I’m not sure how I feel about this one still. I liked it while I was reading it but I found it very forgettable. I did really like the characters and the story line.

I rarely read thrillers, so this review is coming from someone without a lot of experience. I thought a YA thriller might be a good way to dip my toe in, and I was right! This was a really enjoyable read and kept me totally engrossed all the way to the end. There were lots of twists and it never felt boring or predictable.

I actually listened to this while pressure washing the driveway and I didn't want to take any breaks so that I could find out what was going to happen! Definitely made the job go by very quickly.

Overall a solid YA thriller!

Reading the synopsis of this book makes me so conflicted. I ended up DNFing this book but I keep thinking if I go back maybe it will pick up. I might do it sometime in the future but at the moment I am just going to say this wasn't the book for me.

I am a sucker for books about serial killers and mysteries in a small town. I enjoyed the central mystery of this book, but I don't think it was fleshed out enough. I think the twist at the end was clever, but kind of came out of the blue. This author has a lot of potential.

Thank you very much for this advanced copy.
I loved the premise and the mystery plot was well written and kept me guessing the whole time.

The only feedback I would give is that the characters, especially the side characters were a little flat and could have used some flushing out. The romance could have also used a bit more time to develop, it felt a little rushed and love-at-first sight. When reading a book, I look for well developed characters that are relatable and feel real. So this is the area of the writing that I would suggest giving a bit more focus in future.

Overall I really enjoyed the read. I always love a good thriller and this delivered on that front.

This was pretty much your basic young adult thriller. The plot was tightly written and kept you guessing which I appreciated. The final twist was pretty clever, but, it also wasn't very satisfying to read as there were like 2 chapters of characters standing around and villain monologues that always make me sigh (it just feels like a lazy way to deliver a final twist - to have a character stand there and explain it all perfectly to the hero). The romance was very insta-lovey and rushed and just didn't do much for me either, I just felt the characters weren't exactly fleshed out enough for me to connect, though I did like the diversity of it. I enjoyed the setting and the atmosphere was great, especially the creepy ocean caves and the urgency of the impending hurricane. Not a bad book, just not exactly top tier to me. 3.5/5.

This review is very late and I regret very much that I waited so long to read my review copy of this book- but holy cow this book was not only completely riveting, but has stuck with me in my mind for quite some time now. Originally I had requested this book because of the cool cover and because I heard it was LGBTQ friendly and was definitely in the mood for a great LGBTQ read. However, I wasn't ready for what this novel had in store for me. I don't know what exactly I was expecting, but a murder mystery WHERE THE MURDER AND THE SOLVING OF SAID MURDER TOOK A FRONT SEAT AND THE LGBTQ THEMES WERE INTEGRATED. Now, I put that in all caps because I have HUGE love for books where the fact the main character is a part of the LGBTQ community but is not the focus of the entire novel- it's important to the central story but not at the same time... does that even make sense? I guess what I'm saying is that all the interactions with other minor characters are normal and no one bats an eyelash when Mac talks about it. It's perceived as NORMAL, unlike when I was growing up you had to be careful who you told.

The murder mystery was brilliant as well, I was completely invested from start to finish and I' pretty sure I finished this entire novel in just a few days. As a teacher, I can't recommend this novel enough to my students not just because of the representation, but because the story really is that good. I will definitely be keeping up with the author's other novels and future releases as well.

Since reading this book, I have since made sure that there is at least two copies of this book in my school's library and recommend it when I can.

This is such a great thriller. You know when people say that a book has them on the edge of your seat? This book actually had me there. I blew through this book because it really made me feel like I was in the book. I needed to have answers. If you have a weak heart this is not the book for you because this book will stress you out until you get the answers and relief that only finishing the book will provide.

This was my first read of April and let me tell you that it started everything off with a bang. I was really excited to read this and I feel like it set the mood for the rest of the month.




The cover feels very ominous to me, I feel like it's creepy and matches the book well.



I think it's a really interesting story, even if not very unique. I almost always love serial killer books, because it keeps me on my toes and the edge of the seat, gives me a creepy crawly feeling, makes me hold me breath, clench my jaw while reading.
As I said this one isn't very unique, the MC's best friend is killed by a serial killer and a year later he's trying to figure out who and why.
But there was something that was unique about this story all the same, I just can't exactly put my finger on what it is.



The pace was done pretty well in this one. It had a lot of build up, but not the slow kind of grueling kind of build up. It had the right amount of build up that had me just wanting to read more and more and not at all put it down.
Then once it got going it really got going. It was a constant that made me want even more than I already wanted.



Keep This to Yourself is really well written. As I said above it had a great build up. I felt myself really getting into this book. I could see myself there with the characters. Which I will talk more about in the world building. Oops.

Either way. Tom did a great job with the thrill part of this book, and not only the thrill, but the twist! Oh that twist! I thought I saw it coming and then I doubted myself and then it was so much more than I ever thought it would be. So I feel like he did a great job in leading up to it, and making you think it was one thing and then BAM it was something else.

I did feel like the romance part of this was forced and a bit rushed. I didn't find it to be a cute romance, kind of an awkward one. And not because it's a M/M one, I feel like the characters didn't connect together.

I liked the characters I think, for the most part. I've read a lot of books between this one and when I'm writing this. But I can't think of anything huge I didn't like.

Mac's obsession was a bit much. I feel like if it was dialed down just a bit that it would have still been a great book with the same result. I feel like it was just a bit... over the top. And weird.

And I did NOT like Connor. Man he got on my nerves. And the more I read about him I just hated him. I didn't see why Mac liked him so much.

So I rated this one a three for a couple reasons. I did feel like the author did a good job in the description of the characters and I could picture myself there with them, as I said above.
But at the same time, I wish there was a bit more description of the area they were in. While I could picture myself talking among the characters I couldn't picture the area they were in, or their surroundings and I feel that would've bumped the book to a 5 star, because I feel like that really makes or breaks a thriller.

As I said the twist was amazing. Well written and crazy and just whoooa. So the ending was a good one, it was satisfactory and I was okay with the book ending.

Overall everything I hoped it would be and more. This was one of my most anticipated of 2019 and it did not disappoint.

None of the characters are fleshed-out and the minor side characters are nothing more than caricatures. I never felt more than mildly engaged with the scrambled, convenient plot. And...the grand finale...the serial killer's identity? I guessed it literally during the first chapter. I was telling my friend about the basic storyline while I was only a few chapters in and she guessed it! SO predictable. How disappointing.

Red herrings galore! And that twist. My god, I don't think I've ever seen that done in a thriller.

I am very surprised that this book has not gotten more traction. Uhhhh, wow. This is how you do a thriller. There were so many red herrings that I was guessing the entire time. The audiobook narrator did a really good job too. Also, it was refreshing to see a main character who is gay, but the book is not about him being gay... it's just a regular story, a thriller like any other.

Thanks so much to the author, Albert Whitman & Company, and NetGalley for a copy of the ARC.

3.5/5 Stars

It's been a year since the Catalog Killer took four lives last summer in Camera Cove. Mac and the rest of the town are trying to move past the murders, but it's hard when his best friend Connor was the last victim. When Mac finds a cryptic message from before Connor's death, asking for his help, he stars up an investigation of his own with the help of a boy he just met.

I'm a big fan of serial killer books, so I was excited for this one! I was pretty intrigued by figuring out who the killer was and didn't expect who it ended up being so that was a good twist for me! There were so many little hints that pointed to the killer that I didn't put together until it was explained to me, which made it seem SO obvious, but I love that I didn't figure it out. I will say that the ending and how everything was resolved was a bit far-fetched though. I enjoyed Mac, but I wasn't the biggest fan of the love interest Quill. There didn't seem to be any real chemistry between them. The only thing they seemed to have in common was that they were both gay. I also feel like the side characters weren't very fleshed out and I honestly couldn't tell them apart from one another.

I actually ended up listening to the audio version of this book. While it was a little slow at some points I was wholly invested in finding out who the true murderer was. I was truly surprised by the ending and overall enjoyed the book!

Camera Cove has always been a quaint little beach-side town and a favored stop for tourists. However, a year after the killing-spree of the Catalog Killer, a supposed drifter who fled town after killing four people, Camera Cove and its residents have not fully recovered. Mac Bell especially. The Catalog Killer's final victim was his best friend Connor. Feeling lost without the guidance of his talented, sociable friend and ringleader of their friend group, Mac plans to spend the summer drifting through his new job at the local library and biding his time until the fall when he can move away from the wounded town and start fresh at college. However, after discovering a message Connor left him before he died, Mac finds himself thrust back into the world of the Catalog Killer as he tries to find closure to the unsolved case.

I loved the characterization of this book. I did not find Mac very relatable or interesting right at the beginning, which makes sense - he was numb, grieving, not sure who he was or what his plans for the future were. At one point he even admits that he had always given little thought to the future unless Connor brought it up. He related his entire personality back to Connor; he was not "Mac", he was "Connor's friend". He quickly developed into a sympathetic character for me when he began investigating the murders. He started standing up for himself, pushed against people close to him who were advising him to stop looking into the case, and took a huge risk in embracing his own sexuality. These were all things that he somehow could not find it in himself to do back when Connor was alive and things were so "perfect".

One criticism I have is that there were a lot of characters that didn't seem necessary for the plot. I do understand that a lot of them were designed to serve as misdirection in Mac's investigation, but I think I would have preferred fewer side characters that were more fleshed out. That being said, I do appreciate that the wide cast helped contribute to the "small town" setting.

I don't read mysteries often, but I do watch a lot of murder mystery shows and was able to guess who the killer was pretty early on. However, Mac's constant doubt in the people around him had me second guessing on more than one occasion which was a lot of fun for me. Lots of shady people in Camera Cove. All in all, I really enjoyed reading this and would definitely suggest it to other readers.

Thriller books in general are not my type, so I think that's the trouble I had with this one. It didn't capture my interest as much as I hoped it was. But still excellent queer rep!

I got bored by this so I put it down so it would't put me into a reading slump. I hyped Keep This to Yourself by Tom Ryan. I found his writing to be too dry for me, sadly. I was hoping/wishing for great things with the one.

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this book!

Rating: 3 stars
Rep: gay MC
Trigger warnings: violence, death, murder.


While I absolutely loved the premise of this book, a thriller/murder investigation featuring a gay main character? Totally sounds like something I would love. But overall it wasn't for me. I loved some parts of it, but not so much other parts. I did end up listening to the audiobook for this, I really liked the narration!


Things I liked:
-I loved the twist. I didn't see it coming at all and it definitely surprised me!
-There were moments that were pretty suspenseful.
-The side characters were interesting and very distinct.
-I really liked the writing style.



Things I didn't like:
-Mac, the main character, I really wanted to like. But I found him to be pretty bland and a little boring.
-The pacing was a little off for me. I was relatively bored for the first 70% of this book and then the end happened and it was so fast-paced and action-packed, but I was left with a lot of unanswered questions.
-I thought Mac would be a relatively sensible character as he went straight to the police at the beginning, but then he proceeded to not tell a soul about any of his investigations and go off on his own to look for a serial killer.
-The connection between Mac and Quill (love interest) was non-existent. They hang out twice and already they call each other boyfriends, they hardly know each other.


Overall, I'm super glad I had the opportunity to read this novel and I won't hesitate to read more by this author in the future. Unfortunately, this one just wasn't for me.

Not a fan. The mystery was... meh and wasn't very 'thrilling' either, which is sad because I had such high hopes for this book.

I finished this book yesterday, and oh my god, it’s amazing. Yes, it’s YA, but I really hope that doesn’t stop people from checking it out. It’s a mystery that follows Mac, whose best friend Connor was murdered by a serial killer the year before. He can’t get over it, and when he finds a note Connor left him before he died, he tries to find a way to figure out just what happened. Was the killer a drifter like everyone says? Or is someone who lives around them, hiding this terrible secret? This book is full of twists and turns. I never quite knew who I should suspect throughout and I love that in a mystery!

I can't keep how good this book is to myself. Okay. Bad pun. Had to do it. But it's true; this book is a winding mystery through a sleepy seaside town and folds a twisting tale inside its pages.

Our protagonist, Mac, is your typical everyday guy trying to solve a mystery. Unlike what you'd think of a mystery, Mac isn't particularly great at piecing together the clues the reader is given. He's introverted and quiet, again defying your typical protagonist; instead, his friends give him what he needs to be able to tie all the points together, something which I really appreciated.

Of all of Mac's friends, I think Quill was definitely my favourite. In many ways, he's the polar opposite of Mac--more outgoing and easy with people, less naturally honest - but both are willing to fight for the truth.

I always love it when books are set in sleepy small towns, and the town of Camera Cove did not disappoint in that regard. It was your typical generic small town with hidden secrets, but I'm honestly such a sucker for that setting that I loved it anyways. The setting certainly lent itself very well to the melancholy tone of the book - all of Mac's friends split up and distant from one another, and Mac wrestling with his own feelings about Connor's murder and his place beside Connor, and the role that Quill is beginning to play in his life.

The mystery part was executed fairly well - there was enough evidence laid down for me to guess the culprit before it happened, but by the time I pieced everything together I was nearly at the end. In mysteries, I like being able to figure it out alongside the characters, not guessing it far too early nor seeing it come out of nowhere, and Keep This to Yourself pulled the timing off very well.

Keep This to Yourself was an exciting and diverse thriller, definitely recommended to fans of One of Us is Lying.