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Jessica Strawser

Biography

Jessica Strawser

Jessica Strawser is the editor-at-large and columnist at Writer’s Digest, where she served as editorial director for nearly a decade and became known for her in-depth cover interviews with such luminaries as David Sedaris and Alice Walker. She’s the author of the book club favorites ALMOST MISSED YOU, a Barnes & Noble Best New Fiction pick; NOT THAT I COULD TELL, a Book of the Month bestseller; FORGET YOU KNOW ME, awarded a starred review by Publishers Weekly; and A MILLION REASONS WHY, called “a standout” in a starred Booklist review and named to Most Anticipated lists from Goodreads, SheReads, Frolic E! News and others. Her fifth book, THE NEXT THING YOU KNOW, is a People Magazine Pick for Best New Novel, and her latest is THE LAST CARETAKER.

Honored as the 2019 Writer-in-Residence at the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Strawser has written for The New York Times Modern Love, Publishers Weekly and other fine venues, and lives in Cincinnati with her husband and two children. A contributing editor for Career Authors and an active Tall Poppy Writer, she keynotes frequently for writing conferences, book fairs and festivals, book clubs, libraries and other events that are kind enough to invite her.

Books by Jessica Strawser

by Jessica Strawser - Fiction, Women's Fiction

Katie’s divorce was, in a word, humiliating. So when her friend, Bess, offers a fresh start --- a resident caretaking job at a nature preserve --- Katie accepts. But from day one, something feels off. Katie’s new farmhouse looks as if the last caretaker barely moved out at all. When a frantic, terrified woman arrives late at night, expecting a safe place to hide, it’s clear caretaking involves way more than Katie bargained for. Suddenly, Katie is no longer sure who she can trust: the brooding groundskeeper, the daily regulars --- hikers, dog walkers, bird-watchers, photographers --- even Bess. As Katie digs deeper for clues in what the last caretaker left behind, she must discover courage she never knew she had --- and decide how much she’ll risk to do the right thing.

by Jessica Strawser - Fiction, Women's Fiction

As an end-of-life doula, Nova Huston’s job is to help terminally ill people make peace with their impending death. Unlike her business partner, who swears by her system of checklists, free-spirited Nova doesn’t shy away from difficult clients. When Mason Shaylor shows up at her door, Nova doesn’t recognize him as the indie-favorite singer-songwriter who recently vanished from the public eye. She knows only what he’s told her: That life as he knows it is over. His deteriorating condition makes playing his guitar physically impossible. Helping him is Nova’s biggest challenge yet. It turns out that she and Mason have more in common than anyone could guess… and meeting him might turn out to be the hardest, best thing that’s ever happened to them both.

by Jessica Strawser - Fiction, Women's Fiction

Caroline lives a full, happy life --- a thriving career, three feisty children, an enviable marriage, and a close-knit extended family. However, she is about to discover that her fundamental beliefs about them all are wrong. Sela lives a life in shades of gray, suffering from irreversible kidney failure. Her marriage crumbled in the wake of her illness. Her beloved mother, always her closest friend, unexpectedly passed away. She refuses to be defined by her grief, but still, she worries what will happen to her two-year-old son if she doesn’t find a donor match in time. She’s the only one who knows Caroline is her half-sister and may also be her best hope for a future. But Sela’s world isn’t as clear-cut as it appears --- and one misstep could destroy it all.

by Jessica Strawser - Fiction, Psychological Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Suspense, Thriller, Women's Fiction

Molly and Liza have always been enviably close. Even after Molly married Daniel, the couple considered Liza an honorary family member. But after Liza moved away, things grew more strained than anyone wanted to admit --- in the friendship and the marriage. When Daniel goes away on business, Molly and Liza plan to reconnect with a nice long video chat after the kids are in bed. But then Molly leaves the room to check on a crying child. What Liza sees next will change everything. Only one thing is certain: Molly needs her. Liza drives all night to be at Molly’s side --- but when she arrives, the reception is icy, leaving Liza baffled and hurt. She knows there’s no denying what she saw. Or is there?

by Jessica Strawser - Fiction, Mystery, Women's Fiction

When a group of neighborhood women gathers around a fire pit where their backyards meet one Saturday night, most of them are just ecstatic to have discovered that their baby monitors reach that far. It’s a rare kid-free night, and they’re giddy with it. They drink too much, and the conversation turns personal. By Monday morning, one of them is gone. Everyone knows something about everyone else in the quirky small Ohio town of Yellow Springs, but no one can make sense of the disappearance. As the police investigation goes from a media circus to a cold case, the neighbors are forced to reexamine what’s going on behind their own closed doors --- and to ask how well anyone really knows anyone else.

by Jessica Strawser - Fiction, Psychological Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Suspense, Thriller

Three years into their marriage, Violet and Finn have a wonderful little boy. Life is good, and Violet can’t believe her luck. So no one is more surprised than she when Finn leaves her at the beach and takes their son with him. Violet is suddenly in her own worst nightmare, and faced with the knowledge that the man she’s shared her life with, she never really knew at all. Caitlin and Finn have been best friends for the longest time. But when Finn shows up on Caitlin’s doorstep with the son he’s wanted for kidnapping, demands that she hide them from the authorities, and threatens to reveal a secret that could destroy her own family if she doesn’t, Caitlin faces an impossible choice.