The Amateur

by Chris Bohjalian

When a young woman, a golf prodigy, accidentally kills a caddy with a stray ball at the country club, the investigation of this freak accident reveals a dark and shocking tale of secret affairs, predatory men, and a teenager on trial in this spellbinding novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Flight Attendant.

1978: It is the first Thursday in August and temperatures are flirting with ninety when Mira Winston, eighteen years old, drives a practice ball from her tee with a wooden club. The golf ball, weighing 1.6 ounces, tears through the net, travels 150 miles per hour for fifteen yards and slams, with sickening force, into the forehead of a high school junior named Kenny Foster, causing a traumatic rupture in the frontal lobe of his brain. Kenny brings his right hand to his forehead, then topples to his side. He is dead before the ambulance even arrives.

In the wake of this terrible accident—and everyone, at first, agrees it was an accident—Mira looks for comfort in all the wrong places: In her lover, Theo Catton, a married man forty years her senior. In her mother, a well-kept woman with secrets of her own. In the dead caddy’s little sisters, girls bewildered by grief. But when Henry Fallows, the golf pro, looks more closely at the torn net, when the detective investigating the case recalls Mira’s history of recklessness, and when Kenny’s father spies Mira with her married lover, the affluent and mannered community turns on this once promising young woman. A gripping story that takes the reader from the sun-soaked greens of a tony Westchester country club to the fluorescent-lit stand of a district courtroom, The Amateur What happens when one small moment—a swing, a ball, a piece of string—changes the course of an entire life?

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Suspense, Adult

336 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication August 4, 2026

About the author

Chris Bohjalian is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of 26 books. His new novel, THE AMATEUR, arrives on August 4, 2026. He writes literary fiction, historical fiction, thrillers, and (on occasion) ghost stories. His goal is never to write the same book twice. He has published somewhere in the neighborhood of 3.7 million words.

His work has been translated into 35 languages and become three movies (MIDWIVES, SECRETS OF EDEN, and PAST THE BLEACHERS) and an Emmy-winning TV series (THE FLIGHT ATTENDANT). He has two other novels in development for TV series as well.

He is also a playwright, including THE CLUB in 2024; MIDWIVES in 2020; and GROUNDED (now WINGSPAN) in 2018.

His books have been chosen as Best Books of the Year by the Washington Post, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Hartford Courant, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews, Bookpage, and Salon.

His awards include the Walter Cerf Medal for Outstanding Achievement in the Arts; the Sarah Josefa Hale Award; the ANCA Freedom Award for his work educating Americans about the Armenian Genocide; the ANCA Arts and Letters Award for THE SANDCASTLE GIRLS, as well as the Saint Mesrob Mashdots Medal; the New England Society Book Award for THE NIGHT STRANGERS; the New England Book Award; Russia’s Soglasie (Concord) Award for THE SANDCASTLE GIRLS; a Boston Public Library Literary Light; a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award for TRANS-SISTER RADIO; a Best Lifestyle Column for “Idyll Banter” from the Vermont Press Association; and the Anahid Literary Award. His short story, SLOT MACHINE FEVER DREAMS was a finalist for Best Short Story from the International Thriller Writers Association and the audio production was an Audie Finalist. His novel, MIDWVES was a selection of Oprah’s Book Club, and his novel, HOUR OF THE WITCH, was a Barnes & Noble Book Club pick. He is a Fellow of the Vermont Academy of Arts and Sciences.

He has written for a wide variety of magazines and newspapers, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, Cosmopolitan, Reader’s Digest, and The Boston Globe Sunday Magazine. He was a weekly columnist in Vermont for The Burlington Free Press from 1992 through 2015.

Chris graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Summa Cum Laude from Amherst College. He has been awarded Honorary Degrees as well from Amherst, Champlain College, and Castleton University.

He lives in Vermont with his wife, the photographer Victoria Blewer.

Reviews

[Lydia Hephzibah · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25

setting: new York
rep: n/a

this is one of those odd times where I take ages to read a book because when I'm reading it I'm loving it, but when I'm not reading it I don't feel much need to pick it up, but then I do and it's great again. I don't know why. but I did really enjoy this one. Mira was a surprisingly well-written protagonist both as a 17-year-old girl and the 50-something woman writing her memoir considering the author is a man, which I usually find icky. he did good though, so I'll let him off! I enjoyed Mira's voice and I do often enjoy a fictional memoir/biography!

[Dawn H. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Never in my life did I think I would love a book about an unlikable teenage golfer but I was completely wrong. This book is fantastic! The author has created a story about a spoiled girl from a wealthy family and the reader actually cares deeply about her.

Mira, an 18 year old golf prodigy, drives practice balls at the country club she has played golf at since she was a child. One golf ball goes through the practice net and accidentally strikes a teenage caddy in the head killing him. This tragedy reveals secrets that destroy Mira’s life.

The Amateur is an outstanding, well written, thought provoking novel. One doesn’t need to play golf or even understand the game in order to enjoy this book. Highly recommend to readers everywhere. It’s a winner.

Thanks to Netgalley and Doubleday Books for the eARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m a longtime Chris Bohjalian fan, so it was no surprise that I was instantly hooked with this story of a young woman who accidentally killed a caddy while hitting balls at a golf course. However, two things about this multifaceted story did surprise me. First, that the author was somehow skilled at telling a story centered around a golf prodigy, and that such a story was somehow captivating to a person like myself, who has absolutely no interest (or basic knowledge) in the area of golf. Don’t let the premise or the description of this novel fool you— it is so much more than just a golf story. The reader quickly discovers that the golf course is merely the backdrop for the incident that shapes the story, which already began to unfold before the incident occurred, as Mira grew up in this small and somewhat exclusive community..

The real story lies in the heartbreaking but somehow relatable series of events that the main character, Mira, experiences in her formative years as a young woman who is planning to enter college before her life gets derailed. Which brings me to my second surprise: Chris Bohjalian is somehow incredibly skilled at writing from the voice of a young woman. There is an art to this, as your stereotypical country club brat is not typically the most likable individual. But just like the multi-layered story, there are layers to our protagonist, and the reader quickly discovers that she’s got issues and she’s been taken advantage of and she’s not just an entitled golf star.

As with the best mysteries, we are thrown a shocking turn of events, but not before we begin to understand Mira more deeply. This is a story of suspense, but there are other themes at play through the entirety of the novel, which are difficult to touch on without spoiling some of the best parts. Just know that this is the 70s, and times, they were different.

I recommend this novel to readers who enjoy crime and suspense fiction works, And if you’re like me and don’t particularly care for golf, don’t let that discourage you from giving this book a chance. It’s so much more than what it may appear. Just like Mira. If you’re like me, it will have you thinking about how a single brief moment in time can completely change one’s life, for good or for bad. And how every action has an equal and opposite reaction,

Thank you NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this novel in advance of its publication

[Jamie Rosenblit · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been reading Chris Bohjalian's work for close to two decades and I can confidently say that The Amateur is probably my favorite as of yet - set in a posh area of Westchester in the late 70s, I loved reading this story about a talented female golfer and how that gets washed away in the face of tragedy.

Thank you to Knopf for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

[Caitlin Rydberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Netgalley advanced review

I am going to start off saying I am a big fan of this author. But even I am surprised he made me believe the book was written by a female. It is not by any means the first book of his from a female POV. But the first time he made me forget it was his words.

Mira Winston is not an easily understood or likable main character. She’s complex and completely unpredictable. She is a teenage girl who makes horrible choices.

Yet the entire time you find yourself rooting for her. This is not a typical coming of age story. I even have a hard time saying you could characterize this book as such. However you do see her grow and develop as a person coming into adulthood.

Chris Bohjalian as always holds back nothing from his book. Please check triggers. As always he fills you with hope and dread at the same time. The story is a legal thriller with a wonderful Legally Blonde type twist. But there’s also real dialogue about mental health and gender/working classes in the 1970’s or lack there of. Please take care of yourself.

As always I’m looking forward to having a copy on my shelf.

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's the summer of 1978, and Mira Winston is a golf prodigy, soon to head to Yale to play golf, when she hits a ball into a practice net that goes through the net and into the temple of a caddie, killing him. Mira is a complicated character, not very likable, hot tempered, privileged, and sleeping with a much older married man. The novel is written as the memoir of an adult Mira, now an author, and seemingly without a reason to lie. As what at first seems like a freak accident progresses to a search for blame and for accountability, Mira finds herself involved in the civil case against the country club and the net manufacturer, and then accused of manslaughter. Bohjalian skillfully portrays late 1970s attitudes towards women, drinking, and drugs, explores the fault lines of class in the affluent suburb where Mira lives, and the effect of one moment on the lives involved. A propulsive read with a masterly twist. I couldn't put it down

[Craig Elliott Jr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chris Bohjalian has done it again! I never thought golf could be interesting but Chris made it so. Throw in death, a mystery, an unreliable narrator and you've got a hell of a story. Whether Chris is writing historical stories or thrillers, he takes us on an incredible journey. Highly recommend and I hope to see this book in lots of beach totes this Summer. Perfect beach read!

[Michelle San Antonio · Rating 5 out of 5]

I never miss a Chris Bohjalian novel, and this one illustrates perfectly why I love his work so much. It is a suspenseful thriller that also explores so many complex themes and delves so deeply into the workings of the main character's mind as she recounts her story to us. We're introduced to Mira as a middle-aged woman who is writing her memoir, dealing with the tragedy that occurred when she was just a teenager, and she hit a golf ball into the head of a teenage caddy, who died almost instantly. Mira's life begins a slow unraveling from that moment on, and the suspense builds, as we learn about some reckless behavior from her past, including a relationship with a much older married man. It's a very intriguing story about how a single moment can change your life trajectory in ways you could never have imagined.

[chloe - crimewithchlo · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up to 4!

this was such a unique story! i can honestly say i’ve never read anything like it.

first of all, i loved mira. she felt so real to me. the way she thought, reacted, & spiraled, reminded me so much of myself in high school. chris bohjalian absolutely nailed her voice. i think he did a really great job writing from a teenage female POV, which isn’t always easy to pull off. overall it held my attention and felt fresh.

the entire premise hinges on one horribly unfortunate golf ball accident, and the fallout from that moment is what really drives the story. it’s less about the swing itself and more about reputation, blame, and how fast a young woman can become the center of scrutiny.

huge thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Don Kyser · Rating 4 out of 5]

So really a 3.5 but I’m going to give Chris Bohjalian the benefit of the doubt and round up. The writing is very sharp and quick but I just didn’t find it very engaging until close to the end - especially the epilogue.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

My thanks to NetGalley and Doubleday Books for an advance copy of this novel set in the far off days of the 1970's about a young woman, a simple act of play, and what happens next, as things just keep spiraling out of control.

The band Pink Floyd has a song on one of their later albums, some time after this novel takes place in fact with the line, "One slip and down the hole we fall." This slip can happen in many ways. A slip of the tongue. A slip of the hand. Even a slip of a net not doing its job, allowing something to escape that should have been caught. Slips can mess up lives, even end them. Sometimes it is hard to assign blame. Accidents do happen. However emotions to make humans want to have answers. Even if the answers are to punish, what instead should just be forgiven. The Amateur is a novel by Chris Bohjalian about a simple day like so many others, except for the accident that ruins the lives of so many people, a simple slip of fate.

The time is 1978, at a exclusive Westchester county club, full of big money, big egos and lots of people, some with power, and some with secrets. In Mira Winston's case she is all of this and very talented. At the age of 18 Mira is a very talented golfer, with a powerful swing, and a lot of future potential. On this day as the temperature gets close to the nineties, Mira takes a few practice swings, and sets her golf ball flying from the tee, toward the protective net by the caddy shack. Which fails to stop the ball, and hitting a young junior in her high school right in the temple, killing him. Everyone knows this is an accident, a twist of fate some would say. However Mira has a bit of reputation, at least to the detective investigating the accident. Mira tries to find solace, but really has nobody. She has a boyfriend, a married, man thirty years older than her. Mira's father is not a help, seemingly detached for numerous reasons, nor her mother, who has secrets of her own. Things escalate quickly and a simple golf swing turns in the crime of the century, with Mira on trial for not just her swing, but for being who she is.

Chris Bohjalian is a writer who never stays in a lane, constantly creating art that is different than what came last. Family dramas, spy stories, mysteries, historical fiction. Bohjalian has a gift for creating characters, and in this one he really goes all out, and tries something new. The characters in this book are hard to like. Really hard to like. However, Bohjalian still makes one care for where the story is going, and how things are going to end. Bohjalian has really captured a time and a place, a hot day in Westchester, and the people who live in this town. This book pretty much starts quickly, and just keeps going. Bohjalian can balance the different parts of the story, and keeps the narrative interesting, and again, leaving one wanting to know what he has planned. Something I must admit I was not sure of until the book was near the end.

Another great book from an author who really works hard not to be categorized. Bohjalian is one of the few bestselling authors people can say, I have no idea what his next book will be. However, one can be sure that it will be quite good, like this one.

[Frederic Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are a fan of Chris Bohjalian, then you are familiar with his penchant for writing in the first person from the point of view of a young female main character (Midwives; The Double Bind; Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands), and that is exactly what you get in The Amateur. And like those first two books listed, this is a true bildungsroman; it covers the evolution of the main character from adolescence to maturity and even old age. How that is accomplished in The Amateur is through a unique and fresh female protagonist, Mira Winston. Mira is an author in her 60s writing a memoir that begins with a perfect storm of events that crash down on her when she is 18. It continues by analyzing the consequences of that storm on her life since. Bohjalian cleverly frames it as a memoir, yet the story arc is that of a mystery thriller.

As mysteries go, it is not difficult to divine the likely outcome of Amateur by about midway through the book, so when the twist comes, it is not unexpected. That may disappoint some; however, it doesn’t seem to be Bohjalian’s intent to tease you through the book for a big reveal at the end like a formulaic murder mystery. Instead, he spends a great deal of the book exploring the development and evolution of Mira’s emotional stability as she goes through stages of trauma, guilt, shame, absolution, and acceptance after a horrible accident. And this is the true purpose of this story. It may not be immediately apparent, however, because one aspect of Bohjalian novels is that the rich storytelling and extensive inner dialogue of the characters tend to obscure the much deeper themes.

And thus, in Amateur, there is a tendency to get wrapped up in Mira’s personality and react to it in a visceral, judgmental way. You either empathize with her for her bad luck or pillory her for her own apparently self-inflicted reckless behaviors. Neither is the real point of the book. The real point is that women in American society were (in the 70’s) and continue to be taught that they are responsible for any bad behavior of men rather than being victims of men’s bad behavior. Even Mira is oblivious to this until she reaches some enlightenment in her older age. Once you recognize that theme, you start to see how all the elements of the story paint a background picture of societal complicity. And that complicity reduced the range of choices available to Mira, and women in general, from bad, at best, to awful.

Interestingly, there is not a single mention of the “me too” movement in Amateur. Instead, the entire manuscript could be imagined as filling a thought bubble shaped like “me too.” And that, perhaps, is the real reveal of this mystery thriller, one that comes not in written form, but only after thoughtful reflection.

If, in the early pages, Mira Winston puts you off, you may find it a challenge to get into The Amateur. However, as with Bohjalian’s other female first-person novels, if you can get comfortable in the main character’s skin, you will find yourself quickly immersed in her tragic story thanks to Bohjalian’s considerable first-person character-building skills.

4.4/5 stars

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Bohjalian’s books are hit or miss for me (case in point: I have an ARC of The Jackal’s Mistress that I still haven’t read!). I’m usually more intrigued by the concept than the actual story. Usually the scope expands to the point that the original story I was interested in hearing gets lost in the shuffle (or in the case of Hour of the Witch, only shows up in the last 30 pages). This novel has a much narrower, almost claustrophobic scope - it’s definitely a slow burn character study.

The titular amateur is Mira Winston, a Yale-bound high school senior with hopes of playing in the LPGA. One day she’s practicing on the driving range and, in a complete freak accident, drives the ball completely through the net, where it hits one of the caddies in the head and kills him. It’s clearly not intentional, but it sets off a string of events as the club, the net company, and Kenny the caddy’s parents try to determine who IS to blame for this kid’s death.

The conceit is that this book is a memoir by adult Mira, by now a successful author herself (most of the books she describes sound like Bohjalian’s own novels - it’s weirdly meta in a way I didn’t care for). She’s looking back at the self-destructive teenager she once was and spotting all the ways things could have broken differently for her. At the time, she convinced herself that Kenny’s death was somehow HER punishment for sleeping with a 40-something married man. And she also has a history of being reactive and prone to violence, having once taken a golf club to a classmate’s windshield (in Mira’s defense, the dude assaulted her). So once the course pro starts examining the net and thinking back on Mira’s prior tantrum about the net having a built-in target (which was NOT there the day Kenny was killed), everything starts to look pretty bleak. And the case she kept being assured would “never make it to trial” no longer looks so open and shut.

It’s an interesting character study, how quickly the town turns on Mira after her affair with Theo comes to light (thanks to none other than Kenny’s father, who spotted them at a hotel). And how even though we KNOW Mira didn’t do it on purpose, she can still be held criminally liable for this kid’s death, and how that can lead a person to spiral. It’s not really a mystery (though we do eventually learn what happened to the target), but a tightly focused character study of how one small moment can have a devastating ripple effect.

[PinkAmy loves books, cats and naps · Rating 5 out of 5]

***Thanks to NetGalley for providing me a complimentary copy of THE AMATEUR by Chris Bohjalian in exchange for my honest review.***

4.5 STARS

I always feel like I’ve won an ARC lottery when I’m allowed early access to one of Chris Bohjalian’s novels. That THE AMATEUR turned out to be one of my favorites of his is an extra bonus. So why 4.5 stars instead of 5, I’ll address that later in the review.

Amateur tennis prodigy Mira can also be described as a professional train wreck. Both victim and victor, perpetrator and prey, Mira suffers consequences that most teenagers escape. In the late 1970s-early 1980s, I was a few years younger than Mira. I experienced the days when teenage girls were blamed for their married adult (what we’d now call) statutory rapists actions. Girls, even the prepubescent, were seen as temptresses to “helpless” men. They were (what now call) slut shamed.

When Mira takes a golf club to her attempted date rapist’s car, she never thinks to explain her motivations and even allows misinformation about her reasons to persist.

After accidentally killing a caddy with a well-hit golf ball, Mira spirals into a series of self-destructive relationships and behaviors.

I can’t stress how much I loved Mira’s story and hate that all my comments can’t reflect that. I became distracted when Bohjalian mixed present day knowledge with 1978 knowledge. The premise of THE AMATEUR is that it’s the memoir of a best seller writer’s experience in her young adulthood, which she’s writing in 2026, so some of the modern references like Wordle used in a metaphor are explained that way. My distraction came when facts unknown in 1978 were attributed to that time period. The most disruptive was that in 1978, recent a high school graduate would know that brain development continues into the 20s and the frontal lobe isn’t fully developed in teenage years. Scientists didn’t know this, until studies in the 1990s early 2000s. I’m probably being overly picky, but as a child psychologist and someone who’s studied child development, I was distracted. If Mira as a mature adult in 2026 was opining, I wouldn’t have been. The confusion between Mira’s feelings in 1978 and 2026 appeared other times and distracted me enough to not say 5 full stars.

Again, I loved THE AMATEUR.

[Mark Myers · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Amateur is a slow-burn character study centered on Mira Winston, a Yale-bound high school senior and aspiring LPGA golfer whose life unravels after a freak accident on the driving range – a wayward shot tears through a net and kills a caddy. It's clearly not intentional, but that doesn't stop the club, the net manufacturer, and the dead boy's family from circling for someone to blame. The story is told as a memoir by adult Mira, now a successful author looking back at the self-destructive teenager she once was, which gives the whole thing a reflective, almost mournful quality.

This is an odd structure for a book. Bohjalian is certainly up to the task, and I truly enjoyed the story. But I sometimes found the asides jarring – where the fictional novelist is talking directly to the reader. It wasn’t something that took me out of the story. But I would have preferred they not be there.

What makes it compelling is how quickly everything snowballs. Mira's secret affair with a much older married man comes to light at the worst possible moment, and her history of reactive behavior (she took a golf club to a classmate’s car – for a legitimate reason) starts to color how everyone sees her. Even though you never doubt she didn't mean for any of this to happen, Bohjalian does a great job showing how easily intent gets buried under circumstance and reputation.

Mira, as a much older and wiser narrator, never defends her behavior and takes responsibility for her recklessness. She seems bemused at her younger self at times. I’m a big fan of Bohjalian. This isn’t my favorite of his books, but it is a great read. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

[Laura Flavin]

“The Amateur is a haunting, psychologically layered, and emotionally gripping novel that transforms a shocking split-second tragedy into a devastating exploration of privilege, desire, guilt, and public judgment. Chris Bohjalian once again demonstrates his extraordinary ability to blend suspense with literary depth, crafting a narrative that feels at once intimate, socially observant, and relentlessly tense. What begins as a freak accident on the manicured greens of a wealthy country club gradually unfolds into a far darker portrait of secrecy, exploitation, emotional vulnerability, and a community eager to weaponize morality when appearances begin to crack.”

“What stood out most was the emotional complexity surrounding Mira Winston and the way the novel resists simplifying her into either villain or victim. Bohjalian skillfully captures the dangerous instability of adolescence colliding with wealth, power, sexuality, and public scrutiny, allowing Mira’s recklessness, grief, confusion, and longing to feel painfully human even as suspicion begins to close around her. The novel’s treatment of predatory relationships and social hypocrisy is especially compelling, exposing the ways affluent environments often conceal exploitation beneath respectability and decorum. The atmosphere surrounding the country club and courtroom settings feels intensely vivid, balancing polished surfaces with simmering emotional decay beneath them. The investigation itself unfolds with mounting psychological tension as every revelation deepens the tragedy rather than offering easy resolution. Elegant, unsettling, and emotionally devastating, The Amateur is both a riveting literary thriller and a sharp examination of how quickly a community can turn cruelty into spectacle.”

[Stacey Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve long admired Chris Bohjalian’s ability to pull readers into complicated moral terrain, and The Amateur is certainly no exception — though it’s a very different kind of novel than I expected.

Written as a fictional memoir and set in the 1970s, the story centers on Mira, a young woman whose life changes irrevocably when she accidentally drives a golf ball into a caddy, killing him. From that shocking moment forward, the novel becomes less about suspense and more about consequence — emotional, social, and deeply personal.
This is not, in my opinion, much of a thriller. Instead, it’s an in-depth character study of a young woman in crisis, navigating guilt, scrutiny, and the immense influence of powerful people surrounding her. Bohjalian explores how Mira is treated — and judged — within the cultural confines of the 1970s, where reputation, gender expectations, and influence carry enormous weight. Watching her grapple with what happened, and with how others shape the narrative of her life, is both unsettling and compelling.

There is a mystery element that slowly comes to light, but the real heart of the novel lies in its psychological depth. Bohjalian can write — that’s never in question. He has a way of drawing you in and wrapping you up in a story, even when it’s not your favorite of his works.

The Amateur wasn’t my favorite by this author, but it’s an interesting, layered exploration of accountability, power, and a young woman trying to survive an impossible situation in a very different era.

Thank you NetGalley and the Publisher for this eARC in exchange for an honest review. Of course, all opinions are mine.

[Cherie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such an interesting book!

Mira Winston is a teenage golf sensation, so much so that she's received a scholarship to Princeton to play golf. When a rogue ball breaks through the practice net at the driving range, it hits Kenny Foster in the temple, killing him almost instantly. In the wake of the tragedy, Mira's past mistakes come back to haunt her. A closer look at the accident brings into question whether it was an accident at all.

This book was written like an autobiography. It details Mira's life before and after the accident, the questionable choices that she makes because of her feelings of guilt, and how she copes with the aftermath of the tragedy. I loved Mira's voice, at once self-depreciating, but also humorous and raw. There were some very heavy topics in the novel - drug use, pedophilia, suicide, pretty strong sexual content - so readers should be aware of its content. However, I felt like it was a very real portrayal of a young woman whose life was irrevocably changed by one moment.

I am not a golfer and beyond my mad skills at putt-putt, I know nothing about the sport. There were places in the novel that I think would have been more impactful had I understood the basics of golf. It didn't necessarily take away from my enjoyment of the book, but I think there were things that would have made more sense to me.

Overall, 4 ⭐s.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Doubleday Books for an advanced copy. It's scheduled to be published on August 4, 2026.

[Drea · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 rounded up. Heartfelt thanks to the publisher for the advanced copy.

Chris Bohjalian is one of those authors who can make almost any premise compelling, and somehow he even managed to pull me into a novel centered around golf. What begins as a tragic freak accident slowly opens into something much bigger involving privilege, class, recklessness, predatory relationships, and the way one single moment can completely derail a life. I also thought Bohjalian did an impressive job writing Mira’s voice both as a teenager and later as an older woman reflecting back on the events.

There were definitely aspects I enjoyed. The late 1970s setting felt vivid, the country club atmosphere worked well, and the novel raises interesting questions about blame, accountability, and how quickly public sympathy can shift. Mira is not always likable, but she’s complicated enough to keep the story engaging.

That said, this one ultimately didn’t fully work for me. The trial and investigation started to feel increasingly far-fetched and at times almost a little Scooby-Doo-esque in the way revelations unfolded. The story also felt somewhat repetitive in the middle sections, and I kept waiting for the tension to build toward something more emotionally or psychologically impactful. Instead, the ending felt a bit too neat and convenient considering how messy and layered the setup had been.

Even with my issues, I wanted to keep reading, and I can absolutely see why so many readers are connecting with this one.

[Castille · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Amateur is cleverly structured as a modern memoir written by Mira, an accomplished, yet deeply troubled, novelist finally ready to tell the story of her youth as a golf prodigy turned accidental murderer. What fascinated me most was not the plot, but the meta form: the moments when current day Mira breaks the fourth wall to address the reader directly, assuring us she’s a reliable narrator despite her flaws. That narrative device was, for me, more compelling than the mystery itself.

The central plot revolves around who vandalized the driving net-- the incident that allowed a golf ball to escape and unintentionally kill Kenny. I guessed the culprit and motivation early on, and this didn’t diminish my engagement. What did challenge my suspension of disbelief was the manslaughter case brought against Mira. It never felt fully believable, which undercut the emotional stakes for me.

One of the most impressive things about this book is Bohjalian’s skill at writing from a female point of view. I often find authors struggle to transcend their own experiences, but here the voice feels authentic without tipping into stereotype. I genuinely wasn’t sure whether Chris was male or female — and if that uncertainty says anything, it’s a testament to his talent with character voice.

Overall, The Amateur is an enjoyable thriller with a fresh narrative voice and intriguing structure, definitely one worth reading.

[Leisa Back Porch Pages · Rating 5 out of 5]

✨I’ve been reading Chris Bohjalian for years, and one of the most remarkable things about him is that he refuses to be confined to any one genre or style. You never quite know what you’re going to get, and you certainly never know where he’ll take you next. If you would have told me that in 2026 I’d be eagerly picking up a novel set in the world of golf, I would have laughed and said, “I think not.” But tell me it’s a Chris Bohjalian novel, and I’m all in before I even know another detail.  Once again, he absolutely delivered, and I was hooked from the first page to the last. 
 
✨I need to start by telling you that you don’t need to worry about the golf. I promise. I know absolutely nothing about golf, and I’m even less interested. Despite this, the author managed to fully captivate me in this utterly compelling story where golf is merely the backdrop. The real focus is the 1970s culture and its casual attitude toward drinking and drug use, its often demeaning treatment of women, and the underlying tensions of class in a wealthy, insular community – and above all how a single moment can set off a cascading chain of events that shatters the lives of everyone involved.
 
✨The ending left me with my jaw on the floor – and minutes later wiping tears from my eyes.  Masterful!
 
🌿Read if you like:
✨Courtroom drama
✨Literary suspense
✨#MeToo social commentary
✨Coming-of-age stories
✨Morally complicated characters
✨70s settings
✨Golf narratives

[Linda Grana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've met Chris Bohjalian a handful of times, and so I know for a fact—he is NOT a teenage girl golf prodigy. Yet I never once thought of him as anything but that in his latest novel "The Amateur". He completely puts us in the mind of a young girl, Mira, who witnesses the death of a fellow student at her own hands, as a ball she hits at the driving range goes through a protective net, striking a high school caddy in the side of the head, killing him almost instantly.
Chris is the master of the "slow burn novel", and as the story progresses, we experience along with Mira, the fallout from this one-in-a-million chance accident, and it's affect on her family, the surviving members of the boys family, and the entire community. Many factors come into play regarding Mira's past behavior and the condition of the net at the time of the accident—culminating in a heart-pounding legal drama. In spite of Mira's impulsiveness, and unpredictability—I felt a deep compassion for this young girl, a victim herself in that her life as she once knew it, was changed forever with this tragic event. Utterly suspenseful, and compulsively readable!
(On a side note: I found this book highly nostalgic in that I was the same age as Mira in 1978 when these events took place. Chris really captured that time period—its fashion, events, all of it. Well done!) 4.5 stars.
Many thanks to Doubleday for letting me be an early reader of "The Amateur".

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

The descriptive passage above is very thorough, so I’d like to touch on a few other thoughts I have after reading Chris Bohjalian’s novel, The Amateur:

1. The prologue is an exemplary introduction to the dangers of a golf ball driven at a high speed. The caddy, Kenny, was standing way too close to the practice range, a very important point throughout the story.
2. Even though the novel focuses on teenagers with their immature social minds, it is an immensely adult example of cause and effect in an adult-rated novel. Children always learn the cause/effect concept in elementary school, but it’s an important topic for teens and older folks to remember in their social lives. Several characters in the novel made poor and unwise decisions, causing severe consequences.
3. Writing novels with characters who are authors is a fairly common experience, but this is the first one I’ve read with the main character as a memoirist.
4. In this story, there is a social gap between the wealthy teens and the middle class students in the upscale suburb of Westchester, NY. These wealthy teenage characters are sexually promiscuous and prone to many types of drug use, so read the novel with an accepting attitude.

[Candace Siegle, Greedy Reader 2.0 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chris Bohjalian is a remarkably diverse writer. He can pull you into a historical novel, a modern thriller, or a domestic drama with ease. His writing is always taut and propelling, his characterizations rich. So what is it about "The Amateur"?

It's not the golf. The sport is pretty much a device for the crux of the story--the death of a teenage caddy in a freak accident with a golf ball. The setting of a 1970s golf club guarantees a bunch of privileged people involved. The time frame promises a lot of ugly misogyny and more. Where this novel lost me is with the characters, especially the narrator, Mira, a teen golf prodigy who also sleeps with older men and has her future assured. She tells the story as an adult, a successful novelist who may even be less likeable than she was as a teen. It took three runs at this book to struggle through to the end. It was hard to spend 336 pages with her. The only person I could care about was Kenny, Mira's high school classmate who was working to save money for college. On the good side, Bohjalian is such a skilled writer that the story is very immediate and twisty, covering the uncomfortable moral landscape of the 1970s.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a DRC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

[Candy · Rating 5 out of 5]

In August 1978, 18 year old Mira accidentally kills another teenager when her golf ball tears through a practice net and strikes him in the head. Though initially deemed a tragic accident, suspicion grows as investigators uncover flaws in the net, recall Mira’s reckless past, and notice her affair with a much older married man. As the wealthy country club community turns against her, Mira seeks solace in her own relationships and the family of the teenager she killed. The story follows the unraveling of Mira's life, exploring how a single moment can reshape an entire future.

This was a great exploration of the dynamics of a young, impressionable girl and the influences older and persuasive adults can have; since this book functions as a memoir of Mira's experiences, there is conversation of real issues at hand regarding brain development - highly relatable. An intriguing story, which I am sure many will relate to not because of the specific facts, but how the author presents the story as if it could be any one of us.

Thank you to NetGalley and Doubleday Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Katherina Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not my favorite of the author's books but I would still give this book four stars, rounded up from three and a half. When Mira drives a golf ball into a caddy's head, killing him instantly, her world changes. At 18, she was a gifted golfer, getting ready to go to college and expected to become a champion on the PGA circuit. She is charged with manslaughter and soon shunned by the people of her small city. She quits golf completely and leaves town to stay with an aunt and uncle in Manhattan. In Manhattan, working and waiting for her trial to start, Mira tries to deal with the fact that she killed someone, albeit accidentally. As her trial comes close, pieces of Mira's past come out that won't help her in trial. The novel is low in action but a good character study of a young women in crisis. By part 3, the trial, I was glad it was all coming to an end but then the book kicks up as the reader discovers what really happened the day that Ken fell down dead.
Thank you to NetGalley and Double Day Books for the complementary digital ARC. This review is my own opinion.
Publish date: August 4, 2026

[Dallas Strawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Picture it: it’s 1978. You’re an 18 year old golf prodigy, destined for greatness... your life mapped out, Yale waiting for you in the fall. And then you strike a ball into a practice net, and because of a fault in that net, you kill a caddy. You never play golf again.

That’s the premise of Chris Bohjalian’s latest, and quite frankly, one of his best, novels. This book is a banger. It’s harshly written. Mira is an incredibly unlikable character, and she knows it. The language is as colorful as ever for a Bohjalian novel. But is it absolutely, bloody brilliant? 100%.

The man can do no wrong. This is the writer who gave us Midwives, who gave us Hour of the Witch with its 1600s Puritan world, who gave us The Flight Attendant, a contemporary thriller, The Princess of Las Vegas, a novel about a Princess Diana impersonator in Vegas...yes, you read that right; and last year’s The Jackal’s Mistress, a Civil War love story.

And now he gives us The Amateur.

Bohjalian refuses to write the same novel twice. He refuses to be pigeonholed. The Amateur is a defiant, tour de force of a book... unlike anything he’s delivered to readers before.

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the way The Amateur is constructed. Chris Bohjalian writes as if from the perspective of an older successful female novelist writing a memoir, looking back on her life from age 15 to 20. He never steps out of character for an instant. Mira, that troubled young girl, felt so real to me. The story begins in the mid 1970s and brought back memories of how much the world has changed since then. From the outside Mira seems to have a perfect, privileged life. She's well-off financially, pretty, popular, smart and a gifted golfer. But at home she's been secretly watering down her parent's after dinner drinks since she was eight. At barely fifteen she was seduced by a married man of her parent's generation and he kept her as his mistress throughout her high school years. Her life was already balanced on a thin edge when she accidently killed a teenaged caddy with a golf ball and that put her into a spiral of depression and self-loathing. But since this novel is written as a memoir, with a few comments and hints about her later life, we know she comes out alright in the end. Highly recommended!

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, can't praise this book enough. 5 stars all the way

Mira is a young golf pro who has an unfortunate accident while practicing at a net at the country club where she often plays/ To say it affected the rest of her life is an understatement! Other aspects of her youth come back to haunt her and her family as facts come out.

I don't want to give anything away so I am cautious here, but picture doing something you do often, but it goes so wrong this one time that you can't get past it. She is stuck- can't play golf or even imagine playing again. College is even more of a challenge to her than others.

Told by Mira as narrator, part 1 is told in the present, but once we get to parts 2 &3, she talks more from a "present talking about the past" tone, which really worked nicely.

Bohjalian's books have almost always made me so glad to read and this was one of his best. Nice work!

Thank you NetGalley for an advance reader copy. Honest opinions expressed here are my own and are freely given.

[Sheri · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The Amateur” by Chris Bohjalian has a premise that caught my attention immediately. The story is written as a fictional memoir about a young female golf prodigy whose life changes irrevocably when at a practice tee, she accidentally drives a golf ball into a caddy killing him. The accident causes her to become self-destructive, unraveled, and in shock. Because of her harmful behavior, what should have been a tragic accident turns into something far more unsettling, for her community, family, and herself. Watching her grapple with the death of the caddy who turned out to be a fellow student was disturbing and unsettling.
This was not my favorite book by this author but it’s real strength is in its exploration of, mental health, accountability, and the powerful struggle to navigate through complex moral terrain. The reshaping of the narrative, the layered legal fallout and the 1970’s cultural commentary did keep me reading every page.

Thank you NetGalley and Doubleday Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.