I have frequently bemoaned the fact that I don’t find thrillers thrilling or suspense novels very suspenseful. Maybe I’ve been looking at the wrong books. Yellowface by R. F. Kuang was suspenseful and thrilling – no murderers or stalkers involved – just a book deal and ambitious authors. Quite literally, a literary thriller.

The story is told from the first-person perspective of author June Hayward. The novel opens with June meeting her rival/ frenemy for drinks – fellow author Athena Liu. The women graduated from Yale together and published their debut novels the same year. But while June flounders, Athena goes from strength to strength – novels, Netflix deals, writers festivals. Continue reading →