I really liked this book. It had parts of a legal thriller, but also well developed main characters, as well as side stories that tied in together. Would highly recommend!!

Such Good People is one of those rare novels that wraps you in beauty while quietly breaking your heart. At its essence, this book is about friendship and loyalty, but beneath this warmth lies a deeper exploration of justice and the ripple effects of split decisions. It’s the quiet, moral reckoning that haunts the reader even days after finishing the novel.


Amy Blumenfeld’s writing is graceful and emotionally intelligent. In her hands, grief and ethical complexities are given care and do not cross over into melodrama. Dual timelines and multiple points of view work seamlessly to create a cohesive story spanning more than a decade, marked by both love and sorrow. Blumenfeld taps into quiet, universal truths with a simplicity that makes the reader pause. In one instance, she asks: "How can a cataclysm for one human being be just another day in the life of someone else?". It’s a shared human experience she asks the reader to consider - those moments that completely change our lives while simultaneously feeling the world, somehow, just keeps on moving.

What struck me the most was how the central characters remain steady in their loyalty and love, even as their circumstances change. Their constancy creates an emotional throughline that the reader can depend on. There is one character whose evolution brings a subtle redemption arc to the narrative. But I’m still mad at them!

At first glance, the title Such Good People seems complementary. The phrase appears several times throughout the novel, and each time it takes on a more complicated meaning. What does it mean to be good? Is a good person defined by the intention or the outcome of their actions? Can loyalty, love, and ambition pull us into gray areas? And how do we behave when we find ourselves there? This beautiful book doesn’t offer easy answers, but it does invite deep, honest reflection.

Highly recommend this to readers who enjoyed An American Marriage by Tayari Jones, Commonwealth by Ann Patchett, Atonement by Ian McEwan, and of course, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.

A lovely, heart warmer of a novel as an antidote for these divisive times. Two families grapple with the repercussions of a single, devastating mistake. Good people do bad things for good cause and in this case, that good person is Rudy, who steps in to protect his best friend April from a violently aggressive man in a Manhattan bar. The consequences prove life-altering for everyone involved, including their families.

Rudy is sent to prison, thanks to a bombastic, politically motivated prosecutor who willingly manipulates the law, twisting the truth and ignoring vital facts. He's aided by a media hungry for ratings and complicit young journalists eager to advance their careers at any cost. Years later, when Rudy is finally acquitted and released, his world has been irrevocably altered—though the love of his family remains as strong as ever. April is now happily married with children, and her husband is a high-profile politician running for office. When her connection to Rudy threatens to be exposed in the media, April finds herself forced to choose between protecting her new life and the man who once saved her.

If you're a fan of This Is Us, Amy Blumenfeld's novel will feel like coming home. It's a warm, character-driven story that's tightly plotted and offers a compelling snapshot of decency, incompetence, and opportunism – all while celebrating the enduring power of family. The novel weaves together past and present as we follow April and Rudy from their earliest days as youngsters playing in their local park, through their journey as they grow up together, supporting and nurturing each other as platonic best friends, until that fateful night when April invites Rudy to her college event.

The characters throughout are expertly drawn, and the dialogue crackles with energy, maintaining a fine balance of tension, intrigue, and humor that keeps the pages turning.

I'll admit: I couldn't stop picturing Luigi Mangione as Rudy while reading – though perhaps that says more about our current cultural moment than the book itself.

📖 ARC Review 📖

PUB DATE: July 8th 2025

My Rating : ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️ 💫 3.5 Bittersweet Stars

Is this a story of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, or is this a story fuelled by jealousy?

Such Good People takes off quickly as April receives a disturbing phone call about the prison release of Rudy .

April can’t believe this is happening, just as her husband Is about to run for mayor , this is the worst time to receive this news .The tabloids 📰 are about to spread like wild fire digging up her past with Rudy and …the night if the incident that sent him to prison .

The story jumps back and forth between past and present and we have 3 narrators , all playing a big part in this story .

It is touching and yet made me angry at times with respect to some of the characters actions .

Like the saying goes the nice guy always finish last and I was rooting for Rudy from day one , but some people just have no luck at all no matter how nice they are .

As the author slowly toes the line leading up to the day April and Rudy’s world we’re turned upside down, we get glimpses and pieces into their past as kids together growing up and snippets of their current life .

Can April keep her emotions in check and keep the peace in her marriage after keeping this secret from her husband Peter , or will she crumble apart and lose everything she’s worked so hard for ?

You need to read this one for yourself to find out what happens .

I really think fans of Colleen Hoover , Mia Sheridan and Rebecca Yarros will gobble this one up 🖤

My only negative was it felt a little too drawn out and I had no real connection to any of the characters, but other than that I really liked it !

Thank you @netgalley , Sparkpress and Amy Blumenfeld for this poignant ARC !

This is a beautifully layered, emotionally charged novel that explores how one fateful night can ripple across decades, shaping lives, relationships, and the truths we choose to live with. With precision and empathy, the story moves between the thrill and recklessness of youth and adulthood's quiet, fragile stability, asking the reader to sit with hard questions about loyalty, justice, and the weight of buried history.

April is a compelling and complicated protagonist. Her journey—from an impulsive college freshman caught in the glare of scandal to a respected Chicago professional with a carefully curated life—is told with such authenticity that her dilemmas feel deeply personal. When the past reemerges in the form of Rudy’s parole, it’s not just a reckoning—it’s heartbreak, a test of conscience, and a collision of two very different kinds of love.

The writing is elegant and propulsive, with moments of quiet intensity that resonate long after the page is turned. The novel doesn’t shy away from moral ambiguity—Peter, Rudy, and even April are all rendered with complexity, inviting the reader to reconsider what it means to be “good constantly” and whether love always comes at a cost.

More than a domestic drama, Such Good People mediates the long shadows cast by the past, the choices we justify to protect our futures, and the people we carry with us, even when they no longer fit in the lives we’ve built.

The publisher provided ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Such Good People by Amy Blumenfeld ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 1/2

SparkPress
Pub Date: 7-8-25

Thanks to @netgalley, #sparkpress, and @amyblumenfeldauthor for the opportunity to read this eARC.

A story of deep connection, love, and loyalty that asks what defines family and what happens when a choice in favor of one person comes at the expense of another.

"We’ll go down together, I’ll wait for you were the exact words she’d said from atop the metal slide. Her promise became the foundation of their friendship as well as the invisible, invincible cord connecting them— a cord that extended between his apartment and her house, then stretched to Rivington University, and would now reach all the way to a prison in upstate New York. And it was then, as she slowly rose from her seat and stepped forward into this new chapter, that April made another promise— this time to herself. We may not be going down together right now, but I will wait for you."

Such Good People, was a true testament to friendship, and loyalty. I loved this book, it pained me a tad mild and perhaps more YA than I would have expected but the story line, and characters were absolutely a comfort and a joy to meet.

April and Rudy were best friends and neighbors growing up, both coming from middle/lower income families - their two families grew up together. April goes to college while Rudy stays back home. April is an aspiring journalist and invites Rudy to an event in the city. This night alters the rest of their lives. When April is approached by a belligerent man, Rudy politely tries to de-escalate the situation. A small pocket knife was involved, next thing you know - someone is dead, and Rudy is being sent to prison for murder.

Fifteen years go by, April is happily married with 3 kids to Peter who is running for office. The details of the past are brought up, and Peter's chance of winning are thrown for a loop.

This book was full of love, and family and really truly showed the sentiment of "but, they are such good people." We all know bad things happen to good people, and this book made me want to scream and cry at times. I believe this book will do really well once it hits the shelves.

Such Good People - Amy Blumenfield

(AD - Netgalley ARC)

Wow, this isn’t the sort of thing I’d normally read, kinda crime fictionesque, but I requested it on Netgalley as it sounded really interesting, and it blew me away.

I was shocked by how much this story gut punched me. It follows the lives of Rudy, and April. Two childhood best friends, and their very, very different lives as adults, all resulting from one fateful night.

The detail that was threaded into this story was spectacular, the nuance and the layers were incredible.

Was really shocked me was just how realistic it was. We’ve all heard stories of wrongful incarceration, we’ve all heard of people being unfairly put away for years due to the fact their skin was a different colour, or they came from a different social class, or live on a certain street.

It gave me strong To Kill a Mockingbird vibes in a way, plus the main FMC did name one of her kids after Atticus Finch!

There was a really strong theme of social justice, and righting wrongs, and I enjoyed the fact the chapters varied between different characters perspectives.

I found this whole thing a really powerful, incredible read that I’m sure will stay with me for a while. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Pub date - July 8, 2025

Blumenfeld weaves a poignant tale of true friendship in the face of adversity, showcasing the transformative power of unwavering love and the strength of never giving up on those you care about.

I’m really sorry this book may of been better if it wasn’t for all the grammar errors. Run on sentences, paragraphs starting in the middle of a sentence. I wanted to like this book Soo much, I plugged through. It was hard to follow the story due to all the grammar errors!!!!

This is your classic "When Bad Things Happen to Good People" trope. Alice & Rudy have been best friends since they met on the playground in elementary school. Their ideal little world changes in one night, when as teenagers, Alice was being harassed at a bar by a drunken man and Rudy pulls out his Swiss Army knife to get the man to back off. While it is never clear whether Rudy actually stabbed him or the cut that the drunk man incurred was through their struggle, the man ends up dying the next day. I never quite believed that the man died from just being stabbed in the arm, but Rudy ends up being arrested for murder. And here begins the legal representation for each person...the drunk man who came from a wealthy, to-do family and Rudy, whose family was struggling to make ends meet. We can see the disparity from the get-go. Rudy takes a plea deal as recommended by his attorney and spends 13 years in prison for what I think was a questionable conviction. Over the years, various people have their consciences pulled in different directions over the handling of the whole situation. We see how the media comes in to play and how things get turned upside down in a hot minute. I found all of the characters to be well-developed and the story to be quite engaging.

Many thanks to NetGalley & SparkPress for an advanced eARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinions.

I impulsively requested this book, and I’m thrilled I did!

I adore intricate family sagas with well-developed characters. The enduring friendship between April and Rudy, nurtured over years, was captivating to read about. I also appreciated the engaging pace and the clever use of dual timelines.

I highly recommend picking up this book!

Such Good People
By Amy Blumenfeld
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Couldn’t Put It Down!
From the very first page, I was hooked. I’m not sure if it was the unique writing style, the unusual plot, or a mix of both—but I read this book in under 24 hours. When I wasn’t reading, I was thinking about it. It felt so vivid and immersive that I kept forgetting it wasn’t a TV show. Honestly, it needs to be made into a mini-series—I’d watch it in a heartbeat.
The story masterfully explores the blurred lines between right and wrong, and how easily the media can twist reality into something dramatic yet barely truthful. It also shows how those distortions don’t just affect the people in the spotlight, but ripple out to impact everyone connected to them. A powerful, thought-provoking read that stays with you long after the last page.

This book could be great! The character development is a little slow with a lot of back and forth. I had it figured out from the beginning…. My biggest complaint is that I have never had to use a thesaurus more in my life. This book had so many words that I have never heard of before and actually had to look them up. Over all I enjoyed it. I would change some things regarding wording….and the back and forth…

Amy Blumenfeld, Such Good People, Spark Press, July 2025.

Thank you, NetGalley, for providing me with this uncorrected proof for review.

April and Rudy become childhood friends, and their families replicate this closeness. April and Rudy’s lives take different paths as young adults, but they and their families remain close. When April invites Rudy to join her at a college event the result is disastrous. Rudy prevents her being assaulted by another guest who later dies. Rudy is arrested and jailed. April moves on, marrying and having a family. One focus of the novel celebrates the closeness that the families maintain despite these changes. Another is Rudy’s release from prison and the impact it has on April, her husband and children, and less immediately, the journalist who was also present at the college event.

Although I finished this book, there were times that the language really grated, and I was tempted to stop reading. For example, ‘tresses’ for hair, ‘atop’ on occasions when a simple ‘on’ would do, and ‘pertain’ instead of ‘about.’ At times April’s responses were also jarring. She is introduced as the wife of an aspiring politician, but when a journalist phones, rather than query the reason, she provides a host of information about herself, her husband, family, and their activities. This seems more in keeping with the young student about whose past the journalist is calling rather than a mature woman in a political world. April continues to make unrealistic choices, demonstrating her care and concern for her childhood friend Rudy, but at times overlooking her current responsibilities. On the positive side, telling the story from April’s, Rudy’s and Jillian’s perspectives helps with characterisation, develops a story line that demonstrates the importance and depth of the childhood friendship, and its continuation into young adulthood, as well offering reasons for as Jillian’s complicated reactions to events.

Although they have serious repercussions the legal matters are dealt with quite briefly, and rightly so. This novel is about how individuals can use and abuse (or be abused by) the legal process rather than the process itself. This device thrusts the novel firmly in the direction of exploring relationships, a valid choice and reasonably well executed. Although I found flaws, the novel does effect what it aims at doing: showing the importance of loyalty and family ties that extend beyond the biological family. That the decency demonstrated by Rudy and attested to in information to the judge could not overcome the shortcomings of individuals in the legal system, again demonstrates the importance Blumenfeld gives the role of continuing friendship and loyalty. In concentrating on these aspects Blumenfeld ensures that Such Good People achieves its purpose.

Such Great People - appropriate title for a book full of…such great people. I loved every character (except a couple, for obvious reasons). There was so much depth to everyone, and the portrayal of the struggles everyone went through felt entirely realistic and thoughtful. My heart ached for everyone, especially knowing that this exact injustice affects so many in real life. The author was so sensitive to everyone’s experiences and I really enjoyed this one!

4.25 stars.

Two best friends - a boy, Rudy, and a girl, April - and just best friends only - meet up because they hadn't seen each other for a while and she was in town. A small fight breaks out amongst Rudy and another guy at the bar and the guy at the bar ends up dead.

The pros: I really liked the way this story was told in different perspectives from different people.
Absolutely loved that friendships this strong exist and are in fact so pure. Loved the writing style and loved how so many people surrounded Rudy with love.

The cons: Still unanswered questions - Jillian not admitting the role she played? Hard to believe no one stepped in to help Rudy go thru this process. Also, made me sad/mad that this probably happens far too often to people who don't either have the resources or the counsel to help them.

A wonderfully written book that explores the criminal justice system and the role we all play in it - whether we choose to ignore it or choose to instead treat people with dignity - it's a choice we all make. I really liked that this was really two very ordinary families who get drawn into a nightmare.

Thank you to NetGalley, Amy Blumenfeld and Spark Press for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
first, a big thanks to Netgalley and Sparkpress
for the opportunity to read this arc.
Such Good People was a rollercoaster start to finish. i loved the familial bonds everyone seemed to have with one another and the back and forth time difference. there were characters you love to hate and shocking moments and plot twists all throughout. i do wish some characters had more page time or deeper backstories but overall, it ended up being an amazing read.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

I think this novel was pretty decent. To be warned, it is way more character-driven than plot-driven. I really did enjoy exploring the complexities of the main characters and their relationships to one another or others. I think it was well-written and really placed you into the minds and lives of the characters. I liked seeing their three-dimensionality. While the characters were fantastic, I will say there was a lack in terms of plot. I would have liked to see more of that. If you love character-heavy books, this would be for you.

Overall, 3.5 stars!

I absolutely loved this book. Definitely. One of my top 5 reads of the year so far. I will be recommending it to all of my reader friends.