Kismet: A Thriller

Written by Amina Akhtar

Narrated by Dilshad Vadsaria, Kimberly Woods and Rhett Samuel Price

From Amina Akhtar comes a viciously funny thriller about wellness—the smoothies, the secrets, and the deliciously deadly impulses.

Lifelong New Yorker Ronnie Khan never thought she’d leave Queens. She’s not an “aim high, dream big” person—until she meets socialite wellness guru Marley Dewhurst.

Marley isn’t just a visionary; she’s a revelation. Seduced by the fever dream of finding her best self, Ronnie makes for the desert mountains of Sedona, Arizona.

Healing yoga, transcendent hikes, epic juice cleanses…Ronnie consumes her new bougie existence like a fine wine. But is it, really? Or is this whole self-care business a little sour?

When the glam gurus around town start turning up gruesomely murdered, Ronnie has her answer: all is not well in wellness town. As Marley’s blind ambition veers into madness, Ronnie fears for her life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio
• Release date: Aug 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9781713663461

Amina Akhtar

Amina Akhtar is a former fashion writer and editor. Her satirical first novel, #FashionVictim, drew critical acclaim and was covered in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Martha Stewart Living, Entertainment Weekly, Fashionista, Book Riot, CrimeReads, and more. Akhtar has worked at Vogue, Elle, the New York Times, and New York Magazine, where she was the founding editor of the women’s blog The Cut. She’s written for numerous publications, including Yahoo Style, Fashionista, xoJane, Refinery29, Billboard, and more. She currently lives not too far from the Sedona vortexes.

Reviews for Kismet

[kiaya40 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

So, this one was weird, so, so, weird, bizarre, creepy, dark, and disturbing - it was too disturbing once I figured out the twist and the ending. Also, the ravens were creepy too - gave me a whole new perspective on ravens.

This was a very different mystery/thriller type book. It's about Ronnie, who's ready for change and to leave all her old life behind and become a new person. Ronnie follows her life coach, Marley in a big move across the country from New York to Sedona, Arizona and they move in together to live a healthy life with yoga, crystals, healing, and everything. The relationship between Ronnie and Marley is a bit strange, to say the least. I mean, who picks up and moves across the country with their life coach and then moves in with them? Then there was mention of Ronnie's past life with her aunt, who was very nasty, mean, and abusive and it seemed like Ronnie realized the unhealthy nature of her aunt and their relationship - can we say codependency, etc and then went and repeated it in her leaving that past life.

Once they get to Sedona, AZ, things get weirder with how murders start happening and other things with Ronnie, Marley, the ravens, and Caroline - a new 'friend' they make and also the twins with the store where Ronnie gets a job. Ronnie tries to figure out what's happening some, stay safe and keep Marley safe, but then things take a turn with the twist at the very end and it gets very bizarre, dark, and disturbing.
If you like unreliable narrators, dark, disturbing, a bizarre mystery, thriller, and suspense books, then you'll like this one, but I am not a fan.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for letting me read and review this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[cathyskye · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The major reason why I picked up Kismet is its setting. I visited Sedona several times in the past and found it to be a magical place, especially as I explored offroad trails and Indian ruins. But even then, I could see that the influx of tourists and people coming to live there was a genuine threat to everything that makes the place so special. Kismet proved that I was right, and it was disheartening. With its Greek chorus of ravens, the book skewers the whole wellness industry under the guise of up-and-comer Marley Dewhurst. Ronnie's best friend soon shows her true colors: she's much more focused on social media likes and followers and is so intent on her brand and becoming an influencer that she actually starts doing harm rather than the good she espouses.  Ronnie Khan is a vivid, likable main character. Throughout the book, readers are given glimpses of Ronnie's life pre-Sedona, and the vicious cruelty of her aunt guarantees Ronnie a sympathetic audience even though some readers may begin to wonder how reliable she is. Watching this shrinking violet blossom in her new life is a joy. Her descriptions of hiking and other activities in the Sedona area made me smile. Ronnie is a city girl through and through, and her reactions to the landscape and wildlife reminded me of hikes I took with another city girl. (FYI: Not every hole in the desert floor is a snake hole; no, all rocks and trees do not look alike.) Ronnie is Pakistani, and as a person of color, she often makes comments about the predominantly white population of Sedona. Her comments are true and didn't bother me (and I'm so white I glow in the dark), but I can see her remarks bothering some readers who need to develop thicker skins.I liked Amina Akhtar's gift of characterization and setting, and the mystery is a very good one; however, one thing bothered me. In all the blurbs and synopses of Kismet, I was repeatedly told how funny the book was. Granted, there were some amusing bits here and there, but I didn't find it anywhere close to being as "wickedly funny" as it is described. That's the trouble with humor. It's so subjective that, while some people may roll in the aisles with laughter, there are going to be others who remain in their seats and wonder what on earth is wrong with those people on the floor.Regardless of my reaction to the humor (or lack thereof), I still found myself liking Kismet and Ronnie Khan, and I enjoyed trying to solve the mystery.