So, I Met This Guy... by Alexandra Potter

 

Journalist Flick Lomax is on the hunt for a story about romance scams and hopes to persuade Maggie Fletcher, a victim of one such scam, to tell her story. The pair bond as they chase the perpetrator of the fraud around Europe.

I'm always on the lookout for light-hearted reads to give me a break from all the murder and mystery I usually read. When I started So, I Met This Guy... by  Alexandra Potter, I was expecting something quite frivolous. This book is anything but frivolous. Yes, the tone is light, and there's a little bit of romance and plenty of hair-brained moments, but the underlying story is quite a serious one. 

Having seen plenty of news articles about romance fraud, you wonder how people fall for such trickery, and then dismiss the story. The author has used the book to show the scheming way in which con men worm their way into people's lives and affections, making it easy to understand how an individual can easily fall under their spell. What the novel also does is show the aftereffects. Maggie is left destitute, having lost her business, home and life savings. In an effort to avoid the knowing looks and judgement of friends and neighbours, she uproots herself and moves miles away from everyone she knows.

The tone is lightened by a madcap chase around Europe and some beautiful descriptions of locations Flick and Maggie visit. Added to this is a wealthy American woman, Birdy, whom they meet on their journey. Birdy is a fantastic character, I'm pretty sure the author could write a whole novel featuring her alone.

Things aren't easy, as they always seem to be just a little bit too late to catch the con-man, which all adds to the rising tension. By the conclusion, lots of different storylines converge, leading to an extremely satisfying ending for everyone involved.

So, I Met this Guy... by Alexandra Potter will be published on 29th January 2026 in hardback, ebook and audio format. My thanks to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for a review copy.

Author Details

Alexandra Potter is the bestselling author of numerous romantic comedy fiction novels in the UK, including One Good Thing and Confessions of a Forty-Something F##k Up, one of the bestselling books of 2022 and 2023 and the basis of a major TV series. These titles have sold in twenty-eight territories and achieved worldwide sales of more than one million copies, making the bestseller charts across the world.

Yorkshire born and raised, Alexandra lived for several years in LA before settling in London with her Californian husband and their Bosnian rescue dog. When she’s not writing or travelling, she’s getting out into nature, trying not to look at her phone and navigating this thing called mid-life.