Out of the Blue
Marisa Billions
Mirador Publishing (2025)
ISBN: 978-1917411363
Reviewed by Stephanie Elizabeth Long for Reader Views (06/2025)
Sophia and Eli thrived as partners, both romantically and professionally. They built an empire through creating The Society, a spiritual community with a large following. But Sophia could never have imagined that success would turn Eli into a misogynistic monster. He became controlling and abusive, constantly antagonizing Sophia and finally leaving her no choice but to escape his clutches by leaving him and The Society for good.
Craving a slower pace, Sophia embraces her new life in a small town in the Pacific Northwest, where she opens up a yoga studio and restores her Victorian-era home. Throwing herself into work, Sophia has little time to think about her love life or question her growing attraction to women. But when Frankie walks into her life, Sophia can’t ignore the swell of her heart or the way her body heats up when she is near.
Between the studio and Frankie, Sophia has little time to think about her troubled past with Eli. But it all changes when she begins receiving threatening phone calls, and women’s bodies start washing ashore. Moreover, Eli has arrived in town; Sophia is sure he is somehow involved in the deaths, but no one believes her.
Can Sophia prove Eli is responsible before he destroys the life she worked so hard to rebuild?
Out of the Blue, the third book in the series by Marisa Billions, is an addictive crime thriller with a passionate romance. As always, Billions is an expert at creating an intriguing storyline and building memorable relationships between characters. While the book can be read as a standalone, fans of the series will delight in the re-emergence of Morgan and Emma as secondary characters. We are introduced to Sophia, the novel’s strong-willed protagonist, and Frankie, the charming mortician who stole her heart.
The story effectively weaves between the past and the present. Sophia’s diary entries provide sufficient backstory regarding what led to her escape from her toxic life with Eli and The Society. Then, we are transported to the Pacific Northwest, where she embarks on a new journey. Throughout the process, Sophia demonstrates resilience, and her spirituality remains unwavering despite the horrors she has endured. She is truly a spiritual gangster, and this was probably my favorite thing about Sophia.
Beyond the multilayered main character, Billions has crafted a complex whodunit, teeming with ominous foreshadowing, surprising alliances, and nail-biting suspense. Sophia cultivates a supportive group of friends in her new community. Still, I found myself constantly questioning their loyalty and motives. Who was terrorizing her? It had to be her sinister ex-husband, right? I couldn’t be sure of anything. The only thing that was certain was that I needed to devour the pages of this engrossing book to find out!
Readers, your sizzling summer novel is here! Out of the Blue is a perfect poolside companion, boasting a combination of thrilling crime fiction and a little bit of sapphic spice for romance enthusiasts. Read it by itself or with the other books in the series. But don’t be surprised if you become a Marisa Billions super fan overnight—her writing is that good!