For the Best

By: Vanessa Lillie

Narrated by: Teri Schnaubelt

Suspected of a murder she can't remember, a troubled woman takes an unusual approach to proving her innocence in this gripping thriller from the bestselling author of Little Voices.

When Jules Worthington-Smith's wallet is found next to a dead man, she becomes the prime suspect in his murder. After struggling for years to build the perfect family and career, she's dangerously close to losing everything.

Sure of her innocence, Jules is desperate to clear her name. But there's one big problem: she was blackout drunk when the murder took place and can't remember what happened.

Unsatisfied with the police's handling of the case, Jules embarks on her own gin-fueled murder investigation. As she uncovers fresh clues, she starts a true-crime vlog that becomes a viral sensation, pushing her into the public eye. It's not long before the ordeal forces Jules to confront her demons, including her turbulent childhood and excessive drinking.

The deeper Jules digs, the more dirt she uncovers about the murder and herself. Unexpected truths pile up until she's buried so deep even finding the killer might not be enough to set her free.

©2020 Vanessa Lillie (P)2020 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Could have skipped half the book

I was so excited for this book, but was disappointed. The twists were more like a slight curve at best.
The characters alcohol abuse made her very hard for me to sympathize with.

Yes please

Loved being along for the ride on this one. Lots of turns to keep you in

An intriguing and surprising suspense to the end

I love Vanessa Lillie! I love how she can weave in a big murder mystery that her main character is somehow involved in. Her strong protagonists get involved to find out the answers. In For the Best, Juliette, the mead, is at the center of a murder as the mead suspect. She works to get to the answer of who killed her friend. As usual, Lillie has so many angles the story could go into, but surprising the reader with the truth at the end. I love a good mystery/suspense that I can’t guess and that surprises me. Lillie does just that.

I would give another ⭐️ , but....

First of all... to the narrator: bravo!! She probably made this book. I LOVE her voice, sarcasm and overall performance.

To the author: It was a somewhat creative storyline, and I love the touch of humor. The main character was so flawed, yet still likable. My biggest complaint is all of the political “undertones” (they weren’t really that ‘under’). That is Lillie’s prerogative and choice to make in her book, but I think most conservatives are tired of being portrayed as redneck idiots with extreme, selfish motives.

Enjoyed Listening

Really enjoyed all the twists and turns in this book. The idea of a parent passing alcoholism to a child is heartbreaking but so real. i had a hard time being sympathetic to the main character but I worked it out in the end. The narrator did a good job bringing the characters to life.

the ultimate unreliable narrator

This is an inventive murder mystery built around the perspective of a very unreliable - and often very unpleasant - narrator. For me, the most intense and interesting mystery is whether the protagonist will accept her own failings and learn how to stop making excuses and hiding in her vices.

The mystery itself is about a flawed but relatively decent person who has a profoundly good goal, and the confusion between who he is and what he wants.

The protagonist's alcoholism is front and center as the source of most of the twists. From the first lines, her drinking is the key complication in both her life and the story.

Generations of alcohol and death lead up to the mystery of the present.

The narrator does a good job portraying the brittle, glamorous, profoundly flawed character whose point of view shapes our experience of this story. Juliet and her compulsive behavior create a lot of ambiguity, and the further we go, the less we know what to believe.

Blaming a child for murder?

What the heck is wrong with people? The ending of this book is pure abuse. I’m beside myself with anger and upset over how this could possibly be.

Wow!!

Great book! A troubled women with a sad past searching for the truth when accused of a murder! Tragic and fantastic at the same time! Also loved the narration done by Teri Schnaubelt👌

Great story!

Great story to listen to while working -- I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who loves a mystery 😉

Just plain poorly written

Way too much internal monologue - self talk. When I read a suspense book I do not want to become an amateur psychologist. I want the story and multiple quality characters. Not in this book.