Lisa Bonvissuto

I joined Berkley as an Editor in January 2024 and am excited to find mystery, thriller/suspense, romance, and book club fiction projects that are fun and different. I love when stories play with tropes and deliver new twists to surprise me, so anything in that vein is a project that I would love to look at. I love a hooky concept and voice-driven, witty, and propulsive writing. I’m particularly interested in mashups and genre crossovers, and love when romance and women’s fiction are blended into mystery, thriller, and suspense. Like a rom-com voice in a high stakes mystery/thriller situation, or a mystery/thriller/suspense that pulls off a great romance subplot or is layered with a friendship or family story. I’d love to see more diverse and underrepresented voices in these areas as well.

Mysteries: I am excited to build my list in the mystery space. I’m looking for fun, escapist mysteries with different settings (though also won’t say no to a classic locked room mansion), feel-good mysteries, and layered, dual-timeline stories. I would absolutely love to see more murder mystery/rom-com mashups. I am drawn to well-developed characters, and also love a heist or caper. Send me anything that you would comp to The Maid, Only Murders in the Building, Knives Out, Finlay Donovan Is Killing It, Mother Daughter Murder Night, Society of Lies, and campy adaptations of Clue and Nancy Drew.

Thrillers/suspense: As in mysteries, I’m excited to see thrillers that are mashups with other genres. Dial A for Aunties is one of my favorites! I love voice-y, darkly funny narratives like My Sister, the Serial Killer and You’d Look Better as a Ghost. Though my taste can run on the lighter/rompier side, I’m okay with a darker concept when balanced with humor, as in these examples. In the book club thriller space, I’d love to see stories like Counterfeit and First Lie Wins. Social satire and parody are up my alley, so White Lotus is a great comp. Sharp and witty commentary and a little unhinged will definitely catch my attention! I’m always interested in a romantic angle here as well even if it’s not a true mashup, and love a thriller that has some warmer moments, whether that’s through romance, friendship, or family connections. I’m excited to see thrillers and suspense that feel fun and twisty to read and have a fresh perspective.

Rom-com mashups: I’m most interested in seeing rom-coms that intersect with other genres like thriller and mystery, as above, and also interested in stories categorized as romance, but with a high stakes element to them, like The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year, and romance adventure like The Lost City, or even with a speculative element. I’m interested in horror rom-com mashups, but think more on the slasher side with a good sense of humor, rather than very gory body horror or super dark/unsettling (a little scary is okay).

Submission Guidelines

Submissions should be emailed to libonvissuto@penguinrandomhouse.com

I am only accepting agented submissions at this time.