Not What She Seems
Yasmin Angoe
Thomas & Mercer
August 1 st , 2024
Not What She Seems by Yasmin Angoe is a very suspenseful domestic thriller that will keep
readers on their toes.
The plot has the heroine, Jac Brodie, leaving home when she was twenty-two years old. She
comes back after a family tragedy, where she must confront her tortured past―and a new
danger in town that no one seems to understand but her.
After years of self-exile, Jacinda “Jac” Brodie is back in Brook Haven, South Carolina. But the
small cliffside town no longer feels like home. Jac hasn’t been there since the beloved chief of
police, her dad, fell to his death―and all the whispers said she was to blame.
Racked with guilt, Jac left town and had no plans to return. But when her granddad lands in the
hospital, she rushes back to her family, bracing herself to confront the past.
Brook Haven feels different now. Wealthy newcomer Faye Arden has transformed the
notorious Moor Manor into a quaint country inn. Jac’s convinced something sinister lurks
beneath Faye’s perfect exterior, yet the whole town fawns over their charismatic new
benefactor. And when Jac discovers one of her granddad’s prized possessions in Faye’s office,
she knows she must be right.
But as Jac continues to dig, she stumbles upon dangerous truths that hit too close to home.
With not only her life but also her family’s safety on the line, Jac discovers that confronting the
truth is very dangerous.
This is an excellent read with fast-paced action, jaw-dropping plot twists, and flawed but likable
characters.
Elise Cooper: How did you get the idea for the story and is this a series?
Yasmin Angoe: Currently I plan on this being a one and done stand-alone, although if
my publisher wants, I can write more books. I really wanted to write a domestic thriller
that is intimate and set in the same state I live in. The focus of the story is how people
do not really know who others really are. I hope readers saw this as a cat and mouse
type of story.
EC: Was is based on anything?
YA: A modernized version of “The Spider and The Fly.” What happens when people are
unmasked.
EC: What was said about the heart pacemaker, is it true?
YA: I asked my cardiologist. I am one of the few younger people that have problems. I
wanted to know what would happen if, and could it happen. I thought about having the
granddad with a pacemaker. It is not easy, but if the laser is continually applied to that
exact spot, it could make it malfunction.
EC: What was the role of the grandfather?
YA: He was the catalyst for the heroine, Jac. Until he was harmed, she did not have a
purpose or something to fight for. He was a way for her to work on her own issues by
focusing on what happened to him. She wanted to make up for all those years of
running away and not facing her own reality.
EC: Beyond that do you think he served as her mentor?
YA: Yes. He called her Junior Dick, as in detective. He taught her things. He always
held her together.
EC: How would you describe Jac?
YA: Jac is reckless and is all over the place. She runs from her problems and does not
face them. She acts before thinking, which gets her in a lot of trouble.
EC: Is Sawyer Jac’s opposite?
YA: Probably. She is Jac’s good friend. She has a good family life. She is happy and
self-assured. She is not coming from a place of loss and hurt like Jac is. Sawyer is
more carefree and does not have baggage.
EC: What is the relationship between Sawyer and Jac?
YA: Jac trusts Sawyer completely. She is Jac’s safe place. Jac knows Sawyer is not
going to judge her.
EC: Can you explain the quote about USC, which was hilarious?
YA: You mean the one, “USC, the University of South Carolina, the real USC, not the
one in California.” I had to do it. Remember the book is set in South Carolina. When I
moved here, I now live about ten minutes from USC. Everyone is serious about
supporting either USC or Clemson. If someone says USC, meaning the SO CAL one,
people will hate them for life. They feel they are the real USC, because it comes first.
EC: What about the other quote, that refers to people who want to be liked and
might try too hard?
YA: A lot of people are like this these days. It seems they do not have their own mind.
People do not have to go along to get along. This could apply to most of the characters
in the book. For example, Jac’s mom tried to mold her two daughters into what she
thought a Southern lady should be. Jac rebelled against this. She wants to be different,
which is why she was known as the “wild Brodie girl.”
EC: How would you describe one of the characters, Faye?
YA: She does not really want to go along to get along. But she does do it when she
needs it to further her goals. Then she goes back to what she really wants to be after
convincing others. She pushes people, does not like to leave loose ends, and fakes
apologies. She has two faces: innocent, bubbly versus coy and unfriendly. The title
comes into play because the story shows how most of the characters did have two
faces. Faye has it to the extreme.
EC: Do you think Jac has two faces?
YA: No. This is problematic for her. The town is OK with people having two faces.
People like to deal with others who are complacent, nice, and do not create any worries.
Jac wants to be accepted for who she is: not a girly girl. Jac can see through Faye and
does not take her at face value. As the story goes on Jac realizes she is responsible,
thoughtful, and perceptive.
EC: In the beginning of the book readers are unsure of Jac?
YA: Yes. Jac had a lot of issues with the town and herself. The readers do not know
what happened between Jac and her dad’s death. I wanted the reader to be on the ride
with Jac. At first, Jac sees herself as a loser who cannot do anything right. This might
make her unreliable in the beginning until her whole truth comes out.
EC: Next book?
YA: It is coming out in December 2025. I am working it on currently. It will be a
revenge story. It will deal with complicated families.
THANK YOU!!
