Publication Date: February 18, 2025
A scintillating debut about a disillusioned tech executive who goes into an obsessive spiral when her best friend—and longtime crush—is implicated in a woman’s death.
Edie Walker’s life is not going as planned. At thirty-five, she feels stuck: in her career, in her love life, and in her tiny San Francisco studio apartment. It doesn’t help that her best friend, Peter Masterson, is basically the über successful male version of her—and she’s hopelessly, unrequitedly in love with him. But when Peter breaks up with his girlfriend of seven years, Edie thinks her life might finally be turning around. He’ll discover how toxic dating app culture is and realize that Edie has been right for him all along.
Except Peter almost immediately lands a date with Anaya Thomas, a gorgeous, whip-smart professor and writer of feminist literature who even Edie—reared in the culture of tech bros—is smitten by. Unlike the women Peter has dated before, Anaya is like an alternate reality version of Edie—one with shampoo commercial hair and a meaningful career, who definitely doesn’t spend her weekends scrolling social media alone in her apartment. It’s only a matter of time before Peter falls head over heels for this woman; Edie herself is infatuated after one meeting.
Then, Anaya is found dead in her apartment. Right after a date with Peter.
Driven by her near-fanatic love of Anaya’s work and a desperate need to prove Peter’s innocence, Edie begins searching for clues to what really happened that night. As her obsession with the investigation grows, so do her doubts in Peter. When the truth finally comes to light, Edie must decide where her loyalties lie, who deserves justice—and who deserves to be punished.
Provocative, tense, and compulsively readable, Nothing Serious is a shrewdly observed, astonishingly heartfelt debut combining a darkly funny takedown of online dating with an honest examination of the challenges women face every day—but don’t dare discuss—from a brilliant new voice in contemporary fiction.
If there is one secret that Edie Walker wants to keep hidden, it’s an infatuation with her best friend, Peter.
Author Emily J. Smith serves up a debut novel that puts friendship to the test in Nothing Serious. Part dark humor, part mystery, Edie finds herself questioning whether her bestie is capable of murder.
Fresh out of a seven-year relationship, Peter turns to online dating. Edie gets to meet one of his dates and is fascinated by Anaya’s attitude about life. Edie fears Peter will jump right back into another relationship without Edie having a chance.
The mystery ramps up when Anaya is found dead after her date with Peter. Determined to clear his name, Edie jumps in to find clues. However, the evidence points to a truth she’s not ready to face.
Nothing Serious pairs obsession with online dating for an explosive story that threatens to break the bonds of friendship.
Emily J. Smith is a writer and tech professional based in Brooklyn. She has led teams at top tech companies and founded the dating app, Chorus. She holds a B.S in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Cornell, and an M.B.A. from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. Her writing has appeared in Catapult, The Rumpus, Slate, Vice, WashPo, and others. This is her first novel.
