Book Review – This Story Might Save Your Life

This Story Might Save Your Life by Tiffany Crum
Narrator: Julia Whelan, Sean Patrick Hopkins
Published by FLatiron Books, Macmillan on March 10, 2026
Length: 10 hours 39 minutes
Genres: Mystery, Suspense, Thriller
Pages: 368
Format: ARC, Audiobook
Source: Netgalley
Goodreads

Benny Abbott and Joy Moore host one of the most beloved podcasts in the world. Each week, they delight listeners with a different “against all odds” survival story, gleefully finding the weird, life-affirming humor in near-death experiences. Since their first episode on Joy’s experience with severe narcolepsy, they’ve been the best friends everyone wants to befriend—and thanks to the meticulous management of Joy’s husband, Xander, they’ve built a lucrative empire.
The problem is, their next survival story may be their own. When Benny arrives at Joy and Xander’s one morning to record, he finds shattered glass and an empty house. The one clue shedding light on the couple’s disappearance is the incomplete, previously unseen first draft of Joy’s memoir. Benny will stop at nothing to find them, even as the police zero in on him as their prime suspect.
Millions of devoted listeners think they know the “real” Benny and Joy. But as the hours tick by, and the odds seem increasingly stacked against Joy and Xander being found alive, not even the most devoted fans could guess the terrible secrets their favorite famous BFFs have hidden from the world—and from each other.

Julie’s Review of This Story Might Save Your Life: 

This book was a ride! It’s a combination of a podcast, a memoir, a murder mystery, and a best-friends’ love story, with Happy Days references and pets! While I personally am not a huge podcast consumer, I loved the banter and friendship the most.

The audio is fabulous! I already love Julia Whelan, and the combined dual/duet narration between Sean Patrick Hopkins and Julia Whelan is so good! In fact, I jumped at the ALC from Netgalley when I saw Julia Whelan was the narrator before I even read the blurb. Say less. They really make the characters lovable and relatable, and make us want to be their friends. The audio includes actual podcast clips, making it so much more enjoyable. The voices were so well done, and everyone had their own tone and personality.

The story unfolds, switching POV chapters between best friends Benny and Joy, as Benny tries to find his missing best friend and Joy tells the story of how she got into her predicament via a secret memoir draft. I have mixed feelings about Joy and some of her decision-making, but I loved Benny. He’s just a great guy who carries so much guilt and shame over his past that he seems to delay or sabotage his own happiness. I hated everything he went through, wondering what happened to his best friend during her disappearance. Joy, while annoying me with her secrecy, was also a well-developed character, and her narcolepsy was almost a character in its own right, too.

With ride-or-die friends, spouses who may not be who they seem, and so many secrets, this book is both exciting and endearing. The book combines genres mystery/thriller and rom-com and keeps you interested the entire time. And one important point that may help save your life? Good friends help you move, but great friends help you move bodies.

An amazing debut! Solid 4.5 stars rolled up to 5. Check your triggers, though.

Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for an ALC of This Story Might Save Your Life by Tiffany Crum.

 

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Lynn’s Review:

Thank you Julie for recommending and Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for an ALC of This Story Might Save Your Life by Tiffany Crum.

Brilliant. Amazing. All the positive synonyms. Could not stop listening. No notes. Masterful plotting. Empathetic characters. I had NO IDEA who the killer was. No. Idea. Even Julie mentioned it offhand. Trust no one. Yeah – that’s totally true! I did not know who to trust the whole time! See above comment on could not stop listening! 

As an ardant podcast listener, I’d totally listen to TSMSYL as a podcast. Funny. Heartfelt. Love the interactions between the hosts. Plus learning stuff like how to survive being swallowed by a whale. Even the bonus podcast episode at the end of the audiobook!

Let’s do plot: Loved the format. Duel narration between Benny and Joy. With the beginning of the novel being current story (Benny) and past\background to their relationship (Joy). Then, when we catch up to ‘today’, we still follow both characters, but get that live, visceral, reaction from Benny wondering where Joy is. Then Joy is * no spoilers!* not having a good time of it. Every chapter brings them closer together. But still so far apart. I do think what I loved most about the plot is that what happened factor that isn’t revealed until the very end. I needed to know the what, how, and why. And Tiffany Crum masterfully laid out the story arc to keep me listening. Learned a bunch about narcalepsy, too, which is a topic I knew nothing about. Also loved the Happy Days references! 

Let’s do characters: Benny is marvelous. Funny. Lovable. That best friend who is always there for you. Joy, the one with the narcolepsy, is sometimes only barely keeping it together. But other times so on top of it, she’s ahead of the rest of us. That friendship between Benny and Joy is the heart of the story. The secondayh characters, from the cops to other family members to neighbors are certaining supporting characters, but not in a negative connotation. They are there helping the story, even to the point as gasping at some revelations and secrets. 

Let’s do narration: Whelan’s and Hopkins’s narrations were on point, reading the parts of Joy and Benny, respectfully. The narration really enhanced my enjoyment of the story. No issues with distinguishing the different characters. Both narrators have enough books under their belts that the professionalism shows in the emotional connections to the characters I built as a listener. 

Highly recommended. Run out and get this one now! 

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