This one was actually hard for me to get through. It is beautifully written, but it is very much a slow burn novel. I’d likely read another book by this author, but this one just didn’t do it for me. That being said, if you like slow burn, character driven novels, I’d check this one out.

Although I was expecting more of a thriller (this read more as a mystery drama to me), I still enjoyed it. I’m a fan of books set in affluence at times because it’s not something I was raised with so the stories seem further from me and I have to imagine what that life is like. As someone without children, this was an interesting read to see how far parents will go when they feel their children and safety is compromised. Overall, a solid read.

When a young woman is found dead in the 'nicest part of town' in New England, the powerful neighbors close ranks to keep their families safe. This book did have me asking myself - how far would you go to protect your child? What secrets would you keep? What laws would I break? I enjoyed this book and appreciated the narrative and cast of characters - flawed and all.

*Thanks to NetGalley for a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review*
Man. This is disappointing because the premise of this novel sounded so good -- I like rich people drama/thrillers, and the fact that the blurb compares it sort-of to "Little Fires Everywhere" drew me in. I'm sorry, but no, this book doesn't have the same charm, complexity, and well-crafted prose as "Little Fires Everywhere" (and on the topic of prose, the sex scenes from a female POV very much read like they were written by a man: "In fact, she orgasmed 4 times, one after the other" -- a line explaining a woman who is cheating on her husband. Good lord. I had to stop reading and compose myself for a moment after reading that stupid line).
Now for the characters: the characters were very flat, uninteresting, and so unlikeable that you have absolutely no idea who to root for. Also, the woman are written in a flat out weird way sometimes. For example, the way the moms talk about their child's classmates is soooo weird. For example, a mom named Alice asks another mom, Celia, about Celia's son's ex-boyfriend:
Celia: "Jack had started dating Lexi So-and-so"
Alice: "Lexi? She's a hottie". I'm sorry what? Why are grown ass women expressing opinions on the physical appearance of 16 year olds? The classmates of their child? Huh? Sooo bizarre.
Not only did I find the story dull (I was interested enough to figure out who the killer was, but that's not saying much) but damn was that ending just weak and lazy in my opinion. It gave no closure, and not in a smart and thought-provoking way.

Thank you to xxx, Stephen Amidon, and Netgalley for an advance digital copy. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

The blurb for this book had me at hello. A young woman found dead, a small town, close knit families and friends, parents who will do anything to protect their children, hidden secrets. Add in comparisons to Celeste Ng and Dennis Lehane, and my own comparisons to Jodi Picoult and Liane Moriarty, how could this book miss? It's everything I look for in a fiction book.

Despite my high hopes, I didn't connect with this book. I initially read about 25% before stopping. A few weeks later I tried again before finally stopping at 34%. The pace of the book moved very slow for me. Too slow for me to feel compelled to continue reading. I didn't like the author's use of so many big five dollar words. Also, the opening chapter is not for the faint of heart or animal lovers. I almost stopped there. I really wish I had connected with this story or the author's writing style, because I know a lot of people have and greatly enjoyed it. I may just be the odd one out here unfortunately.

2 stars

I went into this expecting to love it, but I knew where the plot was going and I could not keep reading it. I skipped ahead to the end and I was right. So I decided to put it down. I may come back to it eventually.
This was more of an exploration of characters and suburban life, rather than the thriller I was expecting.

3.5

A young girl is murdered in an affluent area of a Boston suburb. Other friends were with her, one is eventually accused.

Secrets are aplenty in this book. As most books of this type, most parents will do anything to protect their own, money talks. Easy enough read, older storyline with no real surprises. Not much suspense or thriller, more domestic drama. Unlikeable characters…parents acting as irresponsible as their kids. Many issues could have been delved into more…racism, privilege, addiction. So many storylines left hanging. Unlikable characters. The ending left me wanting more! Easy enough read just not enough depth.

Thanks to Mr. Amidon, Celadon Books and NetGalley for this ARC. Opinion is mine alone.

4.5 stars
Locust Lane, by Stephen Amidon, is an absolutely riveting novel that sucked me in and kept me captivated the entire time. This novel is a story about bad people doing bad things, which I’m usually not a fan of, but in this case I was fascinated by these characters, their stories, their motivations, their interactions and the actions they took. And though they are highly problematic people, I somehow felt drawn to them and found some of their rationales oddly understandable, even if they aren’t condonable.

Locust Lane is the murder mystery of a local teenage girl and all of the families in their various forms who were involved one way or another. It is told from various points of view. This family drama/domestic thriller weaves the various perspectives together seamlessly to form a whole, cohesive, gripping story. Each viewpoint is interesting and adds a unique nuance to the tale.

Though I was surprised by the reveal of the culprit, (though there are really so many culpable), I was not a fan of the conclusion. It was probably a realistic outcome, but it left me uncomfortably unsettled and uneasy. It was a fairly brave move on the author’s part, and though it won’t sit well with many readers, it was a different choice from the average conclusion in this genre and probably quite accurate in terms of plausibility. I will definitely read another book from this author and look forward to whatever he writes next.

I was expecting a suspense thriller going in. This is more of a domestic drama. There are no likeable characters. The story is a well-written, mostly depressing, slow-burn with an ending that left me still asking questions. Having said all that, I still liked this one. I found it very realistic as far as real life goes. If you want a simple story with a happy ending, this is not for you. Otherwise, give this one a shot! Very happy I read it and would definitely read more from this author.

Thank you to #NetGalley, Stephen Amidon and Celadon Books for this ARC. All Opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this book. It was the best book I read in 2023. The book was very well written. I have no complaints about this one!!

Wasn’t able to really get through this one. I DNF at about 30%. It has elements of mystery and thriller but it did mostly feel like a domestic drama.

Didn’t work for me but might work for other readers.

Locust Lane
By Stephen Amidon
Review and Rating 3 ⭐️

Locust Lane by Stephen Amidon is a tough book to review, billed as a mystery and thriller, it is more of a domestic drama. Although centered around the death of a teenage girl, it is also about family dysfunction and societal issues like class, money, and social status.
In an affluent suburb of Boston, Emerson, Massachusetts, a young woman, Eden, is murdered. She is partying with three other teenagers, sweet but possibly unstable Hannah, Jack, her boyfriend with a mean streak and dark past, and Christopher, an outsider who is not only desperate to fit in but has a thing for Eden.
The investigation soon proves that the teenager’s parents each have their own motivations and will do whatever it takes to protect their own.
This book employs multiple point of views which can be confusing at first, but it didn’t take me long to figure out all the characters. Although, once you do, it is hard to find one to like, they are all pretty self serving. The book also has just a general sad, depressing theme about which I don’t mind but some people might.
Despite these things, I did in fact enjoy reading Locust Lane and think you might too if you enjoy a slow burn domestic drama. 3⭐️⭐️⭐️
I want to thank #Netgalley, Celadon and Stephen Amidon for providing me with an eARC. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. #LocustLane


Book Rating Key
⭐️ Not Recommended
⭐️⭐️ Readable Book
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Good Book
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Excellent Book
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Near Perfect Book
***Note*** I seldom give ⭐️or ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ratings. If I feel a book is a ⭐️sometimes I just prefer to not finish reading it and not rate it. As for 5 ⭐️books, I think of those as books I would want to take with me to a deserted island 🏝️, and this means I read a whole lot of ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️star books. Happy Reading!

This was an odd one for me. I usually like when books have a dual timeline but this was a little bit confusing and didn’t really make much sense.

All the characters were extremely unlikeable and i still couldn’t find any redeemable qualities throughout the whole book. Celia and Alice were the worst though. I just couldn’t get past the way they talked about their kids. It was just weird and I wasn’t a fan.

The story was pretty repetitive and i thought it dragged on but I really wanted to know what happened.

I liked the concept of the story and love a good murder mystery but there was just a lot I would have changed. Especially the ending….. I liked the twist at the end even though I had a small inkling something similar was going to happen but I didn’t guess all of it which is a plus!

The prologue amazing! It caught my attention and make me want to read more right away!

The book then stayed pretty good for most of it. Not as amazing as the prologue, but still good. The character development was good and I felt like you really got to know the characters, along with their issues, insecurities and problems.

Then came the last two "chapters". I HATED the ending of the book. I don't need a happy ending, but I need it all wrapped up. There were too many 'what did this person do next' moments that we were left with to think and ponder.

Thank you to Netgalley for giving me this book for my honest opinion.

Superficially, "Locust Lane" is like a lot of contemporary mysteries -- multiple characters sharing multiple points of view on a crime, all colored by their self-motives. But Stephen Amidon's characters are sharply drawn, and they evolve over the course of the book so that a reader's opinion of them continuously shifts. The crime here is the murder of a young woman, found dead after partying eith some teens. The parents get involved, and soon seem as culpable as the actual killer. Along the way, "Locust Lane" also proves to be a poignant exploration of parental grief. Only the ending is unsatisfying, leaving important threads dangling -- purposely, but frustratingly.

Locust Lane is a murder mystery set in the small, affluent Boston suburb of Emerson, Massachusetts. After a young woman dies, three teens are connected to the murder and their parents deal with the fallout.

Despite being marketed as a mystery/thriller, this book has little suspense. The story really focuses on the aftermath of the murder and reads more like a domestic drama. Essentially, what I expected and what I read were two different things that I will not hold against the author. (But publishers, do better by your authors and market a book accurately!)

Locust Lane is told through multiple points of view: the parents of three teens who are suspects in the murder, the victim’s mother, and an unrelated witness. In all, there are about seven narrators, although they do not receive equal time. Because their mundane names, I would sometimes forget which name belonged to whom. However, once I started reading the chapter, it was clear. I do think that the number of narrators (as well as the writing) limited the characters’ development. The characters largely felt like silhouettes and cliches, rather than fully-formed people.

While the drama that constituted the plot was entertaining, I kept waiting for something actually compelling to occur, particularly after the strong prologue. (Please note that the book starts with the repeated injury of a dog that was very difficult to read.) Alas, nothing ever transpired. In addition, Locust Lane just petered out. There was no real conclusion, no ending, and no clarity about the final events. It almost seemed unfinished, although I am sure Amidon intended to leave it up to readers’ interpretations.

My largest disappointment with Locust Lane was the missed opportunity to say something substantial about suburban culture. The story includes themes of race, privilege, and addiction, but nothing is really said about them. In all honesty, looking back, it kind of made for a pointless book since there was no suspense to make it truly a mystery, no originality to make it a compelling narrative, and no social commentary to make it a worthwhile piece of contemporary fiction.

Overall, Locust Lane is a very readable book but left me wanting more. I recommend it if you are looking for a parents-acting-badly-in-the-name-of-protecting-their-kids book. Otherwise, I think there are more worthwhile books that have either better mysteries or something meaningful to say.

Rating: 2.5 stars

Such a great book. I really enjoyed this one.
A quiet suburban neighborhood, a dead young woman, and a group of kids. People will do anything to save their families, and in this neighborhood that is quite the case.

So I won't lie I was a little intimated by this book when I saw it was written from multiple POVs. I can handle one or two characters POVs but once it hits four, I usually can't follow along, but in Locust Lane, I was able too. There is a LOT going on in this book. A lot, but somehow, it doesn't seem overwhelming as some books tend to do.

Its a character book as well and although there are a lot of characters, its easy to keep track of and each of them are extremely well written. I would have liked to hear more from the kids about everything going on, but the focus was on the parents. It still was a really good read!

Thank you so much to #Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC

A well-executed murder mystery with intricate plotting and told from multiple POVs. The ending isn’t your typical ending in fiction, but it makes perfect sense when you consider the real world and how life plays out in ways that aren’t fair.

This was a slow burn book about a murdered teenage girl and the three friends who had been partying with her the night before. There was great character development throughout the book as we get to know the teenagers and their families. The book was a little long, but overall I enjoyed it. Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publish for an advanced copy of this book in return for an honest review.