feels achingly relevant, particularly in a post-Roe landscape where reproductive rights are under siege. The underground book club, a clever metaphor for subversive knowledge-sharing, channels the legacy of second-wave feminism’s consciousness-raising groups while critiquing modern neoliberal feminism’s limitations. My emotional investment peaked during Maggie’s moral dilemmas (justice vs. revenge), though some secondary characters (like the undercover agent) could have been fleshed out further to deepen their ideological clashes.
Sociology Meets Suspense
Wise deftly interrogates intersectional feminism, particularly through Maggie’s coalition-building with marginalized allies. The novel’s exploration of coded gender discourse—how women’s resistance is often framed as hysterical or irrational—echoes academic analyses of 19th-century feminist literature. However, the pacing stumbles in the middle act, where political exposition occasionally overshadows character development. A tighter balance between theory and action would have amplified the stakes.
Constructive Criticism
-Strengths: The novel’s unapologetic feminist ethos and timely themes (e.g., bodily autonomy, state violence) are its backbone. Wise’s prose is razor-sharp in moments of tension, particularly during protest scenes.
-Weaknesses: The antagonist’s motives lean into caricature (e.g., entrenching white conservative ideals lacks nuance), and the First Lady’s arc feels underexplored. A deeper dive into class and racial dynamics within the movement would have enriched the sociological critique.
How I would describe this book:
- A thunderous love letter to feminist resistance—Wise’s thriller is The Handmaid’s Tale with a Molotov cocktail twist.
- Maggie Carpenter is the antiheroine modern feminism deserves: flawed, furious, and utterly unforgettable.
- Book clubs will debate this novel’s incendiary questions long after the last page.
Personal Remarks & Gratitude
As someone who studies gender and power dynamics, I admired Wise’s refusal to sanitize activism’s messiness. The climax’s moral ambiguity left me unsettled in the best way—a testament to the novel’s refusal to offer easy answers. A heartfelt thank you to the publisher for the review copy via Goodreads Giveaways; the bold cover design perfectly mirrors the story’s defiant spirit.
Final Thoughts
Make No Mistake is a compelling, if imperfect, addition to feminist thrillers. Its sociological depth and unrelenting pace make it a standout, though deeper character work could have solidified its impact. Ideal for readers of Kristin Hannah’s The Women and fans of Margaret Atwood’s speculative activism.
Rating: 4/5 (Docked a point for pacing and antagonist development, but a must-read for feminist fiction enthusiasts.)
August 8, 2025
In Julie Wise’s Make No Mistake, the Supreme Court reverses Roe v. Wade, prompting a draconian cutback on women’s autonomy, including prohibitions on abortion, contraception, and workplace equality. Retired activist Maggie teams up with journalist Jack Winthrup and Madeline, the former wife of the totalitarian Chief Justice Daniel Power. Led by the shadowy figurehead “Magdalen,” they plan their resistance through underground channels such as the Granny News Network (GNN) and subversive book clubs. As the regime becomes more oppressive—under the Chief Justice and a misogynist president—the movement morphs into a national uprising, ending in a face-off that reveals some of the grime within the system and the meaning of power.
Wise’s novel of reproductive rights, institutional repression, and authoritarianism echoes real-world terrors, and its viscerally provocative, dystopian concept and overt parallels to the current debate about gender equality and bodily autonomy are striking.
Make No Mistake centers on the trauma-earned strength of Maggie and the evolution of Madeline from an abused spouse into a straightforward and effective leader. The villains, Chief Justice Daniel Power and the president, offer equal, chilling realism: one of corruption and the other of patriarchal tyranny, respectively.
The rebellion’s craftiness shines in such grassroots tactics as using book clubs as a front for organizing, encrypted apps (OMG: On Magdalen’s Guard), and viral imagery, including the “Rebel Butterfly.” Similarly, old-fashioned tools, such as coded manifestos and protest T-shirts, are the perfect addition to tech-powered activism.
The short, punchy, cliff-hanging chapters also maintain a relentless pace, and in the world of the novel, the subplots—Lena’s tech-savvy techniques, Jack’s doggedness in his investigative reporting, the president’s mental instability—interlock to ratchet up the tension.
It feels like the different points of view (Maggie, Madeline, Lena, Jack, the president) sometimes serve to splinter the narrative, and the shift between domestic drama (e.g., Hannah hiding out with Maggie) and political intrigue could be a little more seamless. Further, while I found the climax satisfying, it may come off as potentially reductive without more geopolitical context.
Make No Mistake is a gripping novel and a timely call to arms that’s interspersed with intimate character struggles. Though it can be a bit too ambitious in its scope at times, what it does well (notably, the depth of its female relationships and its radical activism) sets it apart from the rest of the modern-day dystopian genre. Make No Mistake by Julie Wise is a bittersweet reminder that revolutions are waged in the streets as well as in the shadows.
Trigger Warnings: Sexual violence, systemic oppression, and trauma.
Wise’s novel of reproductive rights, institutional repression, and authoritarianism echoes real-world terrors, and its viscerally provocative, dystopian concept and overt parallels to the current debate about gender equality and bodily autonomy are striking.
Make No Mistake centers on the trauma-earned strength of Maggie and the evolution of Madeline from an abused spouse into a straightforward and effective leader. The villains, Chief Justice Daniel Power and the president, offer equal, chilling realism: one of corruption and the other of patriarchal tyranny, respectively.
The rebellion’s craftiness shines in such grassroots tactics as using book clubs as a front for organizing, encrypted apps (OMG: On Magdalen’s Guard), and viral imagery, including the “Rebel Butterfly.” Similarly, old-fashioned tools, such as coded manifestos and protest T-shirts, are the perfect addition to tech-powered activism.
The short, punchy, cliff-hanging chapters also maintain a relentless pace, and in the world of the novel, the subplots—Lena’s tech-savvy techniques, Jack’s doggedness in his investigative reporting, the president’s mental instability—interlock to ratchet up the tension.
It feels like the different points of view (Maggie, Madeline, Lena, Jack, the president) sometimes serve to splinter the narrative, and the shift between domestic drama (e.g., Hannah hiding out with Maggie) and political intrigue could be a little more seamless. Further, while I found the climax satisfying, it may come off as potentially reductive without more geopolitical context.
Make No Mistake is a gripping novel and a timely call to arms that’s interspersed with intimate character struggles. Though it can be a bit too ambitious in its scope at times, what it does well (notably, the depth of its female relationships and its radical activism) sets it apart from the rest of the modern-day dystopian genre. Make No Mistake by Julie Wise is a bittersweet reminder that revolutions are waged in the streets as well as in the shadows.
Trigger Warnings: Sexual violence, systemic oppression, and trauma.
June 18, 2025
I tend to be a slow reader, but I finished Make No Mistake in a few days, because it did that thing of just making me want to keep reading.
It kicks off in high gear and keeps up the momentum right the way through.
A nasty, brutish American administration is enacting laws that role back women's rights, but the women in this story fight back in clever and interesting ways.
I suspect lots of women will enjoy reading this book, plus lots of decent, caring men. But at the same time we'll be reminded that some of our well-meaning actions as men, are based on historical biases.
Read, enjoy, and learn.
It kicks off in high gear and keeps up the momentum right the way through.
A nasty, brutish American administration is enacting laws that role back women's rights, but the women in this story fight back in clever and interesting ways.
I suspect lots of women will enjoy reading this book, plus lots of decent, caring men. But at the same time we'll be reminded that some of our well-meaning actions as men, are based on historical biases.
Read, enjoy, and learn.
October 28, 2025
It was March 2020, the debut of that annoyingly clingy virus, Covid 19. My friend, Julie, asked me (and some selected others) to read and comment on her brand-new novel. Several major rewrites later, after many polite rejections and almost as many helpful mentors, Julie told me she was putting the book away in a drawer. But, suddenly, in early 2025, it seemed too incredibly relevant to keep in a drawer. She pulled it out, and published it as a serial on Substack. Now it's out in paperback; it's a podcast, and an e-book.
Here's my review: Make No Mistake is a trenchant social commentary, an intoxicating feminist fantasy, a call to action, and a manual for societal change, all rolled into one. It’s a 21st century Lysistrata with profoundly disturbing connections to the real world.
The novel begins with a declaration of war against women as the Supreme Court votes to strike down Roe v. Wade, which, btw, they really did in June of 2022.
The main character is Maggie Carpenter, a seventy-something firebrand and social activist with a terrible secret buried in her past. She faces off against a trio of powerful and truly despicable men. These guys are such evil slimeballs they might seem like caricatures if we weren’t seeing people just like them in the news every day. But there are some good guys in the novel as well, supporters and allies.
Wise’s female characters are organized, fierce, and persistent, from the surprisingly revolutionary wife of the U.S. President to the mysteriously connected Madeleine Power. You’ll be rooting for them to win the war. And, as a former teacher-librarian, I gotta love Maggie’s battle-cry: “Book Club!!”
Wise does a great job of building up the tension in the first half of the book with a cinematic rising action. Questions are raised and mysteries set up. The big question she’s addressing is this: What is the best way to fight against evil in our society? Her answer is detailed step by step in the novel.
On October 18 we saw a real-life example of this when between 6 and 7 million Americans participated in a peaceful No Kings march. In fact, you could make a drinking game out of matching up real-life events with the fictional events in Make No Mistake, originally written six years ago. It was prescient then; it’s gut-wrenching now. Not, as it turns out, a dystopia at all.
This is not just a book for feminists, not just a book for women; it’s a book for every human who feels powerless to stop the seemingly inexorable destruction of civil rights and decency in our world.
Here's my review: Make No Mistake is a trenchant social commentary, an intoxicating feminist fantasy, a call to action, and a manual for societal change, all rolled into one. It’s a 21st century Lysistrata with profoundly disturbing connections to the real world.
The novel begins with a declaration of war against women as the Supreme Court votes to strike down Roe v. Wade, which, btw, they really did in June of 2022.
The main character is Maggie Carpenter, a seventy-something firebrand and social activist with a terrible secret buried in her past. She faces off against a trio of powerful and truly despicable men. These guys are such evil slimeballs they might seem like caricatures if we weren’t seeing people just like them in the news every day. But there are some good guys in the novel as well, supporters and allies.
Wise’s female characters are organized, fierce, and persistent, from the surprisingly revolutionary wife of the U.S. President to the mysteriously connected Madeleine Power. You’ll be rooting for them to win the war. And, as a former teacher-librarian, I gotta love Maggie’s battle-cry: “Book Club!!”
Wise does a great job of building up the tension in the first half of the book with a cinematic rising action. Questions are raised and mysteries set up. The big question she’s addressing is this: What is the best way to fight against evil in our society? Her answer is detailed step by step in the novel.
On October 18 we saw a real-life example of this when between 6 and 7 million Americans participated in a peaceful No Kings march. In fact, you could make a drinking game out of matching up real-life events with the fictional events in Make No Mistake, originally written six years ago. It was prescient then; it’s gut-wrenching now. Not, as it turns out, a dystopia at all.
This is not just a book for feminists, not just a book for women; it’s a book for every human who feels powerless to stop the seemingly inexorable destruction of civil rights and decency in our world.
June 19, 2025
OMG! This book will make you feel like your teenage rage for justice was justified and finally acted upon. That anyone of us can kick ass and finally get to see what justice looks like.
It’s also written with the cadence of a running wild horse, powerful and graceful all at once. The story is impossibly credible and frightfully too detailed to be dismissed. It may require at times some degree of suspended disbelief but given today’s news updates, maybe not.
I totally recommend it!
It’s also written with the cadence of a running wild horse, powerful and graceful all at once. The story is impossibly credible and frightfully too detailed to be dismissed. It may require at times some degree of suspended disbelief but given today’s news updates, maybe not.
I totally recommend it!
July 28, 2025
Julie Wise's new novel, Make No Mistake, is many, many things, each of which is manifested brilliantly in this exciting work. It’s is a page-turner, a call to humanism, a celebration of feminism then and now, a skewering of toxic masculinity, a political thriller, a "how to" manual on neutralizing governmental oppression, a booster of family and friendship, a tribute to collective action, and, ultimately, a beacon that lights the way out of darkness. If you're heartsick over the state of the world, read this book. It will give you hope. If you want to reflect on how we got here, read this book and glean strategies for a way to escape. If you want a good read with strong characters and a fast-paced, intriguing plot, pick up this book. You won’t be able to put it down.
September 12, 2025
This is my first time writing a review on any book ever, but I really enjoyed this book. I won this on my Kindle through a Goodreads give away but would buy it in a heartbeat; I will certainly keep an eye out for any future releases from Julie Wise.
Make No Mistake is a little slow to start (which really is the only reason this wasn’t a 5 star read for me), but once it got moving it had me gripped. Interesting storyline and easy-to-follow writing while covering extremely relevant and important topics.
Make No Mistake is a little slow to start (which really is the only reason this wasn’t a 5 star read for me), but once it got moving it had me gripped. Interesting storyline and easy-to-follow writing while covering extremely relevant and important topics.
June 17, 2025
A call to activists to keep up the fight, but with a page turner plot. This book kept me engaged throughout, by careful weaving of the action with the character’s backstories.
It would make for a lively discussion as a book club selection, not only because there parallels with current events, but also because the plot includes a Bookclub with interesting rules.
It would make for a lively discussion as a book club selection, not only because there parallels with current events, but also because the plot includes a Bookclub with interesting rules.
November 26, 2025
Fantastic fast pace novel with strong women characters with morals that help shape a better America and world.
Short chapters and a thrilling read!!
Short chapters and a thrilling read!!
December 7, 2025
It kept on my toes through out the whole book. Julie did an amazing job writing this book. that can very easily happen specialy at the time. of certain events if the powers that be. had power hungry people like tommy did. this book would have happened in real life. Maggie's store kept me on my edge with what was holding in. and she spilled her secrets you hurt for hear. i did shed a happy tear for her when she got to meet her baby (now grown). thank you Julie for writing an amazing book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 11, 2025
Make No Mistake is a tale of two stories.
The first story is a page-turning thriller that covers the swift rise of authoritarianism in a country once hailed as the leader of the free world, the readiness of an organization to tackle the threatening tsunami, and a peaceful resistance that combats the threat.
The second story is about a book written in 2019, shopped around to agents and publishers with no success, and about a writer who lost her mojo. Then, with the second inauguration of a Trump presidency, and the events that swiftly followed, Wise realized she was sitting on a story that needed to be read NOW. Having established a presence on Substack for over a year with a weekly column called Glimmers from the Edge, she recognized the opportunity to publish her novel for free on Substack. All she wanted was for people to read what is now widely recognized as a prescient novel, one that she had first described as speculative fiction when she wrote it in 2019, but which eerily foreshadows events currently unfolding at breakneck speed in the U.S. today. Currently being read on Substack in 27 U.S. states and 12 countries, Make No Mistake is now available as a paperback and an e-book on Amazon.
A quick rollercoaster of a read, primed with cliffhangers, Make No Mistake is a book for right now, one that recognizes present threats within the US and a call for the masses to realize their strength in numbers to combat the tsunami that threatens to engulf the world's greatest democracy.
The first story is a page-turning thriller that covers the swift rise of authoritarianism in a country once hailed as the leader of the free world, the readiness of an organization to tackle the threatening tsunami, and a peaceful resistance that combats the threat.
The second story is about a book written in 2019, shopped around to agents and publishers with no success, and about a writer who lost her mojo. Then, with the second inauguration of a Trump presidency, and the events that swiftly followed, Wise realized she was sitting on a story that needed to be read NOW. Having established a presence on Substack for over a year with a weekly column called Glimmers from the Edge, she recognized the opportunity to publish her novel for free on Substack. All she wanted was for people to read what is now widely recognized as a prescient novel, one that she had first described as speculative fiction when she wrote it in 2019, but which eerily foreshadows events currently unfolding at breakneck speed in the U.S. today. Currently being read on Substack in 27 U.S. states and 12 countries, Make No Mistake is now available as a paperback and an e-book on Amazon.
A quick rollercoaster of a read, primed with cliffhangers, Make No Mistake is a book for right now, one that recognizes present threats within the US and a call for the masses to realize their strength in numbers to combat the tsunami that threatens to engulf the world's greatest democracy.
November 5, 2025
A timely thriller of feminine resistance to actions of the US government, which Julia Wise seems to have anticipated!
December 23, 2025
I won Make No Mistake in a giveaway for an honest review. I made it about halfway and could not finish it. that does not mean it is not a good book just not a book I like
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews