Four Found Dead by Natalie D. Richards

Published on 01/10/202503/08/2026 by Charli

I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley to facilitate my review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

This book may contain material that is disturbing to some readers. Please Google for a full list of trigger warnings. Thank you!

Four Found Dead by Natalie D. Richards
Published by Sourcebooks on 01/10/2025
Genres: Juvenile Fiction / Action & Adventure / General, Juvenile Fiction / General, Young Adult Fiction / Horror, Young Adult Fiction / Mysteries & Detective Stories, Young Adult Fiction / Thrillers & Suspense / General
Pages: 336
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley

A terrifying thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of Five Total Strangers and Seven Dirty Secrets!

The last show has ended, but the nightmare is just beginning.

Tonight, Riverview Theaters is closing forever, the last remaining business in a defunct shopping mall. The moviegoers have left, and Jo and her six coworkers have the final shift, a shift that quickly takes a dark turn.

First a stranger arrives with a chilling accusation. Then the power goes out and their manager disappears, along with the keys to the lobby doors and the theater safe, where the crew's phones are locked each shift. The crew's tension turns to terror when Jo discovers the dead body of one of her co-workers.

Now their only chance to escape the murderer in their midst is through the dark, shuttered mall. With its boarded-up exits and disabled fire alarms, the complex is filled with hiding places for both pursuer and pursued. In order to survive this night, Jo and her friends must trust one another, navigate the sprawling ruins of the mall, and outwit a killer before he kills them all.

Four Found Dead was one of those books that took me a while to read – mostly because it was a case of “right book, wrong time”. I tried several times to read this book and just couldn’t stay interested. Last night, I decided I’d give it one more try before giving up[mfn]The book was released almost 2 years ago now…[/mfn] and I’m glad I did. I started it at 10PM and finished at 3:45AM the next morning.

Once I was able to properly get into the book[mfn]Trust me, it was ME not the book[/mfn], I could not put the book down. I had to know what was going to happen next. While we didn’t get to know all of the characters well, I have to say that my favorites were Naomi, Hudson, and Jo. However, I would like to have gotten Jo’s name a bit earlier in the book than we did[mfn]Full disclosure, we actually could have gotten her name well before I noticed it[/mfn], but it is what it is. And I would like to say that I hated Clayton from his first entrance into the story. So there’s that.

Four Found Dead is quite fast paced – it would have to be, considering that the events take place over the course of about 9 hours. Once it pulls you in, you’re hooked. You need to know how these people are getting out of this mess they’re in.

I found the little “intermission” notes interesting. They left me wondering exactly who it was who was telling this story, or at least, who was giving their two-cents between some of the chapters. You will find out at the end, and trust me, it wasn’t anyone I was expecting.

The ending is great and quite interesting. There are some things that are foreshadowed earlier, but then you kind of decide that can’t be the case later… only to have it thrown in your face that it was true all along.

I gave this one 4.5 stars – it was a great book and now I’m planning to find other books by Ms. Richards as well.

If You Can Hear This by Faith Gardner

Published on 06/21/202403/08/2026 by Charli

I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley to facilitate my review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

This post contains affiliate links you can use to purchase the book. If you buy the book using that link, I will receive a small commission from the sale.

If You Can Hear This by Faith Gardner
Published by HarperCollins Publishers on 11/19/2024
Genres: Young Adult Fiction / Mysteries & Detective Stories, Young Adult Fiction / Performing Arts / Television & Radio, Young Adult Fiction / Thrillers & Suspense / General
Pages: 368
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
IndieBound
Goodreads

The twisty, intricate mystery of I Killed Zoe Spanos meets the whip-smart sleuthing of A Good Girl's Guide to Murder in the newest novel from acclaimed author Faith Gardner, in which a club of misfits must come together to solve a dangerous mystery--and learn to lean on each other all the while.

Posey Spade loves asking questions--it's what's going to make her a fantastic journalist someday. And ever since her best friend and crush chose someone else, Posey's only focusing on her future career.

Unfortunately, she's just moved to the small town of Wild Pines--which doesn't provide a lot of groundbreaking journalism opportunities, only a scrappy AV Club full of self-proclaimed slackers . . . who Posey must somehow inspire to greatness.

She never thought that inspiration would come from the disappearance of the club's beloved sponsor and teacher, Ms. Moses. But as the days tick by with no answers, Posey and the AV Club take it upon themselves to dig into the mystery.

From a nepotism scandal to a local cult, Posey learns a lot about her new town. And as she spends more time with the AV Club, she also learns that friendship is just as necessary to solving a mystery as lots of questions. Good thing Posey has both.

In my quest to work through my NetGalley queue, I started reading If You Can Hear This by Faith Gardner. I have another book by Ms. Gardner in my NetGalley queue as well, so I was hoping that I would enjoy this book. I did – immensely.

What do you get when you mix a group of misfit kids who make up an audio/visual club, a missing teacher, and an apathetic town? You get If You Can Hear This. And believe me, this is a book you won’t want to miss.

Our main characters – Posey, Sal, Jeremiah, Athena, Yash, and Lexy make up the Wild Pines High School AV Club. They each have their own unique perspectives on life and what’s happening.

Posey is a girl who came to Wild Pines from San Francisco. She’s the new kid – she’s weird, quite a bit on the bossy side, and to be honest, obnoxious. I found myself wanting to reach through the screen and swat her upside the head, telling her to relax.

Sal is an enigmatic character, about whom we find out quite a bit. He’s mysterious and can seem suspicious at times, but he’s got a good heart and he cares about people.

Jeremiah isn’t seen as much but he’s an interesting character, what we do get to see of him.

Athena is the actress of the group but she’s got her own issues. I liked her quite a bit because she seemed more real than most of the other characters.

Yash is another character who is more or less in the background – we find out bits and pieces about him, but not much.

Lexy is seen fairly often in If You Can Hear This, but she’s another background character whom we don’t learn a lot about. I do wish we’d learned a bit more about her – especially considering she’s an activist at heart.

I loved the plot for this book. A teacher goes missing and her students set out to figure out what happened to her and where she went. They also want to raise awareness as it seems no one in authority wants to actually do anything about the missing teacher. It shows what students can do when they set their minds to it. It also shows some of the realities of people being on social media and what can come of social media use.

I gave this book a solid four stars because I thought it was a really good YA Mystery/Thriller. The start was a bit slow and it took a few days for me to really get fully into the book, but once it got going, it was awesome. I can’t wait to read the other book by Ms. Gardner that is in my queue.

The Debutantes by Olivia Worley

Published on 06/15/202403/08/2026 by Charli

I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley to facilitate my review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

This book may contain material that is disturbing to some readers. Please Google for a full list of trigger warnings. Thank you!

This post contains affiliate links you can use to purchase the book. If you buy the book using that link, I will receive a small commission from the sale.

The Debutantes by Olivia Worley
Published by St. Martin's Publishing Group on 10/29/2024
Genres: Young Adult Fiction / Mysteries & Detective Stories, Young Adult Fiction / Thrillers & Suspense / Crime
Pages: 352
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
IndieBound
Goodreads

Jessica Goodman meets The Agathas in this taut, twisty YA thriller set in the glittering world of Mardi Gras in New Orleans, where secrets--and bodies--never stay buried.

For the New Orleans elite, the Les Masques Ball is sure to be the social event of the season—if they can avoid another dead Queen. When debutante Margot Landry was found dead the morning after her reign at last year’s ball, it was a tragedy, but not a shocking one. Margot was a wild child with a self-destructive streak, nothing like this year’s Queen, Lily LeBlanc. With a perfectly poised debutante on the throne, everything is going according to plan...until the ball is hijacked by a mysterious figure in a Jester costume. That night, Lily sends a text to three of the Maids on her royal court—her best friend, Vivian; her boyfriend's sister, Piper; and April, her former frenemy—asking them all to meet the next morning. But Lily never shows up.

On the surface, these three debutantes don’t have anything in common except their exclusive private school and their ties to Les Masques. But soon, they realize why Lily brought them together: something dark is lurking beneath the glamorous surface of the debutante world, and it might be the reason she disappeared. And the further the girls dig, the more they begin to suspect that Margot's death may not have been an accident—and that Lily may be next. When the Jester starts threatening to expose their own secrets, this unlikely trio must team up to uncover the monsters behind the Mardi Gras masks—before they’re left with another dead debutante.

When I chose to read The Debutantes by Olivia Worley, I did so based purely on the cover. I love the cover to this book so much, even though I can’t exactly tell you why. It just jumped out at me as something I should read. And my intuition was spot-on.

The Debutantes is what Pretty Little Liars would have been if it was set in New Orleans. Dead and missing friends, danger, secrets being exposed, mysterious masked people…. Yep, Pretty LIttle Liars in New Orleans backed by Krewe culture and, to an extent, Debutante culture. Honestly, that’s one of the reasons I loved it so much. I loved Pretty Little Liars.

Reading this book kept me on my toes. I didn’t want to put it down, and honestly, I stayed up until 6AM to finish it! It was so easy to read, so easy to follow that I just didn’t want to stop reading. That’s one of the ways in which it differs from Pretty Little Liars – you won’t need a spreadsheet to keep track of what’s going on. Also, The Debutantes won’t need sixteen books to wrap everything up – it was all wrapped up neatly at the end. Or was it?

The ending was amazing and wrapped the book up well. Does it wrap the full story up? It actually could. But could there be more books? I think there could, if Ms. Worley wants there to be more books. I’m sure there’s a way to add a sequel or two to this plot.

As for the characters, I really enjoyed Vivian and April. I wasn’t as much of a fan of Piper’s, mostly because she drove me crazy with the way she behaves. However, I didn’t like Lily at all. Granted, we don’t see a lot of her, but she just doesn’t seem to be a genuine person in this story. She isn’t sincere in anything she says or does and it just bugs me.

I gave this book five stars because it was an excellent book that made me want to keep reading – even after it was over. I hope to read more from Ms. Worley in the future!

Some Shall Break by Ellie Marney

Published on 06/08/202312/31/2024 by Charli1 Comment

Today I’m bringing you a review of Some Shall Break by Ellie Marney. This review is part of the blog tour organized by TBR & Beyond Tours. Thanks for letting me participate!

I received an advance copy of this book from Little Brown to facilitate my review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

This book may contain material that is disturbing to some readers. Please Google for a full list of trigger warnings. Thank you!

Some Shall Break by Ellie Marney
Series: None Shall Sleep #2
Published by Little Brown on 06/06/2023
Genres: Young Adult Fiction / Horror, Young Adult Fiction / Law & Crime, Young Adult Fiction / Mysteries & Detective Stories, Young Adult Fiction / Social Themes / Violence, Young Adult Fiction / Thrillers & Suspense / Crime
Pages: 400
Format: Hardcover
Source: Little Brown
IndieBound
Goodreads

This electrifying, chilling sequel to the New York Times bestselling thriller None Shall Sleep focuses on junior FBI consultants Travis Bell and Emma Lewis with a new case that may unravel everything they’ve been working for.

After a harrowingly close contact with juvenile sociopath Simon Gutmunsson, junior FBI consultants Emma Lewis and Travis Bell went their separate ways: Emma rejected her Quantico offer and Travis stayed to train within a new unit of the FBI Behavioral Science division. But the unit’s latest case is feeling eerily familiar and Kristin Gutmunsson—Simon Gutmunsson’s eccentric twin—reaches out to Travis to send a warning: Emma is in peril.

When Travis and Kristin turn up evidence that points back to Daniel Huxton, the serial killer that Emma had escaped, things become more complicated. With a copycat on the loose, Emma returns to Quantico and is thrown back into her past traumas. Compelled to prevent more tragedy—even if it means putting herself in danger—Emma turns to Simon for help once again. But Simon is keeping secrets that could impact their entire investigation. Will the team be able to stop the Huxton copycat before time runs out for his next victims?

Content Warning: Murder, gore, trauma, sexual assault, sexism, violence, drug use, racism

Now you all know I love a good mystery/thriller novel and it doesn’t matter if it’s YA or Adult fiction. This one happens to be YA and it’s amazing! So let’s break down why I gave this book five stars, shall we?

First, we have our characters. I love Emma and Travis. Not so fond of Simon and Kristin… but that’s kind of to be expected. I mean, after all, the more you read, the more you realize their relationship is just… weird. But… Emma and Travis? LOVE these two. They’re just great characters all around. You know what motivates them, even if you haven’t read the first book, None Shall Sleep.

The plot for this book is quite interesting… the survivor of a serial killer helping the FBI to find a serial killer who is mimicking the very serial killer she escaped from. Deal with side plots such as the chemistry between Travis and Emma and the weirdness of Simon’s and Kristin’s relationship with each other. It’s a wild ride but it’s a great plot.

One of the things I like best about this book is that while you can tell it’s the second book in the series, you don’t absolutely need to read the first book to be able to follow what’s happening in this one. You can glean what you need to know to move forward with the story. Will you want to read the first book after this? Probably… I know I certainly do!

I also love the setting – we’re in 1982. There were a few things mentioned I had to make sure existed in 1982 because I didn’t remember them being around then! (Yes I’m old.) But it’s so much fun to see YA novels that go back in time to other eras – especially ones that today’s youth know practically nothing about.

All in all, this was a great read and one that was very difficult to put down. I’m definitely looking forward to reading more of Ellie Marney’s works. This one got 5 stars from me.

Tell Me What Really Happened by Chelsea Sedoti

Published on 02/23/202312/31/2024 by Charli

We all know I love a good mystery/thriller, especially YA ones. Well believe me when I say Tell Me What Really Happened is a good one. A really good one. In fact, it is done in a really neat format – it is all interviews with the victim’s friends. Intrigued? Read on for my review.

I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley to facilitate my review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

This book may contain material that is disturbing to some readers. Please Google for a full list of trigger warnings. Thank you!

Tell Me What Really Happened by Chelsea Sedoti
Published by Sourcebooks Fire on 04/04/2023
Genres: Young Adult Fiction / Mysteries & Detective Stories, Young Adult Fiction / Social Themes / Friendship, Young Adult Fiction / Thrillers & Suspense / General
Pages: 416
Format: ARC, eBook
Source: NetGalley
Goodreads

There are stories about the woods around Salvation Creek and the people who have gone missing. Now their friend is one of them. A riveting, fast-paced YA mystery told entirely through first person police interviews of four teens over the course of a few hours.

It was all her idea. They would get away from their parents and spend the weekend camping. Down by Salvation Creek, the five of them would make smores, steal kisses, share secrets.

But sometime around midnight, she vanished.

Now the four friends who came back are under suspicion—and they each have a very different story to tell about what happened in the woods.

The clock is ticking. What are they hiding? Who is lying? Dark truths must come to light if their friend is to be found...

Told entirely through first-person police interviews, this riveting mystery asks: what really happened that night?

Perfect for:

Fans of Holly Jackson and Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Mysteries and police procedurals

People looking for young adult books best sellers

Also by Chelsea Sedoti:

The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett

As You Wish

It Came from the Sky

Praise for Chelsea Sedoti:

"Easy to read and hard to put down."—VOYA on As You Wish

"A dark, comedic mystery about a girl's quest for proof that ultimately helps her discover some truths about herself." —Justine on The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett

"[A] quirky, intelligent novel." —Booklist on It Came from the Sky

CW: Death, Guns, Shooting, Murder, Blood

Tell Me What Really Happened: Characters

In Tell Me What Really Happened we have five characters to go with – the victim and her four friends. Let’s start with our victim.

Maylee

We don’t actually get to meet the real Maylee. She only speaks when one of her friends tells about something she said. From what I could gather, she’s kind of a pain in the ass. She can be rude and abrasive, manipulating and cold. But she can also be warm and loving as well. She’s definitely a dichotomy. I’m not overly fond of her, which is kind of sad, but I have to be honest.

Petra

Petra is Maylee’s best friend. She is absolutely a control freak. She’s obnoxious, abrasive, rude, and feels like she has to make sure that every little detail is scheduled. She made me want to reach through the screen and slap her more than once. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing to be honest.

Nolan

Nolan is Petra’s stepbrother. They love each other despite not being blood related. Nolan doesn’t care much for people, except for his online friends. Most of the other characters don’t believe he has real-life friends, although Nolan swears he does. He’s a bit of an odd duck. I don’t particularly like Nolan, but I don’t dislike him either. I know, that doesn’t make sense, but there it is.

John

John is Maylee’s boyfriend. There’s a lot of commentary from him and a bit from Petra, regarding the fact that he’s Black[mfn]Always stated with a capital B[/mfn]. Of course, the interviews are being conducted by unseen, unnamed police officers. However, since it seems that all four friends were being just as scrutinized as he was, it didn’t make sense to have the constant reminders of his race. He was a character that, like Nolan, I didn’t like but didn’t dislike either.

Abigail

If I had to pick a favorite character, it would be Abigail. She’s a lot like me – gets talking and gets off the subject, then has to be brought back to the subject. I do that all the time. There’s also the fact that she just seems to have a decent life but others don’t want to believe it because of who her dad is and where she lives. I admit, I really do like Abigail.

Tell Me What Really Happened: Atmosphere

The atmosphere in Tell Me What Really Happened is hard to pin down. The characters are sitting in interview rooms at the police station, that much is clear, but the rooms are never described to us. Instead, all of the atmosphere ends up being the woods in which Maylee disappeared.

Now if you’ve ever been camping you know that the woods can be pretty darned creepy at night, especially if you’re not used to going camping very much. The woods in Tell Me What Really Happened are just as creepy as you’d expect. There’s a sinister vibe to the woods that is only elevated by the stories being told by the four surviving friends. All in all, it’s a great atmosphere and a perfect setting for a disappearance.

Tell Me What Really Happened: Writing

The writing style Chelsea Sedoti used for Tell Me What Really Happened was very interesting. Have I read books where a victim’s friends/family are being interviewed? Yes, I absolutely have. But have I ever read a book in which the entire book is nothing but those interviews? No, I have not. This was a great way to handle the book. The writing is easy to read and easy to follow – at least as much as it can be. After all, these are “witness” interviews and so can be a bit – messy at times.

Tell Me What Really Happened: Plot

Ok, so here’s the thing – the plot for this book is hard to pin down at first. We know there’s a missing girl and we’re getting what her friends are saying happened. Then you realize that the plot is exactly that – the differing, mixed-up stories of the surviving friends! It’s actually brilliant because the plot is so well hidden, you don’t realize you’re in the thick of it from the beginning. Well done!

Tell Me What Really Happened: Intrigue

A mystery/thriller has to have intrigue or it wouldn’t be a mystery/thriller. This one has plenty of it. From Nolan’s cryptozoological conspiracy theories to Petra’s constant complaining about everyone and every thing, I found myself wanting to know what was going to be said next. The twists and turns and backtracking in the interviews is amazing and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Tell Me What Really Happened has some amazing intrigue – and you’ll never guess what’s happening next.

Tell Me What Really Happened: Logic

Ok, so with this particular story and plot, logic goes straight out the window. This isn’t a bad thing – it just means that with four different people telling four stories and contradicting each other one moment and agreeing the next, logic doesn’t play a huge part in Tell Me What Really Happened.

Tell Me What Really Happened: Ending

Ok, the ending to this book may be polarizing. Some people will love it, others will hate it. There are parts of the story and information revealed that will make no sense. There are also parts of the story and information revealed that will make all the sense in the world. The problem is… how will the story actually end? That my friends is the best part… because the ending is absolutely unexpected. I loved it.

Conclusion

I gave this book 5 stars because I was captivated. I didn’t want to put this book down. It was so good and I just kept wanting to see what the friends would say next. If you love mystery/thriller books, you should pick this one up. Even though it’s a YA novel, trust me, you’ll love it.