Name: Geoffrey Froggatt's review of Blood Sugar by Sascha Rothchild
Item: Blood Sugar
Rating: 4
Author: Geoffrey Froggatt

Sascha Rothchild

An utterly delicious debut thriller that tells the story of the most likable murderess you will ever meet, perfect for fans of Riley Sager and Jessica Knoll. “I could just kill you right now!” It’s something we’ve all thought at one time or another. But Ruby has actually acted on it. Three times, to be exact. Though she may be a murderer, Ruby is not a sociopath. She is an animal-loving therapist with a thriving practice. She’s felt empathy and sympathy. She’s had long-lasting friendships and relationships, and has a husband, Jason, whom she adores. But the homicide detectives at Miami Beach PD are not convinced of her happy marriage. When we meet Ruby, she is in a police interrogation room, being accused of Jason’s murder. Which, ironically, is one murder that she did not commit, though a scandal-obsessed public believes differently. As she undergoes questioning, Ruby’s mind races back to all the details of her life that led her to this exact moment, and to the three dead bodies in her wake. Because though she may not have killed her husband, Ruby certainly isn’t innocent. Alternating between Ruby’s memories of her past crimes and her present-day fight to clear her name, Blood Sugar is a twisty, clever debut with an unforgettable protagonist who you can’t help but root for—an addicting mixture of sour and sweet.

Blood Sugar

Genesis (@whisperingchapters)

Geoffrey Froggatt

“I thought about all the flowers he had given me over the years. How there is always an end to things. No matter how long the flowers stayed fresh, they always seemed to die too soon. I suppose the moment they were cut from their stems they were already dead and, like me in happier times, were just reveling in the beauty of their slow decay.” 

Dark female characters and killer protagonists are two of my favourite tropes in storytelling, and this book has both in spades. Though she may be a murderer, Ruby is not a sociopath. She is an animal-loving therapist with a thriving practice. She's felt empathy and sympathy. She's had long-lasting friendships and relationships, and has a husband, Jason, whom she adores. But the homicide detectives at Miami Beach PD are not convinced of her happy marriage. When we meet Ruby, she is in a police interrogation room, being accused of Jason's murder. Which, ironically, is one murder that she did not commit, though a scandal-obsessed public believes differently. As she undergoes questioning, Ruby's mind races back to all the details of her life that led her to this exact moment, and to the three dead bodies in her wake. Because though she may not have killed her husband, Ruby certainly isn't innocent. Alternating between Ruby's memories of her past crimes and her present-day fight to clear her name, Blood Sugar is a twisty, clever debut with an unforgettable protagonist who you can't help but root for. It's a character study of a woman who takes the opportunity presented to her to dispel the world of people she deems to be a menace. I loved the small details in this book because they made the characters feel like real human beings and not caricatures in a cheap thriller novel. I loved the first person narration style and how it kept the reader close to the protagonist in an intimate way. Had the author chose to write in third person narration, I don’t think I would have connected with the protagonist as fast as I did. I love characters with psychopathic tendencies, especially when the story explores psychopathy in a way that isn’t cartoonish like most mainstream stories. I loved the pieces of the story that depicted Ruby’s attempts at navigating social cues and norms knowing that she’s different from most of the world. I loved how the author crafted their words and how they made me care about this complicated protagonist and her world. I loved how the protagonist’s diabetes fit the story and didn’t feel like a shoehorned gimmick the way that many other thriller authors would have made it. I went into this book wanting and expecting a big plot twist towards the end, but the book didn’t deliver one, and I was surprisingly happy with it anyway. This book unfolded more like a character study than a thriller/mystery. I loved how the author chose to explore the protagonist’s character and story and I loved how the secondary characters felt real and alive. This was a surprising novel as it didn’t turn out the way that I expected or wanted, but somehow it ended up being even more satisfying. I highly recommend this for readers who feel burnt out by typical thriller formulas.

Denaiir

Loves this one! Ruby is a murderer, but not a cold-hearted murderer. Her sotry is compelling, I was rooting for her the whole time, I was on the edge of my seat!
For once it was great to have the whole unreliable/unlikeable narrator turned on its head. Ruby is extremely relatable and likeable, she is a sensitive person, she narrates the story the way it is. SO refreshing! 
And as the wife of a type-1 diabetic, I related to this story so much, I loved that part of the plot.
Roman's schemes and very no-nonsense personality was also quite catchy, and I ended up liking all the good guys and hating all the bad guys, so it was a nice change from all these overrated tropes. 
LOVED this one and will definitely keep Sascha Rothchild on my radar

Abigail Joyann

5 stars

  Thank you Penguin Publishing Group & NG for this ARC! This will be published April 19th, 2022.


Although she is in fact a murderer—she didn't kill her husband! I was hooked from the get-go, flipping through the pages faster than ever.

Unlike most killers, Ruby loves, sympathizes, experiences grief, and acknowledges all aspects of life and the chaos it puts people through. However, she very much dislikes bad, grouchy, evil people who diminish and steal people's sunshine and happiness away through torment. She has killed three people with these characteristics, starting at age five. Attending university for psychology, Ruby became a thriving therapist, working through her clientele's daily struggles, forming strong relationships, and would never hurt a hair or feather on an animal. She can't be a psychopath!

The story begins with the accounts of Ruby's first murder then swiftly moving us to the interrogation room where the detective is accusing her or rather questioning her of murdering her husband. She didn't kill Jason, and that is laughable at best. She can't think of a single reason as to why she would—she was deeply in love with him. From there, we follow along through the interrogation while Ruby recounts all of her past murders and the life events surrounding them. She knows that she isn't a saint, but is she in the clear enough to be proven innocent of a crime she didn't commit? That's when all the past deaths within her vicinity start to be questioned and the struggle to keep cool, stay undetected, and clear her name begins.

Incredible, gripping, and exceedingly entertaining debut by Rothchild. Couldn't recommend this read anymore!

Psychologist and psychopath, Ruby is not your average Millennial. When Ruby was a child growing up in Miami, she saw a boy her age struggling against the ocean waves while his parents were preoccupied. Instead of helping him, Ruby dove under the water and held his ankle down until he drowned. She waited to feel guilty for it, but she never did. And, as Ruby will argue in her senior thesis while studying psychology at Yale, guilt is sort of like eating ice cream while on a diet - if you're already feeling guilty why not eat the whole carton? And so, the bodies start to stack up. Twenty-five years later, Ruby's in an interrogation room under suspicion of murder and being shown four photographs. Each is a person she once knew, now deceased. The line-up includes her husband Jason. She is responsible for three of the four deaths... but it might be the crime that she is innocent of that will finally ensnare her.

Genesis (@whisperingchapters) &
Blood Sugar by Sascha Rothchild

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Genesis (@whisperingchapters) &Blood Sugar by Sascha Rothchild

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Join the club

Genesis (@whisperingchapters) &
Blood Sugar by Sascha Rothchild