What does it take to have it all? And what does one give up in order to keep it? These are questions that Hank Phillippi Ryan explores in her newest mystery, “All This Could Be Yours.” There are many meanings in that seemingly simple titular phrase, and we see the many permutations along the way as we follow main character and debut author Tessa Calloway on her best-selling novel’s book tour.

Tessa Calloway was popular on social media, and when she quit her thankless job and live-streamed her exit, she told her audience that she is taking back “her one life.” And within seconds there were hundreds of comments from her followers, and her popularity soared. For many women, the idea of taking control of one’s life, and celebrating the “one life” we have, resonated deeply. So three years later, when Tessa published her first book, titled “All This Could Be Yours,” she was already the darling of social media.

The phrase “all this could be yours” has special meaning for Tessa. Her husband said it to her as he proposed; but it also can have a darker side, a negative implication. In Tessa’s novel, the main character Annabelle has a boss who says those words to her as he offers her a choice. But Annabelle, as we come to find out, is confident, feisty, and determined to grab the world with her own two hands and to overcome any obstacles in her way. She doesn’t accept his offer. She takes back her life.

Tessa’s fans adore the fictional Annabelle. But what no one knows except Tessa is that Annabelle is based on a real person. And that fact is a secret that Tessa has guarded closely almost her whole life. The only person she told, her best friend after two summers spent together as teenagers, Emily, disappeared from Tessa’s life after an accident.

But now, on what should be her extremely successful book tour, strange things are happening. Tessa finds a locket that was left in the nightstand of her hotel room, a locket with a picture inside. Tessa is intrigued and determined to find the true owner, calling the owner #LocketMom on social media. Almost immediately, everyone is talking about Locket Mom, and her social media numbers are climbing even higher, with more and more engagement as people across the country share the mystery and wonder whom the locket belongs to.

Tessa is recognized on one of her flights and upgraded to first class, where she sits next to a handsome man who is reading her novel. He tells her that he bought it for his daughter, Anna, short for Savannah. The name Savannah makes Tessa uncomfortable for some reason. And then there are more events that really unsettle her. Strangers in the audience start asking questions that probe her childhood and the town she grew up in, and one even asks her what her birth name was.

For good reason (which we will learn), Tessa keeps her personal details private. These questions are not the usual questions that authors encounter on book tours. Leaving one of the many planes taking her from city to city, she can’t find her carry-on luggage. She panics, but the flight attendant assures her that it will turn up. As she exits the plane, the carry-on is waiting for her. Apparently someone picked it up by mistake, which seems strange, as Tessa points out, because that person’s carry-on was not left on the plane. When she gets to her hotel room, she finds a new pair of earrings in the luggage. Earrings that are the same color, periwinkle, as the cover of her book and the same color that many fans wear to the book signings. When a fan at the next book signing asks what seems an innocuous question, “Do fans sometimes send you earrings?” it’s chilling. Why would someone take her suitcase to put something in it?

Tessa receives messages telling her that there is a package waiting for her at the front desk, but when she goes there, no package is waiting for her. The locket disappears from her room, only to reappear when someone leaves it at the front desk. Hotels and hotel rooms become places to fear, places where she feels unsafe and isolated.

There are also strange things happening at home. She and her husband had just purchased a beautiful new home on the East Coast, but because she was leaving for the book tour, she only got to spend one night in the house. Now Henry is there with their two children, Linny and Zack. Henry has lost his job, and staying home with the kids should be easy. But while Tessa loves him, she doesn’t trust him to be as responsible as she is. He feeds them pizza. He’s hanging out with the woman next door and the woman across the street, and Tessa wonders if she should be concerned. Then there’s no wondering. She IS concerned.

The mystery deepens, the danger increases, and finally Tessa is confronted with the truth. At least what someone wants her to believe is the truth. What Tessa does and how she handles the situation will determine her future path.

The writing is what we’d expect from a seasoned, award-winning, bestselling author like Ryan. The dialogue and descriptions are pitch perfect. Everything she includes serves to drive the plot—and the mystery—forward. We can’t imagine what or who might be behind the diabolical deeds, but we do know whoever is doing it might be following her from city to city.

For diehard readers, it’s really fun to get a look at the life of the author on the road. But it’s also impossible not to be pulled into Tessa’s world and worry, along with her, about who or what is lurking, waiting for the next chance to scare her, to make her feel alone and vulnerable, and to fear what might be next. Reading this novel is actually a bit frightening as it makes us realize how little privacy any of us has. Social media opens a door to public prying, and even those of us who are not best-selling authors can be found and doxxed, as many unfortunate people have learned.

Brilliant writing, nonstop action, mysteries on several fronts, and a character we can sympathize with who finally seems to have what she deserves in life, all serve to make this a book that you’ll finish in a day. It’s clever, thoughtful, and brilliantly executed.

Imagine, if you will, Hank Phillippi Ryan on tour for her novel, “All This Could Be Yours,” about an author who is on tour for her novel titled, “All This Could Be Yours.” Ryan points out the meta nature of the title(s) in her Acknowledgments, and it’s worth considering. But I think we can rest assured that her book tour will be a tad less fraught with danger—although probably not less hectic—than Tessa’s is.

Please note: This review was first posted on Bookreporter.com.