I immediately dropped all of my current reads to pick this one up when I received an ARC of it, because ashley winstead can do no wrong 👏🏼 I’m here for every thriller and every romance she writes!! heck, I’d read her laundry list!!

ashley proves yet again why she’s the queen of spooky thrillers with this installment of a campus killer told through the eyes of amateur sleuths!! her writing is so captivating and intriguing that you won’t want to put the book down until it’s over 😱 and it won’t be over until the very last page!!! 

after the sudden passing of her father, jane decides to throw herself into the true crime community to help solve crimes and get answers for the world that seems unanswerable in times of grief. while I didn’t take as drastic of a recluse as jane did after her father’s death, her thoughts and depiction of grief was like opening a door to the inside of my brain 🫶🏼 grief is a fickle beast 

what caught my attention from the first description of the campus murders was the similarity to the idaho killing that happened last year. the details were eerily similar, down to the roommates and location, and although the resolution was completely different, it did feel a bit copycat at times. that being said, it didn’t change my rating or perspective at all because there was so much else going on at the same time! 

while I did guess the overall killer by the end, it was more of a “ha I knew it!!” satisfaction rather than it being obvious. ashley’s writing once again proves superior as she twists and turns the story over and over again until the very end!

a huge thank you to ashley herself and sourcebooks for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review! I can’t wait to promote the heck out of this one next year!

rating: 5 stars
wine pairing: dry creek zinfandel