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The Unreliables: When The Only One You Can Trust Doesn't Exist
Strand Magazine
Top 25 Mystery Novels of 2022
The line between insanity and sanity is explored in this wonderfully plotted tale of murder with a conspiracy adding menace.
The murder of her husband Michael shatters successful author Kara Dolan's world. Driven by guilt and grief, she refuses to accept the police's conclusion that the shooting was random. She struggles to make sense of the unthinkable until her very public breakdown forces her to give in to her stepmother's demand to see a psychiatrist.
An investigative reporter confirms her suspicions that her husband's killer had a hidden motive and insists Kara is the only one who can uncover it. When a character from her novels goes rogue, she questions her sanity. Before she can sort out fact from fiction, more immediate problems an angry fan whose hateful online messages escalate to terrifying threats and a killer who wants her out of the way.
Kara realizes she must learn to rely on herself unless she's become one of them-the unreliables.
The line between insanity and sanity is explored in this wonderfully plotted tale of murder with a conspiracy adding menace.
The murder of her husband Michael shatters successful author Kara Dolan's world. Driven by guilt and grief, she refuses to accept the police's conclusion that the shooting was random. She struggles to make sense of the unthinkable until her very public breakdown forces her to give in to her stepmother's demand to see a psychiatrist.
An investigative reporter confirms her suspicions that her husband's killer had a hidden motive and insists Kara is the only one who can uncover it. When a character from her novels goes rogue, she questions her sanity. Before she can sort out fact from fiction, more immediate problems an angry fan whose hateful online messages escalate to terrifying threats and a killer who wants her out of the way.
Kara realizes she must learn to rely on herself unless she's become one of them-the unreliables.
285 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 24, 2022
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14 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 27, 2022
After her husband is murdered, novelist Kara Dolan is consumed by grief. After she is videotaped losing control in a supermarket and attacking a display of his favourite cereal as well as workers, her stepmother insists she see a Psychiatrist. She does reluctantly and the meds he prescribed at least help her to sleep. But weird things begin to happen and she’s not sure if it’s the combination of the meds and all the alcohol she is consuming or a fan angry she isn’t writing or perhaps it’s linked to whoever or whatever was responsible for her husband’s murder and she is now also being targeted.
It took me a while to get into The Unreliables by Katherine Nichols but when it began to pick up. it really took off. The story is told in the first person by Kara and many of her actions seem absurd at best. But the fast pacing of the story with Nichols’ use of dialogue and short paragraphs kept the story moving quickly, keeping the reader engaged despite some of Kara’s questionable choices. Overall, a very interesting and compelling story. I give it 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.
I’d like to thank LibraryThing Early Reviewers for the opportunity to read this book
It took me a while to get into The Unreliables by Katherine Nichols but when it began to pick up. it really took off. The story is told in the first person by Kara and many of her actions seem absurd at best. But the fast pacing of the story with Nichols’ use of dialogue and short paragraphs kept the story moving quickly, keeping the reader engaged despite some of Kara’s questionable choices. Overall, a very interesting and compelling story. I give it 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.
I’d like to thank LibraryThing Early Reviewers for the opportunity to read this book
May 8, 2022
Thank you to Library Thing for allowing me to read a PDF copy of this novel which is part women's fiction, part mystery.
The story is told in first person by the protagonist, bestselling author Kara Dolan. She's hard to connect with at first. Devastated by the death of her husband, Michael, in a senseless, random shooting, Kara wallows in guilt and self-pity, numbing her pain with alcohol and pills. In the opening scene, she has a meltdown in a grocery store, attacking a cereal display and several store employees. (The reader later learns that was Michael's favorite brand of cereal, and, because she'd forgotten to buy it, he'd gone out to purchase some the night he was killed.)
Someone made a video of her meltdown that goes viral, which is detrimental to Kara's public image and career, leading to more wallowing and self-medicating. She starts getting creepy hate mail from former fans who have turned on her.
Her stepmother, Barb, suggests that Kara see a psychiatrist. Dr. Riley comes highly recommended by Tiffany, a woman who recently joined Barb's tennis team. But the medication Dr. Riley prescribes makes Kara worse instead of better, and she feels she is losing her grip on sanity. Dr. Riley asks some unusual questions about Kara's grieving process and writing career.
Kara also starts hallucinating and having conversations with Garnet Rivers, her alter-ego, the badass heroine of her novels.
Kara's agent recommended she teach a two-week writing workshop at the local recreation center. The class is filled with interesting students with interesting stories. I wasn't sure what it had to do with the plot, though, except to show Kara becoming more productive and caring about others. I was glad to see the author bring the students/newfound friends back at the end to rehash events and tie up loose ends.
The story gets more interesting, and the pace picks up when reporter Lucas Montgomery contacts Kara. He claims he was working on a story with her husband about the clinic for homeless veterans where Michael volunteered his time. Evidently, Michael had uncovered some information about the devastating effects of PTSD drugs the clinic has administered. And now it appears that Michael's killing may not have been random. Unfortunately, other potential witnesses to Michael's findings are either dead or incapacitated, so Lucas asks Kara to go through her husband's things and help him find the information he needs for the story.
Kara has to start taking a more active role in life, becoming more like Garnet, to figure out who she can trust and solve her husband's murder.
The writing is very good, with subtle humor and some clever turns of phrases. I also enjoyed Kara's elderly neighbor, Ira, and his guard dog, Rex. Recommended.
The story is told in first person by the protagonist, bestselling author Kara Dolan. She's hard to connect with at first. Devastated by the death of her husband, Michael, in a senseless, random shooting, Kara wallows in guilt and self-pity, numbing her pain with alcohol and pills. In the opening scene, she has a meltdown in a grocery store, attacking a cereal display and several store employees. (The reader later learns that was Michael's favorite brand of cereal, and, because she'd forgotten to buy it, he'd gone out to purchase some the night he was killed.)
Someone made a video of her meltdown that goes viral, which is detrimental to Kara's public image and career, leading to more wallowing and self-medicating. She starts getting creepy hate mail from former fans who have turned on her.
Her stepmother, Barb, suggests that Kara see a psychiatrist. Dr. Riley comes highly recommended by Tiffany, a woman who recently joined Barb's tennis team. But the medication Dr. Riley prescribes makes Kara worse instead of better, and she feels she is losing her grip on sanity. Dr. Riley asks some unusual questions about Kara's grieving process and writing career.
Kara also starts hallucinating and having conversations with Garnet Rivers, her alter-ego, the badass heroine of her novels.
Kara's agent recommended she teach a two-week writing workshop at the local recreation center. The class is filled with interesting students with interesting stories. I wasn't sure what it had to do with the plot, though, except to show Kara becoming more productive and caring about others. I was glad to see the author bring the students/newfound friends back at the end to rehash events and tie up loose ends.
The story gets more interesting, and the pace picks up when reporter Lucas Montgomery contacts Kara. He claims he was working on a story with her husband about the clinic for homeless veterans where Michael volunteered his time. Evidently, Michael had uncovered some information about the devastating effects of PTSD drugs the clinic has administered. And now it appears that Michael's killing may not have been random. Unfortunately, other potential witnesses to Michael's findings are either dead or incapacitated, so Lucas asks Kara to go through her husband's things and help him find the information he needs for the story.
Kara has to start taking a more active role in life, becoming more like Garnet, to figure out who she can trust and solve her husband's murder.
The writing is very good, with subtle humor and some clever turns of phrases. I also enjoyed Kara's elderly neighbor, Ira, and his guard dog, Rex. Recommended.
July 16, 2022
The Unreliables, When The Only One You Can Trust Doesn't Exist, by Katherine Nichols
Written in first person by unreliable narrator Kara Dolen, a novel writer whose husband's murder leads to a rogue investigation of criminal activity at a veteran's shelter, The Unreliables is a delightful blend of wry humor, drama, and suspense. Nichols writes with abandon as she populates the book with a loyal best friend, an aggressive psychiatrist referred to her by her judgemental stepmother, several angry fans whose identities are unknown, a heroic vet from the shelter, a charming but mysterious journalist, a class full of writing students, each with their own stories literally and figuratively, the neighbor's dog, Rex, with whom she develops a friendship, a jealous literary agent's assistant, Bonnie and Clyde prototypes, several hallucinations, and the constant companionship of Garnet, the racy and wise heroine of her series. Garnet remarks to Kara, "Sometimes I wonder how someone like you can write someone like me," and Kara agrees.
I enjoy Ms. Nichols voice as a writer. Here are a couple of lines, coming from her the grieving widow, Kara, that I appreciated:
"Today, I began re-reading pages of so-sorry postings. Most were uncomplicated, but kind and didn’t require a response. Many included multiple emojis: crying faces, broken hearts, angels. All the silly little images on the page were jarring at first. Then I realized the women sent them to express sympathy and try to provide comfort, the online equivalent to chicken casseroles and pound cake."
"Clusters of jonquils lined the stone walkway. They lifted their faces to the sun in cheerful defiance of the fickle nature of southern springs, smirking at me with flowering audacity. Groggy from waking at 5:30 after a night of moving from one disturbing dream to another, I wanted to snap off their perky little heads."
"The company line is that they want to give back to the people who sacrificed so much for their country, blah, blah, blah. But I suspected it might be an opportunity to use the men as guinea pigs for experimental drug testing."
"I welcomed the way he wasn’t tiptoeing around my feelings like so many people who seemed to think sweet euphemisms were comforting. My husband hadn’t passed away or departed or gone gently into that good night. He had bled out after being shot three times at close range."
And from Wanda, Kara's literary agent, "Sweetie, being a writer’s not a career; it’s a condition."
The Unreliables keeps the reader on their toes. I found it quirky and entertaining. I looked forward to diving back into Kara's eccentric world over the four nights that I read it.
Written in first person by unreliable narrator Kara Dolen, a novel writer whose husband's murder leads to a rogue investigation of criminal activity at a veteran's shelter, The Unreliables is a delightful blend of wry humor, drama, and suspense. Nichols writes with abandon as she populates the book with a loyal best friend, an aggressive psychiatrist referred to her by her judgemental stepmother, several angry fans whose identities are unknown, a heroic vet from the shelter, a charming but mysterious journalist, a class full of writing students, each with their own stories literally and figuratively, the neighbor's dog, Rex, with whom she develops a friendship, a jealous literary agent's assistant, Bonnie and Clyde prototypes, several hallucinations, and the constant companionship of Garnet, the racy and wise heroine of her series. Garnet remarks to Kara, "Sometimes I wonder how someone like you can write someone like me," and Kara agrees.
I enjoy Ms. Nichols voice as a writer. Here are a couple of lines, coming from her the grieving widow, Kara, that I appreciated:
"Today, I began re-reading pages of so-sorry postings. Most were uncomplicated, but kind and didn’t require a response. Many included multiple emojis: crying faces, broken hearts, angels. All the silly little images on the page were jarring at first. Then I realized the women sent them to express sympathy and try to provide comfort, the online equivalent to chicken casseroles and pound cake."
"Clusters of jonquils lined the stone walkway. They lifted their faces to the sun in cheerful defiance of the fickle nature of southern springs, smirking at me with flowering audacity. Groggy from waking at 5:30 after a night of moving from one disturbing dream to another, I wanted to snap off their perky little heads."
"The company line is that they want to give back to the people who sacrificed so much for their country, blah, blah, blah. But I suspected it might be an opportunity to use the men as guinea pigs for experimental drug testing."
"I welcomed the way he wasn’t tiptoeing around my feelings like so many people who seemed to think sweet euphemisms were comforting. My husband hadn’t passed away or departed or gone gently into that good night. He had bled out after being shot three times at close range."
And from Wanda, Kara's literary agent, "Sweetie, being a writer’s not a career; it’s a condition."
The Unreliables keeps the reader on their toes. I found it quirky and entertaining. I looked forward to diving back into Kara's eccentric world over the four nights that I read it.
April 27, 2022
The Perfect Beach Read
I decided to take the Katherine Nichols book, “The Unreliables,” along with me on vacation as my beach read, and I am glad that I did.
Throughout the book, Nichols builds tension and suspense through a wide variety of characters from various walks of life. Kara, the protagonist, is an author of a series of books whose protagonist is the anthesis of Kara: this soon introduces unexpected problems for the newly widowed author. Struggling deeply following the murder of her husband, Kara decides to hush up her stepmom by agreeing to see a Dr. Riley for help. He prescribes medication for depression, which Kara quickly proceeds to wash down with alcohol—lots of it and often. It feels better for her to let the day fade into alcohol than deal with reality, which includes feeling isolated and in turn no one she can rely upon, or so this seems to be her truth right now.
In the middle of her grief, Kara’s editor suggests she teach an adult workshop covering the elements of writing a mystery novel. The editor believes it’s the perfect distraction for her prized author; Kara begrudgingly agrees to teach. When she isn’t teaching or grading papers, Kara is spending her time trying to figure out who murdered her husband and why. Then it’s after reading the papers from the first writing assignment when each student quickly becomes a suspect for Kara, and the reader as a matter of fact. Honestly, I became so engaged with the story, the many characters, and the twists and turns that I wanted to shake Kara and tell her “snap out of it,” which shows just how invested I became in this book. Enjoy the read!
I decided to take the Katherine Nichols book, “The Unreliables,” along with me on vacation as my beach read, and I am glad that I did.
Throughout the book, Nichols builds tension and suspense through a wide variety of characters from various walks of life. Kara, the protagonist, is an author of a series of books whose protagonist is the anthesis of Kara: this soon introduces unexpected problems for the newly widowed author. Struggling deeply following the murder of her husband, Kara decides to hush up her stepmom by agreeing to see a Dr. Riley for help. He prescribes medication for depression, which Kara quickly proceeds to wash down with alcohol—lots of it and often. It feels better for her to let the day fade into alcohol than deal with reality, which includes feeling isolated and in turn no one she can rely upon, or so this seems to be her truth right now.
In the middle of her grief, Kara’s editor suggests she teach an adult workshop covering the elements of writing a mystery novel. The editor believes it’s the perfect distraction for her prized author; Kara begrudgingly agrees to teach. When she isn’t teaching or grading papers, Kara is spending her time trying to figure out who murdered her husband and why. Then it’s after reading the papers from the first writing assignment when each student quickly becomes a suspect for Kara, and the reader as a matter of fact. Honestly, I became so engaged with the story, the many characters, and the twists and turns that I wanted to shake Kara and tell her “snap out of it,” which shows just how invested I became in this book. Enjoy the read!
February 17, 2025
Everyone should have a reliable witness to their own crazy.
There are a lot of voices in Kara's chaotic life, telling her how to think and what to do. While coping with grief and the mystery surrounding her husband's murder, her lucid moments are dissolving into confusion and self-doubt. However, Kara is the kind of vulnerable but determined hero that I appreciate in crime novels. Her heart and sense of humor keep her sharp and steady in a crisis, and able to recognize the one voice she can trust.
There are a lot of voices in Kara's chaotic life, telling her how to think and what to do. While coping with grief and the mystery surrounding her husband's murder, her lucid moments are dissolving into confusion and self-doubt. However, Kara is the kind of vulnerable but determined hero that I appreciate in crime novels. Her heart and sense of humor keep her sharp and steady in a crisis, and able to recognize the one voice she can trust.
November 5, 2022
More twists than a bag of Twizzles. Every time you have it figured out, you realize you don't. But when you get to the end, you see that you had all the clues all along. The author was just two steps ahead and never let you catch up. LOVED it. This is my second Nichols novel and it won't be the last one I read. I'm officially a fan.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews