The Spiral by Rosanne Limoncelli: A Gritty 1979 NYC Thriller Review

Read time: 5 minutes

📚 Read as a book 📃 336 pages ⏱ Duration: 5 hours (Kobo)
🏷️ Publisher name: Crooked Lane Books
ARC by the author | Publish date: October 27, 2026

Book Blurb:

Nineteen-year-old Nina Esposito is surviving 1979 Greenwich Village on sarcasm and elbow grease, tending bar through lewd customers and dark streets. Then a serial killer starts targeting women who look just like her, and survival means finding him first. Every man in her life becomes a suspect, from the subway stranger to her leering acting coach to Detective Frankie Lopez, the one person who might actually be on her side. Set against a New York of graffiti-covered subways and squatted-in East Village buildings, this psychological thriller keeps its final twist locked down until the very last page. Fans of Tana French and Stieg Larsson will find a lot to like here.

Let’s talk about the book:

Confession: I am one of those people who live in convenient denial about the ways of the world out there. But Rosanne Limoncelli’s The Spiral puts things in perspective for people like me. Yes, it is a thriller. But also, a nineteen year old girl, the MC, is constantly subjected to unwanted attention throughout the book. Readers can go ahead and feel angry on her behalf, or wonder what kind of predators these men are, but the fact remains that it is a reality out there every day. More than all the other things that happen in this book, that part bothered me the most. Primarily because it is a reality, and the more we talk about it, the more awareness there is, and possibly a better future for the upcoming generation of women.

The story now:

The story itself is vivid in its description. NYC back alleys are the main set for the story, which revolves around a serial killer. Nina Esposito manages to find herself in a wrong place, wrong time (or so she thinks) situation when she comes across a dead body, and that’s where the adventure starts. I have always enjoyed Rosanne’s writing from the Queens of Crime series, and although this is a different genre, the writing does not change. It is realistic, crisp, and visual enough that you can’t help but picture the whole story moving in your mind as you read.

The only thing stopping me from giving it 5 stars is the ending. Without giving out spoilers, I felt like the ending came rather suddenly, with no preamble. I couldn’t find a reason why the killer confesses. Yes, it ties up everything neatly, which is what fiction is supposed to do (we have enough open questions in real life without adding that to works of fiction too), and it is indeed very satisfying the way it ends. But what made the killer confess is something I couldn’t figure out.

Other than that one thing, the entire narrative was spectacular. There is a reason why I stopped reading thrillers. I am a visual reader, and the more vivid the description, the more it remains with me. Rosanne’s writing is so vivid, I am going to have nightmares for a long time. But that is exactly why I would recommend it to all you thriller lovers out there. The kick is real. Don’t miss it.

Would I recommend it?

Absolutely, if you can stomach the dread. The Spiral is one of those books that earns the unsettled feeling it gives you, because it’s rooted in something real women deal with constantly, not just a plot device to raise the stakes. Rosanne’s writing pulls you straight into 1979 Greenwich Village, back alleys and all, and doesn’t let go until the last page. The ending left me with one unanswered question about the killer’s motive, which is the only reason this isn’t a full five stars. Everything else, the atmosphere, the suspense, the sheer visual pull of the writing, is exactly why I’d hand this to any thriller fan without hesitation. Mark October 27 on your calendar for this one.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

If you loved The Spiral, try these next

• In the Woods by Tana French — If it’s the atmosphere and psychological unease of The Spiral that got you, French’s debut set the standard for that kind of slow-burn dread, and it’s the exact comp Rosanne’s own publisher points to.

Indiebookstores.ca | Bookshop.org | Goodreads | StoryGraph | Pagebound | Fable | Hardcover | Booktrovert | OpenLibrary | Litsy

• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson — Another named comp, and for good reason. Both books have women navigating predatory men while chasing down a killer who’s always one step ahead.

Indiebookstores.ca | Bookshop.org | Goodreads | StoryGraph | Pagebound | Fable | Hardcover | Booktrovert | OpenLibrary | Litsy

• The Alienist by Caleb Carr — For readers who loved how vividly The Spiral rendered 1979 NYC, Carr does the same trick a century earlier, turning the city itself into a character in a hunt for a killer.

Indiebookstores.ca | Bookshop.org | Goodreads | StoryGraph | Pagebound | Fable | Hardcover | Booktrovert | OpenLibrary | Litsy

• Little Deaths by Emma Flint — Set in 1960s Queens and inspired by a true case, this one shares The Spiral’s interest in how a city and its men close in on a woman just for existing in public.

Indiebookstores.ca | Bookshop.org | Goodreads | StoryGraph | Pagebound | Fable | Hardcover | Booktrovert | OpenLibrary | Litsy

• Long Bright River by Liz Moore — A different decade, same instinct for grounding a mystery in a specific, crumbling version of a city, with a heroine who knows those streets better than anyone chasing her.

Indiebookstores.ca | Bookshop.org | Goodreads | StoryGraph | Pagebound | Fable | Hardcover | Booktrovert | OpenLibrary | Litsy

What keeps you up at night?

Thrillers that stick with you long after the last page are rare. Was there a scene here that got under your skin, or a book that did the same to you? Drop it in the comments, I want to know what keeps other readers up at night too.

Book Links

Want to purchase this or any of your favorite books while supporting a local bookstore? Consider purchasing using the sites below. These sites work with independent local bookstore owners to fulfill your book orders. #SupportLocal

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