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mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Murder, Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault
Minor: Eating disorder, Suicide
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Suicide, Blood, Kidnapping, Stalking, Murder, Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Rape, Violence, Grief, Sexual harassment, Classism
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A very Penn State centered mystery. The actual murderer was pretty low on my list of suspects. And I do wish their motive had been a little bit different. I don’t know whether he intended to kill Vic or if it was an “accident” when he tried to initiate a relationship with her
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Kidnapping, Stalking, Murder, Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Eating disorder
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Murder, Alcohol
Moderate: Sexual assault, Suicide, Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Eating disorder
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
In this debut Young Adult thriller, the wealthy and charming Cresmont brothers, Robbie and Trevor, have been shunned by the residents of Happy Valley as suspects in a series of mysterious deaths involving their ex-girlfriends. As the newcomer at school and hoping for a new beginning, Lauren O’Brian carries her own secrets from a troubled past. However, her budding relationship with Robbie quickly turns perilous as she uncovers disturbing evidence that might link him to the crimes. Caught in a web of deceit within the elite circles of Happy Valley, will Lauren be able navigate a dangerous path to uncover the truth before she too becomes a victim?
After finishing this book, I had to sit with my feelings for a day before I was able to come up with a way to express them and yet, I am still not sure how I really feel about this book. In the end, I landed on 3 stars so I liked it enough, but there were definitely parts of it with which I struggled. For the positives aspects, I found the story very gripping and enticing. It was well written and difficult for me to put down, finishing it in less than 48 hours.
Unfortunately though, there were just too many off-putting aspects to the story that prevented me from loving it more. First of all, I had a really hard time liking any of the characters. I wanted to empathize with them, but time and time again they made decisions that were so blatantly bad. Lauren’s decision to literally do nothing when she finds a certain piece of evidence fairly early on had me shaking my head in frustration. Also, I really struggle with books being marketed to “young adults” (meaning 12-18 year olds) that focus so heavily on drinking, doing drugs, and sexual content, and this “Young Adult” book was no exception. Maybe I was just sheltered growing up, but it seems like an entirely different world than what I know the average high schooler at my school experienced. Additionally, it was very off-putting to not have a single adult in this book act responsibly. I was shocked time and time again with the lack of care from the parents for their children. I guess it makes sense why the teenagers made the decisions they did with the way the “role models" were portrayed. Lastly, the ending was just too far-fetched for my liking and left me with more questions than answers. I felt it was very rushed and I personally thought it did not really explain the reasoning behind the first killing, which was the catalyst for everything else that happened in the book. I usually love Young Adult thrillers when teenagers have to figure out a mystery but unfortunately this one just wasn’t one of my favorites.
Thank you to Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group/Henry Holt and Co. (BYR) and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an electronic ARC of The One That Got Away with Murder in return for my honest review.
After finishing this book, I had to sit with my feelings for a day before I was able to come up with a way to express them and yet, I am still not sure how I really feel about this book. In the end, I landed on 3 stars so I liked it enough, but there were definitely parts of it with which I struggled. For the positives aspects, I found the story very gripping and enticing. It was well written and difficult for me to put down, finishing it in less than 48 hours.
Unfortunately though, there were just too many off-putting aspects to the story that prevented me from loving it more. First of all, I had a really hard time liking any of the characters. I wanted to empathize with them, but time and time again they made decisions that were so blatantly bad. Lauren’s decision to literally do nothing when she finds a certain piece of evidence fairly early on had me shaking my head in frustration. Also, I really struggle with books being marketed to “young adults” (meaning 12-18 year olds) that focus so heavily on drinking, doing drugs, and sexual content, and this “Young Adult” book was no exception. Maybe I was just sheltered growing up, but it seems like an entirely different world than what I know the average high schooler at my school experienced. Additionally, it was very off-putting to not have a single adult in this book act responsibly. I was shocked time and time again with the lack of care from the parents for their children. I guess it makes sense why the teenagers made the decisions they did with the way the “role models" were portrayed. Lastly, the ending was just too far-fetched for my liking and left me with more questions than answers. I felt it was very rushed and I personally thought it did not really explain the reasoning behind the first killing, which was the catalyst for everything else that happened in the book. I usually love Young Adult thrillers when teenagers have to figure out a mystery but unfortunately this one just wasn’t one of my favorites.
Thank you to Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group/Henry Holt and Co. (BYR) and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an electronic ARC of The One That Got Away with Murder in return for my honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide
Minor: Eating disorder
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Lauren and her mom have relocated to Happy Valley, Pennsylvania (the home of Penn State) for a new beginning. Lauren is desperate to escape the stigma of a public scandal, and her mom is excited to finally live locally to a long-distance boyfriend. Lauren’s efforts to build her reputation as a great soccer player all seem for naught, however, when she learns that the boy she’s been having a casual affair with was the last person to see his former girlfriend alive. Then one year later, his brother finds his own girlfriend dead of an overdose. Are the wealthy Crestmont brothers hiding deadly secrets, or did they both really end up in the wrong places at the wrong times?
Even though I am giving this a 3-star review, for reasons I will explain later, I did enjoy this debut. It was so fast-paced and well-written that I finished it in a day. It’s giving I Know What You Did Last Summer vibes, but with higher stakes because the two female victims were in relationships with the suspects. Everyone in town knows that the intimate partner is usually the perpetrator when it comes to violent crimes against women, but they also know that the influential Crestmont family has the resources and the connections to keep Robbie and Trevor out of jail, and permanently erased from the suspect list. I thought the author did a great job developing the mystery and building suspense. She also made all of the main characters sympathetic so that the reader is invested in finding out how and if each character's innocence would be proven.
The reasons that this one doesn’t rise to a 5-star mystery for me are (1) the degree of suspension of disbelief required for the story to work; and (2) the motive for the first killing, and which ultimately set off an avalanche of future violence, just didn’t make sense to me. I still don't know why the suspect(s) did it.
Without spoiling the plot, there is a big reveal about 25% into the story that significantly impacts the main character Lauren’s perspective on the crimes and her suspicions. Even though Lauren is 17 and clearly quite bright and independent, she doesn’t call the police or trust any adult with her findings. She doesn’t even make any kind of permanent record of the findings for herself. We’re talking about an actual murder here, but the reader is asked to belief that Lauren isn’t sure what to do, or that she is too scared to make an anonymous tip to Crime Stoppers? This is 2024! True crime podcasts are a thing! 🤪 It's just too big of a pill to swallow, especially considering that it is her decision not to involve law enforcement that must happen in order for the rest of the events in the novel to occur.
Finally, and maybe it’s just me, but I am concerned that this novel, like many other YA titles I’ve read over the last few years, does not depict a single adult who behaves like one. Literally, every adult in this novel who interacts with a main characters is an awful, selfish, narcissistic person. The parents who we don’t actually meet on the page are all enabling, if not encouraging, underage drinking, drug use, and sexual promiscuity in their homes. None of the teenagers in this book can point to even one adult who has proven themselves capable of exhibiting good judgment or making a sound decision to protect the minors they have a duty to protect. I don’t think this is representative of most teenager’s lives, and I don’t understand the point of creating a fictional world where the only people that a teenager can trust are other teenagers who are just as angry, depressed, confused, cynical, and disillusioned as themselves.
Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group/Henry Holt and Co. (BYR) for the opportunity to read and review this novel. All opinions are my own.
Even though I am giving this a 3-star review, for reasons I will explain later, I did enjoy this debut. It was so fast-paced and well-written that I finished it in a day. It’s giving I Know What You Did Last Summer vibes, but with higher stakes because the two female victims were in relationships with the suspects. Everyone in town knows that the intimate partner is usually the perpetrator when it comes to violent crimes against women, but they also know that the influential Crestmont family has the resources and the connections to keep Robbie and Trevor out of jail, and permanently erased from the suspect list. I thought the author did a great job developing the mystery and building suspense. She also made all of the main characters sympathetic so that the reader is invested in finding out how and if each character's innocence would be proven.
The reasons that this one doesn’t rise to a 5-star mystery for me are (1) the degree of suspension of disbelief required for the story to work; and (2) the motive for the first killing, and which ultimately set off an avalanche of future violence, just didn’t make sense to me. I still don't know why the suspect(s) did it.
Without spoiling the plot, there is a big reveal about 25% into the story that significantly impacts the main character Lauren’s perspective on the crimes and her suspicions. Even though Lauren is 17 and clearly quite bright and independent, she doesn’t call the police or trust any adult with her findings. She doesn’t even make any kind of permanent record of the findings for herself. We’re talking about an actual murder here, but the reader is asked to belief that Lauren isn’t sure what to do, or that she is too scared to make an anonymous tip to Crime Stoppers? This is 2024! True crime podcasts are a thing! 🤪 It's just too big of a pill to swallow, especially considering that it is her decision not to involve law enforcement that must happen in order for the rest of the events in the novel to occur.
Finally, and maybe it’s just me, but I am concerned that this novel, like many other YA titles I’ve read over the last few years, does not depict a single adult who behaves like one. Literally, every adult in this novel who interacts with a main characters is an awful, selfish, narcissistic person. The parents who we don’t actually meet on the page are all enabling, if not encouraging, underage drinking, drug use, and sexual promiscuity in their homes. None of the teenagers in this book can point to even one adult who has proven themselves capable of exhibiting good judgment or making a sound decision to protect the minors they have a duty to protect. I don’t think this is representative of most teenager’s lives, and I don’t understand the point of creating a fictional world where the only people that a teenager can trust are other teenagers who are just as angry, depressed, confused, cynical, and disillusioned as themselves.
Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group/Henry Holt and Co. (BYR) for the opportunity to read and review this novel. All opinions are my own.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Drug abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
TW: so many Penn State mentions in this book! #HailToPitt 🤭
This was a fun, thrilling murder mystery. The audiobook had some pacing issues in between transitions that got old, fast, but I truly enjoyed this book.
The red herrings totally got me and I was SHOCKED to find out who the real killer was. The ending felt a little rushed after spending an entire book digging into basically everyone besides the killer, but that pie related killer relieve was just too sweet.
I felt like this book did a really great job of displaying a certain type of extremely messy but intrinsically motivated high school crowd that felt extremely relatable.
This was a fun, thrilling murder mystery. The audiobook had some pacing issues in between transitions that got old, fast, but I truly enjoyed this book.
I felt like this book did a really great job of displaying a certain type of extremely messy but intrinsically motivated high school crowd that felt extremely relatable.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment
there is explicit detailing of a minor being blackmailed by someone who took nude photos of the minor. it is revealed that other minors had similar sexual/nude photos of them taken by this person.
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I’m not sure how I feel about this one. On one hand, I was very invested to see what the ending would be and definitely was surprised by it. I liked the main character a lot and enjoyed her POV. There were a lot of twists and turns that certainly kept me guessing. One the other hand, there were a lot of sub plot that were brought up that kind of felt forgotten about that I was interested to see fleshed out. Also, as surprising an ending as it was, I felt mostly ehhhhh about it. I felt like there was no explanation as to why this person did what they did. It was just “Oh, this person is the killer! That’s all!” I think if there had been more of an explanation, I would have been more satisfied with the book as a whole. I still had some fun reading it though. It had some strong season 1 Riverdale vibes which I’m always here for. Overall, a middle of the pack YA thriller for me.
TW: murder, drug use, fire, fire injury, underage drinking, sexual assault
Thank you to NetGalley and Henry Holt & Co for a digital reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Eating disorder
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book was a fun one & I'm always a sucker for a fun title. This book followed a classic YA mystery/thriller plot but with some very interesting twists and turns. We have Lauren O'Brian, the new girl in town with a secret who moves across the country right before starting a senior year. And then we have the love interest- Robbie Crestmont, one of two Crestmonts each with their own bad reputation surrounding the mysterious deaths of their girlfriends.
This story pretty much immediately captures your attention. It's been marketed for fans of A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, and the author knows their audience well because the pacing and suspense of this book really has a similar flow to AGGGTM. I've read a few different YA mystery/thrillers that claimed to be a good read alike and fell short, but this one definitely has similar vibes AND can stand on its own! I was genuinely stumped about who the killer might be for quite awhile, even though I had my theories. The author leaves the perfect amount of breadcrumbs behind in the story without over-saturating the plot. I will say my favorite parts about this book are the side characters (especially John I liked what he added to the story) and the twists at the end. There's great closure & a satisfying ending. The author also switches POVs at the very end briefly which usually annoys me TO NO END but it was done SO incredibly well- it was worth it & added to the story for sure.
The only thing that keeps this book from 5 stars for me was some of the pacing at the end of the story. During a big climactic part, I felt like it was a bit rushed. I even had to flip back a few pages and re-read to make sure I didn't accidentally skip a page.
All in all, this is a solid 4 star read for me and I will definitely be looking out for more books from this author in the future!
This story pretty much immediately captures your attention. It's been marketed for fans of A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, and the author knows their audience well because the pacing and suspense of this book really has a similar flow to AGGGTM. I've read a few different YA mystery/thrillers that claimed to be a good read alike and fell short, but this one definitely has similar vibes AND can stand on its own! I was genuinely stumped about who the killer might be for quite awhile, even though I had my theories. The author leaves the perfect amount of breadcrumbs behind in the story without over-saturating the plot. I will say my favorite parts about this book are the side characters (especially John I liked what he added to the story) and the twists at the end.
The only thing that keeps this book from 5 stars for me was some of the pacing at the end of the story.
All in all, this is a solid 4 star read for me and I will definitely be looking out for more books from this author in the future!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Body horror, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual content, Suicide, Alcohol
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thanks to NetGalley, I received an electronic copy of this ARC book in exchange for my honest review.
This debut by Trish Lundy is a young adult thriller that kept me guessing the entire time. It was a fast paced read with short chapters. You aren't sure who to like, who to despise or who to root for but I found myself wanting the main characters to be safe and have a happy ending. I strongly recommend you read this book to find out if that happened.
This book is well written and thought out, leaving you on the edge of your seat. If you are a fan of Holly Jackson and "A Good Girl's Guide to Murder" I think you will enjoy this book as well.
This debut by Trish Lundy is a young adult thriller that kept me guessing the entire time. It was a fast paced read with short chapters. You aren't sure who to like, who to despise or who to root for but I found myself wanting the main characters to be safe and have a happy ending. I strongly recommend you read this book to find out if that happened.
This book is well written and thought out, leaving you on the edge of your seat. If you are a fan of Holly Jackson and "A Good Girl's Guide to Murder" I think you will enjoy this book as well.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Murder, Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Suicide, Alcohol
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Eating disorder, Vomit