This quick-paced, exciting thriller certainly kept me going from the first page to the finish line.
It's takes place in a wealthy Massachusetts town where a murder of someone from the other side of the tracks occurs. Money talks in this town and justice is served by who you know, not by who actually is responsible. It's a common theme often explored and this book presents an interesting take on who-dun-it.
The narrator was terrific. There is quite a lengthy cast of complex characters and she made sure the listeners were able to distinguish between the numerous personalities. I wouldn't want to be pals with most of them. Yet, the author sensitively portrayed their flaws and issues..
Compelling! Looking forward to more of this author!

The opening scene of this book was a huge nope for me. The MC hits a dog and then contemplates leaving it while it is clearly injured. Hard pass.

After being on a romance binge for the last few reads, I was more than ready to switch over to this gripping small-town mystery!

LOCUST LANE is set in the suburban town of Emerson, Massachusetts, after a young woman named Eden Perry is found dead, it sets off an investigation into the three teenagers suspects who were partying with Eden the night before she was discovered in this search for justice amid the presence of power and influence in this seemingly idyllic town.

Featuring multiple POVS, I really appreciated reading both the physical copy and the audiobook of Locust Lane. The slow burn story kept me engaged, and there was plenty of drama surrounding each character, which made for a fun escape. I found myself so invested into the lives of each character, that I became more fascinated with each POV, which pulled me from my initial desire of just wanting to find out who the killer was.

Narrated by one of my favorites, Cassandra Campbell, I was completely gripped by her narration!

*many thanks to Celadon and Macmillan Audio for the gifted copy for review

"On the surface, Emerson, Massachusetts, is just like any other affluent New England suburb. But when a young woman is found dead in the nicest part of town, the powerful neighbors close ranks to keep their families safe. In this searing novel, Eden Perry’s death kicks off an investigation into the three teenagers who were partying with her that night, each a suspect. Hannah, a sweet girl with an unstable history. Jack, the popular kid with a mean streak. Christopher, an outsider desperate to fit in. Their parents, each with motivations of their own, only complicate the picture: they will do anything to protect their children, even at the others’ expense."

This story is told from multiple POV's, the parents of all of the teens involved and a member of the community that saw a man in the shadows the night of the murder. I found the story telling unique, being from the parents POV opposed to those actually involved, but it certainly added extra mystery - can you truly believe what your child is telling you? At times the parents behaviors seemed worse than that of the teens, immediately wanting to cover up what happened to protect their children without knowing the truth or even caring that a young woman was murdered. The book was full of unlikeable characters and proved that wealth and status are often more important than the truth.
Overall I enjoyed this story, it started a bit slow but quickly picked up speed. I would classify this as more of a mystery/domestic drama than a thriller, but it did keep me guessing until the very end. I love when a final twist in a story shocks me; but also, once revealed, I can clearly see the clues along the way.

⭐⭐⭐💫 (3.5)

Thank you to @netgalley, @celadonbooks, and @macmillianaudio for the gifted copy of this book.

I've seen so many mixed reviews of this one that I wasn't sure about starting it at first. I'm so glad I picked it up, because I quickly ended up getting attached to the story.
A teenage girl is murdered in an affluent and idyllic suburb and an investigation ensues. Three other teenagers were partying that night; each of them become suspects, and each of them have parents that will go a long way to protect them and their family secrets.
I think knowing this is a mostly character-driven, slow burn mystery was really helpful. If I had gone in expecting a faster pace I would likely have been disappointed. The author uses overlapping tellings from the teenagers' parents' perspectives, which gives a deep understanding of the characters and rapidly got me invested.
As with a lot of mysteries, getting the layout of who was who took a minute on audio, but I thought this ended up making a very binge-able audiobook.

Thank you so much MacMillan Audio for the ALC of this one.

This was a thought provoking slow burn read. I typically love a good small town suburban drama with affluent residents bursting with secrets but I must admit that I was initially confused by the different characters and their relationships and wanted more of a connection and better development.

The crime centres around the teenagers of the town but we interestingly get the point of views of all of the parents involved. It’s thought provoking because it makes you question how far are you willing to go for your children, and how far is too far?

While I was intrigued by the mystery, in the end, it fell a bit flat for me and I needed just a little more.

Dear Locust Lane,
You were such a surprising story. I really enjoyed digging into your story. I loved all of the different narrators, each holding their own small piece of the story, revealing a larger, story. Each character was unreliable in their narration too, whether from perspective or addiction or trauma. The only person I really trusted at all was Patrick, even though he was drunk all of the time. I knew Jack was going to be trouble from the beginning of your story, but being able to see him though his mother's eyes gave him some redemptive qualifies that I would not have been able to see any other was. You reminded me a lot of The Gifted School, where children are behaving badly, but the adults in their lives are only behaving worse. I loved how deeply intertwined each of their lives were. I am going to have to read more of Amidon's writing.

I absolutely loved this book.

It was very character driven and the characters were well built and so distinct. The audio really helped with all the narrators and the pacing. I could see some people finding it a bit slow but it worked for me.

Part character drama and part whodunnit / investigation, this has all the makings of what I love in a good mystery. Best of all, I thought I had things all figured out and it still surprised me which always earns extra points!

I definitely recommend the audio. The narrators did an awesome job of adding drama, suspense, and helping to get me invested in each individual. Several narrators were used which definitely added to the story and helped differentiate each character section.

This book really kept me guessing. I went in pretty blind and at times wondered if I was reading a contemporary fiction / neighborhood drama novel, a mystery with a spark of scifi, or a murder investigation book.

Thank you to MacMillan Audio, Celadon, and NetGalley for this great novel.

A high schooler is murdered and this affluent community is forced to consider the bias race and money have on one's chance to be proven innocent. A domestic thriller/mystery this one held my interest more than I thought it would. The author illustrates the power of social media to influence public opinion and how even money can't get away from it. A good listen for anyone who likes fast paced mysteries. It does get confusing a little bit of whose storyline we are following at times but otherwise a good solid mystery audiobook with a narrator who has good inflection and keeps you wanting to hear more. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of the audiobook.

Nine Adults. Four teens. One unsolved murder. And one of the best prologues I’ve ever read. Stephen Amidon’s novel is a slow burn thriller/domestic suspense. Eden Perry is found dead in a house on Locust Lane in the small New England town of Emerson, Massachusetts. She’s been a drifter but seems to have found her way into the lives of Hannah, Jack, and Christopher. After one tragic night Eden is dead and the three of them are implicated in her death. Their parents become the catalysts in the drama to come.
The audio was narrated by Cassandra Campbell and with such a huge roster of characters she did an impeccable job.
I was on the edge of my seat from the prologue!! Never have I been so gripped with anticipation. I wanted to know everything about Patrick immediately.
I’m a note taker so that helped me a TON with a book like this with so many characters and storylines happening. The long chapters were a tad stressful for a chapter reader but I adapted fine.
I look forward to Stephen Amidon’s next book.
Thank you to Netgalley, Celadon Books, and Macmillan Audio for my gifted copies!

This was a quick paced and entertaining read. Though as I write this review, two weeks have passed since I finished reading it, and the details are already growing hazy, which says something about how memorable it will be for me. That being said, I liked the setting, which felt atmospheric and well well crafted. The plot was, to me (a crime fiction/mystery/thriller addict), fairly predictable, though that did not make the book boring. My main issue was that most of the characters just felt a bit flat to me, not well developed, which is a pet peeve for a character-driven reader. All in all, an entertaining read, and I would be interested in trying something else by the author in the future.


Thanks to Celadon Books and Netgalley for supplying a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Lost in this one and bored with it. Doesn’t feel like it’s worth finishing - I wish I was more invested.

The adults in this are tragic.

Thank you to @celadonbooks for the eARC and @macmillan.audio for the ALC of Locust Grove. Oh yeah, and happy publication day even though I’m posting past 10pm 🕙 here in Tulsa.

There is one narrator and she does a fantastic job. However, I would suggest following along in print, at least at first, because there are a lot of characters. Once I got the hang of who was whom, I was good. Many will find the audio confusing for this reason though.

Locust Lane is about the murder/death of a young, teenage girl. She hasn’t made the best choices in life, but her life ends in such an unfortunate way. The only people to see her hours before her death are three fellow teenagers, two boys and a girl.

The entire book is narrated by parental figures except for one, lone town drunk…who also happened to hit a dog right in front of the house where the murder takes place on said night. And I gotta say, allllll the adults have their flaws. Some major, some not as much. One particular character I would HATE in real life.

This book starts off super slow, builds to where it is quite good…and then it fizzled for me. I need closure when it comes to books. Especially books where there is intense drama like this. What happened in the end there?

I think the only way I could rate this book higher is if I found out there would be a sequel to tie up the loose ends. I buddy read this with a group and when that was suggested, I latched right onto it. Because seriously, I need closure. Books, don’t leave me hanging.

This book was a slow-burn, but I loved the pace that the story unfolded and it kept me hooked all the same. The narrator was amazing, I was fully engaged that the world the author had built, and loved that while there weren't HUGE twists or drama it was enough to feel realistic. I ended up enjoying this way more than I anticipated!

A twenty years old girl, dogwalker, taking care of elder couple after having a break with her relationship of her mother: Eden Perry has found death! Emerson, Massachusetts is an affluent, peaceful suburban with low crime rates! This brutal crime shakes the entire neighborhood up. I enjoyed this to the half way point but then felt like it just took too long to wrap up the story line.

Locust Lane had everything I like in a mystery/thriller! The complexity of the characters really brought an authentic feel to the story. The light the story shines on some of society’s most vital issues really made me think and feel while reading, which gave me such an appreciation for this novel.

𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆: Four teens, nine adults and one unsolved murder lead a small affluent town to the brink as doubts are cast, divisions are formed and alliances are made in this domestic suspense novel in the vain of Mystic River and Little Fires Everywhere.

𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀: Sometimes when I love a book, I find writing a review of it incredibly difficult. How do you properly portray the vast amount of emotions, the intrigue, the nail biting nervousness, and the utter love you have for it in an unbiased way that does it the justice it deserves? I fear I will fall quite short here, but I do have a few thoughts I’d like to share regardless.

Wow. Wow. Wow. After seeing mixed reviews on this book, I was a little bit reticent about jumping in. Thank goodness I kept an open mind and an open schedule because not only was this phenomenally written, it was
B-I-N-G-E-A-B-L-E!!! I flew, and I mean flew, through this as an immersive read with both the physical and audiobook and finished in just a few hours. This book took hold of me and did not let me go until the final page of it’s epilogue.

I will note that many of the not so good reviews have sited the large cast of characters and how confusing that was to navigate as their primary reason for not loving or even liking this book. One thing I would strongly recommend is to take notes in the beginning - list each and every character and their connections. While it may seem tedious, it will pay off in droves. The connections are woven in masterfully and you don’t want to miss a single one.

The audiobook is incredible and the narrator Cassandra Campbell did an outstanding job of portraying a dozen plus different characters in a way that made them each distinguishable from the next. Not only did the well produced audiobook bring this story to life for me in a way the physical book couldn’t, hats off to the sound editors who created an intense, atmospheric read right from the start - literally. The intro music gave me the chills.

Read if you like:
•character driven stories
•twisty thrillers
•even pacing throughout
•bingeable reads

This book is not only at the top of my January reads, it is easily in my favorites of 2023! I cannot recommend this book enough. Run, don’t walk and grab your copy in whichever format you love.

Thank you to Celadon Books for my physical ARC and Macmillan audio and NetGalley for my ALC.

This slow burn domestic thriller was a compelling, heartbreaking, infuriating read. Told from multiple POVs (I really had to utilize note-taking to keep everything straight), this reminded me so much of Big Little Lies, Little Fires Everywhere and even a dash of Euphoria where both the kids and their parents have secrets. Overall, an intriguing, authentic storyline that focused on themes of grief, power and class, and social injustice, among others.

Thank you to NetGalley, Celadon Books and Macmillan Audio for the advanced copies!

Read or listen if you like:
-slow burn thrillers
-rich versus working class narrative
-secrets
-multiple POV
- who did it mystery

This one felt like a murder mystery mixed with the classist and wealth divides much like Little Fires Everywhere. This one truly would be a great thriller for fans of the book/limited series as it touches on many of the same principals and thoughts of the protection of family and wealth and racism that is experienced in America, especially when someone of a darker skin tone is pegged against a white individual when looking at who might have committed a crime… does your mind jump to the poor immigrant or the affluent white child with privilege and money on their side.

This book unravels slowly but in a very purposeful way that made the ending all that much more powerful. If you are looking for more than a thriller while still getting a who dunnit I highly recommend this one!

Thank you to the publisher for my ARC copy in exchange for my honest thoughts!

Happy release day!
Locust lane takes place in a wealthy Massachusetts suburb. It explores what people are willing to do for those they love-the depths they will search, the lies they will tell.
This book was not really for me. While at the roots, it is a murder mystery, its overall strength and focus is on the interplay of the characters. It’s more of a character study than a whodunnit, although the crime and question are at the heart of the book.
Being from Massachusetts, I liked hearing my city mentioned and likening the areas described to those I know. I noticed some low key racial judgments that didn’t sit well with me. It didn’t feel overt enough to be part of the essence of certain characters; there were just 2-3 times where a racial description was brought up in a way that felt negative. If it was meant to show how a character judged race, it was not clear enough so my discomfort distracted from the story being told.
I felt like this might be a DNF for me from about 20% in but there was enough going for the story that I wanted to see how it ended.
If you really like getting to know the cast of the book more than the plot, this could be for you. It reminded me in that vein of Malibu rising by JTR where the people are the story more than there is a story.
Oh, and that ending was not satisfying.