Read Between the Lies

“Read Between the Lies is a dark, delicious takedown of cancel culture and the publishing industry—I read it in two sittings because I had to stop midway and go Google my own name. Highly recommend.” —Mindy Kaling

In this claustrophobic psychological suspense from USA Today bestselling author Jesse Q. Sutanto, the line between victim and villain blurs with every chapter. Because in the end, everyone has their own version of the truth—but only one will make it onto the page.

Fern’s dream of becoming a published author is finally coming true. After years of rejection, her debut novel has sold, and she’s ready to join the supportive online community of fellow debuts. But when she discovers her high school bully, Haven, has landed a major book deal and will be debuting alongside her, old wounds reopen.

As the pandemic forces everyone online, tensions escalate in their writing community. While Haven seems to succeed effortlessly, Fern watches her own career crumble. Yet beneath their polished personas lies a darker truth about their shared past—one involving a lost friend, Dani, and secrets neither wants revealed.

Fern isn’t the same person Haven bullied all those years ago. She’s learned that the best revenge stories aren’t written—they’re lived. And she’s been plotting this one for years.

What begins as online rivalry escalates into dangerous obsession. Because neither woman is telling the whole truth about what really happened to Dani…or about who’s the real victim in this story.

Author Biography

Jesse Q. Sutanto is the Edgar Award–winning, USA Today bestselling author of Dial A for Aunties, The Obsession, Theo Tan and the Fox Spirit, Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers, and Well, That Was Unexpected. The film rights to Dial A for Aunties were acquired by Netflix in a competitive bidding war, while the TV rights to Vera Wong were bought by Warner Bros. with Oprah Winfrey and Mindy Kaling attached to produce. Sutanto holds a master’s degree in creative writing from the University of Oxford, though she hasn’t found a way of saying that without sounding obnoxious. The author lives in Indonesia with her husband, two daughters, and a ridiculously large extended family.