Love a true crime podcast / tiktok live cross over? You’ll enjoy Yu-Mei Balasingamchow’s Names Have Been Changed (Tiny Reparations Books 2026). The novel is set at the tail end of the Covid and told over the course of a little over a month as a “confessional podcast.” As indicated by the title, names have indeed been changed as our narrator has been on the run for years.
She tells her “listeners” to call her Ophir, and the podcast opens with her explaining how she became a money mule by trusting her best friend. She manages to escape as the authorities crack down, and she’s been on the run for years. But serving as the mule and stealing 60k isn’t her only crime, and this isn’t a redemption or request for forgiveness.
It’s a well done debut, and I really enjoyed Ophir’s voice. I’m not the biggest fan of unreliable narrators, but I really enjoyed how this operates via the confessional podcast. It’s a really good choice for a quick, thrilling summer read.
A Girl Named Tommi 