When Humor Turns Sinister | A Novel Crime by Deborah Vadas Levison

Read time: 3 minutes

📱📖 Read on Kindle
📃 332 pages
⏱ Duration: 4 hours
🏷️ Publisher: Brilliance Audio / Thomas & Mercer
📅 Publication Date: March 31, 2026
📚 ARC courtesy of NetGalley

Book Blurb:

Marcy Jo Codburn, a struggling romance writer and freshly divorced mother, is desperate for a career break. Her envy of bestselling author Francesca Barber curdles into opportunity when she catches Francesca in a compromising situation. Reinventing herself as “Summer Branigan,” Marcy uses the secret to secure the coveted coauthor deal she’s always dreamed of. But as their collaboration spins out of control—with kidnapping, deception, and blackmail wrapped in sharp humor—both women realize that fame and moral boundaries rarely coexist. A Novel Crime skewers the publishing industry with biting wit and a disturbingly funny edge.

Let’s talk… Murder!

I went into A Novel Crime knowing two things: dark humor, and thriller. What I didn’t anticipate was how deeply unsettlingly funny this book would be. Not chuckle-funny. Not clever-smirk funny. But the kind of funny that leaves you staring at the page, unsure whether laughing makes you complicit. This was my first real encounter with this particular subgenre, and it hit me sideways.

This book made me wildly uncomfortable, laughed-out-loud uneasy, and vaguely horrified that I was laughing at all. Deborah Vadas Levison paints Marcy’s desperation so vividly that you both pity and cringe for her. There’s blackmail, kidnapping, emotional manipulation, and death, but all handled with an offbeat, unsettling humor that blurs the line between absurdity and atrocity. The pacing keeps you turning pages despite the unease, and that surprise ending? It lands perfectly, even if it leaves you questioning your own reactions.

And while I can admire Levison’s cleverness and control, I also discovered something about myself as a reader: this subgenre isn’t for me. It takes genuine skill to make readers feel conflicted about their own reactions, and Deborah does it well, too well, honestly. I closed the last page impressed and unsettled in equal measure.

Would I recommend it?

This is a very specific recommendation. If you love dark humor thrillers that blur ethical lines, satirize the publishing industry, and make you laugh while wincing, this might be your thing. Deborah Vadas Levison absolutely commits to the premise, and her writing is sharp, confident, and fearless. For me, though, the discomfort outweighed the enjoyment. I finished the book unsure of what I felt—but very sure this subgenre isn’t for me.

If You’re Looking for Something Similar (But Know the Vibe First)

1. The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz – Publishing world tension with moral gray areas, but less dark humor.
2. Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka – Dark, unsettling, and character-driven without the comedic edge.
3. Yellowface by R.F. Kuang – Satirical, sharp, and biting commentary on publishing ambition.
4. The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz – Creative ambition gone wrong with thriller elements.
5. The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris – Industry satire with creeping unease and social commentary.

Dark Humor or too dark?

Hit the comments: What’s the most disturbingly funny book that’s ever made you squirm? Or are you all-in on dark humor thrillers. Tell me your faves!

Book Links

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• Indiebookstores.ca
• Bookshop.org
• Goodreads | Storybound | Pagebound | Fable | Hardcover
• Find more bookish news on Deborah Levison’s author page
• Check out more books from Brilliance Audio and Thomas Mercer