Psychological Thriller Review: I’m Not Done With You Yet | Jesse Q Sutanto

Jesse Q Sutanto’s first psychological thriller, I’m Not Done With You Yet, tops my list of best books of 2023. This psychological thriller has everything I could want—a dark academia setting, a story of two writers, obsession, revenge, lying, deception, a few dead bodies, and just the right amount of dark humor to make it an absolute delight to read! I’m Not Done With You Yet tells the story of two women who met in graduate school and have gone on to be writers with varying level of fame, but forever linked by their dark past.

About the Book | I’m Not Done With You Yet

Some friends–and friendships–are worth killing for in this dark, twisty suspense novel by national bestselling author Jesse Q. Sutanto.

Jane is unhappy.

A struggling midlist writer whose novels barely command four figures, she feels trapped in an underwhelming marriage, just scraping by to pay a crippling Bay Area mortgage for a house–a life–she’s never really wanted.

There’s only ever been one person she cared about, one person who truly understood her: Thalia. Jane’s best and only friend nearly a decade ago during their Creative Writing days at Oxford. It was the only good year of Jane’s life–cobblestones and books and damp English air, heady wine and sweet cider and Thalia, endless Thalia. But then one night ruined everything. The blood-soaked night that should have bound Thalia to Jane forever but instead made her lose her completely. Thalia disappeared without a trace, and Jane has been unable to find her since.

Until now.

Because there she is, her name at the top of the New York Times bestseller list: A Most Pleasant Death by Thalia Ashcroft. When she discovers a post from Thalia on her website about attending a book convention in New York City in a week–“Can’t wait to see you there!”–Jane can’t wait either.

She’ll go to New York City, too, credit card bill be damned. And this time, she will do things right. Jane won’t lose Thalia again. (Synopsis from Goodreads)

Review | I’m Not Done With You Yet

Told in alternating timelines, I’m Not Done With You Yet is a twisted and dark psychological thriller that delves into the dark mind and past of two women who met at Oxford ten years earlier. With alternating timelines and multiple perspectives, this story was so tense it could snap by the end.

The book begins with Jane narrating the story of her meeting a classmate named Thalia while in her first year of her MFA at Oxford. Jane is a quiet, introverted, Asian woman who comes from humble beginnings and is a self-diagnosed sociopath. We learn Jane’s mother contributed to many of Jane’s issues through flashbacks to her childhood. When Jane meets Thalia, she is enamored by the glamorous and kind woman in front of her. Jane’s insecurities get in the way sometimes, but she and Thalia form an unlikely friendship. Thalia and Jane both aspire to be writers and Jane sees Thalia as something of a muse. But it all leads up to one night that changes everything…

In the present day, Jane is unhappily married to a man named Ted who she has come to despise. They live in San Francisco and their life is largely financed by him and his work. Jane is a published author but her books make no greater than four figures each. Jane is unhappy and often thinks back on her friendship with Thalia and their time together at Oxford. She wonders what happened to Thalia—the two lost touch after that fateful night. Jane went on to graduate, while Thalia left Oxford without a trace.

Until one day Jane stumbles upon news of Thalia. Thalia has just hit the best seller list with a psychological thriller that Jane thinks is partly based on their friendship. She’s also going to be appearing at an upcoming conference called SusPens Con in New York City. Jane will do anything to go there and reunite with Thalia. She doesn’t care if she has to pawn some of her own items to cover the trip, or bring along her husband Ted, or that she doesn’t actually have a ticket to get in… She’ll make it work!

But Jane is soon buried deep in the lies and ploys she used to get to SusPens Con and it could all be for naught if she can’t get in. Thankfully she runs into a mutual friend of hers and Thalia’s from Oxford and that starts the events in motion that can’t be undone… Afterall, Jane will do anything to rekindle her friendship with Thalia.

The first half of the novel is narrated solely by Jane—switching between Jane and Thalia’s year together at Oxford, present day where Jane lives in San Francisco with her husband, and brief glimpses into her childhood. In the present timeline, Jane is determined to reunite with Thalia no matter what it takes. In the past timeline, Jane’s story is heading towards a mysterious incident that leads to the end of her friendship with Thalia. Understanding what could have happened to drive a rift between the two friends drives the suspense forward.

Eventually, the past events are fully laid out and the crash course towards a potentially unwelcome reunion with Thalia is driving Jane’s narrative. When they finally do meet for the first time in a decade… well I obviously can’t spoil it for you, but it is surprising and unsettling. Things felt heightened because Jane has told so many lies to get to this reunion, and then has to continue lying to her husband so she can reconnect with Thalia.

In the back half of the book, we start getting other POV in addition to Jane and the twists and turns the plot takes had me in a chokehold! I couldn’t put the book aside—I was captivated by the story of Jane and Thalia. Their bond at Oxford felt almost too good to be true at first, but the more we learn about things they share in their past, the more it makes sense. I couldn’t figure out what might have broken them apart, particularly since Jane was so clearly devoted to Thalia and Thalia sought out Jane as a safe person to confide in.

The first half builds steadily so the back half can shine. This is the sort of book I wish I could post a spoiler review of because the twists are so fun! But there is no way I can spoil the fun of experiencing each twist one at a time.

The story delves into the complexities of female friendship, particularly that fine element of competition that often exists between friends. In this book a lot of the competition isn’t between Thalia and Jane like you’d expect, it’s between Jane and another student at Oxford named Ani. Ani and Jane are both Asian, but their similarities end there. Ani comes from a very rich family and is tall, thin, beautiful, and looks like a model Asian. She’s attending the business program at Oxford. Jane is short, curvy, poor, and lacks the social confidence that Ani has. Somehow they find themselves in a competition to be Thalia’s best friend.

I loved the addition of Ani to this book because she’s this beautiful bland figure that Jane is often in what seems to be a one-sided competition with. Jane’s ongoing narration about Ani adds a fresh and biting humor that is partly why the reader loves Jane, even though she is often unhinged.

Don’t skip this book. This is easily one of my favorite books of 2023—I absolutely loved it from start to finish! After finishing, I highly recommend checking out the interview with Sutanto from Shondaland for some great scoop on why she decided to venture into writing a psychological thriller and some details on the story.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing for my copy. Opinions are my own.

About the Author | Jesse Q Sutanto

Jesse Q Sutanto grew up shuttling back and forth between Jakarta and Singapore and sees both cities as her homes. She has a Masters degree from Oxford University, though she has yet to figure out a way of saying that without sounding obnoxious. She is currently living back in Jakarta on the same street as her parents and about seven hundred meddlesome aunties. When she’s not tearing out her hair over her latest WIP, she spends her time baking and playing FPS games. Oh, and also being a mom to her two kids.