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Evil Genius: A Novel
Not yet published
Expected 23 Feb 27An exuberant novel about a young woman’s quest to carve her own path—even if she needs to step over a few dead bodies along the way
It’s 1974 and San Francisco is full of mystery and menace. Nineteen-year-old Celia Dent keeps telling herself how lucky she is to be married to Drew, a man who says he loves her. But Celia’s contentment with her little life is shattered when a woman she knows is murdered in a love tryst gone awry. What would that be like, Celia wonders, to die—or kill—for love? What would it be like to live each moment passionately and with full knowledge that each breath is bringing her closer to her final breath?
Before Celia knows it her musings about love-and-death happenings are bleeding into daily life. She’s practicing her marksmanship at a local gun range. She's searching for a love tryst of her very own. She's thinking about how good it would feel to bury something sharp inside her domineering husband’s ear. It’s all pretend, though, until the night comes when Celia finally goes too far, and she and Drew are set on a deadly collision course.
Exhilarating, surreal, and bitingly clever, Evil Genius is a comic noir about obsession and desire—and what happens when a sweetly seditious young woman dares to imagine a better life for herself.
Claire Oshetsky is also the author of the novels Poor Deer and Chouette, which was longlisted for the PEN/Faulkner Award.
It’s 1974 and San Francisco is full of mystery and menace. Nineteen-year-old Celia Dent keeps telling herself how lucky she is to be married to Drew, a man who says he loves her. But Celia’s contentment with her little life is shattered when a woman she knows is murdered in a love tryst gone awry. What would that be like, Celia wonders, to die—or kill—for love? What would it be like to live each moment passionately and with full knowledge that each breath is bringing her closer to her final breath?
Before Celia knows it her musings about love-and-death happenings are bleeding into daily life. She’s practicing her marksmanship at a local gun range. She's searching for a love tryst of her very own. She's thinking about how good it would feel to bury something sharp inside her domineering husband’s ear. It’s all pretend, though, until the night comes when Celia finally goes too far, and she and Drew are set on a deadly collision course.
Exhilarating, surreal, and bitingly clever, Evil Genius is a comic noir about obsession and desire—and what happens when a sweetly seditious young woman dares to imagine a better life for herself.
Claire Oshetsky is also the author of the novels Poor Deer and Chouette, which was longlisted for the PEN/Faulkner Award.
240 pages, Paperback
First published February 17, 2026
About the author
Claire Oshetsky
3 books910 followers
"Listen! I will be honest with you, I do not offer the old smooth prizes..."
- Walt Whitman
I review books here on goodreads as a reader, for the most part, and not as a writer. Come follow or friend me on my reviewer's page. if you like. I visit my “Claire Oshetsky” author page so infrequently that originally my plan was to not accept friend requests here but actually that’s ok. I seem to be writing a different sort of review over here so follow me both places if you like.
Re Chouette: You may find yourself asking, Is the baby disabled? Is the baby trans? Is the baby queer? Is the baby autistic? You are entitled to your theories but from my standpoint that baby is an owl.
Re Poor Deer: The first scene is autobiographical except for how it ends.
Re Evil Genius: As I wrote her, I thought Celia was completely normal, given her situation, and that her actions were rational, but maybe that’s just me.
- Walt Whitman
I review books here on goodreads as a reader, for the most part, and not as a writer. Come follow or friend me on my reviewer's page. if you like. I visit my “Claire Oshetsky” author page so infrequently that originally my plan was to not accept friend requests here but actually that’s ok. I seem to be writing a different sort of review over here so follow me both places if you like.
Re Chouette: You may find yourself asking, Is the baby disabled? Is the baby trans? Is the baby queer? Is the baby autistic? You are entitled to your theories but from my standpoint that baby is an owl.
Re Poor Deer: The first scene is autobiographical except for how it ends.
Re Evil Genius: As I wrote her, I thought Celia was completely normal, given her situation, and that her actions were rational, but maybe that’s just me.
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July 9, 2025It's July 6 2025 and the first review copies of Evil Genius will be out in 10 days and the story will no longer belong to me.
I'm spending a quiet time today, thinking about why I wrote this novel the way I did. You could say Evil Genius was written in reaction to the melancholy of my last novel, Poor Deer. I'm not sure if Evil Genius a funny novel, exactly, but I had fun writing it. I let the sentences build and grow in ludicrous and weedy ways. If you read the novel then you will eventually get to somebody shouting: The goddamn dog-walker left the doggone dog room door open again! I've told her a hundred times to latch it tight!, and when you do I hope you remember you read it first right here.
I'm spending a quiet time today, thinking about why I wrote this novel the way I did. You could say Evil Genius was written in reaction to the melancholy of my last novel, Poor Deer. I'm not sure if Evil Genius a funny novel, exactly, but I had fun writing it. I let the sentences build and grow in ludicrous and weedy ways. If you read the novel then you will eventually get to somebody shouting: The goddamn dog-walker left the doggone dog room door open again! I've told her a hundred times to latch it tight!, and when you do I hope you remember you read it first right here.
February 23, 2026
And all these many years later, as I’m telling you a story about a nineteen-year-old girl who thought she was in love with her husband, I begin to ask myself a question or two. For instance. Has it already crossed the girl’s mind back on that gorgeous, sun-dazzle morning, as she gazes at her husband’s tranquil sleeping face, that she wants him dead?
I am not sure why this book is being tagged as "horror". It's literary fiction about coercive control and abuse, set in 1970s San Francisco, and even the nods toward magical realism seem to be firmly in the narrator's head. I would not describe it as horror.
To be honest, I thought for a while the book might be a little too offbeat for my tastes. Celia was almost too much of a weirdo, even for myself, especially all that crackadoodle about a Crab Queen and her bizarre collection of dolls, but her story quickly grew compelling enough that I forgave these oddities. It is also very readable, which helps.
What begins as a character portrait of an eccentric young woman grows into a powerful story about how small, subtle acts of control and manipulation evolve into abuse, and also how someone can justify their abusive relationship to themselves:
The feeling carries you through the bad patches. Only you can see the truth about this man of yours—that he’s helpless without you. You respond to him the way you’d respond to your own child. And you call this feeling “love.” It’s a powerful feeling. It makes you stay. Don’t you feel the truth of it? Don’t you see? I wasn’t the victim. I was the rock.
Celia's dry narration of "My Drew"'s many concerning behaviours works brilliantly. The reader watches in horror as she normalises his power plays and manipulation. But Celia is not quite a helpless victim. When she hears about a co-worker murdered by her husband, Celia's fantasies become darker and she toys with the idea of upending her life in a bloody way.
It's pretty deranged, but in the way Ventura's My Husband is deranged. So I enjoyed it.
October 25, 2025
Celia is a nineteen year old telephone operator in 1970’s San Francisco, married to Drew, who is extremely controlling.
Celia becomes quite obsessed about love and death when her coworker is murdered by her own husband in a crime of passion.
Celia starts off as a meek character… putting up with her husband’s angry tirades… and then things change, she becomes empowered by some friends at work.
Lots of action packed situations that Celia becomes involved in.
This is a darkly comic, extremely entertaining and fast read.
Celia is quirky, offbeat, unhinged but lovable.
I thoroughly enjoyed this one as I have this author’s previous novels!
I devoured this one.. highly recommend!
Thank you to Netgalley through Ecco, for the gifted ARC, in exchange for an honest review!
Celia becomes quite obsessed about love and death when her coworker is murdered by her own husband in a crime of passion.
Celia starts off as a meek character… putting up with her husband’s angry tirades… and then things change, she becomes empowered by some friends at work.
Lots of action packed situations that Celia becomes involved in.
This is a darkly comic, extremely entertaining and fast read.
Celia is quirky, offbeat, unhinged but lovable.
I thoroughly enjoyed this one as I have this author’s previous novels!
I devoured this one.. highly recommend!
Thank you to Netgalley through Ecco, for the gifted ARC, in exchange for an honest review!
March 4, 2026
A darkly comic, action-packed novel, including questionable decisions, cruel and illegal acts, some convenient coincidences, and shocking consequences. 19-year-old Celia is overcoming trauma, wreaking revenge, and striving for a free, happy, and authentic life.
The opening chapter is titled “The Cliffhanger”, which proved true: I read the whole book in a single sitting. Randall is telling coworkers how Vivienne Bianco was murdered by her husband while he was hiding under the bed. He's cut short before he can finish the story, but it sets Celia thinking about life, death, and murder.
“It’s a strange but true fact that a typical person living in these modern times will cross paths with thirty-six actual, in-the-flesh murderers in their lifetime, along with seventy-seven people who are destined to be murdered.”
It’s a distraction from her dull job in a telephone company billing office in 1974 San Francisco:
“On the third floor of a six-floor building on Fourth Street.”
People call with sob stories to excuse late payment, usually in vain. The staff “rip their lips” (cut their telephone contract) with relish, and joke about heavy-breathers who also call.
Image: Cut off: an old-fashioned landline handset, with a severed cord: freedom, or tragedy in waiting?
Celia never knew her father, her mother died recently after paranoia and mental health problems, and she is newly married:
“My Drew never once hit me.”
But he does push, demean, control, and gaslight her.
In her reverie, she plays with counterfactual versions of who was manipulating who in the unfinished story, and wonders what it would be like to murder someone. She wants to know more about Randall and Vivienne, so she starts socialising more with coworkers. One thing leads to another…
Nothing in the narrative is wasted, and it’s great fun, but with plenty of depth as well.
Note I read an uncorrected proof; the final publication may differ slightly.
See also
• This is lighter, and in some ways more realistic, than Oshetsky’s other two novels, though quirkiness and a love of birds and animals is common to all. See my reviews:
• Chouette, 4*, HERE.
• Poor Deer, 5*, HERE.
• For a different take on dull office life, see Nicholson Baker’s The Mezzanine, which I reviewed HERE.
• The thrill, sometimes sexual, of thinking about and seeing sudden death reminded me of JG Ballard’s The Atrocity Exhibition, which I reviewed HERE, and his Crash, which I’ve not read.
• Reading this, I recalled the (fictitious) conundrum of whether Ronald Opus’s death was murder or suicide. See HERE.
The opening chapter is titled “The Cliffhanger”, which proved true: I read the whole book in a single sitting. Randall is telling coworkers how Vivienne Bianco was murdered by her husband while he was hiding under the bed. He's cut short before he can finish the story, but it sets Celia thinking about life, death, and murder.
“It’s a strange but true fact that a typical person living in these modern times will cross paths with thirty-six actual, in-the-flesh murderers in their lifetime, along with seventy-seven people who are destined to be murdered.”
It’s a distraction from her dull job in a telephone company billing office in 1974 San Francisco:
“On the third floor of a six-floor building on Fourth Street.”
People call with sob stories to excuse late payment, usually in vain. The staff “rip their lips” (cut their telephone contract) with relish, and joke about heavy-breathers who also call.
Image: Cut off: an old-fashioned landline handset, with a severed cord: freedom, or tragedy in waiting?
Celia never knew her father, her mother died recently after paranoia and mental health problems, and she is newly married:
“My Drew never once hit me.”
But he does push, demean, control, and gaslight her.
In her reverie, she plays with counterfactual versions of who was manipulating who in the unfinished story, and wonders what it would be like to murder someone. She wants to know more about Randall and Vivienne, so she starts socialising more with coworkers. One thing leads to another…
Nothing in the narrative is wasted, and it’s great fun, but with plenty of depth as well.
Note I read an uncorrected proof; the final publication may differ slightly.
See also
• This is lighter, and in some ways more realistic, than Oshetsky’s other two novels, though quirkiness and a love of birds and animals is common to all. See my reviews:
• Chouette, 4*, HERE.
• Poor Deer, 5*, HERE.
• For a different take on dull office life, see Nicholson Baker’s The Mezzanine, which I reviewed HERE.
• The thrill, sometimes sexual, of thinking about and seeing sudden death reminded me of JG Ballard’s The Atrocity Exhibition, which I reviewed HERE, and his Crash, which I’ve not read.
• Reading this, I recalled the (fictitious) conundrum of whether Ronald Opus’s death was murder or suicide. See HERE.
June 1, 2026
Imaginative. Clever. Meandering. Obsessive....
It's 1974 in San Francisco, where Celia Dent, 19, is married and working as a telephone operator. She feels content in her marriage with Drew, who professes his love. The happiness she feels begins to ebb when a woman she knows is murdered in a love affair gone wrong. Celia begins to fantasize about what it would be like to die—or kill for passionate love, and soon she finds her obsessive imaginings taking flight...
Evil Genius is another example of Claire Oshetsky's literary talent, and the more I reflect, the more nuggets I find hidden between the lines. Every time I read one of her books, and I've read all three, it feels like my brain might explode. Really.
Oshetsky's storytelling is comically dark and often shockingly loud. When combined with her delightful, detailed prose, that's when the magic and brilliance happen, and this one is no exception. I know when I begin reading one of her books, it will offer a unique premise and open my mind to who knows what—it's always a surprise.
An immersive reading experience, the audiobook is narrated by Kimberly Farr, who is superb in every way. It's also my preferred format for this story. What a fun ride!
I'll be here for Oshetsky's fourth book, because they are always worth the wait...
5⭐
Thank you to Ecco, Harper Audio, and Claire Oshetsky for the gifted DRC and ALC through NetGalley. This is my honest and voluntary review.
It's 1974 in San Francisco, where Celia Dent, 19, is married and working as a telephone operator. She feels content in her marriage with Drew, who professes his love. The happiness she feels begins to ebb when a woman she knows is murdered in a love affair gone wrong. Celia begins to fantasize about what it would be like to die—or kill for passionate love, and soon she finds her obsessive imaginings taking flight...
Evil Genius is another example of Claire Oshetsky's literary talent, and the more I reflect, the more nuggets I find hidden between the lines. Every time I read one of her books, and I've read all three, it feels like my brain might explode. Really.
Oshetsky's storytelling is comically dark and often shockingly loud. When combined with her delightful, detailed prose, that's when the magic and brilliance happen, and this one is no exception. I know when I begin reading one of her books, it will offer a unique premise and open my mind to who knows what—it's always a surprise.
An immersive reading experience, the audiobook is narrated by Kimberly Farr, who is superb in every way. It's also my preferred format for this story. What a fun ride!
I'll be here for Oshetsky's fourth book, because they are always worth the wait...
5⭐
Thank you to Ecco, Harper Audio, and Claire Oshetsky for the gifted DRC and ALC through NetGalley. This is my honest and voluntary review.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Talk about a wild ride! This is Oshetsky's best work yet.
👉 Click here to watch my Best Books of 2025 video. 📚🐛
Would leap to recommend this to fans of Motherthing by Ainslie Hogarth and/or The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff.
📝 Thoughts & Observations Log below (spoiler free) 👇
PART 1 - THE CLIFFHANGER
Already loving this book's wry humor. And as protagonist's go, Celia is a riot (a dark and twisted, strange and amusing riot).
Page 12 just sold me on this book. I'm laughing so hard! 🤣
PART 2 - A DROP OF WINE
I love when an author drops a few subtle clues that make you suspect something's not right, and then you turn a page and—💥BOOM!💥—your suspicions are confirmed AND things are much worse than you even imagined.
😀 Very curious to see where this is going . . .
PART 3 - ELEVEN MINUTES TO SPARE
Picture me glued to this book because an unhinged character with dangerous thoughts is one thing, but an unhinged character with dangerous thoughts AND A WEAPON is quite another! 🍿🫣
PART 4 - LONG-LEGGED CRABS
I guess Celia is biding her time? Nothing to report for Part 4. 🤷♀️
PART 5 - KEEP MOVING THROUGH IT
A subtle shift in tone here as we glimpse Celia's relationship with her mother-in-law and learn more about her past.
I hope we get a few more doses of dark humor in the chapters that follow.
PART 6 - THE SOCK MAN
I can't say whether this part about a man and his sock was funny or uncomfortable. I just know that I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see how things would play out. 👨🧦🎤
PART 7 - HELLO, WIFE
Holy hell. 🫢 Every chapter in this part had me grinding my teeth, or gasping aloud, or biting my nails. Good stuff!
PART 8 - SMALL PLASTIC LIVES
I can't make heads or tails of Celia's thinking. One minute she
I know she's but even knowing all that, I'm left scratching my head.
I'm ready for Celia to take drastic action.
PART 9 - LOVE AND DEATH
MY JAW IS ON THE FLOOR! 😮
PART 10 - THE CONFESSION
So many threads of this book are converging in ways I never expected. Brilliant!
PART 11 - LOVE AND LIFE
Okay, I really like the ending overall, but I can't help wishing the final page had done more for me. Nonetheless, this was a great read!
👉Pub date: February 17, 2026.
My deepest gratitude to the kind people at Ecco for sending me an advanced reading copy.
👉 Click here to watch my Best Books of 2025 video. 📚🐛
Would leap to recommend this to fans of Motherthing by Ainslie Hogarth and/or The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff.
📝 Thoughts & Observations Log below (spoiler free) 👇
PART 1 - THE CLIFFHANGER
Already loving this book's wry humor. And as protagonist's go, Celia is a riot (a dark and twisted, strange and amusing riot).
Page 12 just sold me on this book. I'm laughing so hard! 🤣
PART 2 - A DROP OF WINE
I love when an author drops a few subtle clues that make you suspect something's not right, and then you turn a page and—💥BOOM!💥—your suspicions are confirmed AND things are much worse than you even imagined.
😀 Very curious to see where this is going . . .
PART 3 - ELEVEN MINUTES TO SPARE
Picture me glued to this book because an unhinged character with dangerous thoughts is one thing, but an unhinged character with dangerous thoughts AND A WEAPON is quite another! 🍿🫣
PART 4 - LONG-LEGGED CRABS
I guess Celia is biding her time? Nothing to report for Part 4. 🤷♀️
PART 5 - KEEP MOVING THROUGH IT
A subtle shift in tone here as we glimpse Celia's relationship with her mother-in-law and learn more about her past.
I hope we get a few more doses of dark humor in the chapters that follow.
PART 6 - THE SOCK MAN
I can't say whether this part about a man and his sock was funny or uncomfortable. I just know that I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see how things would play out. 👨🧦🎤
PART 7 - HELLO, WIFE
Holy hell. 🫢 Every chapter in this part had me grinding my teeth, or gasping aloud, or biting my nails. Good stuff!
PART 8 - SMALL PLASTIC LIVES
I can't make heads or tails of Celia's thinking. One minute she
I know she's but even knowing all that, I'm left scratching my head.
I'm ready for Celia to take drastic action.
PART 9 - LOVE AND DEATH
MY JAW IS ON THE FLOOR! 😮
PART 10 - THE CONFESSION
So many threads of this book are converging in ways I never expected. Brilliant!
PART 11 - LOVE AND LIFE
Okay, I really like the ending overall, but I can't help wishing the final page had done more for me. Nonetheless, this was a great read!
👉Pub date: February 17, 2026.
My deepest gratitude to the kind people at Ecco for sending me an advanced reading copy.
March 6, 2026
Welcome to the work of evil genius that is my latest favorite Bildungsroman! It may be a crowded field, since I do tend to favor this type of story, but this one still stands out unlike any other.
…And, this makes sense, because I think this author has established a sound record of writing books that nobody else could have written, and telling stories that nobody else could have told, in so few pages and using language that nobody else could have come up with.
Indeed: the language in this book is so uniquely wonderful that I find myself cowed in my attempt to harness language of my own to describe how much I loved it. I don’t think I’ve enjoyed a book this much on the sentence level in a long time, or in quite this way. The sentences were so funny and surprising that there were many times when I just sort of delightedly and internally exclaimed, “Oh!” at the end of one.
The story itself is also delightful and surprising; you never quite know which way it is going to go. As with the author’s previous works, there is first an engaging “surface story” that can be somewhat fantastical or surreal, or even entail an element of magic realism. This one is more grounded in reality, but it is still a delightful hyperbolic adventure, a bit of a madcap caper, in which an older Celia Dent, from the present day, recounts the tale of when she was an only nineteen-year-old, married (this is important), phone company billing call center employee in 1974 San Francisco and experienced a series of life-altering epiphanies and events triggered by the uxoricide of a woman with whom a male call center colleague was having a “love tryst.” Celia’s thinking and behavior and entire future are presumably altered in response to this catalyst.
I don’t want to reveal more and risk giving away any spoilers, and I don’t need to share any further, as the novel will carry you right along once you begin. Aside from the domino effect of startling plot events, there is also another characteristic layer of thought-provoking enjoyment to this novel in its unusual, metaphorical and symbolic consideration of important themes that are also explored in the author’s previous works. Among others, these include the quest for personal liberation and freedom, the journey of recovery and integration after trauma, and the task of self-actualization and understanding and owning one’s individuality and identity.
And, there is a very wonderful dog character who ends up safe from harm.
I highly recommend this creative, darkly funny yet deep, startling and extraordinary story by a true artist with an astounding imaginative capacity. Thanks to NetGalley, Ecco, and the author for the ARC.
…And, this makes sense, because I think this author has established a sound record of writing books that nobody else could have written, and telling stories that nobody else could have told, in so few pages and using language that nobody else could have come up with.
Indeed: the language in this book is so uniquely wonderful that I find myself cowed in my attempt to harness language of my own to describe how much I loved it. I don’t think I’ve enjoyed a book this much on the sentence level in a long time, or in quite this way. The sentences were so funny and surprising that there were many times when I just sort of delightedly and internally exclaimed, “Oh!” at the end of one.
The story itself is also delightful and surprising; you never quite know which way it is going to go. As with the author’s previous works, there is first an engaging “surface story” that can be somewhat fantastical or surreal, or even entail an element of magic realism. This one is more grounded in reality, but it is still a delightful hyperbolic adventure, a bit of a madcap caper, in which an older Celia Dent, from the present day, recounts the tale of when she was an only nineteen-year-old, married (this is important), phone company billing call center employee in 1974 San Francisco and experienced a series of life-altering epiphanies and events triggered by the uxoricide of a woman with whom a male call center colleague was having a “love tryst.” Celia’s thinking and behavior and entire future are presumably altered in response to this catalyst.
I don’t want to reveal more and risk giving away any spoilers, and I don’t need to share any further, as the novel will carry you right along once you begin. Aside from the domino effect of startling plot events, there is also another characteristic layer of thought-provoking enjoyment to this novel in its unusual, metaphorical and symbolic consideration of important themes that are also explored in the author’s previous works. Among others, these include the quest for personal liberation and freedom, the journey of recovery and integration after trauma, and the task of self-actualization and understanding and owning one’s individuality and identity.
And, there is a very wonderful dog character who ends up safe from harm.
I highly recommend this creative, darkly funny yet deep, startling and extraordinary story by a true artist with an astounding imaginative capacity. Thanks to NetGalley, Ecco, and the author for the ARC.
March 20, 2026
This is one odd little story and I say that in the best way possible: I loved this!
It's 1974 and 19 year old Celia Dent is married to "her Drew" and works in the phone company billing department "ripping the lips" of customers that can't pay their bills.
When one of her co-workers is discovered to have been in a love triangle that turns deadly Celia becomes obsessed with their story but also with love and death itself.
Celia loves her Drew more than anything but it seems as if she can't ever do anything right no matter how hard she tries. He is constantly accusing her of infidelity so Celia decides that maybe it's time to give him something to be jealous about.
What follows from here is an off the wall story that had me grinning from ear to ear. You heard that right, my dears! (IYKYK) 😉
I love Celia Dent and I love Claire Oshetsky for bringing Celia to life and sharing her with me. Celia's a little bit of an odd duck but wholly loveable. I felt for Celia because though her 19 year old naivete couldn't see what an ass her husband is, us as readers, certainly can. I was hoping and praying for her to stand up to the jerk.
If you want to read something a little quirky with writing that dazzles then this would make an excellent choice.
The ending was 100% satisfying and a dog gets saved! Go Doggo! 4 stars!
Thank you to NetGalley and Ecco for my complimentary copy.
It's 1974 and 19 year old Celia Dent is married to "her Drew" and works in the phone company billing department "ripping the lips" of customers that can't pay their bills.
When one of her co-workers is discovered to have been in a love triangle that turns deadly Celia becomes obsessed with their story but also with love and death itself.
Celia loves her Drew more than anything but it seems as if she can't ever do anything right no matter how hard she tries. He is constantly accusing her of infidelity so Celia decides that maybe it's time to give him something to be jealous about.
What follows from here is an off the wall story that had me grinning from ear to ear. You heard that right, my dears! (IYKYK) 😉
I love Celia Dent and I love Claire Oshetsky for bringing Celia to life and sharing her with me. Celia's a little bit of an odd duck but wholly loveable. I felt for Celia because though her 19 year old naivete couldn't see what an ass her husband is, us as readers, certainly can. I was hoping and praying for her to stand up to the jerk.
If you want to read something a little quirky with writing that dazzles then this would make an excellent choice.
The ending was 100% satisfying and a dog gets saved! Go Doggo! 4 stars!
Thank you to NetGalley and Ecco for my complimentary copy.
February 23, 2026
So much of this story was familiar to me because, once upon a time—a long, long time ago—I, too, married "my Drew" at a young age. Like Drew, he kept me in line, had to know where I was at every moment, accused me of flirtations that didn't exist, and found ways to make everything wrong in his life MY fault. Unlike Celia, though, .
By the time of "the event" she'd experienced some substantial hardship in her young life, so under the circumstances, who could blame her for sometimes acquiescing to life—simply allowing it to happen to her. I could never fault her for that, and I quietly rooted for Celia every step of the way.
I love this book—it's such a fantastic story and so beautifully-written!! But, mostly, I love it for reminding me that I am a Survivor!✊
❤️💔❤️🩹💓💗
5 We–fall–we–break–we fail.–But–then–we–rise–we–heal–we–overcome. stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
By the time of "the event" she'd experienced some substantial hardship in her young life, so under the circumstances, who could blame her for sometimes acquiescing to life—simply allowing it to happen to her. I could never fault her for that, and I quietly rooted for Celia every step of the way.
I love this book—it's such a fantastic story and so beautifully-written!! But, mostly, I love it for reminding me that I am a Survivor!✊
❤️💔❤️🩹💓💗
5 We–fall–we–break–we fail.–But–then–we–rise–we–heal–we–overcome. stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
June 8, 2026
Unfortunately, the main character commited the worst crime there is in literature: she was boring.
February 20, 2026
A 1970s workplace novel turns into a whodunnit. Marital violence is no match for a woman finding her way in life, even if crab queens, valium, a sock man and dreams of turning into a muscular swan make this becoming less straightforward
I felt dangerous and animalistic
Starting off in 1974, we follow Celia, a 19 year old main character who works as debt collector at a phone company. The first chapter focuses on the excitement around an affair gone wrong, including a gunshot and death. This seems a foreshadowing for what Celia herself is to go through.
Initially hexes and a mother that is losing grip on reality show an influence, but soon the relationship between Celia and Drew, her 11 year older husband, comes into focus. He finds all her sexual desires apparently disgusting and uses his power to contain her but really, as Celia emphasises, is not a bad man. Regardless, I did hope Celia ended up offing Drew after the 60% mark of this book.
The talkative manner of the book makes me think a bit of Elizabeth Strout or vintage Margaret Atwood, even though weird things happen.
I am not referring to a Barbie doll (57!) collection and fantasies of flying away like a muscular swan, but also to hearing voices (including those of crab queen).
Celia gets a dirk, which I never knew was a name for a dagger, besides being the name of a missing father to the main character. The adagio of never bringing a sword to a gunfight holds true and things escalate, partly due to phone sex, although I guess valium wouldn't have helped.
Marital violence clearly is a main part of the narrative, and I am happy the story is told by an older, wiser and seemingly more happy Celia. There are clear overtures of how releasing oneself of the limitations of society is important, throwing off convictions about sexuality being one of the main elements. This book overall kept me on my toes and interested in how things would end up for Celia. I think Drew could have been sketched with more nuance, as he felt not a real character to me, even though sadly many, many wives must have gone through their whole life with such spouses.
Quotes:
And expectation can almost be as bad as the real thing
My body was a clenched fist
Valium and a sockman who wants a date with her
What I needed was routine
I was literally in the driver’s seat
It’s about a girl who wants her husband dead.
I felt dangerous and animalistic
Starting off in 1974, we follow Celia, a 19 year old main character who works as debt collector at a phone company. The first chapter focuses on the excitement around an affair gone wrong, including a gunshot and death. This seems a foreshadowing for what Celia herself is to go through.
Initially hexes and a mother that is losing grip on reality show an influence, but soon the relationship between Celia and Drew, her 11 year older husband, comes into focus. He finds all her sexual desires apparently disgusting and uses his power to contain her but really, as Celia emphasises, is not a bad man. Regardless, I did hope Celia ended up offing Drew after the 60% mark of this book.
The talkative manner of the book makes me think a bit of Elizabeth Strout or vintage Margaret Atwood, even though weird things happen.
I am not referring to a Barbie doll (57!) collection and fantasies of flying away like a muscular swan, but also to hearing voices (including those of crab queen).
Celia gets a dirk, which I never knew was a name for a dagger, besides being the name of a missing father to the main character. The adagio of never bringing a sword to a gunfight holds true and things escalate, partly due to phone sex, although I guess valium wouldn't have helped.
Marital violence clearly is a main part of the narrative, and I am happy the story is told by an older, wiser and seemingly more happy Celia. There are clear overtures of how releasing oneself of the limitations of society is important, throwing off convictions about sexuality being one of the main elements. This book overall kept me on my toes and interested in how things would end up for Celia. I think Drew could have been sketched with more nuance, as he felt not a real character to me, even though sadly many, many wives must have gone through their whole life with such spouses.
Quotes:
And expectation can almost be as bad as the real thing
My body was a clenched fist
Valium and a sockman who wants a date with her
What I needed was routine
I was literally in the driver’s seat
It’s about a girl who wants her husband dead.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Pre-Read Notes:
This title suggested a story about someone with mental illness, which is a form de jour at the moment. I read these to see how mentally ill characters are being depicted in contemporary fiction.
"What Drew didn’t know is that I couldn’t be shamed that way. Not any longer. I’d learned from Doggo’s example. I would never again let myself be shamed by my body, or its functions, or its urges." p134
Final Review
(thoughts & recs) How time flies when you're stable and happy.
I loved the form of this story, and I'm so so picky about the stream-of-consciousness. The treatment of time creates an entertaining read with well done meta moments.
Simultaneously, it comments on time--in stories and in life--about moments that creep by in agonizing detail and whole decades that disappear in a single sentence about love.
What a treat that I finished this on Valentine's. EVIL GENIUS is not a romance but it's still my favorite love story ever.
I recommend this one to fans of The Guest by Emma Cline or Tilt by Emma Pattee.
My Favorite Things:
✔️ The use of Barbie dolls in this story is freaking brilliant. Iconic and symbolic here for the traumatized brain's desperate search for safety. This is such a good use of a setting element; the world create by this character's thought habit becomes its own character.
✔️ "Here was Helen. Her smile made me feel as if I were part of nature, not a flawed human being. No one thinks a tree isn’t beautiful. No one thinks a craggy hill is ugly just because it’s craggy, either. That’s the way Helen made me feel. Like a tree on a craggy hill." p143 Oh man this narrator is so vulnerable all through this chapter and I remember being this age, traumatized, part of a loveless world, and thinking I was falling in love with every human who showed me kindness or let me connect. I think this writer shows great restraint in the way she develops this character, who is held together by the details. It would be tempting to reveal too much here, and she doesn't. I interpret this detail as compassion for the character and readers.
✔️ This is not accurate: "One side effect of industrialization is an explosion of despair. Back in the day, when all labor was menial labor, we humans never had time to fret over our own despair. Now we have plenty of free time and we use our time to ponder the pain and meaninglessness of our fragile existences..." p147 Industrialization *is* connected historically to a rise in despair among people who lived in industrial cities. However, it was documented that the despair had more to do with the state of work (risk of danger, exploitation, conditions) than the needing more of it. Health experts widely agree that contemporary adults in the US need more rest and free time, not less of it.
✔️ The description of codependency is eerily accurate, a lighthouse in a giant ocean of misrepresentation and stigma.
Content Notes: DV, gr*pe, emotional and verbal abuse, SA, personal hygiene issues, crank calls, inappropriate callers, car accident, abandonment, animal cruelty, drowning, the ocean
Thank you to the author Claire Oshetsky, Ecco/Harper Collins, and NetGalley for an accessible digital arc of EVIL GENIUS. All views are mine.
This title suggested a story about someone with mental illness, which is a form de jour at the moment. I read these to see how mentally ill characters are being depicted in contemporary fiction.
"What Drew didn’t know is that I couldn’t be shamed that way. Not any longer. I’d learned from Doggo’s example. I would never again let myself be shamed by my body, or its functions, or its urges." p134
Final Review
(thoughts & recs) How time flies when you're stable and happy.
I loved the form of this story, and I'm so so picky about the stream-of-consciousness. The treatment of time creates an entertaining read with well done meta moments.
Simultaneously, it comments on time--in stories and in life--about moments that creep by in agonizing detail and whole decades that disappear in a single sentence about love.
What a treat that I finished this on Valentine's. EVIL GENIUS is not a romance but it's still my favorite love story ever.
I recommend this one to fans of The Guest by Emma Cline or Tilt by Emma Pattee.
My Favorite Things:
✔️ The use of Barbie dolls in this story is freaking brilliant. Iconic and symbolic here for the traumatized brain's desperate search for safety. This is such a good use of a setting element; the world create by this character's thought habit becomes its own character.
✔️ "Here was Helen. Her smile made me feel as if I were part of nature, not a flawed human being. No one thinks a tree isn’t beautiful. No one thinks a craggy hill is ugly just because it’s craggy, either. That’s the way Helen made me feel. Like a tree on a craggy hill." p143 Oh man this narrator is so vulnerable all through this chapter and I remember being this age, traumatized, part of a loveless world, and thinking I was falling in love with every human who showed me kindness or let me connect. I think this writer shows great restraint in the way she develops this character, who is held together by the details. It would be tempting to reveal too much here, and she doesn't. I interpret this detail as compassion for the character and readers.
✔️ This is not accurate: "One side effect of industrialization is an explosion of despair. Back in the day, when all labor was menial labor, we humans never had time to fret over our own despair. Now we have plenty of free time and we use our time to ponder the pain and meaninglessness of our fragile existences..." p147 Industrialization *is* connected historically to a rise in despair among people who lived in industrial cities. However, it was documented that the despair had more to do with the state of work (risk of danger, exploitation, conditions) than the needing more of it. Health experts widely agree that contemporary adults in the US need more rest and free time, not less of it.
✔️ The description of codependency is eerily accurate, a lighthouse in a giant ocean of misrepresentation and stigma.
Content Notes: DV, gr*pe, emotional and verbal abuse, SA, personal hygiene issues, crank calls, inappropriate callers, car accident, abandonment, animal cruelty, drowning, the ocean
Thank you to the author Claire Oshetsky, Ecco/Harper Collins, and NetGalley for an accessible digital arc of EVIL GENIUS. All views are mine.
March 27, 2026
Whew. More people should be talking about this one. It’s wildly entertaining and extremely well-written. It starts off with a bang:
“I didn't mourn for Vivienne Bianco. I didn't know her. I knew how she died, though, because Randall Smiley told me the whole terrible story. I couldn't get Randall's story out of my head. I was never again going to let myself forget how each breath was bringing me closer to my final breath.”
It’s 1974 and Celia, our nineteen-year-old protagonist, finds herself riveted by the office gossip about the adulterous woman just murdered by her husband. Celia’s desperate to find out all the deets. While trying to do just that, she begins to fantasize about recreating a situation like that of her own. Suddenly she’s entertaining thoughts of embarking on her own trysts or maybe she should kill her husband, hmm.
The way this narrative takes full swings is such a blast to read. As we continue reading, a new sort of understanding of Celia’s psyche and situation begins to unfold. We get trippy moments, unreliable memories, dissociation episodes, flashes of stone-cold clarity. The tone is a mashup of psychological, dark satire, wacky hijinks, social commentary, and surrealism. It builds and builds into something not only grandly entertaining, but alarmingly revelatory.
I enjoyed my time with this one. A true page-turner with sharp teeth. Note: in the Acknowledgements, Oshetsky gave a shoutout to John Cheever’s short story THE FIVE-FORTY-EIGHT for inspiring this novel, now I gotta read that. Also looks like I need to dust off my copy of CHOUETTE, Oshetsky’s debut novel because this shit was bananas.
“I didn't mourn for Vivienne Bianco. I didn't know her. I knew how she died, though, because Randall Smiley told me the whole terrible story. I couldn't get Randall's story out of my head. I was never again going to let myself forget how each breath was bringing me closer to my final breath.”
It’s 1974 and Celia, our nineteen-year-old protagonist, finds herself riveted by the office gossip about the adulterous woman just murdered by her husband. Celia’s desperate to find out all the deets. While trying to do just that, she begins to fantasize about recreating a situation like that of her own. Suddenly she’s entertaining thoughts of embarking on her own trysts or maybe she should kill her husband, hmm.
The way this narrative takes full swings is such a blast to read. As we continue reading, a new sort of understanding of Celia’s psyche and situation begins to unfold. We get trippy moments, unreliable memories, dissociation episodes, flashes of stone-cold clarity. The tone is a mashup of psychological, dark satire, wacky hijinks, social commentary, and surrealism. It builds and builds into something not only grandly entertaining, but alarmingly revelatory.
I enjoyed my time with this one. A true page-turner with sharp teeth. Note: in the Acknowledgements, Oshetsky gave a shoutout to John Cheever’s short story THE FIVE-FORTY-EIGHT for inspiring this novel, now I gotta read that. Also looks like I need to dust off my copy of CHOUETTE, Oshetsky’s debut novel because this shit was bananas.
October 3, 2025
From the title to the epigraph by Walt Whitman (which makes hilarious ironic sense once you finish the book) to the last sentence of the Acknowledgements, I love everything about and in this novel. Protagonist Celia Dent with her practical way of negotiating the unnegotiable is somebody I love and understand.
Once again, the structure of this new Claire Oshetsky book is perfection.
The plot! Where to begin. It's a murder story, but every step of the way, I was surprised and could not imagine what would happen next.
This is my third book by Claire Oshetsky and I want to read anything she writes in the future.
Once again, the structure of this new Claire Oshetsky book is perfection.
The plot! Where to begin. It's a murder story, but every step of the way, I was surprised and could not imagine what would happen next.
This is my third book by Claire Oshetsky and I want to read anything she writes in the future.
February 17, 2026
A brilliant coming-of-rage story with a narrator that will stay with you.
Happy Publication Day to my favorite new unreliable narrator!
In Evil Genius, Claire Oshetsky invites readers into the delightfully dark - and ever so slightly unhinged - mind of a young woman awakening to the danger and thrill of wanting more from life. Set against the backdrop of 1974 San Francisco, this darkly comic noir hums with the restless energy of a city, and a woman, on the verge of unraveling.
Nineteen-year-old Celia Dent is a newlywed, a telephone operator, and a very good girl - or at least that's what she's been told to be. Her husband Drew is older, controlling, and just horrible all around, though Celia starts out trying to excuse the red flags. But when a coworker is murdered in what seems like a crime of passion, Celia's carefully ordered world fractures. What would it feel like, she wonders, to matter that much to someone - to kill or be killed for love? What begins as idle curiosity soon subtly begins to change the trajectory of her entire life, and whether Celia is losing her grip or discovering it for the first time becomes the book's exquisite tension.
Oshetsky's prose is both surreal and intoxicating, and the 1970s setting is full of texture, from rotary phones and cigarette smoke to the hum of liberation movements just beginning to touch women like Celia. Celia herself is a marvelous creation: she may be naive and simply caught up in a bizarre chain of events, or she may be an unreliable narrator who is secretly an evil genius. Maybe she's a bit of both, and wondering about that while watching her claw her way out of the narrative written for her is both exhilarating and heartbreaking.
Evil Genius is a wicked little gem: darkly funny, disquieting, unflinchingly weird, and oddly empowering. A brilliant, thought-provoking coming-of-rage story with a main character you won't soon forget.
Many thanks to Ecco for providing me with an advance copy via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
"Evil Genius" publishes TODAY, February 17, 2026.
Happy Publication Day to my favorite new unreliable narrator!
In Evil Genius, Claire Oshetsky invites readers into the delightfully dark - and ever so slightly unhinged - mind of a young woman awakening to the danger and thrill of wanting more from life. Set against the backdrop of 1974 San Francisco, this darkly comic noir hums with the restless energy of a city, and a woman, on the verge of unraveling.
Nineteen-year-old Celia Dent is a newlywed, a telephone operator, and a very good girl - or at least that's what she's been told to be. Her husband Drew is older, controlling, and just horrible all around, though Celia starts out trying to excuse the red flags. But when a coworker is murdered in what seems like a crime of passion, Celia's carefully ordered world fractures. What would it feel like, she wonders, to matter that much to someone - to kill or be killed for love? What begins as idle curiosity soon subtly begins to change the trajectory of her entire life, and whether Celia is losing her grip or discovering it for the first time becomes the book's exquisite tension.
Oshetsky's prose is both surreal and intoxicating, and the 1970s setting is full of texture, from rotary phones and cigarette smoke to the hum of liberation movements just beginning to touch women like Celia. Celia herself is a marvelous creation: she may be naive and simply caught up in a bizarre chain of events, or she may be an unreliable narrator who is secretly an evil genius. Maybe she's a bit of both, and wondering about that while watching her claw her way out of the narrative written for her is both exhilarating and heartbreaking.
Evil Genius is a wicked little gem: darkly funny, disquieting, unflinchingly weird, and oddly empowering. A brilliant, thought-provoking coming-of-rage story with a main character you won't soon forget.
Many thanks to Ecco for providing me with an advance copy via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
"Evil Genius" publishes TODAY, February 17, 2026.
March 23, 2026
Celia spends her days working on the third floor at the phone company. She has the unpleasant job of telling customers she is disconnecting their phone services due to lack of payment. After spending all day dealing with customers, she goes home to her husband, Drew. Her husband is 11 years older than her and has controlling/abusive tendencies. Frustrated with everything, Celia imagines herself breaking bad and doing all of the things she dreams of. Which may include killing her husband.
There were certain aspects of this that I enjoyed, and then other times I found my mind wandering. I’m not sure if it was a lack of cohesion? It felt like it was more of snapshots at a given time in Celia’s day to day life. I just couldn’t seem to get immersed the way I wanted to throughout the whole novel. As for what I did like, I liked how it ended and Celia’s storyline with Helen.
Overall, this was a quick, easy read. I just needed a little bit more from it. I am definitely an outlier, so please check out all of the glowing reviews for this one. I believe this is just a case of me not connecting with the novel.
There were certain aspects of this that I enjoyed, and then other times I found my mind wandering. I’m not sure if it was a lack of cohesion? It felt like it was more of snapshots at a given time in Celia’s day to day life. I just couldn’t seem to get immersed the way I wanted to throughout the whole novel. As for what I did like, I liked how it ended and Celia’s storyline with Helen.
Overall, this was a quick, easy read. I just needed a little bit more from it. I am definitely an outlier, so please check out all of the glowing reviews for this one. I believe this is just a case of me not connecting with the novel.
May 22, 2026
So, earlier in the year I read some very encouraging reviews of this one from GR friends Jodi, Alan, Paul and Lisa (NY), and on the strength of those I picked up a copy.
As I began reading, I wondered whether I was going to end up on Outlier Island. The book just wasn’t grabbing me, but I figured that if got all that love from so many people, I at least owed it to myself to keep reading.
And the more I read, the more I became attached to Celia, the protagonist. She is young (just 19!), married, and works at the phone company, dealing with people who are delinquent on their bills. It’s 1974, and the sole means of instant communication is the telephone. The only sense of agency in Celia’s life is the option of “ripping their lips off”, i.e. cutting off phone service to those she feels are undeserving. If a caller becomes obstreperous, Celia redirects the call to the manager. Callers are always quite civil and understanding when so redirected.
(Aside #1: I remember some of my own experiences from around this time, when one of us “girls” would transfer a call to a “manager” (generally our peer), because callers always responded better when they felt they were being kicked upstairs.)
But here’s the thing. All the blurbs and most reviews say that Celia was happily married at the beginning of the book. I strongly disagree. She was not happy; she had merely convinced herself that when her mother died when she was just 17, finding a man who wanted to marry her and take charge of her life was a good thing. A form of salvation, unpleasant as it may have been in many respects.
In truth, Celia had acted out against the restrictions of her mother and her husband in small ways her entire life. She just took pains to keep most of these small rebellions secret.
And then one day, her curiosity about a love triangle with a fatal outcome leads her to develop a friendship with some telephone company workers from a different floor. Women who are less inhibited, more independent, and who encourage Celia in the notion that her husband “is not the boss of you”.
This development coincides with other elements of Celia’s psyche that are beginning to awaken, and her life starts down a decidedly different road. She begins to find and accept her own identity.
I suppose I haven’t mentioned that all of this is described with a great deal of humor, some manic activity, and an acute sense of time and place (that being San Francisco and environs). Once Celia decided that it was not necessarily her fate to be a doormat to everyone in her life, her actions are, to say the least, emboldened.
By the end of the book I wasn’t exactly rooting for Celia, because I was confident she’d come out OK, but curious to see how the author handled it. I’d have to say she did a brilliant job of showing us Celia’s evolution. Not exactly a linear path, but always headed toward her personal North Star.
This probably appealed to me more than it might some others, because there were certain parallels between my own life and Celia’s. But really, I think the book could appeal to anyone who is interested in seeing an underdog find herself and inadvertently vanquish those who have been oppressing her.
Aside #2: Oshetsky doesn’t really mention the financial restrictions on women at this time. I distinctly remember not being able to get a credit card in my own name, although my credit history was stellar in comparison with that of my ex. Oh well, that was then, this is now, and thank god the world has changed for the better. At least for now.
Aside #3: Oshetsky says that a section of the book was inspired by John Cheever’s short story “The Five Forty-Eight”. I vaguely remember that story, and now I am determined to dig it out and reread it. I can visualize my copy of “John Cheever’s Short Stories” but it is either in a box somewhere in the attic, or it was a victim of one of our many moves over the past ten years. I may have to look elsewhere for a copy.
Errata: Initially I had said that Celia could “rip their tongues out” of phone customers. Of course, the correct phrase is “rip their lips off” and I have corrected it accordingly. It’s SO much better a phrase!
As I began reading, I wondered whether I was going to end up on Outlier Island. The book just wasn’t grabbing me, but I figured that if got all that love from so many people, I at least owed it to myself to keep reading.
And the more I read, the more I became attached to Celia, the protagonist. She is young (just 19!), married, and works at the phone company, dealing with people who are delinquent on their bills. It’s 1974, and the sole means of instant communication is the telephone. The only sense of agency in Celia’s life is the option of “ripping their lips off”, i.e. cutting off phone service to those she feels are undeserving. If a caller becomes obstreperous, Celia redirects the call to the manager. Callers are always quite civil and understanding when so redirected.
(Aside #1: I remember some of my own experiences from around this time, when one of us “girls” would transfer a call to a “manager” (generally our peer), because callers always responded better when they felt they were being kicked upstairs.)
But here’s the thing. All the blurbs and most reviews say that Celia was happily married at the beginning of the book. I strongly disagree. She was not happy; she had merely convinced herself that when her mother died when she was just 17, finding a man who wanted to marry her and take charge of her life was a good thing. A form of salvation, unpleasant as it may have been in many respects.
In truth, Celia had acted out against the restrictions of her mother and her husband in small ways her entire life. She just took pains to keep most of these small rebellions secret.
And then one day, her curiosity about a love triangle with a fatal outcome leads her to develop a friendship with some telephone company workers from a different floor. Women who are less inhibited, more independent, and who encourage Celia in the notion that her husband “is not the boss of you”.
This development coincides with other elements of Celia’s psyche that are beginning to awaken, and her life starts down a decidedly different road. She begins to find and accept her own identity.
I suppose I haven’t mentioned that all of this is described with a great deal of humor, some manic activity, and an acute sense of time and place (that being San Francisco and environs). Once Celia decided that it was not necessarily her fate to be a doormat to everyone in her life, her actions are, to say the least, emboldened.
By the end of the book I wasn’t exactly rooting for Celia, because I was confident she’d come out OK, but curious to see how the author handled it. I’d have to say she did a brilliant job of showing us Celia’s evolution. Not exactly a linear path, but always headed toward her personal North Star.
This probably appealed to me more than it might some others, because there were certain parallels between my own life and Celia’s. But really, I think the book could appeal to anyone who is interested in seeing an underdog find herself and inadvertently vanquish those who have been oppressing her.
Aside #2: Oshetsky doesn’t really mention the financial restrictions on women at this time. I distinctly remember not being able to get a credit card in my own name, although my credit history was stellar in comparison with that of my ex. Oh well, that was then, this is now, and thank god the world has changed for the better. At least for now.
Aside #3: Oshetsky says that a section of the book was inspired by John Cheever’s short story “The Five Forty-Eight”. I vaguely remember that story, and now I am determined to dig it out and reread it. I can visualize my copy of “John Cheever’s Short Stories” but it is either in a box somewhere in the attic, or it was a victim of one of our many moves over the past ten years. I may have to look elsewhere for a copy.
Errata: Initially I had said that Celia could “rip their tongues out” of phone customers. Of course, the correct phrase is “rip their lips off” and I have corrected it accordingly. It’s SO much better a phrase!
January 16, 2026
This knocked me out in so many ways, cementing Oshetsky as a favorite author. Full review to come, but omg am I gonna be insufferable about this book all year.
June 7, 2026
This was surprisingly delightful, I love me a feminist noir!
April 12, 2026
It's been a while since I had so much fun reading a book. 19 year old Celia works at the phone company, has a nasty controlling husband, and is a bit deranged in her thinking. It's 1974, she works in the billing department and deals with unhappy people all day long. One phone call from Mrs. Brisket, whose son has racked up a $7000 bill calling phone sex lines without her knowledge, and can't possibly pay it, sets events off when Celia refuses to even consider her pleas and "rips her lips", phone company jargon for turning off service.
That's all I can say because this plot is so intricate and convoluted with coincidences and misunderstandings that it can't really be explained. But it's great fun. I was on Celia's side all the way, getting inside her mind, agreeing with her actions, and marveling at her coping skills.
I'm also left marveling at Oshetsky's skill with words. I read both previous novels by Claire and enjoyed them both, but this author never writes the same book twice. This one is my favorite, and I hope the next one is just as much fun.
That's all I can say because this plot is so intricate and convoluted with coincidences and misunderstandings that it can't really be explained. But it's great fun. I was on Celia's side all the way, getting inside her mind, agreeing with her actions, and marveling at her coping skills.
I'm also left marveling at Oshetsky's skill with words. I read both previous novels by Claire and enjoyed them both, but this author never writes the same book twice. This one is my favorite, and I hope the next one is just as much fun.
October 7, 2025
This author is an amazing storyteller. One of the best I’ve ever read. I can’t believe how they carried me through so much outlandishness and it all seemed perfectly normal. I would follow this author anywhere. Superb!
March 14, 2026
Oh, this was absolutely delicious! A little too neatly wrapped up for my taste, but I was stylistically very well fed. I am stupid-smiling right now, because whether confessing or performing or self-mythologising, I kept imagining Celia flirting with me from across a table for 200 or so pages. If that’s not the case, just let me have this one delusion, thank you very much.
This kind of cheeky narrative game makes me want to immediately flip back to page one. An evil genius, indeed!
This kind of cheeky narrative game makes me want to immediately flip back to page one. An evil genius, indeed!
September 4, 2025
Extraordinary.
November 3, 2025
Claire Oshetsky consistently views the world from an off-kilter lens. In her first novel, Chouette, she eviscerates society’s failure to accept nonconformity when a woman gives birth to an owl-baby. In her sophomore book, Poor Deer, a young girl is haunted by a cloven-hoofed apparition after she inadvertently causes her four-year-old best friend’s death. And in Evil Genius? She’s at it again when a young wife, stuck in a controlling marriage and a tedious job in the Resident Billing Office at the phone company breaks away from the narrow definitions of acceptable behavior.
We meet Carla Dent when she is just 19 and charged with “ripping the lips” (severing telephone contracts) of customers who are late with their telephone payments. Nothing very exciting happens in the office, so when two colleagues end up having an affair and the husband barges in and kills his wife, Carla is titillated. Particularly since her own husband (“my Drew”), who can’t seem to hold onto a job, expects her home on the dot right after work and always accuses her of being “in a mood.”
In darkly funny scenes, Carla finds herself drawn to some really weird phone customers (like the “Sock Man”), accepting an invitation to meet a narcissist’s new puppy when her train is late (“the goddamn dog-walker left the doggone dog room door open again”), purchasing a little black knife called a dirk, earning the eternal enmity of Mrs. Brisket whose son amassed a fortune in bills calling porn sites, and --- well, I wouldn’t want to spoil the fun.
Suffice to say, despite the outlandish premise, there’s something endearing about Celia and the book really works. As in Claire Oshetsky’s previous two books, the theme is empowerment, as Celia realizes that “no one gets to be the boss of me.” Thanks to Ecco, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, for an early copy in exchange for an honest reiew.
We meet Carla Dent when she is just 19 and charged with “ripping the lips” (severing telephone contracts) of customers who are late with their telephone payments. Nothing very exciting happens in the office, so when two colleagues end up having an affair and the husband barges in and kills his wife, Carla is titillated. Particularly since her own husband (“my Drew”), who can’t seem to hold onto a job, expects her home on the dot right after work and always accuses her of being “in a mood.”
In darkly funny scenes, Carla finds herself drawn to some really weird phone customers (like the “Sock Man”), accepting an invitation to meet a narcissist’s new puppy when her train is late (“the goddamn dog-walker left the doggone dog room door open again”), purchasing a little black knife called a dirk, earning the eternal enmity of Mrs. Brisket whose son amassed a fortune in bills calling porn sites, and --- well, I wouldn’t want to spoil the fun.
Suffice to say, despite the outlandish premise, there’s something endearing about Celia and the book really works. As in Claire Oshetsky’s previous two books, the theme is empowerment, as Celia realizes that “no one gets to be the boss of me.” Thanks to Ecco, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, for an early copy in exchange for an honest reiew.
March 5, 2026
Arise Daughter of Dirk!
A review of the Ecco hardcover edition (February 17, 2026) released simultaneously with the eBook/audiobook.
How to sum up Evil Genius? Perhaps as a quirky empowerment story set in 1974 San Francisco at a time when home phones were still the standard and prepayments didn't exist? 19-year-old telephone billing operator Celia Dent is stuck in an intimidating marriage with "her Drew," and through friends at the phone company starts to break free from it all.
Her journey takes a path through the purchase of a Scottish dirk & sgian-dubh combo (not sold separately), a co-worker's story of a fatal ménage à trois, various interactions and even deadly encounters with crank phone customers and callers, nights on the town with the girls, an attempted assault by a not-so-caring dog owner and an eventual escape to a run on the beach (I'm leaving out many key plot points and reveals).
This was an exhilarating read which more than lived up to the 5-star review by GR friend Jodi, who alerted me to it. Author Claire Oshetsky was a completely new name to me, but I will be sure to look out for her in the future.
Trivia and Links
Author Claire Oshetsky is on Goodreads under the pseudonym of Lark Benobi with a mysterious triple Capricorn zodiac avatar ♑♑♑ and has published at least one book under that name The Book of Dog by Lark Benobi.
A review of the Ecco hardcover edition (February 17, 2026) released simultaneously with the eBook/audiobook.
I remembered what I had always known: I was Daughter of Dirk. I was Minion of the Crab Queen. I was in a full fever. I wasn’t a normal girl. I was supernatural. I was uncanny. I was magnificent.
How to sum up Evil Genius? Perhaps as a quirky empowerment story set in 1974 San Francisco at a time when home phones were still the standard and prepayments didn't exist? 19-year-old telephone billing operator Celia Dent is stuck in an intimidating marriage with "her Drew," and through friends at the phone company starts to break free from it all.
Her journey takes a path through the purchase of a Scottish dirk & sgian-dubh combo (not sold separately), a co-worker's story of a fatal ménage à trois, various interactions and even deadly encounters with crank phone customers and callers, nights on the town with the girls, an attempted assault by a not-so-caring dog owner and an eventual escape to a run on the beach (I'm leaving out many key plot points and reveals).
This was an exhilarating read which more than lived up to the 5-star review by GR friend Jodi, who alerted me to it. Author Claire Oshetsky was a completely new name to me, but I will be sure to look out for her in the future.
Trivia and Links
Author Claire Oshetsky is on Goodreads under the pseudonym of Lark Benobi with a mysterious triple Capricorn zodiac avatar ♑♑♑ and has published at least one book under that name The Book of Dog by Lark Benobi.
November 8, 2025
I really enjoyed being in Celia's world and watching her change throughout the story... I would have happily taken another 100 pages and beefed up the story some, but I am so glad I picked it up. 4.25 stars.
February 20, 2026
the repeated and unironic use of doggo made my whole body tense up.
April 18, 2026
This novel was quite the departure from Oshetsky's previous two novels, for both style and themes.
Evil Genius has a more straight forward denouement.
San Francisco, 1974. Celia, 19, works for a phone company in the billing department. It's a tough job, you're always talking to people - customer service has never been easy.
Celia has been recently orphaned. And she's already married to Drew, let's just say, a man of his times.
The killing of a female manager by her husband incites and excites Celia from mundanity.
It's best that you go into this without knowing much and just enjoy the ride.
I certainly did. Kimberly Farr's charming narration was the perfect conduit.
Evil Genius has a more straight forward denouement.
San Francisco, 1974. Celia, 19, works for a phone company in the billing department. It's a tough job, you're always talking to people - customer service has never been easy.
Celia has been recently orphaned. And she's already married to Drew, let's just say, a man of his times.
The killing of a female manager by her husband incites and excites Celia from mundanity.
It's best that you go into this without knowing much and just enjoy the ride.
I certainly did. Kimberly Farr's charming narration was the perfect conduit.
August 20, 2025
I was drawn to this book by its premise and the glowing reviews this author has received for her earlier books among my friends on Goodreads. I was thrilled by the prospect of reading Claire Oshetsky’s newest work and coming to my own conclusions about her ability to draw readers in. And…I’m happy to report that Evil Genius succeeds on all fronts. It delivers on both characterization and plot. The FMC, Chloe, at just 19 years of age and already stuck in (let’s just call it) a weird marriage, is a wonderfully written character. She’s flawed and deeply human, and I rooted for her at every turn in this unusual, but captivating, novel.
Having enjoyed this book thoroughly, I now plan to go back and read the author’s previous books, Poor Deer and Chouette.
Much thanks to NetGalley and Ecco for providing me with access to the e-ARC of this book for review.
Having enjoyed this book thoroughly, I now plan to go back and read the author’s previous books, Poor Deer and Chouette.
Much thanks to NetGalley and Ecco for providing me with access to the e-ARC of this book for review.
February 25, 2026
If Claire Oshetsky writes it, I will read it! We are 3 for 3 on excellent novels so far, and I’ll be counting the days until the next one.
Nineteen-year-old Celia Dent is a kind, naive, intelligent recently-orphaned young woman in a marriage she does not yet believe is a bad one. Over just a few weeks, a series of encounters of the true-crime sort bring her into the beginnings of her full self.
Set in 1974 San Francisco, as told by Celia’s 65-yo future self. What an amazing voice Celia has.
Nineteen-year-old Celia Dent is a kind, naive, intelligent recently-orphaned young woman in a marriage she does not yet believe is a bad one. Over just a few weeks, a series of encounters of the true-crime sort bring her into the beginnings of her full self.
Set in 1974 San Francisco, as told by Celia’s 65-yo future self. What an amazing voice Celia has.
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