If You Knew Me by S.P. Miskowski is a layered psychological thriller that reads like a true-crime docuseries

In If You Knew Me by S.P. Miskowski (out September 23, 2025), the lines between journalist and subject blur in a story that feels part true-crime, part literary thriller. Parker Dillon is a novice reporter whose career is already teetering—her aunt has sold the website where she works, and the new owner is keen to swap human writers for AI. But when she discovers a buried cold pitch from a woman named Ann Mason, her luck seems to change. Ann claims she once did something terrible and got away with it, and she’s strangely obsessed with a washed-up TV star. Parker pursues the story, chasing Ann from Seattle to Arizona, only to find herself in a dangerous game where she may be more prey than hunter.

What makes this book especially compelling is how much it reads like one of those binge-worthy Netflix docudramas (Inventing Anna comes to mind). Miskowski weaves together Ann’s unsettling narrative and Parker’s journalistic pursuit with the same fascination those shows inspire—watching an extraordinary crime unravel while peering into the lives it warps. There’s even a late-chapter epilogue styled like a “Where Are They Now?” segment, the kind you’d expect to see at the end of a documentary.

Ann is one of the book’s strongest draws. Completely out of touch with reality, she’s both terrifying and oddly entertaining, the kind of person you love to observe at a distance while hoping never to meet in real life. Parker, on the other hand, is harder to embrace. Though she’s presented as a struggling reporter, she always has the safety net of her wealthy family. Even when her career stalls, she has a free place to live, income to fall back on, and well-placed contacts to help her break into freelancing. For all her angst about “not making a name for herself,” Parker’s life is cushioned in ways that highlight the difference between her and the baristas serving her lattes—people likely chasing their own thwarted dreams without the privilege of family money.

The writing is layered and literary, with enough psychological complexity to set it apart from standard boilerplate crime fiction. I found myself fully absorbed after having recently read a couple of crime novels that felt flat by comparison. This one had me thinking, “Okay, now we’re talking.”

If there’s a flaw, it’s the ending, which lands a little softer than expected after such an intricate buildup. Still, the journey is more than worth it—gripping, unsettling, and thought-provoking.

If You Knew Me, which is scheduled for release on September 23, 2025, is a chillingly believable story about obsession, privilege, and ambition, sure to appeal to fans of both literary thrillers and true-crime-style narratives.

💬 How do you feel about the type of television docudramas this novel was styled after? And which one is your favorite? Let’s chat in the comments below!

An advance reader copy of this book (ARC) was provided to me by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

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