I always enjoy small town mysteries, especially ones with queer characters, but somehow I was still surprised by how fast I got into this story once I picked it up. I read it almost in one sitting, loved the pacing -- page-turning without sacrificing nuance -- and really invested in our main character. I just wanted him to be happy! And not neck-deep in grief he was ignoring! And also to solve a crime and get a boyfriend! Keep This to Yourself balanced those soft feelings with the wider pall of the mystery, and I really enjoyed getting to follow this book to its end.

It’s been a year since the Catalog Killer finished his reign of terror in the the seaside town of Camera Cove, leaving four people dead. Mac Bell has tried closing that chapter of his life— after all, the police’s official line is that it was a random drifter, and that’s been good enough for most people. But it’s not so easy for him considering the last victim was his best friend, Connor. However, after uncovering a mysterious note from Connor, Mac is forced to confront a past where nothing is as it seemed and everyone has something to hide.

In a bit of normalcy after an immense tragedy, the book opens with a group of high school friends meeting up after graduation to open a time capsule. In these first few pages, author Tom Ryan’s alluring and lyrical style is on full display. Evolving friendships. Forgotten pasts. The cusp of change. This first scene is packed with a quiet tension that flows through the rest of the book as this group, including Mac, cracks open the past in an attempt to move forward.

From there, the mystery slowly unravels, bucking and weaving against a town that seriously just wants to put the murders to rest. It’s such a great foil, ultimately leaving Mac as the only person who could possibly solve the crime. Of course, it helps that Ryan has carefully crafted an investigation that continuously drops tantalizing clues. And the final reveal? Completely satisfying while being beyond shocking.

Even so, it’s really the characters themselves who drive this story. Mac’s at a crossroads, figuring out his future while solving the past. Along the way he meets Quill, cousin to another victim, who’s also struggling, and their chemistry is palpable. Ryan deserves immense praise for his positive and refreshing portrayal of gay teens— their blossoming romance feels real while also alleviating some of the heavier moments. Toss in some mysterious suspects and some secondary characters with a few quirks, and Ryan has ultimately fleshed out a compelling world.

For a mystery that delivers surprises all the way to the end, it doesn’t get any better than Keep This to Yourself.

I really struggle with books featuring teen murderers. They're too organized, to smart about their crimes. Watch enough true crime and you learn that a first murder is generally chaotic. It takes time for a killer to develop a signature. So the identity of the murderer here doesn't really work for me. I did like the exploration of the ways friendships change or fall apart when complex grief comes into play, especially at the end of high school when changes to the nature of friendship are inevitable. Character development is pretty minimal.

Keep This to Yourself is an absolutely phenomenal novel. I found myself gripped by the plot from the very beginning of the book and I fell so in love with all the characters. I managed to get through this book surprisingly fast (for my standards, considering i’m in the middle of a reading slump) which was a pleasant surprise as all the passed books I’ve been reading have been a painstakingly long journey to get through. I loved the m/m romance in this book and the ending was surprising and entirely unexpected - although it felt slightly rushed.

The plot never slowed down while reading the novel, I felt compelled to continue during the whole reading experienced which is rare and show how cleverly crafted this thriller is. Tom Ryan did an excellent job at constantly keeping the reader intrigued and always a step behind. I never felt bored or annoyed at this book through the whole reading experience.

I’m rather new to the thriller genre, and don’t tend to reach towards thrillers often but this book has let me explore what could be a future love of the genre. At points I did have to remind myself to take a break as I was getting to drawn in and anxious while reading - which is a mark of good storytelling and how engaging this read is. I rate this book 5/5 avocados, and recommend it to all readers who already love thrillers or who want a gateway read.

4/5

I always tell myself that I don't really "do" mysteries, that the suspense is too much, that I don't like the twists and turns, that they stress me out. And I was stressed with this book - at times I felt like I needed a break just to catch my breath. But I did enjoy it, mainly because I didn't see the twist coming. As has become my tendency, I will break this down in two pros and cons lists.
Pros
1. I though the twist at the end was genuinely shocking. I didn't see it coming even though looking back the clues were all there. I think Ryan did a good job of leaving hints without it becoming too obvious. Maybe others smelled it from a mile away, but I am easily duped.
2. It was generally enjoyable. The story and arc was interesting enough to keep me entertaining albeit a bit stressed. I liked the idea of a person being so enamored of another that they looked past their flaws, even their horrible ones, to not even recognize their psychosis.

Cons
1. The pacing was a bit off for me. It was slow up until the last 10-20% of the book, then things just happened and were resolved within a few pages. I think I would have appreciated a little more build-up and a slower resolution.
2. The characters didn't all make sense. I found Mac to be a bit boring as a narrator. Ben, Doris, Carrie, and Quill were all a bit flat and I don't know that the build-up was worth the reveal. I wish more time would have been spent developing a friendship (or ex-friendship) instead of just saying "hey, we used to be friends" because they certainly didn't feel like people who would have ever been friends, even with Connor "holding them together." Mac and Quill's insta-love felt off, as well. There was no build-up for it to feel natural to me.
3. I feel a bit let down. I wish we knew more about Connor and his motivations. I know he was a "sociopath" or whatever they termed him, but serial killers usually have some underlying motivation in their killings. Why the old catalogs, why the rat poison, why those victims (if it has to do with their secrets, what about secrets was a trigger for Connor), why was Mac his next victim and what was his secret (I don't buy his secret was being in love with Connor because the others' secrets were active whereas Mac hadn't even realized his feelings)? There just seems to be a lot of unanswered questions about that. I also feel a bit let down with the resolution of it all. The police is just "yeah okay thanks guys for murdering the murderer I will now play along with your cover-up." Felt a little bit forced to bring it to a close.

Keep This to Yourself is the perfect summer read with an idyllic vacation town setting and a murder mystery full of twists and turns. It's not the darkest book, but not all books have to be and I liked that inside of the thrilling aspects was a lovely little love story and a journey of self discovery. Also that love story happens to be between two male characters and it's just a fact, not made into the sole focus of the story. Telling LGBTQA+ stories are important of course, but sometimes the main character can just be gay and that's part of his story, not the entire thing.
I do wish this book had a little more about Connor and Mac's friendship before Connor died because I wanted to know more about their relationship. If they were such good friends since childhood I feel like we should've gotten a little more than just the fact that they both loved comics.
Otherwise I did really like the mystery aspect and had to keep reading to figure out whodunnit. I liked the reveal, I didn't see it coming, but once it happened it made sense. There's one clue in particular that's stuck out to me and I keep thinking about it so that definitely means the author did his job!

There’s something about a small town mystery that almost always makes for a juicy story full of secrets and for the most part Keep This To Yourself is no exception. A small community like Camera Cove that is full of intriguing characters gives the book an almost insular feeling that the reader can fully immerse themselves in. The aftermath of a shocking event is also a good place to begin a story of these people who have lived through a string of murders.

The book follows Mac whose life has been shaken by the murder of his best friend, Connor, at the hands of a serial killer. Mac starts his own investigation into the murders and along the way is drawn into a romance with another young man connected to the case. I liked the way the relationship between Mac and Quill developed alongside Mac trying to come to terms with his complicated and possibly romantic feelings for Connor. Connor himself comes across as the town golden boy, full of charisma and talent but as is often the case when someone dies young, the less complimentary parts of him are left unsaid, at least initially. Connor is clearly more complex than he appears from the townspeople’s recollections and is perhaps not the wonderful person Mac remembers him as. It is so true that love can blind you to the less desirable aspects of another person, especially a friend and that is definitely the case with Mac and Connor. I thought the slow realisation that things are not quite as they seem concerning the killings was dealt with very well and the author ratcheted up the tension slowly but surely.

I must admit that at times I found some parts of Keep This To Yourself a little melodramatic and occasionally far-fetched but overall I was pretty engrossed in the mystery. I didn’t see the twists coming until very close to the reveal which kept me on the hook and wanting to know more and I was satisfied with how the story wraps up even if it does stretch believability a little. I read this book quickly and found it an immensely readable young adult mystery with a few great little red herrings thrown in.

I've read a lot of books lately that are full of murder and mystery! I was SO excited to get an ARC of KEEP THIS TO YOURSELF by @tomryanauthor published by @albertwhitman

This book sucks you in from the first page and the mystery at the center of it keeps you spinning in circles. Do you love YA, murder, small towns, and teenagers who take investigations into their own hands? I DO!

I had such a good time reading this! I found it really engaging and raced through it, completely hooked by the twists and turns, and legitimately shocked and impressed by the end. YA mysteries can be hit-and-miss, but I thought this was very satisfying and tightly plotted. It's difficult to straddle that line between teens being too competent and unrealistically astute or being too oblivious and missing the most glaringly obvious clues, but I liked how the teenagers were portrayed here. It isn't that they're astounding prodigies who outshine the cops, but they have the benefit of personal knowledge and experience that guide them in certain directions or there were good reasons why they were the ones to unearth certain evidence that made sense because of the plotline. 

Our main protagonist Mac is the most fully realized of the cast, and everyone else is fleshed out predominantly based on their relationship with him at the start. I liked that as the story progressed, the author filled in a little more of their backgrounds and dynamics with each other as well, so they weren't two-dimensional; we would see people based on Mac's perception of them, but then developments would come to light and we would come to a realization along with Mac that more is going on beneath the surface. I think that's pretty realistic when you've grown up with people and known them for years, you put them in a box and grow used to seeing them in a particular manner; it takes actively questioning and investigating to shake that off. 

I felt so moved by Mac's arc, he wasn't just grieving over his best friend but also the loss of his unacknowledged crush. That's not to say that losing a friend is LESS traumatic, but all the pent-up emotions from suppressing his feelings for Connor meant that Mac was going through a really tough time. On the bright side, the path of his investigation took him to Quill, a new love interest! I know some reviewers considered this to be a case of insta-love, but I honestly thought it was very well-developed. Mac was obsessed with finding the killer and bringing them to justice so he could get closure over Connor's death, and Quill also lost a loved one as his cousin was another victim of the Catalog Killer. He shared Mac's pain and frustration at not being able to move on, and just knowing that he wasn't alone and someone else UNDERSTOOD...that's a really powerful thing and I totally see why they would bond so quickly. Sure, physical attraction was part of the equation, which I think is the case with a lot of people, but there was an emotional entanglement to go along with it that I really felt and so I was rooting for these two. <3 

The funny thing is that normally I prefer single-narrator books and yet this is the rare instance where I would've liked to have some chapters from the other kids' perspectives. There was a lot going on in the background that we only touch on at surface level and I would've been interested to see into their heads as well. It's not a huge drawback, though! My only real complaint is that the resolution was a little too convenient - don't get me wrong, I couldn't figure out who the killer was and the reveal at the end was mindblowing, I nearly screamed because it was so clever, but the way it was handled was just a bit too contrived. Still, I liked the outcome too much to quibble, so I was happy overall.

"The fear that had drifted into Camera Cove like a fog now morphed into full-blown terror."

Nowadays, we often encounter thrillers where events are forced for unnecessary suspense or shock value. This book is definitely not that.
Keep This To Yourself is a mystery debut, and the author is already knocking over all cliche YA mystery concepts and gifting us with a fresh, engrossing approach to the genre.

I'm such a sucker for small town mysteries but it's definitely been a while since I've read one with a creative spin on it. This book though has so many elements that keep it unique: we have a clever, well-developed gay protagonist, an appealing seaside setting, a beautiful M/M romance AND a serial killer in the mix.

It's not just the setting that is captivating, but the way the author describes it is so appealing that the seaside town of Camera Cove registered in my brain in a way it still feels like a real place to me.

Now as protagonist Mac digs deep into the serial killer's twisted mind, he can't help but ask, was it a random drifter? Or is it possible that the killer is STILL in Camera Cove? Mac has no option other than to put himself in his dead best friend's (aka. the killer's final victim) shoes, see the town from his perspective and get close to the victims' familes.

I loved the effortlessness of both the writing and chronology of events. The mystery felt gripping and believable. The author leads us down this path that's filled with mystery and intrigue and then suddenly slips the rug from underneath us with a final shocking discovery!

My first reaction after reading this book was definitely, “Wow, I did not see that coming.” As you read this book you’ll think you know who the killer is but I promise you that you’re wrong. When I started the book I immediately thought I knew what happened and while I wasn’t entirely wrong, I was still wrong. Which is what makes this such a great book. Unlike most mystery/thriller novels, you won’t know what really happened until the very end. It’ll definitely keep you on your toes.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Albert Whitman & Company for providing me with an eARC of “Keep This to Yourself” for review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

The year prior the little town of Camera Cove was terrorized by a serial killer. Now a year later they are trying to put their lives and their town back together. However, Mac isn’t quite there yet. His best friend Connor was the serial killer’s last victim. He knows he should just move on like everyone else but he finds a note from Connor that was left on the night he died. After discovering the note Mac is determined to find out what his best friend knew that got him murdered. The question is can he do it without putting himself in harm’s way.

I have been waiting to read this one. And I can say it truly did not disappoint. As a huge fan of mysteries and whodunit novels the author did an amazing job incorporating all the important elements that make up a great mystery. It is chalked full of interesting characters, a love interest, several clues but none that are overly obvious. And most important I wasn’t able to predict the ending. I mean that is the whole point of getting lost in a good mystery, isn’t it. The reader tries to figure it out along the way and either the author goes so far into left field the ending seems unbelievable. Or an author does what is done here he gives you just enough clues and hints to keep you guessing but not enough to figure it out.

Highly recommended. Especially for those die hard mystery fans. This one will keep you guessing as the pages keep turning.

[Review will be posted on Reader Voracious Blog on 5.19.19]

"Last summer a serial killer paid a visit to Camera Cove. By the time the dust settled, four people were dead."

I've been in the mood for a mystery/thriller, and when my friend Meaghan wrote a glowing review I decided that I needed to read this one myself. And friends, I am not joking when I say that this book cured my freaking reading slump.

Ryan manages to pack so much information into the opening page of the book, relaying complex histories between the characters and hinting to a great tragedy. The writing is almost lyrical, which is not something that I typically equate with mysteries. I was instantly swept away into this story where Mac struggles to let go of his pain. But after he finds a clue from Connor on the night he died, Mac embarks on an adventure to uncover the truth no matter the consequences.

"It's a message from beyond the grave, a year too late."

Keep This to Yourself is told in the first person perspective of Mac Bell, an 18 year old gay kid that drifted apart from his friend group after Connor was murdered the year before.

Convinced that the killer wasn't a drifted and determined to uncover the truth, Mac begins to look for clues and connections between the murder victims that may have been missed. Through his snooping he meets Quill, the cousin of one of the victims. The chemistry between Mac and Quill is palpable from almost the beginning, and the will-they-won't they dance of first attraction was a thrill to read. I'll admit that I groaned when the first black character we encounter in the story is in the trailer park, but I appreciated Ryan's subversion of what seems to be the typical poverty representation in media and fiction for black characters: Mac meets Quill in the trailer park, but we learn that he lives in an affluent neighborhood and is just visiting his aunt.

"All the things I wanted from my life, I just stopped wanting them, and nothing else stepped up to fill in the space."

I also really appreciated the depiction of grief and how each of the characters process the loss. The truth is that the pain of losing someone close to you doesn't go away quickly, and each journey is different. I feel that this is handled with care and nuance. It works as a motivator for Mac to try and find answers, but for Ben and Doris they just want to forget and move on.

I read a lot of mysteries and typically can guess the killer early on, but not here my friends. I guessed incorrectly every single time and relished in that fact leading up to the big reveal I didn't see coming a mile away. Honestly, Tom Ryan has earned a fan that will be working through his backlist after this book!

I highly recommend this book to fans of mysteries, but there is also so much more to it than just uncovering the truth of the Catalog Killer. It's about the bonds of friendship and how fragile those connections can seem to be, a wonderful m/m relationship, and the setting of a small town trying to pick up the pieces after a horrific tragedy.

REPRESENTATION: biracial couple, black rep, lgbtiap, m/m relationship
CONTENT WARNINGS: depictions of grief, drugs, loss of a loved one, murder, queer slurs (challenged in text)

Many thanks to Albert Whitman & Company for providing me an eARC via NetGalley for my honest review! Quotations are taken from an uncorrected proof and may change in final publication

One year ago, the picturesque seaside village of Camera Cove was shaken to its core when a serial killer murdered four of its residents, then vanished. Mac's best friend (and long-time crush) Connor was the final victim. The police blame a drifter, but Mac gets a literal message from beyond the grave that makes him think there's more to the story. He reopens the investigation on his own, despite a marked lack of support from everyone except Quill, the dreamy cousin of another victim. He soon learns that his tiny town is full of secrets. Nice twisty plot, but flat secondary characters.

Run, don't walk to get a copy of this book! I absolutely loved it!! I was hooked within the first few pages and read the whole book in a day. The mystery aspect of the book was well done and you are definitely rooting for the main character throughout the whole book.

Putting my thoughts on this book into words is something that I'm still finding really hard to do. In short, though, it was easily one of the most addicting books that I've read this year and I absolutely loved the journey and the end product quite a bit.

Doris is easily one of my new favorite characters of all time, the moments where we got to spend quality time with her were easily some of the highlights of the book. Mac though I felt was also a really solid character, especially when used as the character we experience the story with. I was never really annoyed by any of his actions, despite how reckless they seemed to be at times. I also was just a big fan of how Mac's love life was handled and balanced with his investigation into the Catalog Killer. That integration is always what I want from a story and I think that it workes really well as a B level plot without me ever feeling like it was functioning as a distraction.

My only real gripe is with the final quarter of the book, and even then it's not really a major complaint. I will say that I didn't see it coming, and while I felt that the explanation is given didn't fully feel like a cop out I don't know if it was all that satisfying? I'm still struggling with it and it's still something that I'm debating with myself, so in that regard, I'm happy that it's the ending we got. If nothing else actually getting to that point was one hell of a ride, full on a roller coaster of emotion so for that least I'm really happy it's the ending we got.

Review: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

TW: death, violence, murder, serial killer.

Release Date: 7 May 2019.

Received an eARC from NetGalley for review. It’s been a year since the Catalog Killer terriorised the seaside town of Camera Cove, leaving 4 bodies behind and very few clues. Like everyone, Mac is trying to move on, but is finding it understandably hard given his best friend, Connor, was the killer’s final victim. When Mac finds a cryptic message from Connor, he’s determined to find out what really happened to the victims and to Connor the night he died.

I first heard about this book through @gobletoffiction on Instagram and from there it has just blown up on bookstagram. Needless to say, I went into this book with super high expectations, and for the most part, the book delivered. The story is compelling and the plot begins to unravel immediately. Tom Ryan’s writing is effortless and easy to read and the mystery keeps you hooked until the very end. I must say I had some suspicious as to the killer about halfway through that were correct, however this didn’t lessen my enjoyment as there is so much more to the big reveal than what is expected. I would highly recommend this book!

“I think Connor knew the killer. I think something more complicated was going on beneath the surface of Camera Cove, and Connor was the perfect person to notice it.”

“This isn’t some crime show; I’m not going to stumble upon some crucial piece of evidence that leads me to the killer.”

“Expecting that I would show up to help him with his confrontation, he went to the caves to wait for my help, never anticipating that the killer had plans of his own...”

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Keep This to Yourself by Tom Ryan is a YA mystery thriller following a boy named Mac, who a year prior lost his best friend, Connor, to a serial killer, known as the Catalog Killer.

This book was a GOOD TIME, y'all. Tom Ryan's writing sucks you right into the story, and you will not want to put it down! I have to say, Ryan's writing combined with the overall mysteriousness of the story kept me up many a night reading past my bedtime. While I can't personally speak to the queer rep in this book, I also think it was very well done. With all of that being said, I did give this book a four out of five stars rating due to my feelings on the ending of the story. I'm going to be honest, I guessed the culprit pretty early on, and I NEVER get these kinds of things right. Typically, that wouldn't take anything away from my enjoyment of the story, but I did feel slightly underwhelmed this time around. All in all, however, if you're looking for a good YA mystery thriller, give this one a try. It's worth the read!

I'm putting aside this book for now. From what I have read of it, it's a mild thriller. The plot would make an amazing tv show.

Thank you to Netgalley and Albert Whitman & Company for providing me with a review copy.

From the very start of the book, it’s intriguing. The synopsis already caught me since it has a serial killer on the loose in a small town called Camera Cove. There’s been already 4 murders at the town and one of them was Mac’s bestfriend, Connor. Police did whatever they could to catch the murderer but there's nothing they could find and they almost give up. Until Mac decides to do his own investigation and all his best friend's secrets reveal unexpectedly.

Wow. I’m obsessed with this kind of story. Like hunting the killers, investigating, getting the clues and everything. It’s just all around. The character was so obsessed on getting to know who the killer was and it was unexpected confrontation to the characters and the story is well-done. Huge claps! I’m very VERY impressed on how this turned out. Since I love reading serial killers and investigating, I’m very much attached to the character itself, Mac. He’s really persistent. Even though, his friends wants him to move on and forget things. He just pushed through and knowing the ending just … WOW. It’s really huge gasps knowing all the truth and it blows me away. I think he is too.

This book is perfect for readers who love investigating and hunting a killer. I love the twist of the story and makes me want to read more this kind of books! I'm recommending it for your summer read!