You Look Beautiful Tonight is a Twisty Librarian Stalker Thriller

Posted in: Books, Interview, Podcasts, Pop Culture | Tagged: LR Jones, You Look Beautiful Tonight

In this episode of Castle Talk, Jason Henderson chats with L.R. Jones, the author of the new “librarian stalker thriller,” You Look Beautiful Tonight.

In this episode of Castle Talk, Jason Henderson chats with L.R. Jones, the author of the new book You Look Beautiful Tonight– she’s also known as New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Lisa Renee Jones, whose dark, edgy fiction includes the highly acclaimed novels The Poet, A Perfect Lie, and the Lilah Love series. 

Say the publishers:

You Look Beautiful Tonight comes out June 1, 2023 from Thomas & Mercer. It follows Mia Anderson, a librarian who receives an anonymous note from a secret admirer, whose devotion ends up turning deadly.

Publishers Weekly gave it a starred review: “In this devilishly twisty standalone…Jones reveals her characters’ secrets and motives slowly, expertly ratcheting up the pace before an explosive conclusion. This white-knuckler is not to be missed.”

Jones chats about the process of putting together the modern domestic thriller, which has to be loaded up with constant twists, suspects, and reversals. She discusses the curious danger that the lead finds herself in, responding to a stalker who challenges her, even making demands about how she dresses and does her hair. Jones says she responds positively at first because she has yet to assert herself, and she’s left a vacuum for a charming stalker/not-writer to walk into. Only later does he turn more obviously manipulative– and deadly.

“What motivated me,” Jones says, “was that an average girl can be the center of a thriller.” Not someone who’s a cop, like in Jones’ previous thriller The Poet, or a detective, but just a librarian trying to decide whether to use a dating app. The writer describes herself as somewhere between a “plotter” and a “pantser,” making a malleable plot that she can deviate from. She says she plotted the whole of You Look Beautiful Tonight on paper at a PF Chang’s restaurant. 

Jones can be found online at www.lisareneejones.com.

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