PSB: Boston Edition is excited to welcome Lori Gold to celebrate the release of her latest novel Kiss, Marry, Kill. Author Annie Hartnett will join Gold in conversation.

Kiss, Marry, Kill follows three best friends and founders of a health and wellness app on the verge of hitting the big time as they play a spin on the game of “kiss, marry, kill” at their company’s summer outing, only to wake up the next morning in an alternate universe to discover they’ve each done just that. Perfect for fans of Holly Gramazio's The Husbands and Natalie Sue's I Hope This Finds You Well.

Which would you choose: kiss, marry, or kill? 

When three best friends and founders of a health and wellness app on the verge of hitting the big time play a spin on the game of “kiss, marry, kill” at their company’s summer outing, they wake up the next morning in an alternate universe to discover they’ve each done just that.

Kiss: In the “real world,” quiet, indecisive Aubrey is heartbroken over things ending with her fiancé. In the new reality ushered in by the game, Aubrey finds herself in bed, naked, next to their company’s newly hired graphic designer.

Marry: Practical, straight-laced Ilena, on the brink of a divorce following a stressful struggle with infertility, wakes up six months pregnant and married to their company’s general counsel. 

Kill: Mallory’s philosophy is to ask neither forgiveness nor permission. Yet the reckless behavior of their biggest investor crosses lines even Mallory didn’t know she had. Especially since she’s been secretly sleeping with him for the past year. She’s mad enough to kill. But in this world, he’s already dead.

Told alternately from the perspectives of these three best friends, this Sliding Doors-esque story explores the nuances of ambition, the power of female friendship, and the many facets of love in our lives, ultimately asking: Do our choices define us, or do we define our choices?

“Deviously clever and emotionally rich, Kiss, Marry, Kill is a sharp dive into friendship, fate, and the choices that change everything. I devoured it.”
—Chandler Baker, New York Times bestselling author of Whisper Network

“Such a wonderfully outlandish premise delivered in such a clever, pacy, emotionally satisfying read. This thought-provoking sliding doors style story had me fully invested in the lives of all three friends as they navigated the outcome of their life-changing game.”
—Cesca Major, bestselling author of Reese’s Book Club pick Maybe Next Time

Lori Gold is the author of the Zibby Media Summer Read pick and NPR Book of the Day Romantic Friction. She is also the author of an adult historical as well as four novels for young adults (all under Lori Goldstein). She lives outside of Boston, where she fosters a writing community through her creative writing classes, book coaching, and writing retreats. She can be found at lorigoldsteinbooks.com

Annie Hartnett is the award-winning author of three novels: Rabbit Cake, Unlikely Animals, and the national bestseller The Road to Tender Hearts, which won the 2025 New England Book Award for fiction. Annie has been awarded fellowships and residencies from the MacDowell Colony, Sewanee Writers' Conference, and the Associates of the Boston Public Library. Along with the writer Tessa Fontaine, she co-runs Accountability Workshops for writers, helping writers commit to routines and embrace the long, slow, joyful, terrible process of doing the work. She lives in Massachusetts with her pretty good husband, perfect daughter, and their beloved border collie.

Lori Gold, author of Kiss, Marry, Kill, in conversation with Annie Hartnett