A Book A Week

In the early part of 2020, my husband and I decided it was finally time to start looking for a house. We’d been saving for years, and although we were excited at the prospect of becoming homeowners, we were also overwhelmed by the magnitude of it all. Fortunately, we ended up with the best-case scenario. We found the perfect place on our very first day of home tours, made an offer the next day, and closed just a few weeks later. The week after we moved in, the entire world shut down for the COVID-19 outbreak. We still can’t believe how lucky we were.

But for many, the journey to homeownership isn’t nearly so smooth. Bidding wars, soaring prices, impossible competition—buying a home has only grown more stressful in recent years. It’s that very pressure that inspired Marisa Kashino’s debut thriller, Best Offer Wins. So when her publisher offered me the chance to read the book, I was far too intrigued by the premise to say no.

Margo Miyake has spent years trying to build the perfect life. She’s got a great job as a publicist, and her husband Ian is smart, kind, and devoted—the perfect partner. But there are still a few pieces missing from the picture she’s trying so hard to complete. One is a child. Despite their best efforts, they haven’t been able to conceive. And of course, a baby won’t matter if they can’t get out of their cramped one-bedroom apartment. Finding the perfect home hasn’t been the challenge, but actually buying one has. After eighteen months and eleven lost bidding wars, the heartbreak feels never-ending.

Then Margo gets a tip about the perfect house in the perfect neighborhood, set to hit the market in one month. She drags Ian on a “just to look” drive-by and instantly falls in love. Naturally, she has to see the backyard. The tire swing beckons her closer. And when she’s spotted by one of the homeowners, caught in the act, she offers a harmless excuse and promises Ian she won't cross any more boundaries. Still, Margo can’t let this place go. It’s now or never, and she’s determined to make this house her own.

So what if she starts slipping into the lives of the couple preparing to sell it? Some might call it stalking; others, trespassing. But to Margo, it’s simply the game you have to play in today’s cutthroat housing market. As her obsession deepens, she becomes undeterred by normal boundaries. No act is too bold—or too inappropriate—if it means claiming the life she’s always dreamed of.

Best Offer Wins might just be the most over-the-top, propulsively readable thriller I’ve picked up this year. I alternated between reading the physical book and listening to Cia Court’s excellent audio narration, and I was equally enthralled in both formats. Kashino has written a thriller rooted in the stress and chaos of today’s housing market, pushing her protagonist just past the edge of sanity and polite society. And the remarkable thing is, we’re rooting for her the entire time.

As Margo buckles under the pressure of trying to conceive, trying to find the perfect house, and coping with that stress in increasingly disturbing ways, we can’t help but think, yeah… I get it. Good for her. Sure, there were a few moments when I had to roll my eyes at her choices, but even as the story shifts from clever satire to something darker and more twisted, I couldn’t look away. Best Offer Wins is a must-read thriller for our times and absolutely one of the best of the year.

For more information, visit Amazon and Goodreads. 

(2025, 93)