May 21, 2026

Hi, friend!

Welcome back to Worth the Read!

Today, I’m excited to share a Q&A with Jaclyn Goldis, author of The Chateau, The Main Character, The Safari, and June’s upcoming thriller, The Last Time We Saw Her! If you’re a fan of beautiful settings and rich people behaving badly, you’re probably familiar with Goldis. And if you haven’t read her work before, I’m overjoyed that I get to be the one to introduce you to her.

Here’s the thing—I love the twists, high stakes, and fast pace the thriller genre demands, but, more than anything, I want to be entertained. And this is why I enjoy Goldis’s novels so much—they’re really engaging. Her books are as much about gorgeous locations, complicated group dynamics, and larger social issues as they are about gasp-inducing surprises. Her writing is smart and sharp, and she’ll keep you guessing until the end.

Basically, Goldis writes the kind of dishy thrillers that pool days, long flights, and holiday weekends (ahem, like this weekend) call for.

I got to ask her all about her upcoming novel (which you can pre-order below), how she found her way to writing, and what advice she has for anyone who dreams of picking up a pen. Enjoy!

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Q&A with Jaclyn Goldis, author of The Last Time We Saw Her

Credit: Shai Hansav

Jaclyn Goldis is a graduate of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and NYU School of Law. She practiced estate planning law at a large Chicago firm for seven years before leaving her job to travel the world and write novels. After culling her possessions into only what would fit in a backpack, she traveled for over a year until settling near the beach, where she can often be found writing from cafés. She is the author of The Chateau, The Main Character, The Safari, and The Last Time We Saw Her.

The Last Time We Saw Her

Out 6/16

Ten years after a teen camper vanished during a deadly treasure hunt on a remote Azores island, her close circle reunites to film a documentary. As they retrace their old haunts in paradise, however, they’ll uncover secrets someone is still willing to kill for.

Pre-order now

Genevieve Nierman: What inspired the story behind The Last Time We Saw Her, and where did the idea first begin for you?

Jaclyn Goldis: A strong sense of place underlies all of my books. Not only do I live abroad, but my father is an immigrant; I grew up with reverence and awe for other cultures and places. My previous thrillers were set at a chateau in Provence, an Italian Orient Express train trip, and a safari in South Africa. For this book, I felt drawn to an island setting. When I began to research, the Azores islands—with their deeply remote location in the middle of the Atlantic and enticing Portuguese culture—leapt out at me. An idea began circulating in my head about a young adult camping trip in which one of the campers disappears, and an ill-fated reunion a decade later of the rest of the now adult friends. Add in a hunt for buried treasure, too! All of these threads ultimately interlocked explosively together.

GN: Your books often pair glamorous settings with dark secrets, and this novel—set in the Azores—is no exception. What keeps drawing you to that contrast?

JG: Rich people behaving badly is a trope I unabashedly adore. And there is something about an exotic place of staggering beauty that makes the darkness land with heightened contrast. An exclusive hotel on the Azores—volcanic, lush, isolated, raw—felt like a delicious spot to unspool festering evil.

GN: You’re known for creating deliciously layered group dynamics. What’s your approach to building an ensemble cast where everyone has something to hide?

JG: Some characters pop into my head fully formed, and others need more teasing out. But secrets create an interesting geometry that ultimately dictates allegiances, feuds, and betrayals. Once I figure out what each character is hiding and from whom, the geometries begin to intersect in ways that I don’t always plan. In this way, plotting a thriller with an ensemble cast sometimes feels like I am a puppet master, and other times like the characters are pulling me in a direction I would never have foreseen.

GN: Which character surprised you the most while writing this novel? Did anyone become more sympathetic—or more dangerous—than you originally expected?

JG: It’s very difficult to answer this without giving away any spoilers. But I will say that Sydney—from the onset, our missing girl—surprised me. She’s undeniably complex, both dangerous and sympathetic, and writing her especially took me back to my own emotionally heightened teen years.

GN: How do you balance shocking twists with emotionally grounded characters readers truly connect with?

JG: Thriller is a difficult genre in which to pull this off because, with an ensemble cast of unreliable narrators all harboring secrets, readers are bound to hate some or even all of them. At least compared to your typical characters in, say, rom-coms. Still, I try to create people who, along with their foibles, are unguarded at times, or have deep, relatable longings. If I understand what my characters are reaching for—love, safety, recognition, justice—I feel connected to them, and I hope readers will be, too. As for twists, I think they only land with resonance if I’ve done the character work underneath. The twists that feel emotionally true in retrospect are the most satisfying ones.

Plotting a thriller with an ensemble cast sometimes feels like I am a puppet master, and other times like the characters are pulling me in a direction I would never have foreseen.

GN: Your journey to becoming a writer is such an interesting one! Can you share a bit about how you got started, along with any advice for aspiring writers?

JG: As far back as my earliest memory, I have always wanted to be an author. I never wavered in that conviction, even when I went to law school and practiced law for over seven years. Ever since, I’ve pursued writing with a grit I often look back and marvel at. My best advice is to cultivate and maintain that grit. The creative life is not for the faint-hearted. Expect twists and turns in the journey like any good novel. Devote yourself to growing in your craft, but most of all, dream big and believe in yourself. And know that when you see someone succeeding, they very likely have many, many failures under their belt. So tuck yours in, and resolve to always keep going. You will never receive any guarantees about finding an agent or selling your book, but you can guarantee to yourself that you will never give up!

GN: What’s the last book you gave five stars to?

JG: My Husband’s Wife by Alice Feeney. Brilliant! All of the stars.

Pix: Who are the authors who inspire you?

JG: I’m currently in a big Daphne du Maurier re-reading phase. And I just read Anthony Horowitz’s latest; he is a genius and his plotting is always next-level. Outside of thrillers, I’m also a huge lover of rom-coms. I was devastated to learn of Sophie Kinsella’s recent passing. I studied abroad one summer in London when I was nineteen and “discovered” her, then voraciously read everything she’d written to that point. It became a tradition for me to read her new book each year the day it would release. I’ve probably read each of her books at least half a dozen times. I am so glad I get to live in a world with Sophie Kinsella’s books.

The Stack

Can’t wait for June? Check out Goldis’s other thrillers, all available now.

The Chateau

When a group of old friends reunites at a glamorous Provence chateau, a shocking murder and a sinister social media account force them to confront the deadly secrets they’ve kept hidden for decades.

Buy now

The Main Character

Invited aboard the glamorous Orient Express by a reclusive thriller author, a woman becomes trapped in a twisted mystery where every passenger has secrets to hide and not everyone will survive the journey.

Buy now

The Safari

On a lavish South African safari meant to celebrate a glamorous wedding, a powerful fashion mogul is found murdered, leaving her wealthy family trapped in a deadly hunt for the killer among them.

Buy now

Genevieve Nierman, Resident bookworm @ Pix Media

Genevieve Nierman is an editor, writer, and interviewer with over a decade of experience in books and publishing, including roles at Little, Brown and Company and Alfred A. Knopf. She is currently Senior Books Content Manager at Pix Media, where she runs the flagship newsletter Book Pix. She lives in New York City with her orange cat, Oscar, and an ever-growing stack of books.

Currently reading: Take Me to Your Leader by Neil deGrasse Tyson