Right away I was caught by the title of this book. 14 Ways to Die by Vincent Ralph hooked me instantly. I needed to know more.

The story follows Jess, daughter of the first victim of the serial killer The Magpie Man. Since then the killer has claimed 12 more victims, with a total of 13. Jess wants to find him. So she signs up for a YouTube series where cameras follow her as she tries to get more attention to the case that remains unsolved. Little does she know that her mission to draw attention to his the case will draw him out and may just put everyone in danger.

Right off the bat I love Jess. Even though she is obviously dark and withdrawn into herself because of the death of her mother so long before, she has this inner fire that you instantly can sense by her personality and behavior. She knows what she wants and she knows its likely going to hurt to get it, but she wants to do it anyway. I love the way Vincent Ralph wrote this story. It’s like we are with Jess the whole time in her head, but I also feel like the people behind the screens watching on their phones and computers on the days she is being recorded. It really gives you a sense of how others felt too. There were many times I wanted to reach into the story and shake her and yell, “Do you have no sense of self-preservation?”

I also feel like the side characters really were a game changer in this book. A lot of times the stories are not really tied in with a lot of the supporting characters, but 14 Ways to Die definitely was. I loved the fun, crime fighting neighbor boy who may or may not have won my heart from the beginning. I’d totally be watching out for my neighbors too. I loved the best friends. I even loved Bernie, which is saying a lot because she is kind of mean. These characters told a story of Jess at the same time as they were helping along with the storyline. They showed different sides of her personality and empathy and cut through some of the seriousness that was this plot line.

I think Vincent Ralph handles the topic of grief really well, which is a big topic in this book. He showcases how different people deal with grief. We have Jess, who lives her life, but also doesn’t. She’s hiding in plain sight. Then you have her dad who has holed up and isn’t living much at all. You have the aunt who is doing everything she can to keep the family together. You have other characters dealing with grief by acting out, attempting suicide, and a lot of other little ways as well. I really feel like Ralph got to the bottom of grief in the quickest sense and showcased how the same event can affect people differently. Really well done.

I have absolutely nothing negative to say about this book. I loved it. I cannot wait to go read more from Vincent Ralph. I hope he writes his next book soon because I will absolutely be buying it. The lover of all things thriller and suspense should pick this up, age be forgotten! I’m a forever fan now.

A quick read, this book focuses on Jessica, a girl whose mom was killed by a serial killer a decade earlier. Jessica agrees to become part of a reality show featuring a handful of teens, but soon her story takes over all the others as she tries to track down her mom's killer.

Fast paced with extremely short chapters, 14 Ways to Die is all plot with very little character development, setting, or theme. I'm not sure why the reality show even needed to start out with other characters who soon fell by the wayside. The book could have just been the filming of a documentary about Jessica and her quest.

A good choice for someone looking for a quick and entertaining book, but I think true mystery and thriller fans might be a little disappointed at the one-dimensionality of the characters and lack of depth.

This book was frustrating to me because it has the perfect set up for a really interesting story, but that is not what happened. I liked the fact that the chapters were short, it kept the pace of the book moving along quite nicely, however, the book still felt too long. Also, the main reason that I am disappointed with this book is because of who the murderer turned out to be, Unlike most mysteries I've read before, the murderer seems to come out of nowhere and is a character that the reader doesn't even meet until right before they are revealed. This took away a lot of the enjoyment from the book, because there wasn't a lot of opportunity to hypothesize who did it. It just felt like there was too much going on, and I was left pretty unsatisfied by the ending.

This is an interesting premise for a book and I thought the social media aspect of the mystery was well done. When Jess starts her show it is interesting to see how the people in her life respond and the people that come forward to either help or hinder her quest for justice. This was also interesting because of the awful people that used this as an opportunity to harass Jess making it hard to know what trouble was from horrible people and what might be a real clue. I thought the book also did a good job of showing the awfulness of misplaced blame and the social media detectives who wanted to blame Jess’s family or even thought they were the murderer. That said I did find some of the threads of the mystery felt rushed at the end and I didn’t feel like all my questions were answered. While it was a very dramatic ending I wasn’t very satisfied when I finished the book.

The premise of this book was SO good, and I really wanted to like it more than I did. It was *fine* and would be a good "first YA murder book" for a tween or teen interested in the genre, but it ultimately left me unsatisfied. I loved the short chapters and the book flew by, but the identity of the murderer was not great, and I didn't like Jess much as a character. Worth reading, but not my fave YA mystery/thriller.

I didn’t like the quick chapters. I would be interested to try this novel again when I had a bit more time but the short, quick chapters were not really to my liking. The concept and story was different and something I haven’t seen before, but I didn’t like the layout.

What a wholly unique mystery. 14 Ways to Die was exactly what I needed to read right now. The book sucked me in, and immediately I was instantly invested in the crime-solving/reality tv premise. The short chapters helped with the quick pace of the book, and it doesn't get overwhelming in the details, which is refreshing.

I am always looking for a good whodunit mystery, and I think that fans of YA mysteries will love this book. I cant wait to recommend it!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book early!

This story follows Jess as she joins a YouTube reality series in order to find the monster who murdered her mother ten years ago. This was an emotional roller coaster ride that was worth every second.

The social media aspect was very interesting especially when both the good and the ugly parts were shown. I found it also added another emotional layer to the story especially when reading the awful comments from the online trolls.

I really loved when Jess explained how the Magpie Man got his name because it was sort of beautiful in a messed up way. I never once guessed who the killer was and I was shocked when their identity was revealed.

I recieved an advanced copy for free, and this is my honest opinion.

14 Ways to Die by Vincent Ralph is a YA thriller about Jess, a new star of a YouTube reality series. In this series, Jess tries to solve the murder of her mother, who was killed by the Magpie Man ten years prior. She has the audience and the other victims' families help her to find any new evidence and to reach out to the killer. I really enjoyed this book and thought it had a rather unique premise. Thanks to NetGalley for the free digital review copy. All opinions are my own.

I received an eARC from the publisher via Netgalley. Al thoughts and opinions are my own. </b>

Jessica (Jess) Simmons mother was killed when Jess was only seven years old. Her mother was the first of many victims to be murdered by the Magpie Man. Ten years later, the killer is still at large and no clues have been left behind. Jess applies to be on an internet reality show and is chosen as the star for Monday’s. Each week a camera crew follows her around, filming her every minute. Every text, email, tweet, etc. will be monitored by the producers.

Jess takes this as a chance to remind the whole world what the Magpie Man did to her mother in the hopes that someone will come forward with a clue. Each week Jess delves deeper into the clues and receives many threats along the way. The Magpie Man is watching and he doesn’t like the attention she’s bringing his way. Will the man finally be caught or will Jess become another one of his victims?

This book is perfect for fans of <i>A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder</i>. There is suspense and mystery at every page turn. I also thoroughly enjoyed the short chapters, as it makes the book seem to go by faster. I found myself thinking in the beginning I had the story ending figured out, but I definitely was surprised by the end. This was a stunning debut novel and I highly recommend you pick it up this upcoming week when it releases!

A really clever take on the power of social media today.

Jess is a teenager whose mother died ten years ago. She was the very first victim of a serial killer known as the Magpie Man, and now that Jess is older, she is determined to find out who he is. She competes on a YouTube reality show to gain viewers and, in turn, to gain attention to the case, for anyone who may have a clue. It gets more and more dangerous as she forges ahead in her investigation, until she's not sure if even the power of the internet can keep her alive.

I recommend this book!

This book was represented to the audience who enjoyed reading A Good Girl's Guide to Murder and another mystery book. So I had to give it a chance since I'm enjoying my young adult mystery novels.

This book talks about a young girl trying to avenge the death of her mother by finding the serial killer that did it. This takes place in the modern age, where social media plays a big role in creating this storyline.

I did enjoy reading this book and how it showcased that social media is one of the key factors that is taking over our lives. The main character used this to her advantage to provide some sort of healing to everyone who has been through what she has been through. In the beginning, I was a bit skeptical cause I did love and enjoy reading A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, so having something like this be similar or in comparison to it is something that I wanted to see.

The storyline was great and intriguing but I did get bored here and there when nothing too special was going on. The last few chapters were more of the fast pace portion of the storyline nonetheless the story was good and interesting.

I would like to say thank you to NetGalley and the publishers of this book for giving me an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

What a ride!! I thought I had it figured out, but I didn’t! I love a good surprise. I felt like the serial killer’s identity could’ve been better, but still enjoyed the tale. An interesting premise of a girl whose mother was murdered 10 years ago by a now infamous serial killer, who signs up for a YouTube reality tv stint to try to solve the case of the as-of-yet in identified serial killer. The “useless cop” trope was a little overdone to the point of being unbelievable, there were some things that it just made no sense for the police to dismiss, but ok, I’ll suspend my disbelief. The plot was strong, but I wish I could’ve felt more for the main character. The father and the Nan were the most compelling characters, as well as Bernie. However, even the supporting characters, I felt, could’ve been better fleshed out. I enjoyed the ride and the ultimate destination, but I wish I cared more about the people on journey.

3.5 stars rounded down to 3 because again I liked it but didn’t love it enough.

This was an interesting story about a girl who is wanting to find the killer of her mother. Jess becomes part of an online reality show that follows 5 teens around and films everything they do. Each teen is picked because of some unique experience that they have. Jess's plan is to use this show to try and help her catch her mother's killer. Her mother was the first victim of the Magpie man and since her, he has killed 13 other people every 90 months. She using the show to bring more awareness to this serial killer and works to try and bring the family of all the victims together to prove that he hasn't beaten them. This is her last chance to try and finish what the police have been unable to do. It's a story about hope and loss along with the mystery of trying to find out who the Magpie man is without losing herself in the process.

Trigger Warning: murder, serial killer, grieving, stalking, fear, domestic abuse, child abuse, attempted suicide & child endangerment.

Could you use social media to catch a serial killer? Would it stop them? Or make you the next victim?
That is what Jess wants to use the new social media show, The Eye, for. She wants to gain enough followers and viewers to hopefully catch the serial killer, known as the Magpie man, who murdered her mother, his first victim. But how much can you trust when everyone can hide behind a screen; fake leads, threats, pity.
And when the killer seemingly stalks her, you have to wonder: is the killer actually the one doing this? Or is someone else doing his work while he watches behind the screen?

I found the chapters and entries really refreshing, which kept my interest, as thrillers can drone on for me sometimes, but the short chapters helped. Jess wasn't that emotionally; she spoke about her pain more than she felt it, for the first half and then the real fear and raw effect of grieving hit.
While I really enjoyed the red herrings and clues and false leads that we got during the book, I still was a little disappointed by the wrongful arrest, and the REAL villain reveal. I totally understand that this is realistic because sometimes the killer is someone you never expect, but this book had such a great build-up that it disappointed me.

When I saw the reviews for this book on Goodreads, I was confused because I thought this book looked excellent and upon reading it, I was right. I absolutely loved this book and I think Vincent Ralph is a great writer. I can't even begin to express how much I love really short chapters. There was no fluff and that's exactly how I like it. I loved the social media elements, catching a serial killer, the ups and downs, and the twists! I will be recommending this book to EVERYONE.

I really wanted to like this book. The premise is extremely unique and not something that I have every come across before. However, the mystery felt extremely lackluster because there were issues with the pacing of the story. This book could have been significantly cut down and entire plot points omitted without anything necessary being taken away from the story. This would have not only improved the tension building (as it is, the slower parts impede any sense of danger that starts to build) but also made the story more fast paced and exciting. As it stands, trudging through the "boring" parts made it hard to keep going to get to the next action scene.

One positive that this book does have going for it is the short chapters. I find short chapters to be great for getting reluctant readers reading because it makes the book go by faster, but ultimately, that could not save the book. It was fine. It was readable. But it will leave readers ultimately feeling kind of "meh" about it in the end.

Every nine months someone is murdered, and it started with Jessica’s mother.

When giving the opportunity to go online and share her story, and try to catch the serial killer who killed her mother, Jessica had to try. As the story goes, Monday’s being followed and put on a media show for viewers everywhere to see, we know for sure one certain person is watching.

This was a well done story. A fantastic debut story.The idea of using social to make this idea happen was so clever. The characters were all well done, the story was well paced, there were so many questions and possibilities, you didn’t know exactly what was coming next. I was highly interested, and almost felt like I was one of the viewers on record day, and then continuing to watch and listen after even. Definitely a good read, and I highly recommend it. Five out of five for me. 🎬🎬🎬🎬🎬

Okay, wow! I loved this - it's been a while since I've sat & devoured a book in less than a day, but this encompasses everything I love about YA thrillers: fast-paced, great characters, original storyline, solid twists - all set within the realm of a YouTube reality show with a true crime angle.

When I opened my Kindle & saw there were 144 chapters, I nearly died - but, don't despair! The chapters are really short & most leave off on a cliffhanger, you'll fly through the pages trying to figure out what's coming next! I loved Jess as our protagonist here, she was confident & driven, yet also vulnerable - I wasn't expecting the story to delve into grief as much as it did, but the author did such a great job with it. It added so much depth to Jess & her father, as well as the other "left behinds", & made her journey to catch the Magpie Man that more harrowing. Sometimes the story moved a little bit too quickly, but at the same time all the pieces game together great in the end.

I had such a great time with this & would highly recommend it to those looking for a fun, fast-paced thriller! I think this would translate amazing on screen, too (fingers crossed!) Thank you so much to Vincent Ralph, NetGalley & Sourcebooks Fire for providing an ARC in exchange for a honest review! (4.5)

Seventeen year old Jessica is out to use social media to catch a killer. Jess's mom was murdered only a min from her home and the killer has since taken 12 other lives leaving no clues behind. I enjoyed the story and the twists but the short chapters felt choppy with all the breaks. I was also frustrated with the ineptitude of the officers but I guess if they were any good then there wouldn't be a story to write. 3.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for an eARC of this book in return for an honest review.