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Book Cover for: Best Offer Wins, Marisa Kashino

Best Offer Wins

Marisa Kashino

Reader Score

81%

81% of readers

recommend this book

Critic Reviews

Good

Based on 3 reviews on

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"It starts out feeling pretty light and fun, but I promise you, you have no idea where this story is going." - Taylor Jenkins Reid, recommended for her Must-Read Book of 2025 in TIME Magazine

An insanely competitive housing market. A desperate buyer on the edge. In Marisa Kashino's darkly humorous debut novel, Best Offer Wins, the white picket fence becomes the ultimate symbol of success--and obsession. How far would you go for the house of your dreams?

Eighteen months and 11 lost bidding wars into house-hunting in the overheated Washington, DC suburbs, 37-year-old publicist Margo Miyake gets a tip about the perfect house, in the perfect neighborhood, slated to come up for sale in one month. Desperate to escape the cramped apartment she shares with her husband Ian -- and in turn, get their marriage, plan to have a baby, and whole life back on track -- Margo becomes obsessed with buying the house before it's publicly listed and the masses descend (with unbeatable, all-cash offers in hand).

A little stalking? Harmless. A bit of trespassing? Necessary. As Margo infiltrates the homeowners' lives, her tactics grow increasingly unhinged--but just when she thinks she's won them over, she hits a snag in her plan. Undeterred, Margo will prove again and again that there's no boundary she won't cross to seize the dream life she's been chasing. The most unsettling part? You'll root for her, even as you gasp in disbelief.

Dark, biting, and laugh-out-loud funny, Best Offer Wins is a propulsive debut and a razor-sharp exploration of class, ambition, and the modern housing crisis.

Book Details

  • Publisher: Celadon Books
  • Publish Date: Nov 25th, 2025
  • Pages: 288
  • Language: English
  • Edition: undefined - undefined
  • Dimensions: 9.50in - 6.60in - 1.20in - 1.15lb
  • EAN: 9781250400543
  • Categories: Thrillers - CrimeWomenHumorous - Dark Humor

About the Author

Kashino, Marisa: - Marisa Kashino was a journalist for 17 years, most recently at The Washington Post. She spent the bulk of her career at Washingtonian magazine, writing long-form features and overseeing the real estate and home design coverage. She grew up near Seattle, graduating from the University of Washington with a degree in journalism and political science. She lives in the DC area with her husband, two dogs, and two cats. Best Offer Wins is her first novel.

Critics’ reviews

Praise for this book

Good Housekeeping November Book Club Pick
CrimeReads- November Most Anticipated

"Not since Gone Girl have I been so gripped by a narrative voice. This is a tale of blackest comedy, spiralling obsession and ultimate horror. By turns laugh-out-loud funny and appalling, Marisa Kashino asks how far you would go to secure your dream house, then goes several steps further than you would ever dare. Compulsive and unputdownable. Highly recommended."
--Alex Michaelides, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Silent Patient and The Fury

"Darkly satirical and wildly entertaining, Best Offer Wins is a riveting thriller from the first page to the last. Who knew that buying a house could be so fun and twisted?"
--Amy Tintera, New York Times bestselling author of Listen for the Lie

"Best Offer Wins is a page-turning blend of cringey and compulsive that had my jaw dropping on nearly every other page. Kashino cloaks her examination of gender, class, and race expectations in a twisty domestic thriller that had me guessing until the final pages."
--Lottie Hazell, author of Piglet

"Irresistible, elegantly written, and timely as hell, Best Offer Wins puts a sinister spin on today's cutthroat real estate market. We may not want to root for Margo on her rage-fueled quest, full of dark twists, for her 'dream home, ' but her voice is too alluring to refuse."
--Laura Sims, author of Looker and How Can I Help You

"Best Offer Wins takes the thrill of the house hunt and ratchets it up to diabolical levels. Dark, hilarious, and totally gripping, with a jaw-dropping twist that closes the deal."
--Ryan Serhant, CEO and star real estate broker, author of Sell It Like Serhant, producer and star of Netflix's Owning Manhattan

"Author Kashino, a longtime journalist who covered the real estate market for the Washington Post and Washingtonian magazine, has created in Margo a character as vicious and conniving as the jilted lover played by Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction...Deliciously dark and twistedly funny."
--Kirkus

"Thank God this book exists - it's a slick, mischievous thriller about the longing to find home and beauty in an impossible economy. Kashino crafts her story so immaculately, as the protagonist's deeds become darker, dirtier and more twisted, you simply root for her even harder."
--Tobi Coventry, author of He's the Devil

"A darkly funny thriller, whose protagonist grows more unhinged as the novel progresses. You'll find yourself whispering "OMG" through every diabolical scene."
--Real Simple

"A wicked satirical thriller about the cutthroat world of Washington, D.C., area real estate... this darkly comedic novel of millennial anxieties will likely strike an uncomfortable chord."
--Publishers Weekly

"A sharp, emotionally charged take on the real-estate rat race, blending millennial anxieties with biting humor... hilariously chaotic and surprisingly resonant."
--Library Journal

"A biting debut novel that might seem unbelievable but is utterly, gasp-inducingly, guffaw-out-loud fun."
--Booklist

"Dark, bitingly funny, compulsively readable, Best Offer Wins is a shocking and shockingly entertaining look at class, race, ambition, obsession, the indignities visited upon us every day and the lengths to which we will go to get what we think we deserve."
--BookTrib

"A deliciously dark take on the uber-competitive world of home-buying... as Margo resorts to increasingly alarming measures to secure a 'perfect' abode, it becomes impossible not to hate her--and relate with her all the same."
--ELLE, Best Mysteries and Thrillers of 2025

"Both funny and unsettling, this debut novel explores ambition, privilege, and the extremes people reach for the perfect life."
--Southern Living, November Most Anticipated List

"In Marisa Kashino's darkly humorous debut novel, Best Offer Wins, the white picket fence becomes the ultimate symbol of success--and obsession."
--Criminal Element, November Most Anticipated List

"The perfect house is to die for--literally. This unhinged tale will have you laughing, gasping, and locking your door."
--Good Housekeeping, November Book Club Pick

"It starts out feeling pretty light and fun, but I promise you, you have no idea where this story is going." - Taylor Jenkins Reid, recommended for her Must-Read Book of 2025 in TIME Magazine