One of Publishers Weekly‘s Spring 2026 Writers to Watch
One of Publishers Marketplace’s “Buzz Books” Fiction for Spring/Summer 2026
One of Glamour‘s Best Book Club Books for 2026
One of Bustle‘s Best Books of March
One of Goodreads‘ Editors’ March Book Picks
One of CrimeReads‘ Best Psychological Thrillers of March
One of CrimeReads‘ Best Debuts of March
One of Daily Break‘s Best Books of March
One of BookBub‘s Best New TikTok Favorites
One of BookRiot‘s Must-read Queer Books of April
One of LitHub‘s Best Reviewed Books of the Week
One of Scary Mommy‘s Favorite Queer Books of 2026
One of New York Times Book Review‘s Most Anticipated Novels This Spring
One of Autostraddle‘s Most Anticipated Queer Books of March
One of Our Culture‘s Most Anticipated Books of Spring
“Acerbic, darkly feminine and very funny. . . . The whodunit mystery might drive the plot, but comedy is the irresistible force of this unwaveringly caustic novel. . . Hilarious. . . King tenderly touches the possibility of her character’s transformation without indulging it, or sacrificing the delightful demons that propel the story.” —New York Times Book Review
“I always love a slightly (or not-so-slightly) deranged woman anti-hero who demonstrates a modern absurdity and Kirsten King’s A Good Person deftly delivers. Through the journey of Lillian, a delulu narcissist who just wants to be loved, King skewers everything from modern dating to true crime. You won’t understand why Lillian makes the choices she does, but you will find yourself absurdly rooting for her by the end.” —Glamour
“[A] twisty, darkly comic tale of millennial self-delusion that plays out like if Lena Dunham wrote Search Party—and I can’t think of a book that has made me laugh harder in recent memory.” —Bustle
“King’s debut, with its deeply unreliable narrator and zigzagging plot, evokes a zillennial Gone Girl.” —New York Times Book Review
“[A] wickedly funny spiral into the mind of someone who insists she’s decent while proving otherwise at every turn . . . King leans hard into the comedy of narcissism, letting Lillian rationalize every terrible choice with astonishing confidence. Reading A Good Person is like watching a slow-motion disaster you can’t look away from. Or if Ottessa Moshfegh dabbled in murder. Almost too uncomfortably recognizable, the novel asks a deliciously awkward question: Who actually gets to call themselves a good person?” —Seattle Times
“Once you hop on this wild ride of a novel, you won’t want to get off . . . With tart prose that tastes like sour candy, Kirsten King’s debut is a home run. Commenting on everything from corporate culture to dating and gender roles, this novel had all the ingredients of a must-read.” —Marie Claire
“Who among us hasn’t spiraled after being blindsided by a breakup? In Kirsten King’s A Good Person, that notion is taken to the extreme . . . Expect a debut that’s part Fleabag, part Gone Girl.” —theSkimm
“Riveting. . . King drives the narrative with a style both lean and muscular and a tempo that keeps you avidly moving from one page to the next. It’s notable that King also writes for film and television. . . That experience may have honed the practice of taut pacing needed for a can’t-put-it-down thriller. It’s probably not a coincidence that bestselling authors of suspense novels, like Lee Child and Tim Sullivan, also had years of experience in television before turning to the written page. . . With Lillian, King has created a character who is convincingly disturbing, and places her in a world that smartly smudges the line between good and bad, aggressor and victim, real and unreal.” —WBUR.org
“Fans of unlikeable characters are going to fall head over heels for this insufferable lead. . . [A] fast-paced story of one unhinged woman trying to take back the narrative she believes she so desperately deserves. A Good Person is a wild ride and one that’s impossible to pull yourself away from.” —Bust
“This book was incredible. Kirsten King’s love-to-hate narrator thinks she’s found the perfect man, at least until he dumps her unceremoniously then turns up dead the next day . . . Who is a good person? What treatment do they get that allows them to remain that way? While the unlikeable female narrator has had its day as a trend, A Good Person reinvigorates the trope for a new era of complicated antiheroes ready to rage against the patriarchy.” —CrimeReads
“[A]n incredible thriller with an unreliable narrator that I quite literally could not put down until I finished it!” —The Nerd Daily
“[A] delicious feat of obsession and modern dating.” —Forbes.com
“Lillian is not likable. She’s not even reliable, and she’s far from pleasant to be around. Her psyche is a haunted house: too spooky to live there, but it’s a propulsive place to spend a brief stint. So unhinged, you can’t look away . . . King performs an admirable feat, immersing us in Lillian’s head while cluing us into her egotism through the mouths, reactions and choices of the supporting characters. Although Lillian’s narcissism intensifies her perceptions of the world, her unreliability begs a profound and relatable question: Can we really trust ourselves?” —Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
“I couldn’t put this book down . . . What ensues is such a fun, wild, delusional ride I started questioning my own sanity by the end. I can’t recommend it enough!” —The Strategist
“I usually can’t watch cringe comedy, but for some reason I couldn’t stop reading this book—peering through my fingers. It’s hilarious and the epitome of can’t-look-away-train-wreck.” —Katie Couric Media
“Through Lillian, Ms. King aptly captures the complex, contradictory nature of being young and vulnerable in our increasingly lonely age.” —Newcity Lit
“A Good Person explores the nature of human impulses at its most explosive states.” —The Johns Hopkins News-Letter
“This psychological thriller takes a familiar subject (a situationship gone wrong) and adds a deliciously dark, funny, and anxiety-inducing twist.” —The Newsette
“If you enjoy a spastically funny, deeply narcissistic and mind bogglingly delusional unreliable narrator, then Lillian is your girl . . . [A] fast, fun, twisted read that felt cinematic and kept up a consistently blended amusing/disturbing tone throughout. Though Lillian is an egotistical leech, I still found myself nodding along to some of her darkly astute observations and appreciated when she mocked performative progressive culture even as she giddily participated in it.” —The Rolling Ladder
“King explores the complexities of one’s internal world and external actions . . . It’s tragic at points, then emotional, conflicting, all while maintaining a sharp humor.” —V Magazine
“Magic, irony, relationships—if you liked [King’s] film Crush, you might like this too!” —Book and Film Globe
“A horrific delight.” —Bad on Paper
“Self-preservation is a blood sport for Kirsten King’s protagonist in A Good Person, a dark satire with cosmic twists. . . . King’s contemporary debut catapults readers into the “neurotic” psyche of one of modern literature’s most audacious narcissists and follows her through a series of mishaps that land her in the middle of a murder investigation . . . A screenwriter, King artfully spins a story that straddles pure comedy—particularly the dialogue between her protagonist and her equally self-absorbed mother—and the horror genre. Lillian, one realizes with mounting dread, has the makings of a true sociopath. Encountering multiple thrilling plot turns that throw Lillian’s world into disarray, A Good Person accelerates toward a brilliant finale as appalling as it is inevitable. . . . [An] artfully written dark satire.” —Shelf Awareness (starred review)
“Crime fiction with a liberal dash of black humour.” —Crime Fiction Lover
“[A] clever tale of a vengeful woman . . . King raises thought-provoking questions about performances of victimhood and the desire for justice, and the propulsive narrative careens through some surprising twists. It’s equal parts thrilling and chilling.” —Publishers Weekly
“A character-driven dark comedy, A Good Person balances outrageous behavior with biting humor and a compulsively readable voice. Recommended for readers who enjoy sharply funny, voice-driven fiction with morally complicated women at the center.” —Booklist
“Electrifying. A Good Person is a compulsively readable and sharply insightful spin on the unreliable narrator and an utterly fresh take on a page-turning thriller. I loved it.” —Kimberly McCreight, New York Times bestselling author of Like Mother, Like Daughter
“A Good Person is a laugh-out-loud, unflinchingly sharp thriller that’s unlike anything I’ve ever read before. An ode to unlikable female characters and the darkest, most honest parts of ourselves, this novel reads like a love letter to Amy Dunne of Gone Girl. In other words, it’s my dream book. I absolutely loved it.” —Olivia Muenter, USA Today bestselling author of Such a Bad Influence and Little One
“An enthusiastically deranged frolic of a novel, A Good Person is for readers who adore mess. I couldn’t get enough of Lillian’s voice, both disturbing and delightful, and felt so sorry for every character that crossed her path. Truly an enchanting debut from Kirsten King with a wink, a smile, and a swift kick in the ass. Loved!” —Rachel Koller Croft, USA Today bestselling author of Stone Cold Fox and We Love the Nightlife
“Wild, wicked, and laugh out loud funny. Lillian is a bad person, but Kirsten King is a GREAT writer.” —Sarah Harman, author of All the Other Mothers Hate Me
“I raced, cringing, through Kirsten King’s taut psychological thriller, compelled and repelled in equal measure by Lillian’s assured narration. After spending so much time in Lillian’s head, the reader starts to lose sight of what, exactly, makes ‘a good person.’ And that’s high praise.” —Laura Sims, author of How Can I Help You
“Sharp, hilarious, and painfully relatable, Kirsten King’s debut will keep you laughing as you turn each page. Lillian is the chaotic friend, the ex you still stalk, and the woman you claim to despise but still can’t stop following.” —Monika Kim, author of The Eyes Are the Best Part
“I stayed up way too late reading Kirsten King’s A Good Person. I could not put it down, had to know how it ended. Wow. Maybe Lillian is not your textbook definition of a good person, but I fell for her hard.” —Marcy Dermansky, author of Hot Air
“An unforgettable read, driven by a delightfully diabolical antiheroine whose antics are both terrifying and impressive. I gulped it down in two delirious sittings, gobsmacked by the twists and turns, and by Lillian’s dangerous self-delusion. But be warned: the most terrifying twist might be just how much Lillian reminds you of yourself in your darkest moments.” —Caitlin Barasch, author of A Novel Obsession
“I adored this deliciously acidic, addictive novel. Lillian is my favorite kind of heroine, interior, self-interested and dripping with venom. Her grotesque worldview is, in turn, funny, tragic, minutely observed and worryingly relatable. Poisonous, giddy, excruciating, delightful – an exceptional debut.” —Emma van Straaten, author of Creep
“A daring thrill ride into the dark corners of a troubled mind. . . . What starts as a hilarious zippy sugar high becomes a harrowing crash—I was…entranced, reading through my fingers but also never putting it down.” —Elizabeth Rose Quinn, author of Follow Me
“You’ll laugh, you’ll gasp, you’ll find it painfully relatable. A Good Person is delightfully dark, funny, and thought-provoking. I couldn’t put it down.” —Annakeara Stinson, author of forthcoming Nerve Damage
“King’s A Good Person is a ferocious, anxiety inducing, and hilarious debut. Lillian is an antiheroine for the ages and a brutal figurehead for the worst parts of gen z. The experience of reading her progressive downward spiral felt like a sustained panic attack. I audibly said “oh no” about every three pages. A mic drop of a debut.” —Caroline Glenn, author of forthcoming Cruelty Free
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