BEST OFFER WINS
A Good Morning America Book Club Pick * A Good Housekeeping Book Club Pick * An ELLE Best Mystery/Thriller of 2025 * A BookRiot Best Mystery/Thriller of 2025
“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,
A Good Morning America Book Club Pick * A Good Housekeeping Book Club Pick * An ELLE Best Mystery/Thriller of 2025 * A BookRiot Best Mystery/Thriller of 2025
“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.
- Celadon Books
- Hardcover
- November 2025
- 288 Pages
- 9781250400543
Buy the Book
$27.99
About Marisa Kashino
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.
Praise
“For the obsessed protagonist of Marisa Kashino’s darkly comic debut novel, Best Offer Wins, real estate is blood sport.” ―New York Times
“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 TIMEMagazine
“Not since Gone Girl have I been so gripped by a narrative voice. This is a tale of blackest comedy, spiraling 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