One day. One city on the edge. One man gambling it all.
In a Los Angeles rattled by an earthquake and on the brink of collapse, Marlon has twenty-four hours to change his fate. Drowning in debt, reeling from personal loss, and desperate to save his family, he’s seduced by a shadowy financial guru promising salvation. But as Marlon spirals deeper into a web of risk, secrets long buried begin to surface—and his final gamble might cost him everything.
Taut, urgent, and psychologically astute, Get Rich Quick is a gripping descent into the dangers of ambition, delusion, and the American obsession with success.
Soon to be a major worldwide film release.
Praise for GRQ:
“Reading this book was like listening to a charming con man talk circles around the truth while you laugh and cringe in equal measure. The narrator’s voice is hypnotic. It’s funny, fast-talking, and flawed. Bernstein’s writing feels conversational and unfiltered, filled with tangents, wild lists, and jabs at everything from labradoodles to General Tso’s chicken. It’s brilliantly messy. The narrative never tries to be neat or linear. That looseness works in its favor. It mirrors the chaos of the characters’ lives and thoughts, making the humor land harder and the emotions hit sharper when they sneak in.” ~ Literary Titan
“Author Steven Bernstein builds this sneaky domestic thriller with addictive, vignette-like chapters narrated by voices that alternate between self-justification and raw emotion… Bernstein’s strength lies in how he seamlessly layers humor, suspense and sorrow. On one page, we’re laughing at Marlon’s ridiculous schemes and evasions. On the next, the ground shakes — literally, as Los Angeles is rocked by earthquakes, and figuratively, as the family fractures under pressure.” ~ BestThrillers.com
“Very rarely have I come across a book as riveting and thoroughly engaging as Steven Bernstein’s GRQ. The characters are so vivid and compelling that it wouldn’t surprise me at all if I were to encounter them in real life. An absolute must-read.'” ~ Gale Anne Hurd, Executive Producer (FEAR THE WALKING DEAD, MANKILLER)
“This little book of wisdom is an iChing for the mid 2020s. Marlon is the infernal dumbass in his schemes to Get Rich Quick, to the despair of his darling Viola. The problem is that there’s a Marlon in all of us. Well, most of us. Not me, obviously. A brilliant evisceration of debt and delusion.'” ~JP Maxwell, author and award-winning filmmaker
“I loved it: it feels like a dreamlike odyssey. A book perfectly suited for our era — a world where financial gain overshadows everything else, reminiscent of ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’. The short chapters and vignettes hit you at breakneck speed; you feel like you’re watching someone unravel before your very eyes. A truly compelling read.” ~ Tom Walker, Actor (Jonathan Pie)
“GRQ by Steven Bernstein is a pulsating, psychological thriller. I loved it.” ~ Keith McNally, New York Times best selling author
Steven Bernstein, ASC, DGA, WGA is an award-winning feature film director and screenwriter, shaping some of the most visually striking films of the past 40 years. His work on the Academy Award-winning film Monster and on Like Water for Chocolate has earned global recognition. He is a recipient of the American Film Institute Award, the Sloan Award (for writing and directing), the Cannes Golden Lion (for commercials), and is an ASC nominee for outstanding cinematography. He has worked on over 50 feature films. He wrote and directed several groundbreaking feature films with major talent (John Malkovich, Samantha Morton, Helen Hunt and many more). His podcast Filmmakerandfans, about the creative process in film production, is listened to by millions.
Please Don’t Lie by Christina Baker Kline and Anne Burt is the first book in the Crystal River series. Hayley moves to the Adirondacks with her new husband, but we all know, you can’t run away from your past.
It has been two years since she lost her parents to a house fire and her sister to an overdose. A shadow hangs over Hayley and no matter how many self help books she reads, she will be forced to confront a reality she never envisioned. Don’t we all know that an isolated mountain town can hold dangers that will change her life forever? The location adds a feeling of menace and the pace had me rapidly flipping pages.
I love that Christine and Anne were able to keep me guessing until the very end.
I want to thank Christine, Anne and Thomas & Mercer for the opportunity to share Please Don’t Lie with you. I hope to read more of their work in the future.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
In this stylish, twisty thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Christina Baker Kline and award-winning author Anne Burt, a young woman heads to the Adirondacks with her new husband for a fresh start—but the past won’t let her go.
Two years ago, Hayley Stone lost everything. First, her parents died in a devastating fire. Then, her sister overdosed, leaving Hayley alone and hounded by a media circus that turned her family’s tragedy into tabloid fodder. When her new husband suggests a fresh start in the Adirondacks, the promise of anonymity in an isolated mountain town feels like salvation.
But the mountains hold darker secrets than she ever imagined.
Her once-loving husband grows distant and volatile. The widow down the road keeps spewing vague accusations. Not even their new friends—a free-spirited couple living on the property—can help Hayley shake the creeping sense that something is off.
As winter edges closer, Hayley discovers that her sanctuary is anything but safe. Trapped and isolated, she faces a terrifying in trying to escape her past, she may have run straight into something far more dangerous.
Genre: Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller
Kindle Edition
Expected publication: September 1, 2025 by Thomas & Mercer
A #1 New York Times bestselling author of eight novels, including The Exiles, Orphan Train, and A Piece of the World, Christina Baker Kline is published in 40 countries. Her novels have received the New England Prize for Fiction, the Maine Literary Award, and a Barnes & Noble Discover Award, among other prizes, and have been chosen by hundreds of communities, universities and schools as “One Book, One Read” selections. Her essays, articles, and reviews have appeared in publications such as the New York Times and the NYT Book Review, the Boston Globe, the San Francisco Chronicle, LitHub, Psychology Today, Poets & Writers, and Salon.
Born in England and raised in the American South and Maine, Kline is a graduate of Yale (B.A.), Cambridge (M.A.) and the University of Virginia (M.F.A.), where she was a Hoyns Fellow in Fiction Writing. A resident of New York City and Southwest Harbor, Maine, she serves on the advisory boards of the Center for Fiction (NY), the Jesup Library (Bar Harbor, ME), the Montclair Literary Festival (NJ), the Kauai Writers Festival (HI), and Roots & Wings (NJ), and on the gala committees of Poets & Writers (NY), The Authors Guild (NY) and Friends of Acadia (ME). She is an Artist-Mentor for StudioDuke at Duke University and the BookEnds program at Stony Brook University.
Anne Burt is the coauthor with #1 New York Times bestselling author Christina Baker Kline of the thriller PLEASE DON’T LIE. Anne’s debut novel, THE DIG, was an American Booksellers Association Indie Next Pick, the Strand Book Store’s mystery selection for spring 2023, and Indie Next’s lead “Thrills & Chills” reading group title for summer 2024. Anne is also the editor of MY FATHER MARRIED YOUR MOTHER and co-editor of ABOUT FACE. Her essays and fiction have appeared in numerous publications and venues, including Salon, NPR, and Working Mother, and she is a past winner of Meridian Literary Magazine’s Editors’ Prize in Fiction.
I love the fabulous cover for Deadly When Disturbed by D M Barr. It definitely fits the story for this psychological thriller. D M Barr hooked me from the opening pages and never let me go.
Dara Banks needs an assistant and Merry just happens to be there. Merry quickly makes herself indispensable, even insinuating herself into Dara’s personal life. You know that saying, when things appear to good to be true, they usually are. Well…Dara would do well to heed the warning.
Menace and suspense underlay every page. I know something is coming, but I don’t know what and and I don’t know when. I feel a sense of suspense, that, at times, had me racing through the pages. Other times, I took a step back, because I wanted to savor the anticipation.
Sex, brains, and cash – that’s all you needed to get by.
Too bad Merry will find out how wrong she could be.
Like I said earlier, I was hooked from the opening pages. The characters were compelling and I was so easily misled by them, that I never saw the ending coming. I love when an author can get me so involved, convinced I know what’s happening, then springs the unknown on me, making me see how wrong I was.
4 Stars
Synopsis:
Deadly When Disturbed follows the journey of leading Realtor and philanthropist Dara Banks. When Dara searches for an assistant, finding someone as resourceful as Meryl “Merry” Rafter seems too good to be true. So good in fact, she neglects to run a reference check. Bad move. Before she knows it, Merry, a former “actress” trying to be “helpful,” has insinuated herself into Dara’s business, family, and charity, and may be the only person saving her from prison. Dara becomes suspicious and begins snooping into Merry’s past. Feeling cornered, Merry reciprocates by launching an investigation of her own and realizes—too late—that she may have picked the wrong mark to con. These women’s unsettling discoveries, and their desperate efforts to safeguard their skeleton-filled closets and fragile self-images, lead to an explosive confrontation certain to destroy the lives of everyone in their midst.
Praise for Deadly When Disturbed:
“Two women. Friends? Hardly. They’re both after the same thing. And as the stakes get higher, the mind games get uglier, until—well, I’m not going to give away the killer ending. D. M. Barr’s latest domestic thriller is a total rush. It’s like being back with Betty and Veronica all over again—only this ain’t high school, and these women (like the title says) are DEADLY WHEN DISTURBED.” ~ Marshall Karp, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author of the NYPD RED series
“Who’s the hunter and who’s the hunted in this taut domestic thriller? Don’t even try to guess. Just relax, enjoy, and hang on as DEADLY WHEN DISTURBED takes you on a wild ride.” ~ Brad Parks, international bestselling author of THE BOUNDARIES WE CROSS.
“Tense, well-written, and surprising—Liane Moriarty meets Gillian Flynn by way of John Lutz in D.M. Barr’s latest domestic thriller, DEADLY WHEN DISTURBED. Gaslighting and suburban intrigue abound in this carefully crafted tale, guaranteed to keep you in suspense all the way to the final chapter. Put this one at the top of your to-be-read pile!” ~ Richard Helms, Thriller, Macavity, and Shamus Awards winning author of 22 RUE MONTPARNASSE.
“DEADLY WHEN DISTURBED is a superb dark thriller that offers a brilliantly written bizarro take on the classic All About Eve. Shifts in reality and twists of the plot keep the reader on edge until the stunning and unexpected climax. Fasten your seatbelt and hang on. It’s a great ride.” ~ S. Lee Manning, award-winning author of TROJAN HORSE, NERVE ATTACK, BLOODY SOIL, and DEADLY CHOICE.
“DEADLY WHEN DISTURBED by D.M. Barr is a clever psychological thriller reminiscent of The Hand That Rocks The Cradle, updated for today’s culture and with a superior narrative.… With a steady and increasingly intense pace, [it] is a hypnotic read of insanity and wretchedness that will stay with you long after the last page.” ~ Gaius Konstantine for Readers’ Favorite
Deadly When Disturbed Trailer:
Book Details:
Genre: Domestic Suspense, Domestic Thriller Published by: Level Best Books Publication Date: January 2025 Number of Pages: 310 Book Links:Amazon | Goodreads
Read an excerpt:
Prologue
She stood at her dining room table and calmly fingered through the cardboard box, double-checking that the paperwork was in chronological order. Even now, no one could accuse Samantha Ellingsworth of being anything but organized and precise. For nearly forty years, it had been both a gift and a curse.
First the letters from Harry, professing his incendiary ardor during their abbreviated law school courtship. The GIA certificate for the diamond, his glittering promise of passion extending through eternity. The deed to their Upper West side condo. A copy of her resignation from Davis & Milliken, where she’d been on the fast track to partner. The birth certificates for her daughter, dated a year later, and the surprise twins, ten years after that.
Next, the children’s coveted acceptance letters from Harrison—Manhattan’s most elite private pre-school and elementary—followed by every one of the glowing report cards she’d worked with them so diligently to earn. Campaign flyers she’d created for Harry’s run for state senate. Her passport opened to the page containing the stamp from that fateful trip to Aruba. The letters she’d written, refuting everything he’d accused her of as lies—all unopened and marked “Return to Sender.” The prescription for Prozac, unfilled, as if any pharmaceutical could rescue her from this pit of depression. Finally, the divorce papers she’d received a few weeks ago, still unsigned.
A lifetime of aspirations, misunderstandings, and betrayals, all encapsulated in a pile of paper less than an inch thick. She affixed the cover to the box and took a long, wistful look at the “perfect” apartment they’d been so ecstatic about buying, beating out several competing bids thanks to the lingering cachet of the Ellingsworth name and its clout in political circles. Confident that the condo was spotless, with everything in its place, Samantha slowly donned her hooded sheepskin coat, grabbed the box, and headed out.
The elevator operator nodded as she entered, but Gloria from the floor above murmured a curt hello and diverted her gaze as they descended from the seventh floor. Samantha had grown used to the frostiness over the past few weeks. Did the other tenants fear it was catching, that they too might be abandoned by their spouse and children, their lives reduced to rubble, if they inched too close? Whatever.
She trudged southbound through the early morning wintery mix; package still cradled to her chest like a newborn. Frigid raindrops grazed her eyelashes before cascading downward and stinging her cheeks as she passed the signs in Zabars’ windows, reminding patrons to purchase their Thanksgiving turkeys. The holiday was only days away. The irony did not escape her.
Shivering as much from the weather as from what lay ahead, she descended the subway staircase at 72nd Street, pushing against the throngs headed toward the sidewalk. She had someplace to go too and nothing—not crowds nor apprehension—was going to delay her.
Today was the day, a chance to have her say. Finally, she’d make him understand.
Samantha ran her MetroCard through the turnstile and headed toward the stairway leading to the uptown train. She positioned herself as close as possible to the opening of the tunnel and stood by the edge of the platform, resummoning her fleeting courage as the crowds swelled behind her. Commuters too involved with their phones to notice the determined woman beside them whose breathing had quickened and whose face had grown hot. She hugged the box even tighter to her fidgeting body and waited. And waited.
A collective sigh arose from the crowd as the loudspeaker announced that the next train was going out of service and wouldn’t be stopping. She saw the light in the distance and heard the clunk-de-clunk and whirl—a deafening gale descending onto the tracks, drowning out the murmur of the passengers. Her ride to the most important meeting of her life. And it was the number 2 train. How appropriate. Just like her, relegated from number one.
Timing was everything, the oncoming gleam only yards away. She tightened her grasp on what was left of her world, recalling the face of the bitch who’d laughed as she’d stolen it all away. Then she took one last breath and jumped onto the tracks.
***
Excerpt from Deadly When Disturbed by DM Barr. Copyright 2025 by DM Barr. Reproduced with permission from DM Barr. All rights reserved.
Author Bio:
Dawn M. Barclay is an award-winning author who writes psychological and romantic suspense as D.M. Barr and non-fiction under her own name.
Her eight other published books include Expired Listings, Murder Worth the Weight, and Saving Grace: A Psychological Thriller. Along with Deadly When Disturbed, in February LBB will also publish the first of her multi-volume series, Vacations Can Be Murder: A True Crime Lover’s Travel Guide.
Dawn recently completed her second stint co-editing a Sisters in Crime NY/Tri-state anthology. New York State of Crime, published by Down & Out Books in the fall of 2024, which includes her third published short story, “Orchestral Removals in the Dark.” She is currently editing an anthology of crime fiction for Down & Out Books inspired by the music of Elton John and Bernie Taupin.
Dawn offers developmental and copy editing through SuggestedDevelopment.com, and ghostwrites personal histories and corporate profiles through LegacyQuest.net. A member of ITW, she has served as president of Hudson Valley Scribes, vice president of Sisters in Crime-NY (still a board member), and the newsletter author/board member of the NY chapter of Mystery Writers of America.
