Audiobooks are still a relatively new thing for me, but I’m loving slotting some in between my other reads. I think mystery/thrillers are especially good picks to listen to, and so far I haven’t been let down.

Locust Lane is being compared to Little Fires Everywhere, and I can definitely see that. I also thought it had a Beartown vibe to it, because nothing sinister can ever happen in a quiet town, right? It has this overall feeling like something big is looming – some town-shaking discovery that you’re waiting for. Of course, the murder happens right away in Locust Lane, but it does feel like there’s something coming.

This book effectively had me going back and forth between who I thought was the killer, and I was wrong up until the reveal. I’m not exactly a thriller reader aficionado, but it was fun for me. I enjoyed the rich suburb problems storyline as well, about how far some rich folks will go to keep their reputations in tact.

What I liked most about the audiobook version was the way the narrator was able to make her voice sound so “hoity toity” for the rich mom. That really helped me feel immersed in the story and added something to the narration. She’s also really good at sounding like a shifty teenage boy with something to hide 😆.

The end of Locust Lane suggests a sequel, and I would have to read it! Overall this one was fun and kept me guessing.

- 3.5 Stars -
This book had all the makings of a really superb thriller book. Unfortunately for me, it fell a little flat and that impacted my rating a fair amount.

A local girl is found dead, likely murdered in a wealthy Boston suburb. As the police begin their investigation, those who could have family members involved begin to protect their own, but the question is - how far is too far?

This book had the story told from the perspectives of the parents involved, which I LOVED. Especially considering that none of the parents were involved directly in what happened the evening of the girls death. It made it so much more suspenseful and also gave you more insights on the kids involved. It definitely added a twist that I wasn’t expecting. I think that giving each teen a chance to have a pov chapter could have been really good, but I didn’t write the book so I can’t judge haha.

I didn’t know who committed the crime and that led to me not really knowing who I should be rooting for as the story progressed. Overall, this book had some really good things happening, but I genuinely think that it might have taken just a little too long to get to the end result. This book won’t stop me from reading others released by this author, I am still intrigued.

⚠️TW: alcoholism, child death, death, drug use, sexual assault, addiction, cursing

Locust Lane by Stephen Amidon is a book that's generating a little buzz.

"A young woman is killed in a house in the affluent part of Emerson, Massachusetts. Three teenagers were with her that night and one is quickly arrested for her murder. A man driving through late that night thinks he saw something but he is hesitant to go to the police because of his history. Two of the families are quickly protect their sons and daughters while the other is left on his own to navigate the system. What really happened that night?"

This book is a slow burner. It's told through the POV of the moms of the teens as well as the mother of the victim. There are very few likable characters in this book and there are a lot of characters. On the audiobook the transitions between POVs was quick and hard to catch sometimes. Maybe it was the playback speed (1.5) but the character voices were not especially distinctive so that made it tough sometimes to figure out which POV was playing.

The beginning was slow - felt like a typical "affluent kids are protected by the system" story. The last half moves a little quicker but I did not like the direction it took. I wanted to see some justice, some redemption, some remorse. There is a twist - you'll eventually see it coming. There is not a pretty ending from Amidon. There is a hint there will be more but then you're left hanging to wonder what happens. I know they're only fictional characters, but I want to know.

This is not a thriller. Fans of slow-burn drama will enjoy this. (Books like Little Fires Everywhere or Big Little Lies)

I honestly had to sit with this book for a minute to collect my thoughts. At it's core, this is a slow burn, character driven novel about the lengths people will go to support and protect the ones they love. From the synopsis, I was definitely pulled in by the murder mystery aspect and while that was the premise of the book, this was more of a character study I would’ve liked more character development early on as there were a lot of characters to keep track of.

When I got to the middle, especially the 2nd half, the pacing sped up and I was invested to know how this story would end. I listened to the audiobook thanks to @macmillan.audio, which I enjoyed, especially due to the multiple POVs. It was interesting that we see the story through the parents’ eyes and not the teens themselves.

Overall if you like a slow burn mystery this would be a good one to pick up!

The prologue reeled me in. As I continued reading, the mystery and the death of Eden and the whodunnit element had me guessing who was responsible for Eden’s death.
The story is told in multiple POVS by the parents.
The narrator, Cassandra Campbell did a wonderful job portraying all of the characters and different POVs. She used a variety of tones and inflections and kept me engaged. It was a bit confusing getting the characters straight.
So it was interesting to see everything by the parents and step parents POV.
I was very surprised with how the author did things in this book. I don’t want to give spoilers out but I was really surprised with what took place and who received the punishment. Its a great reminder of how messed up our judicial system can be here in the states.
The epilogue left me a bit confused like I missed something so I wish that was written a bit clearly.

Emerson is a lovely, quiet suburb of Boston replete with upscale families and homes.  The death of a young woman raises suspicions within the community with much denial and finger pointing by the families of the three teenagers who were last with her.
   The wealthy families that are affected all seem to think they are either above scrutiny or know how to evade questioning by the police.
    All the social problems are presented here: drugs, teenage angst, cheating spouses, character assignations …all presented in a tense thriller/drama that flips back and forth between all the families that are  involved and what they did to avoid condemnation.
   The ending keeps you dangling.

Is there gonna be a sequel?! What was that epilogue?! Ahhhhhh!!

Locust Lane was a slow burn, drama, a poignant story where no one truly wins. Okay... I'm into it. I love morally grey characters and when it's done right, a "write it yourself" open ended conclusion can be very satisfying. Hannah, Jack, Christopher, Celia, Alice, Patrick, all felt so real to me. Nuanced, complex, developed. Amidon is a strong writer and a storyteller for sure.

But... I'm so baffled by that conclusion. Is it just me? I was left truly confused when I realized that's it. No more words. If there's not a Locust Lane 2 coming up... Huh?! If a sequel comes out then I'll amend the rating for this one lol

LOCUST LANE
Stephen Amidon

I’m still on a reader high just having finished LOCUST LANE a few hours ago. It comes out in January, and I think you should add it to whatever list you’ve got started for 2023.

Locust Lane is about a group of families all affected by the death of Eden Perry which occurs on Locust Lane. A street located in a wealthy neighborhood in Emerson Massachusetts.

This book doesn’t read like your average thriller or mystery, it's rich and deeply layered, and feels very different from others I’ve read. It explores themes of class, racial stereotyping, power dynamics, small-town politics, and familial inheritances. It feels part literary, part mystery, I enjoyed my entire time listening, let’s talk about it…

The prose was the first thing that jumped out to me. I was listening to the audiobook edition of this title and the prose combined with the expert narration made me pay full attention. I knew from the beginning I was in for an experience.

The second thing I noticed was the details and features ascribed to each character. They were unique in what they focused on making the character formation feel, unlike other reading experiences. Their different point of view provided a confessional booth quality that voyeuristic readers will love and will make voyeurs out of the rest of us.

The third thing that I noticed which lasted throughout the book was the storytelling pattern of the novel. I loved this more than anything and I think this is what pushed it from a good book to a great book. There were several times I got lost in the book, wrapped up in the mystery, guessing wrong, and being surprised at the lengths people will go to if given the opportunity.

I’m so glad I picked this book up and suggest you do the same!

Coming January 17, 2022

Thanks to Netgalley, Macmillan Audio, and Celadon Books for the advanced copies in exchange for an honest review!

LOCUST LANE…⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Really enjoyed this story! Twisty and unpredictable this book gripped me right from the start, I couldn't put it down and didn't know who to trust. Definitely recommend foe any thriller/mystery fan. Thank you NetGalley for this ARC

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an early access audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoy the odd audiobook so when I saw the description of this book on NetGalley I knew I wanted a chance to listen to/read it.

This book is the story of the parents of 3 teens investigated for the murder of another girl in town. Instead of following the teens’ lives it follows the parents, their reactions to the murder and everything they do to try to protect their children. I loved that take rather than following along the characters actually involved.

There are quite a few points of view which can be tricky for an audiobook trying to keep track of who is who and who’s POV we are in. I know many readers do not like books with multiple POVs but I personally do as we get to see the story unfold a little differently and we can typically get more development on more characters. I think the author did a great job with this.

I don’t want to give spoilers so all I will say about the ending was I did find it unsatisfying, I would have liked to have seen Danielle read the letter and get her reaction, and see the outcome of what she decides to do about it.

Based on the description this should have been a book I really connected with, but it fell flat. Suspenseful books should be slower paced and I appreciate that the author didn't rush through the plot, however, the character development was rough. While there was definitely some diversity within the pages, everyone was written more as a caricature than authentic. The well to-do immigrant father who contemplates marrying someone for her divorce proceeds and despite being intelligent doesn't seem to understand how law enforcement works? The woman with a checkered past is a gold digger and adulterer.

Overall the story itself, on face value, was entertaining and the lack of red herrings used made guessing who did it hard even though it ended up being completely unoriginal and predictable. I also struggled to find anyone to root for, as everyone was pretty awful. Another aspect that I struggled with was the multiple parent POVs, at times, it made it hard to track where the story was because there was overlap.

I thought the narrator did a fabulous job!

Thank you for access to this ARC.

I had higher expectations for this one if I’m being honest. This one just didn’t captivate me. It was slow and honestly a bit boring.

This book was fantastic! The setup had you guessing. It seemed too obvious of an answer about who did it so you're thinking the whole time that you really know but then it turns right at the end! None of the storylines turned out how I expected them too. 10/10 would recommend!

This book was so disappointing! I thought it was going to be so good, but it was entirely predictable with an overall bad ending. It was definitely too long as well, After the 60% mark it was just a waiting game to have it done, not much plot development.

It wasn't a bad book per se, but had the potential to be so much better. 2.5 stars rounded up!

Thank you for this ARC!!

I enjoyed this very slow paced suspense book. On the surface it is about the murder of a young woman with a history of unstable behavior but as the book unfolds we learn it is about much more than that.

This book is about privilege and prejudices that pit the have and the have nots against each other and a criminal justice system that works for the rich and against the poor.

There are quite a few suspects that are dangled around for the reader to choose from but in the end you probably won't guest the twist and who murderer murdered the victim.

There are many characters in this story and the narration was really good and distinct with all of them.

Unfortunately, I really didn't like the ending as it was really bleak and unfair but it was probably closer to how the real world justice system works.

Thank you MacMillan Audio for my ALC.

LOCUST LANE by Stephen Amidon and narrated by Cassandra Campbell surprised me with a strong deconstruction of the upper crust family facade.

When a girl is found dead in an affluent New England suburb, the three teens that were with her are all investigated. Their parents are all convinced of their innocence and are willing to do whatever it takes to save their own. They all have secrets that they need to stay under wraps and this investigation is getting too close.

This is definitely a suspenseful drama with a fascinating group of adults as the narrators. This is a multiple POV story that focuses heavily on how adults respond to crisis involving their kids. This is a slightly different take that felt right for me.

The number of narrators did make the audio version a bit harder to follow, despite a really great job on Cassandra Campbell's part. Her voices changed for each perspective, it was just tricky to keep everyone straight until I had the physical copy in my hand. I absolutely loved the combo of both!

I absolutely loved this story. I didn't love all the characters, and the injustices were hard to take, but it felt real. The ending is interesting and I liked it, but don't expect a tidy wrap up.

I highly recommend this suspense/drama! 4.5 Stars!
(5 for the book, 4 for the audio)

January 17th is the publication date and it should be on your list!

Thank you so much to @celadonbooks for the ARC through @goodreads giveaway, and to @netgalley and @macmillan.audio for the ALC. All opinions are my own, and I can't wait to discuss this more!

I’m sorry, but this book was not for me. I cannot pinpoint the exact reason since I felt like there are too many that bothered me.

The major issue I had with the book was is this a racism/political piece? The booked kept talking about how the Lebanese/French boy was not going to get a fair trial since he is a minority and the victim was the dead white girl. This was brought up several times. We find out later in the book the boy is not truly innocent since he raped the girl while she was passed out. I understand that is not the same thing as murder and it is not punishable as the same crime, but we cannot say a fully innocent boy is going to jail.

I love a book with multiple POVs, but this was so confusing. It was told by all the parents who had no idea what happened. It was all speculation and none of the characters were likable or interesting.

The rape scene was awful and was way too graphic for me. One boy forced another boy to rape the girl while she was passed out. This is not something I care to read about in full detail. I already disliked the characters, so there was no reason to make me hate them even more.

The ending was the last straw for me. Everything about what terrible. It even ended with a cliffhanger that won’t be solved.

With all this being said, I don’t think I am the target audience for this book nor do I enjoy Stephen’s writing style. I won’t be reading another one of his books.

Thanks NetGalley and publisher for the digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

4 High School Students
9 Adults
1 Unsolved Murder

LOCUST LANE by Stephen Amidon is a slow-burn whodunit domestic mystery family drama of parents, their teens, and the deadly toxic secrets they hide.

A young woman is dead in Emerson, MA, an affluent New England Boston suburb. A brutal crime shakes the entire neighborhood to the core.

Told from multiple parent POVs:
~ Patrick—an alcoholic father grieving the loss of his daughter due to a drug overdose and who might have seen the killer while driving on Locust Lane
~ Danielle (Eden's mother), the girl who was murdered
~Alice (Hannah's stepmother)
~Michel (Christopher's father)
~Celia (Jack's mother)

Teen friends:
~Eden Perry (found murdered)
The last ones to see her alive and suspects:
~Hannah
~Jack
~Christopner

Hannah's father, Geoff, a scientist spending his time in his study; her stepmother Alice is secretly in an affair with charming Parisian restaurant chef Michel.

Jack is the youngest son in the Parrish family. His father, Oliver is a fixer and his mother, Celia, goes to extremes to protect her children.

Christopher's father is Michel, and they have recently moved to the US. Christopher had a crush on Eden but was too shy to act on it.

An investigation gets underway, with the story alternating between the various key characters. The parents turn against one another and an unreliable witness who might have seen the killer.

Who killed Eden, and what was the motive? How far will the parents go to protect their children?

Thought-provoking, gripping, and intense. From murder, lies, deceit, indiscretions, and cover-ups. There is a lot of family drama here, which often overshadows the mystery and suspense of the novel.

The author slowly lt exposes the dark side of the perfectly privileged families, with complex human characters thrust into suspenseful, page-turning situations.

LOCUST LANE has an eclectic vibe, crossing between— Liane Moriarty's Big Little Lies (family drama), Dani Shapiro's Signal Fires (psychological literary fiction), and Celeste Ng's Little Fires Everywhere (psychological mystery)— versus a riveting suspense thriller.

While it would have been nice to hear more from the teens and backstories versus the parent's drama, diving deep into their psyche, ultimately, it was the parent's perspective. The novel wasn't focused only on the murder but on the lives of everyone it affected and the aftermath.

The ending was thought-provoking and fitting; however, it left me wanting a little more, and I found myself rewinding it a few times.

AUDIOBOOK: I listened to the audiobook, and as always, I adore Cassandra Campbell, one of my favorite narrators. Her voice is so soothing; I could listen to her all day. Her narration made the book and gave an engaging performance for all the characters. 5 Stars

However, keeping up with all the characters via audio was challenging, and I recommend the accompanying e-book.

My first book by the author, and I look forward to reading more. Locust Lane would make an ideal book club pick for further discussions.

Thank you to #MacmillanAudio and #NetGalley for an e-ALC to read, review, and enjoy.

Blog Review posted @
www.JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 4 Stars
Pub Date: Jan 17, 2023
Jan 2023 Must-Read Books

"Locust Lane" is so brilliantly written in a way that perfectly captures white privilege and the privilege having wealth buys you. On the surface, this book is about a murder in a well to do neighborhood where bad things never happen. But beneath the cover, as the "investigation" unfolds and parents become involved and privilege rears it's fortunate head, this story takes on a new purpose and exposes readers to the true nature of the justice system.

With suble and not so subtle contexts and circumstances "Locust Lane" is an eye-opening read. Forcing us to check ourselves and our privileges. Author Stephen Amidon does a great job capturing tough topics.

When Eden Perry is found murdered in an affluent area of Emerson, Massachusetts, the three teens that were partying with her the night before are soon seen as suspects. Told in multiple POV’s, this slow burn of a thriller takes us on a journey into the lives of five completely different families, covering addiction, privilege, domestic abuse and bullying. When one of the three teens is arrested for the crime, fingers are pointed in other directions and families are willing to tear friends lives apart to protect their own. Amidon keeps us turning pages as we get closer and closer to the truth and with an ending I both hated and loved in equal parts, this book left me pondering even days later. Cassandra Campbell does a good job on the audio version although there are a lot of characters to voice. It might have been a bit better to have other voices join her, but still enjoyable. Thank you to Celadon Books, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for an ARC and ALC of this book.