3 stars

The premise of this book had a lot of promise- as a teenager, Kennedy's best friend is murdered after a drug-filled night in the woods. She proclaims her innocence but ends up serving 15 years in prison for the crime. At 31, she's now a free woman and is trying to reconnect with her twin sister and father. The book manages to transition between the timelines seamlessly through flashback, essays written by Kennedy during her time in lockup, and the investigation of a television crew who is looking into the murder.

I loved the relationship between the sisters. I loved the wave it rode on through the whole book, with them struggling and fighting at parts and yet coming together and being really close at others. It reminded me very much of my relationship with my sisters and the natural ebb and flow those relationships can be at times. I also really liked the ending and (no spoilers) the truth that finally came out about the night of Hayley's death.

With that said, this felt more like a family drama than a thriller until the very end for me and while that isn't necessarily a bad thing, it was a bit disappointing when I was going in looking for a good, edge-of-my-seat thriller. I also felt some of the secondary/tertiary characters were a bit flat and one-dimensional.

Overall, it was a middle of the road read for me. I liked it, I enjoyed it while I was reading it, but I don't think any part of it will really stay with me or make me want to re-read it.

I received a free advance digital review copy of this book from Penguin Group Putnam in exchange for my honest review.

I was intrigued by the premise of Little Threats, which involves a woman recently released from prison who must navigate restarting her life, mending her relationship with her twin sister, and coming to terms with the circumstances, which she does not remember, that led to her best friend's death. The book's pacing is slower, but it kept me turning the pages until the end. I would recommend this book for someone who enjoys a read that is suspenseful, without being creepy. One of the book's strengths is that it explores the impact of the crime and prison sentence on family members as well as the main character.

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I absolutely loved this book. It's perfect for fans of Sadie by Courtney Summers, as well as any reader who enjoys true crime stories and suspenseful mysteries. This book is a tier higher than your typical psychological thriller featuring a confused female protagonist, so it's not contributing to a nearly exhausted genre. It's a beautifully written, engaging story that I absolutely zipped through.

Wow, I really loved this. 4.5 Rounding up!

This was a very well written thriller that successfully kept me in the dark on what would happen next. For some reason, I just knew that Ms. Schultz wouldn't lead me astray and I was definitely correct. It's possible that other readers may wonder where its going, but I not once found it boring or frustrating. With each new cookie crumb, we were finding things out just as we were meant to and the rest was left up to us to figure out.

Another aspect of this story that I liked was how it demonstrated just how much a crime can destroy both the family of the victim (obvious), but the victim of the accused as well. Reading from the perspective of Kennedy once she was released was interesting because she isn't your go-to convict. Born to an upper-middle class family with every privilege at her finger tips, Kennedy entered a guilty plea on a legal strategy that was quite puzzling. Her case was chalked up as being made an example of by the court (we convict white rich kids too), but it isn't until a popular crime show starts poking around that key people in the case start to question just what they thought they knew.

If you're looking for a break from the popular thrillers that seem to get more attention, but want something to scratch that itch, I highly suggest you pick up this one. I for one can't wait for Ms. Schultz's next book!

Thank you to GP Putnam & Sons and Emily Schwartz for providing a finished copy in exchange for an honest review.

Review Date: 12/08/2020
Publication Date: 11/10/2020

This rarely happens To me but I just could not get into this book. I don’t necessarily think it is the work of the author or the story itself, but it just didn’t appeal to me and I stopped after a few chapters.

While I read this book quickly, I felt like the ending “twist” didn’t really make sense and came out of nowhere. And the “supernatural “ element was not well done.

Little Threats is about two twin sisters and the murder of their best friend when they are all teenagers. One sister (Kennedy) is convicted of the crime and sent to prison while the other (Carter) struggles with drugs. The story picks back up 10 years later when Kennedy is released and Carter is sleeping with the deceased friend's brother. There's a new crime show digging into the history of the murder and Kennedy is slightly hopeful people will finally believe she's innocent.

It was a slow suspenseful drama with less focus on the crime than I expected. I enjoyed the story and the way the crime unraveled and the interpersonal relationships of both sisters. The end was a little unbelievable, but made sense after I thought it over.

All in all a worthwhile read!

Thank you @netgalley & @putnambooks for this copy of Little Threats by Emily Schultz! ⁣I had not previously heard of this author! This book has it all... family, friendship, relationships, sex, drugs, ghosts, and of course murder... it’s real & it’s good! I found it to be a quick read & I gave it 4 stars overall.

This book had a lot of twists and turns in it. I honestly didn’t see the ending coming until most of the way through the book. It was hard to keep track of all the characters at some points but overall I liked the book.

3 stars

This was less of who done it and more of a character study. The only ones that are likeable are Kennedy and Everett. This book is slow moving and took me forever!

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for my free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Teenage rebellion takes many forms and pathways. Some teens experiment with alcohol, drugs or sex but all test boundaries. Twin sister’s, Kennedy and Carter, along with other friends, followed a reckless path that leads to murder. Details surrounding the murder were murky and memories were vague. Love, sex and lies complicate lives and sends one twin to prison while the other struggles to face life’s obstacles alone. Family dynamics effect everyone.

Emily Schultz brings the characters to life by describing the twin connection and sensitivities they feel for each other. She described their subtle similarities and differences that helped identify with each character’s strengths and weaknesses. The minute changes describing each sister helped see how their relationship and trust was fundamentally sound. It was enjoyable seeing the story develop.

I would recommend this book for young adults and older readers. There is reference to drugs, I.e. ecstasy, and sex that would not be appropriate for teenagers.

I post my review on Amazon.


#LittleThreats #NetGalley #EmilySchultz

Thank you NetGalley for providing me the opportunity to review and provide feedback on “Little Threats”.

3.5 stars

I don't know how to begin this review, but I expected so much from this book that when I finished it I wanted to give myself some time to let it rest and that my opinion wasn't influenced by how little I liked it that in the end I forgot to do the review at the time.

As I said before, the synopsis caught me as soon as I read it and when I received the copy of the book I was very happy that I started it right away, but it was so slow that what I thought would take me one or two days to read it was spreading because it didn't catch me the way i was expected. I don't understand why Kennedy doesn't try and fight to find the truth or at least be sure that she is really guilty of the murder she was accused of and locked up, but of course I imagine that the author puts her in that resigned mode so that what we discover happens that fateful night in the end make a little sense, no much but works for the closing of everything here.

The story seemed to improve almost at the end and I personally like that this kind of genre to catch me from the beginning.

I still recommend to read it, my opinion doesn't have to coincide with the rest so maybe I'm the one who didn't know how to get into this story.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest opinion.

Until next time :)

Good storyline but didn't speed up until the last third of the book. Really enjoyed the read but did find some of it to he quite mundane. Did have a twist at the end up I figured it out before it came which made it less interesting (however, I will say, I didn't see it coming from the first part of the book).

So, grunge nostalgia is a thing. And apparently I have it. Like Carter and Kennedy, the presidentially-named twins at the center of this book, I was a 90s kid. The atmosphere, nostalgia and sense of time form a heady mix in a cauldron of murder, and grunge so potent you can feel the flannel.

This is less a fast-paced thriller and more a drawn-out, beautiful and morose story not unlike a favorite Nirvana track. Kennedy, the first twin, has served time for murdering her friend. She can’t remember anything from that night, including whether or not she is innocent. I had an idea whodunit from about halfway through but I still loved watching it unfold.

A totally unique story with a completely original premise that manages to marry 90s nostalgia with true crime. Though at times flow, I was always engaged. I was very impressed with the writing and will definitely be reading whatever Emily Schultz writes next.

Thanks to NetGalley, Emily Schultz and Penguin Books for the ARC of this original, creepy, and compelling story. (You don’t have to be a 90s baby, goth/former goth to enjoy it ... but it helps.)

This book was a whirlwind. It is slow to start and I found myself really disliking Kennedy. There was something about her character I couldn’t get my head to align with. That did not last long and the author does a really nice job weaving together multiple character narratives.

I have to admit a lot of this book was a real flashback for me. I was in middle school and highschool in the 90s and all the references that Kennedy and Carter give to what life as a pre-teen and a teenager drew me in and grounded me in the story. It also made me nostalgic for flannels, my goth days, and that deep desire I had to be acknowledged as different.

The story of Kennedy and Carter and their friend Haley’s death was a real whirlwind. I really enjoyed how we got the perspective of the victim’s family — and the perceived perpetrators family. So much of the book halfway through was a page turner. I was shocked at some of the reveals and certainly did not see the plot twists at all.

Not being able to predict the end of a story is always something I mark as a good author – if I can’t guess it and I’m shocked at the end of a book, it goes up a star for sure.

I can’t wait to read more from this author. This book was a good 4/5 stars. The prose was interesting, the descriptions were good, and she was able to write teenage angst fairly well. And the angst of being 30 as well!

Super disappointed because the premise of this book had real potential to stand out from the oversaturated thriller genre. A super unique story about a woman getting out of prison for a crime she genuinely doesn't know if she committed because she was on drugs. So interesting, right? It could have been. But the writing was lackluster, the story slow, the characters one=dimensional. Bummer.

As someone who loves true crime, this novel spoke to me immediately. A woman was put in prison as a teen for the murder of a good friend, and then years later she's released, trying to figure out how to acclimate with the world around her.

Kennedy's dad just wants things to get back to normal. Kennedy's twin, Carter, blames her and is just trying to get on with her own life. And what happened to the family that lost a daughter and sister? Well, they're a whole different story.

This novel is a whodunit, focusing on what everyone does and doesn't remember from the night that Haley died. Kennedy can't remember a lot from that night, however she doesn't seemed very concerned with figuring things out. I feel like maybe it's fear that she did actually kill her friend, but I'd like to think if it was me in this position I'd fight a little harder?

I had a good idea who I thought killed Haley, and while I was wrong, I wasn't entirely surprised either. I wanted to care a little bit more than I actually did, this book was just so murky that I kind of wanted it all to be over. 

Maybe you'll enjoy it better than me? You'll only know if you read it!

In 1993, twins Kennedy and Carter Wynn and their best friend Haley are inseparable. Though the twins have every material advantage, the trio delights in pushing boundaries—shoplifting, doing drugs, and hanging out with college men. Kennedy falls for one of them, Berk, and though he returns her affection, he also comes on to Haley.

One night, the three start the evening together, but Berk leaves them in the woods. The next day, Kennedy is alone and can’t remember anything that happened the night before. She is horrified to discover Haley’s dead body. The police are quick to charge Kennedy, and she ultimately accepts an Alford Plea.

Fifteen years later, Kennedy is released on parole, returning to a changed world where everyone in the community recognizes her, her twin, Carter, doubts her innocence, and her father is obsequious and awkward. Even worse, a popular crime show has come to town to cover the case.

Kennedy had come to terms with never knowing what happened the night Haley died, but as the questions raised by the show start to uncover new evidence and identify new leads, flashes of memory begin to return—and she wonders if she and those she cares about are strong enough to learn the truth at last.

𝘓𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘴 is told from multiple points of view in dual timelines and does not just investigate the mystery of Haley’s death but explores the effect of a killing on those left behind—both on the side of the victim and accused.

I loved all the 90s references. Tori Amos! Nirvana! Seeing how the crime impacted others, particularly Haley’s family and Carter was interesting. I wanted a bit more about how being in prison for fifteen years affected Kennedy.

While I liked having multiple points of view, sometimes there were so many I forgot where I left a particular character.

The pacing of the first half or so of the novel was a bit slow for me; however, it steadily picked up.

Interesting due to the focus on after the crime and the development of characters, 𝘓𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘴 isn’t a typical mystery novel but it’s worth reading.

A little predictable in parts, but overall a compelling read and good mystery. Twin sisters Kennedy and Carter were living the teenage life, when Kennedy goes too far and winds up in prison for murder. Years later when she is released, we find out what really happened that night, and what secrets were worth keeping.