Very well researched and kept me interested more than prior works from Michele McPhee. It is nice to see someone cover a case that isn't covered much in true crime/nonfiction.

I received this e-ARC from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book is a thoroughly researched look at the Boston Marathon bombing and more specifically, the FBI’s potential prior knowledge. I found this to be incredibly detailed and fascinating, particularly living in the metro Boston area.

True crime is one of my favourite genres and when it is a case that has recently been in the headlines it is even more enticing.
This book is incredibly well written and flows with a pace that is more like a novel than a true narrative. It is beautifully researched and infused with McPhee's ability to give a full character to what have been until now simply names in a newspaper.
What is frankly terrifying, is not just the horrific terror attack, but that the brothers were already on the FBI radar and that they may have been left at large in order to build a bigger picture.
I always mark non fiction books on whether or not they make me want to go off and read more widely about the subject and this book had me Googling different things before I'd even finished the book.
I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in true crime.

Well written well researched in depth look at the Boston Marathon massacre.The author brought us to the scene the moment the details.Heart wrenching account al the details no one spared in this revealing look at the brothers the agencies involved.Excellently researched and written,#netgalley#mayhem

I was fascinated while reading Mayhem: Unanswered Questions about the Tsarnaev Brothers, the US Government and the Boston Marathon Bombing. I thought it was an intriguing and informative read. I am giving it five stars.

An extremely interesting, in-depth book about the Boston Marathon Bombings. McPhee took a lot of time to write this book and it shows - the sheer amount of research is highly respectable. I learned a lot I had no idea about - even in just the first few pages. Absolutely mindblowing piece of true-crime/nonfiction. I look forward to reading more from McPhee.

I really enjoy true crime books. This one had some interesting parts about the backgrounds of the brothers who perpetrated this atrocity. And of course the victims. It was however difficult to follow some parts due to all of the names of law enforcement personnel and I didn't always know who was who.

This was an interesting book discussing whether Tamerlan, one of the brothers in the Boston Marathon bombing, was protected by the government because he was an intelligence agent. Unfortunately, I found it complicated and I found it difficult to concentrate on the book, probably because the present crisis is so involving that it is hard to read about another one.



I received this free ebook from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

This book asks questions of the official account of the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013 in which 3 people were killed and dozens more injured. The suspects, brothers Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, also killed an MIT police officer, and yet there seems to have been obfuscation from some officials in the investigation. The author argues that the federal government had Tamerlan working as a confidential information and for that reason, he was shielded from investigation for a triple murder on the Sept. 11, 2011 and answers have not been forthcoming about the bombing.

This was an incident that I didn't really know much about, so I found it shocking to read what had happened and about the investigation afterwards. The author did a great job in researching the facts and putting them together in a comprehensive narrative without being sensationalist towards the victims and their life-changing injuries. A thought-provoking read.

Thanks to NetGalley and publishers, Steerforth Press, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

Mayhem by Michele McPhee is the perfect book if one wants to learn about the dastardly attack that took place in Boston during 2013. The book unfolds the events leading up to the bomb attack, followed by detailed representation of the manhunt that ensued, killing one perpetrator, and successfully capturing and bringing to justice the second one.

The book also analyzes the life history of the Tsarnaev brothers (the perpetrators), including their friends and family. The author posits a theory involving the truths the FBI hid from the people, and makes several claims to back it up. After all, the people have the right to know the truth.

Thanks to the author and the publisher for the ARC.

I thought I knew all there was to know about the Boston Marathon bombing but this has really opened my eyes to aspects that I knew nothing about. I am kind of torn on what to think, because it is 100% possible and even absolute that there are many things our government has and continues to hide from the public. This book does not come across as one that is full of conspiracy theories, because of the sheer amount of exhaustive research and fact-finding that was necessary in order to present the information. And yet, why was this information not pressed by the media when it became known? Was it because the media was told not to report on it? Or have they reported on it and I just missed it because I rarely watch television and/or don't remember at the time?

And honestly, if these are the documented facts and the FBI is unwilling to comment on anything, can it really be called a conspiracy theory?

It is unfathomable to me that someone can appear on not one, but TWO terror watch lists, and still be allowed to travel internationally from NYC to areas of known terrorist training camps. How does this even happen? And without a passport! Yet this is exactly what Tamerlan Tsarnaev was allowed to do and I can't figure out why, unless there was someone or a group of someones who needed him.

I remember the horrifying footage looping for days on end, the photos and chaos. I also remember this day very clearly because an acquaintance/friend and her boyfriend were in Boston that day for the marathon. Luckily her boyfriend had already finished the race before the bombs went off and I was relieved to see the Facebook post confirming that they were safe. Even having those memories, the author does a fantastic/awful job of taking the reader back to that day; fantastic because it feels like you are there, awful because it is something I never want to experience and my heart aches for those who are forever scarred by that day. I think it is important though, that the author does such a superb job in relaying all the details, the shattered windows, people crawling across the glass to reach loved ones, injured bystanders trying to help others and not even knowing they themselves are in dire need of medical attention, the body parts lying around and survivors having to take stock of these parts around them, the smoke and noise, the screams and cries of the injured and the dying, it is all there because people need to remember how horrible this day was. I recall someone saying at the time that it was not THAT big a deal in the grand scheme of things because only three people died. I was honestly aghast at that thought and still am to this day. Tragedies need only be tragedies if hundreds or thousands are killed? Give me a fucking break. So, the details are crucial here. Nothing is done to sensationalize the scene, and victims are treated with the utmost respect. I was in tears reading about the officers who stood guard for hours beside the bodies of the dead, ensuring they were never alone. People need to be reminded what happened, and that so many lives were changed forever.

Near the end of the book the author poses the most pressing questions that remain unanswered to this day by the FBI. Among those questions relates one regarding US citizenship that the elder Tsarnaev was so desperate to achieve. He was a boxer who trained and won several titles. He wanted to compete at higher levels but could not for the US team, due to not being a citizen. Two separate incidents are recounted where Tsarnaev was summoned to take the citizenship oath, only to have it pushed back. The author makes the point several times that this could have been the turning point that drove him away and into the arms of the jihad. This is no way makes anything these terrorists did okay, let me be very clear. But the FBI has some questions to answer on what transpired, though I think we all know we will never get those answers.

In the synopsis provided on goodreads, a triple homicide was mentioned. There are many signs that point to Tamerlan Tsarnaev and a friend who was subsequently killed by the FBI when they were taking a statement from him and he suddenly attacked the agent in his home, as being involved, and Tsarnaev himself being the perpetrator. Several who knew the victims pointed fingers his way, and yet he was never investigated and the case remains open to this day. It is speculated in the book that because Tsarnaev was an informant at the time for the FBI, he was shielded from being investigated despite all those who brought his name up. In the grand scheme of things I would not be surprised at the FBI looking the other way over these brutal murders of men who were felons and drug-dealers, men who were all but disowned by their own families, because the FBI had bigger fish to fry so to speak - and Tsarnaev was part of assisting in that frying.

So, the most important question of the entire book comes from a survivor of the bombing, who asks the author, had Tamerlan Tsarnaev been investigated for the triple homicide, would the Boston Marathon bombing have happened?

Highly recommended.

4 stars

Mayhem by Michelle Mcphee is an interesting, thorough look at the Boston Marathon bombing, although it is a tad bit "conspiracy theorist.". The first-person accounts from people who were there and were injured or bystanders was fascinating.vThis really could be a 5-star book if it wasn't for the conspiracy ideas included throughout the book.

I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Amazingly well reearched book. Michele McPhee has thoroughly researched all aspects of the Boston Marathon bombing. I learned a lot about the men involved, their histories, their reasons and their planning. I didn't realize how planned and horrific the bombing was. For example, one bomb was deliberately left behind a row of strollers. I can't imagine how evil one would have to be to set those bombs and walk away.
There are many questions answered by the author. She gets to the bottom of conspiracy theories, especially those involving the government and some questionable decisions they made. The book doesn't answer all the questions, which makes it even more interesting.
I received an advanced copy of this book from Netgalley, in return for my honest review.

Mayhem is an in-depth look at the Boston Marathon bombings, and the many unanswered questions surrounding the bombers and their possible links to the FBI as informants. The author painstakingly details the events that lead up to the bombing, and explores if one of the bombers had a relationship with the FBI, and how those questions remain even today. Obviously well researched, the book does get bogged down in places as the bomber’s family ties are detailed, but overall it’s a thought provoking book that while in no way diminishes the bombers’ actions, it does raise eyebrows as to the FBI’s possible prior relationship with the bombers and how that may have impacted the investigation.
I received an ARC of this book from the publisher through @NetGalley in exchange for an honest review..

Arguably one of the best recaps of this crime that I have ever read. Extremely well written and it was obvious that the author was extremely knowledgeable about this entire tragedy. I wish there was more on the court proceedings but overall, it was incredible and I’m grateful to have been given a chance to read this book early.

This was a fascinating read. I am not an American citizen and not as clued in at all to the background and politics relating to this book that many of its readers will be but I found it to be a very insightful read which posed many questions, many of which are still unanswered. We were all shocked and devastated to learn of the Boston Bombing. It affected ordinary people like me, my family and my friends. People like those who masterminded and perpetrated that crime and all others like it need to be held accountable and called to justice. Full transparency is required so that such deeds will never go unpunished. Until that transparency exists and full disclosure occurs from the authorities as well as from guilty parties those responsible will ever be held fully accountable.

Very well researched. The details about how our investigation branches of the government failed our citizens is appalling. Mix that with their refusal to share information with the local police forces tasked with our safety and it leaves me with little confidence in these federal investigative and supposedly responsive departments of the government. This is an eye-opening narrative that should be read by all law-abiding citizens of the United States.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book to read and review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

Thank you @netgalley for the advanced copy of this book, out April 20, 2020.
You guys 😳 This book is shocking! First of all, the meticulous research on the part of investigator/author, Michelle McPhee uncovered things I'm sure we were NEVER meant to know about the Tsarnaev brothers, specifically the older brother Tamerlan. In what post 9/11 world can someone on TWO terror watch lists travel internationally out of NYC without a passport?🤔 The answer is ours if the FBI wants you working for them... Thus begins a most dangerous game of radicalization, terror plots, egos, and ultimately the carnage of the Boston Marathon terror attacks, months in the making. This book spares no gritty details. It's a tough read. Being a runner, picturing this happening at any of my races, was difficult to think about. The confusion, the shattered glass, scattered body parts, screams, noise, and just absolute chaos would be a nightmare. The author did a fantastic job of honoring the victims of the attack while deconstructing the events leading up to it. It really all fits together like the most macabre puzzle. 😔 If you are a lover of true crime or even just want to know the truth about what happened that fateful day and the US government's disgraceful involvement in it, read this book.

Thanks for the ARC Net Galley

Good luck on feeling better after reading this book, due to know lack of detail by the author but there are circles in circles here and once again the authorities don;t give us much confidence. Very well researched and more fact than opinion so the decisions are left up top the reader. Nice work here!!

A thoroughly well research book and I wouldn't have expected anything less from this Author. The book is a page turner, but not too far in it had me feeling mad. What is the FBI's involvement with this family? And if information had been shared, looked into further come some of these events have been prevented? Something that we will never be able to know. The detail in this book by Michele is phenomenal and really gives a deeper look into things that we already thought we knew. Praise goes out to all the people involved in this event and brining those they could do justice and my heartfelt sympathy and condolences to all those that were affected by it.
A brilliant book, brilliantly written and had me turning every page to get the rest of the story.