Kirkus
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A desperate woman devises a killer strategy for snagging the home of her dreams. After losing 11 bidding wars, Margo Miyake goes full-onFatal Attraction in a knockout debut novel that sets the pace for domestic suspense set in the world of competitive home-buying. Margo, 37, isn’t even close to achieving her life goals, namely having a baby—she’s struggling with infertility—and buying a seven-figure home in a tony suburb of Washington, D.C. When she discovers that the perfect house will soon go up for sale, she decides she’ll get her hands on the place before it hits the market—no matter what. If that means infiltrating the lives of the current owners, then lying and blackmailing her way to closing the deal, she’s braced for battle. Fueled by nuclear-hot rage and frustration, Margo becomes the walking, talking nightmare the owners never saw coming, and neither do the people she uses and throws away in order to buy that house. Author Kashino, a longtime journalist who covered the real estate market for theWashington Post andWashingtonian magazine, has created in Margo a character as vicious and conniving as the jilted lover played by Glenn Close inFatal Attraction. The novel is wonderfully inventive, and readers will marvel at the workings of Margo’s devious mind as she claws her way into a brick colonial-style home whose wide-plank oak floors and Carrara marble countertops she’s ready to kill for. Behind the closed doors of the perfect dream home, Kashino paints a gimlet-eyed portrait of the allure of status and the greed for material wealth that turns at least one woman into a predatory monster. Deliciously dark and twistedly funny. Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Library Journal
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DEBUT Former journalist Kashino's first novel is a sharp, emotionally charged take on the real-estate rat race, blending millennial anxieties with biting humor. After being outbid numerous times in her Washington, DC, house hunt, publicist Margo Miyake is getting desperate, as she's certain that the only way to get her life back on track is to trade in her and her husband's cramped apartment for a larger house. Soon she is entangled in an increasingly absurd bidding war and engaging in stalker-like behavior, all in the name of finding her dream home. The result is both hilariously chaotic and surprisingly resonant. From the first chapter, the story hooks readers with its sharp premise and a protagonist whose unfiltered internal dialogue is equal parts outrageous and relatable. Though the novel's pacing lags occasionally, Kashino's talent lies in capturing the emotional weight that can be attached to something as seemingly ordinary as a house. The novel balances its satirical edge with a deep understanding of modern desperation—particularly around housing, identity, and stability—making it a fun and compelling read. VERDICT A strong pick for fans of contemporary fiction with humor, heart, and a hint of chaos. Recommended for collections where character-driven, voice-forward fiction circulates well.—Jenna LaBollita

Publishers Weekly
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Former Washington Post reporter Kashino debuts with a wicked satirical thriller about the cutthroat world of Washington, D.C., area real estate. PR executive Margo Miyake and her husband, EPA lawyer Ian, are on the hunt for a house in a “godforsaken market” where bidding wars leave hopeful homeowners grasping at straws. Determined to leave the couple’s ugly rental apartment and start a family, Margo becomes increasingly unhinged in her pursuit of a house that hasn’t yet hit the market. She stalks the owners, Jack and Curtis, first on the internet, then in real life, sidling up to Jack in a yoga class and launching a charm offensive that backfires in an awkward, ugly dinner scene that ends with the couple’s permanent blacklisting. Margo’s escalating fertility troubles ratchet up her self-imposed pressure to find the perfect home, the relentless pursuit of which strains her marriage and pushes Margo to violence. Kashino’s description of Margo’s economically precarious childhood offers superficial insight into her motivations, but the character’s eventual swerve into monstrosity feels under-motivated. Still, this darkly comedic novel of millennial anxieties will likely strike an uncomfortable chord with readers under 40. Agents: Meredith Miller and Ethan Schlatter, UTA. (Nov.)