Good Intentions by Marisa Waltz #bookreview #audiobook #debut

Thank you Libro.fm / Macmillan Audio for the ALC and St. Martin’s Press, #partner for the advanced copy of Good Intentions in exchange for my honest review.

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press / Macmillan Audio

Published: February 3, 2026

 

Summary:

A deft and immersive psychological suspense debut about a luxury party planner who becomes obsessed with a woman she encounters in a hospital waiting room.

Cady has worked hard to have a good life. She has a thriving luxury event-planning business, the man she’s loved since she was seventeen, and a social calendar she can barely keep up with. She also has Dana, her identical twin, her beyond best friend, her most trusted confidante. When Cady gets a call that Dana has been in a serious accident and arrives moments too late to say goodbye, her world falls apart.

But to Cady’s family’s growing concern and confusion, it’s not Dana’s death that consumes her. It’s Morgan, a grieving mother Cady encountered in the hospital waiting room, the day her sister died. It can’t be a coincidence, that they both experienced tragedy at the same moment, in the same place—Cady doesn’t believe in coincidences. Instead, she is convinced that she must help this stranger overcome her tragedy, in order to come to terms with her own.

Or…is there more to it? Is it possible that Cady wants something else from Morgan? Something she can’t even admit to herself?

Slyly twisted and deeply provocative, Good Intentions captures the moral ambiguity that can arise in the face of impossible choices. Like the aftermath of a car accident—and against your better judgment—you won’t be able to look away.

 

My thoughts:

This is the type of debut that I love to get behind because it completely surprises you in the best way! This psychological thriller is one that takes you on quite the emotional roller coaster and I am so excited to see what is next for this author!

This is a dark, gripping read that had me completely engaged right from the start. I always love a good unreliable narrator and while I didn’t always love our MC – in fact, I would many times describe her as unhinged – I did find her sympathetic. Being in her head, privy to her inner most thoughts as she spirals out of control was unsettling at best. There is such a desperation to the way this story is told…it’s heavy but handled with care.  Grief is a big part of this story, as is denial, depression and obsession and it all comes together for such a twisted read.

This is the type of book that gets under your skin, leaving you questioning everything, which I loved…and let’s not even talk about that ending. I could not have predicted a better one!

 

Audio thoughts:

This was amazing on audio, with one of my favorites narrating it. Brittany Pressley does a fantastic job bringing this book to life, with her haunting portrayal of the MC.

 

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