I'm not a huge fan of mystery, but I really enjoyed the unusual structure used by author L.E. Flynn in her new book, All Eyes on Her. The plot centers around the murder of Princeton swimmer Mark, and the top suspect, his girlfriend Tabitha "Tabby" Cousins.

What is especially intriguing about the book is that it's told from everyone's point of view EXCEPT Tabby herself. We hear from Tabby's sister Bridget, her friend Elle, classmates Louisa and Beck, Mark's best friend Keegan, and other minor characters who are potentially involved in the murder or have knowledge related to Tabby or Mark. There are a couple of sections told in second person POV, designed to bring the reader in as part of the book, and not just an outside observer. Throughout the book, we are also given pieces of Tabby's diary and excerpts from text messages she had exchanged with Mark.

The style of the novel made it fun to follow, and to try to figure out if indeed Tabby was the murderer or if there was someone else involved. Even after finishing the book (no spoilers!) I'm still not sure if the right person was punished for the crime.

A good whodunit, well executed, and leaves the reader guessing all the way to the end. Well done!

“All Eyes On Her” is a YA thriller centered around the death of a character named Mark, whose girlfriend (Tabby) is the alleged killer.

The story is told from the perspective of many people in Tabby’s life, from her sister to her friend to her enemies & exes. As each character gives their perspectives, the reader learns a little bit more about their own individual relations to Tabby and/or Mark, as well as the various events that took place leading up to the night Mark died.

I really enjoyed this book. I was a little bit confused at first due to there being so many different perspectives/points of view, but that aside, I loved the book. It kept me captivated the whole time as I continuously wondered what was going to get revealed and what I was going to find out next regarding the fictional event that the book is centered around. This is one of my favorite thrillers I’ve read in 2020 so far, and I highly recommend it for anybody who is a fan of this genre.

Thanks to #partner @NetGalley for the digital ARC of L. E. Flynn’s All Eyes on Her in exchange for an honest review. The book will be published on Tuesday, August 18, 2020.

L. E. Flynn's All Eyes on Her is a twisty thriller composed of a lush myriad of unreliable narrators, multiple genres (including journal entries, newspaper articles, text threads, and police interview transcripts . . . with a little bit of second person thrown in), and some thoughtful feminist declarations for good measure.

The publisher’s description lays it out: “You heard the story on the news. A girl and a boy went into the woods. The girl carried a picnic basket. The boy wore bright yellow running shoes. The girl found her way out, but the boy never did…. “ What ensues is a narrative that circles around these two central characters. We hear from everyone EXCEPT the girl (Tabby) and the boy (Mark): telling the tale are Tabby’s sister, her best friend, the girl who loves to hate Tabby, Mark’s best friend, Tabby’s ex . . . and so many people who have moved through their lives. Of course, everyone’s perspective is different, but they’re all speculating about Tabby and the nature of her relationship with Mark. Is she the angel? Or the slut? Is she good? Or bad? Was she in control? Or was she being controlled by him? It’s a series of dichotomies, of black or white with no shades of grey, that we know can’t possibly portray a person accurately. And yet, it’s so tempting to come up with the right label that will help to understand what happened on that hike.

I love a multi-genre book, and Flynn puts that variety to good use here. I also really appreciated the complexity with which Flynn takes on how the media shapes our view of people--and of women, in particular. The forward motion of the story sagged slightly in the middle, but since I had been hooked from page one and found the development of the conclusion to be satisfying--it had twists and turns without jumping the shark--I enjoyed the book as a whole. The thriller component itself didn’t feel super new to me (I’ve read books with plots and alternating points of view like this one before), but the deft use of unreliable narrators and the clever incorporation of questions driven by feminist concerns offers a unique angle.

Overall, as an adult reader, I thoroughly enjoyed All Eyes on Her, and I would absolutely recommend L. E. Flynn’s novels to teens as a great example of a thriller that will make them think.

This was such an interesting twist on the usual thriller. I’m still not sure that I really know what happened on that cliff. Or what exactly Tabby and Mark’s relationship was really like. This is of course due to the fact that we don’t really hear from either of these characters. The story is told from other perspectives and I don’t think any of them were exactly reliable. I really felt like I was making assumptions based on what others were telling and feeling about Tabby and Mark, which is what really happens in life.

I never really ended up liking any of the characters, although I did feel sympathetic towards a couple of them. All of them were keeping secrets, and not just from each other, but from the police as well. Some important to the mystery and others not so much, until you really think about it.

I did like Bridget, Tabby’s sister, and I think she was the one I trusted the most, although she did withhold very important information from the police. I also think she had the best handle on what her sister was like. Lou, Tabby’s rival in many things, was also somewhat believable up until the end. I also thought it was interesting to see part of the story from a frenemies point of view.

There were a couple of guys involved in this story, not just poor Mark. There was his best friend Keegan, who I started off liking, but eventually I wasn’t quite sure what his involvement in the whole thing was. Beck was Tabby’s ex-boyfriend, and we only see police interviews from him, so not sure about his role or reliability. The one person we never really hear from is Mark himself. It is hard to know just how toxic the relationship is when you only see a few texts and most of those are from Tabby and only a few from Mark. The rest of what we know about them come from the others telling us how bad the relationship was.

Sorry this review is a bit rambly, but it is hard to talk about this with out giving things away. It is a really interesting way to do a thriller and it will certainly leave you thinking about the way we perceive people. If you like thrillers that will make you suspect everyone and still leave you guessing then this is one you don’t want to miss.

All Eyes on Her is a perfect book for fans of Pretty Little Liars and One of Us is Lying. Tabitha (Tabby) went on a hike with her hunky boyfriend , Mark, and returned home hours later claiming that he fell off a cliff and is dead. The story is told through many perspectives in addition to blogs, copies of text messages, ,police reports and interviews, and newspaper articles. Some people, like her sister, Bridget and her best friend, Elle, are positive Tabby didn't do it. Others like Marks best friend Keegan and Tabby's nemesis, Lou, are positive she did it and can't believe she's getting away with it. We don't hear from Tabby until the very end of the book after a plot twist you won't see coming. Many secrets come out as the story moves along, and people are not who you thought they were in the beginning of the book. L.E. Flynn deals with topics like double standards, slut-shaming, teen drinking and sex, and the extremes that young girls will go to to get and keep a boyfriend with empathy. This could be a good jumping off point for a great discussion with your teen..

I will definitely purchase this for my library. Some of the content was a little mature, but Flynn has a lot to say about a lot of pressures facing young people today. Teens will LOVE this book. I enjoyed reading it - very fast paced and well-plotted. A thriller to the end!!

This one is a must-read for YA thriller fans and those who enjoy taut, social thrillers. I wasn't sure at first how it would work with the conceit--it's the story of a tragic death (or is it a murder?) told from the POVs of a bunch of people who know Tabby, the girl suspected of foul play in her boyfriend Mark's death. It's all about how THEY see her, their assumptions, their snippets of information and speculation. Interspersed with their first person accounts are articles, Tabby's diary and her text messages to Mark over the past year.

I was HOOKED. I flew through this, oscillating wildly, re: my feelings for Tabby, for Mark, for the POV characters. God LOU. I really hated her at times. Keegan was also his own special brand of annoying. I sympathized with Tabby's sister Bridget and her bestie Elle, but at the same time I wasn't entirely sure I could trust them. Via this conceit, the book explores the golden boy vs. slutty girl dichotomy; how we give the benefit of the doubt to good ole boys and seek to destroy pretty girls, forward girls... all sorts of girls. The book twists and turns and uses our own biases and feelings against us at times. The ending gives no easy answers, though there's still enough throughout the book to parse the answers you want.

Yeah in short I LOVED IT and recommended it enthusiastically to fans of thrillers in general, especially if you like Dateline-esque "did he jump from that cliff or did she push him?" type who-dun-its. This is now on my favorite YA thrillers list.

High school senior, Tabitha, is dating Mark, a championship swimmer at Princeton University. When his body is found in a lake after their last date, she is charged with his murder. Told in multiple voices by those who know her [sister and friends], I found this to be confusing instead of riveting,

Oh how I enjoyed this book!

Told from every perspective except for the one you are really dying to hear, "All Eyes on Her" will keep you turning pages and re-adjusting your opinions throughout. High school readers will love its down-to-earth style, especially if they liked "One of us is lying". You'll need a bit of patience as you read. When you are done, you will love discussing this book with other readers to compare notes.

For a time when I couldn't stay focused on anything for too long, I was able to focus on this and I had a wonderful time reading it!

I'd give this 3.5 stars rounded up.

What did I like?
~ the multi-POV -- again, this is probably my favorite POV, and I enjoyed seeing everyone's thoughts about what happened. I also liked how we finally got Tabby's thoughts in the final chapter.
~ the complexity -- I think Flynn did a good job showing up the complexities of the different characters. There weren't any completely good or completely bad teens here; they were all human, some with more strengths (or weaknesses) than others.
~ the ending -- even though it wasn't 100% defined, I think Flynn made the ending fairly tight.

What wasn't as strong for me?
~ the regular harping on misogyny -- yes, misogyny exists, but I don't really like novels that focus on it throughout like this. Everything that happened to any girl seemed to have a misogynistic motive behind it, and I personally don't find that realistic.

All in all, an intriguing thriller and engaging way to keep readers invested.

Content:This book is loaded with mature content. It covers all the bases (domestic violence, gender issues, abortion) although there is no graphic sex.
16+

Does anybody get to the end of this book with an actual opinion about whether or not Tabby is guilty? There were times in the story when I felt sure about one thing or another and then it would get all twisted and confused and I wouldn't be sure anymore. I think she did it. And I think she didn't. Flynn does a brilliant job of turning your head and getting you to chase every single rabbit.

The story made me think a lot. Initially I felt some compassion for the perspective that if you're a girl, everyone just wants you to shut up. I can see that right now in the whole "Karen" thing that has been happening to strong willed women. But they ran my sympathy dry after a while. I'm a woman. I'm a fierce woman. But I don't generally feel like I am expected to behave in a certain way because I am a woman.

I also can't help but wonder if relationships are really like this? Do our youth get sexually active that quickly with people they've just met? Is that common? Relationships in general are the most warped part of this story. I don't think there is a single healthy relationship in the whole thing.

I didn't care for any of the characters, really. Tabby was too much, but not in a good way. Mark definitely came off like the abusive, manipulative, controlling boyfriend. All of the males were driven by thoughts of sex and power and all of the girls were obsessed with how to be the center of those thoughts. The two exceptions are possibly Beck and Bridget. But I'm not really sure.

The truth is...I'm not really sure about anything when it comes to this book. For that alone, I'm giving it 5 stars. I couldn't put it down, but I was a little disgusted with myself about that at times. I will never read it again. (Although in the interest of transparency I rarely do reread.) But Flynn made me think, and feel, and has left me kind of raw and confused. And it is amazing to me that the author was able to do that to a seasoned reader with only 26 letters.

Thanks NetGalley for this book in return for my honest review. I love a good mystery with multiple perspectives and this one did not disappoint. The book was quick paced with lots of twists and turns. It is a book that I know my high school students will love.

If you like true-crime, you will like this book. When a star college swimmer ends up dead and his girlfriend is the only known witness, naturally the police will look closely at her. I like how the story is pieced together through multiple perspectives. Much like the book One of Us is Lying, throughout the book you’re not clear on what really happened, which keeps the reader engaged.

I received a free copy from NetGalley. Two teenagers go on a date and only one comes home. Accident or murder? You hear from every teen close to the survivor and go back and forth the whole time on who is guilty and what might have happened. It ends with you being told, but do you believe it after all of that? Entertaining read.

I love a good mystery with multiple perspectives and this one did not disappoint. A girl and her boyfriend go for a hike in the woods and he doesnt come back. The book tells the story of Tabby and her trial, told from the perspective of everyone around her. The author even threw a little 2nd person POV in the story! Quick paced and lots of backstapping and twists and turns. Well done and a book my high school students will devour! Thanks netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

All Eyes on Her is about a popular and beautiful teenage girl named Tabby, who goes on a romantic mountain hike with her boyfriend one afternoon, but he dies in an accident and she was the only witness. Some people believe that Mark fell on his own, others believe she pushed him, and still others think that she had an accomplice. The story is told through a series of interviews with people from both their lives, as well as Tabby herself, and has so many twists and turns that you constantly find yourself thinking back on what you've read to figure out how and if the pieces fit together. Sometimes you even realize that the picture you had put together is completely incorrect, based on new interviews and information. What is great about this book is that you never can tell whether you should believe the characters or not, because no one is 100% trustworthy. Every single interview is unreliable. Some people may not like the ending, because there is no real resolution, but I really liked that it was left open-ended for you to decide what YOU believe happened. True crime lovers will enjoy this book, because you get to be your own detective, slowly putting together clues to reach a conclusion. This book would definitely be fun to discuss with other readers, and I don't think that any two people will be able to agree on what they think occurred on the mountain that day.

The reason I chose to give this book 3 stars is that it was slow in several places, and I felt that some of the interviews were unnecessary to move the plot forward. I didn't love this book, but I didn't hate it either, so I gave it a middle of the road rating.

I received an advanced reader copy of this book from Netgalley in return for my honest critique and review.

All Eyes on Her is a strong, twisty YA thriller perfect for those who enjoy a solid murder mystery. Tabby is a seventeen year old girl accused of murdering her boyfriend, Mark, on a hike on day. This book is told from the perspectives of everyone except for Tabby herself. It's the people who think they know Tabby and think they know what happened that day. We get POVs from her friends, her sister, her ex boyfriend. The story also includes articles, police interviews, court transcripts, etc. This was a fascinating way to tell a story. If you typically enjoy YA thrillers or mysteries, this is a great one for you to check out!

This was a quick read. The chapters are set up in such a way that you can fly through fairly quickly. I really appreciated that, as sometimes the plot felt slow and the change of narrator added some dimension to something that could have fallen flat.

The characters are not what I would define as likable but they’re dynamic and dramatic, which is all I really want from a young adult novel. This fell in the Pretty Little Liars or Gossip Girl category. Some of the writing felt a little cringeworthy. Like something taken from a high school English class.

You never do get clear answers. And I do feel like some loose ends should have been tied up. But overall, I enjoyed the ride and I was sad when it was over.

An excellent addition to the YA thriller genre. Highly recommend purchase for public YA and high school fiction collections

I'm not sure what I was hoping for with this book, and I will say that it did keep my interest all the way though, but there wasn't a single character in the whole book that I liked in the least. None of these people were people I would want in my life. The story itself was interesting. I did look forward to finding out how it would end. I can imagine that there are people who would really like reading a book with characters like this in it. The book had chapters by a variety of characters including the friends and sister of the "main" female character. I'm not sure if the word protagonist would work for this book. But no one really had anything nice to say about the main female character. It wasn't until the end that she had chapters of her own. I would guess that maybe if you like television shows like "Pretty Little Liars" that you might be more inclined to also like this book and rate it high.

WILD RIDE with lots of great voices! I was guessing the whole time! So glad I got to read it as I also really enjoyed FIRSTS and how Ms. Flynn writes complicated girls.