Sascha Rothchild

Blood Sugar by Sascha Rothchild is a 2022 G.P. Putnam’s Sons publication.

After her beloved husband, Jason, dies suddenly, Ruby finds herself being interrogated by a police detective who is positive she had something to do with Jason’s death…. After all, she seems to have an uncanny knack for being around when people die tragically….

This is a clever novel, which examines the various psychological levels of a criminal mind. Ruby’s choices are not premeditated, she merely takes show more advantage of a situation when it presents itself, and her actions are only aimed at those who are not exactly model citizens. She’s gotten away with murder several times, but now it looks like her luck may have run out…

A darkly humorous story that was both chilling and entertaining at the same time. Ruby is someone you can attach the anti-hero label on- but be careful- because she doesn’t fit into the usual slots. The story has a simple, and straightforward approach, with Ruby regaling us with how and why she committed murder, the various friendships and romantic entanglements she developed in her life and how she managed to find herself the number one suspect in her husband’s death.

There are more than a few big revelations along the way! Her narrative is nothing short of brilliant. She’ll have you right in the palm of your hand…. And you'll like her... and find yourself rooting for her!

My only complaint was with some of the content -and the language on occasion was too course for my personal taste, but overall...

This is an incredibly entertaining story, very well executed and it kept me glued to the pages from beginning to end.

4.5 stars show less

Ruby may be involved in more than one death …but they all deserved it. Yes, she may technically be a murderer but she’s not a sociopath, in fact, she’s a therapist. She understands and has felt both empathy and sympathy. She's had long-lasting emotionally investing relationships --- and she loves animals! Nope, definitely not a sociopath…
But now her husband Jason is dead and a detective with the Miami Beach PD is certain she’s involved. This is actually a death Ruby’s not show more responsible for and she’ll take readers on a journey through her past crimes to her present day to clear her name!
This could’ve easily been an average thriller but this was a quirky and fun read that had me flying through chapters with the entertainment value Ruby provided! show less

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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This is one of those books that grabbed my interest and then I immediately forgot about it for months. Thankfully, the library system here had it in their audiobook catalog where I stumbled on it. Knowing what I know about it now, I'm pretty annoyed that I took this long to get to it.

THE HOOK
The book opens with the protagonist/narrator in a police interrogation room. Ruby Simon is being questioned about her husband's death. She's show more innocent--100% guiltless--it's clear from the get-go, that she did not murder her husband.

But...there are three other people that Ruby has killed over the last couple of decades. She's never even been looked at as a suspect in these deaths--they'd previously been judged to be accidental, in fact.

But after death #4, it's hard to believe that with all this smoke, there might not be a fire.

WHAT COMES AFTER THE HOOK
The first part of the book focuses on the events in the interrogation room--the detective presses for details on these four deaths, and as Ruby dances around her answers, we get to see her life story in flashbacks. Her childhood (punctuated by a murder), her party days as a teen (punctuated by a murder), her college years and training as a psychologist (punctuated by a murder), and then her falling in love with her husband and beginning their life together (punctuated by his death by natural causes).

The rest of the book focuses on the legal battle that ensues--the investigation that follows, her eventual arrest, the decimation of her career and reputation that results, and the eventual resolution of it all.

CONFLICTING IMPULSES
Ruby is a completely horrible person, she's a murderer--and in two of the three cases, it's entirely unjustified. The motives behind those two are so...pointless is the best I can come up with. The third murder probably wasn't necessary, Ruby could've found a non-lethal solution to the situation--but you can understand and appreciate why she did it. She deserves to be behind bars (at least), she needs to be tried, convicted, and punished. It's the right thing.

And yet she's innocent here. She loved her husband, would never have killed him, and shouldn't be dragged through the mud over this. The reader/listener constantly finds themselves rooting for this character that in normal circumstances you want to be pursued by a dogged investigator.

It's similar to Dexter or Hannibal--with them, we embrace their homicidal acts and desires while rooting for them. There's part of you that wants Dexter to get away with it so he can take down another serial killer. A similar part of you wants Hannibal to slip away from custody because he's disturbingly charming. But it's different in Blood Sugar--we have an actual injustice, and we instinctually recoil from that and want her exonerated.

But...you can't get away from the injustice of her getting away with the other murders.

At the same time, you resent Detective Jackson for doing his job. He's absolutely wrong about Jason's death and shouldn't be in Ruby's life. But in any other book/series, we'd be rooting for him. He might as well be Harry Bosch or a similar character--he's got all these pieces before him and is assembling a case that's 75% correct. He's doing everything right, and has an actual killer in his sights--and you want him to fail. Not only that, you probably are angry with him and have some active distaste for him.

But if this book was told from his perspective? You'd love him and admire his ingenuity and intuitive leaps.

For a long-time reader of detective fiction, this is a great twist on the conventions.

RUBY'S ANTAGONIST
Someone has to be behind all her problems right? Det. Jackson isn't going to look into Jason's death without someone or something prompting him. Once you figure that out--which will probably happen before the actual reveal--it's delicious. This might be my favorite thing that Rothchild does in this book.

For a book that's full of confusing impulses for the reader, it's nice to have an adverse reaction to someone that's straightforward and uncomplicated.

A BRIEF THOUGHT ABOUT THE NARRATION
Ryan did a great job of this--she made Ruby Simon a human being. Her portrayal helps you identify and embrace Ruby as the innocent--with a shady past. You want to believe her when she says that she's not a sociopath.

There were a couple of scenes (with one of Ruby's patients in particular, and some involving Ruby's dog) where I was moved because of the narration. I don't know if they'd have been as effective (or affective) if I'd read the book, but with Ryan's work, I was absolutely gripped.

SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT BLOOD SUGAR?
I thought this was a great listen--a great experience.

I relished this approach to the story and characters, and the way you were forced time and time again to re-evaluate the characters, their actions, and your reactions to them.

Do I want a steady diet of this? No. Do I hope that a future Rothchild novel is either more conventional--or tweaks conventions in a different way? Absolutely. I can see Rothchild being a Lisa Lutz-type of writer. With stand-alones where you never know what you're going to get--other than some wry humor, deep characters, and an approach to Crime Fiction that you hadn't considered before.

I strongly recommend you pick this up in audio or print. show less

Is Ruby Simon a victim of unfortunate circumstances or a cold blooded serial killer?
“Blood Sugar” opens on the beach; a child is in peril, in a life and death struggle. Trauma follows. The old saying goes that where there is smoke, there is fire, and there is a lot of smoke around Ruby Simon. Ruby, 30, lives in Miami Beach, and police are interrogating her about a murderer. The police have photos of four people, and each photo has a story. These four people had at least two things in show more common; Ruby had contact with all four, and they are all dead. Just how many people did she kill? Is she, herself, a victim of the terrible, even unspeakable tragedies that happen around her?

“Blood Sugar” is Ruby Simon’s story, and she tells her story as a conversation with the reader, chatting as if talking to a friend, a confident, telling all, everything she wants no one else to know, and yet she has secrets that must be kept forever. She goes back and forth in time, transitioning smoothly, filling in details, making startling revelations, and posing unanswerable questions. Often past and present are contained in the same conversation. Ruby is organized and methodical. She has a syllabus for everything; she has control because she plans, and she takes precautions. Ruby unfolds her life to readers like a Picasso painting; it is a horrible disfiguring of the facts, but none of it is actually a lie. She tells a story, and then reflects on the why, the how, and the purpose. To her, life’s past events are spoiled milk; they just have to be thrown out. She does not tolerate the putrid smell of past bad actions.
I received a review copy of “Blood Sugar” from Sascha Rothchild, Penguin Publishing Group, and G.P. Putnam's Sons. It was not the book I was expecting, but I could not stop reading. It is fast-paced, and there is a surprise on every page.
“Blood Sugar” is now available in print, as an e-book, and on audio from independent bookstores, online booksellers, retail stores, public libraries and anywhere you get your books. show less