I gravitate to campus mysteries and murders due to the sheer complexities of the mind at that age. When I saw the title of this book, I didn’t bother reading the synopsis because it had me hooked and I was committed to reading it no matter what!

The story was mid to fast paced of a male student hosting a podcast about a 3yo cold case Murder of a sorority girl. There is much opposition to his podcast from the sorority but when he lands an ex Marshall to interview on the show, she becomes invested in the murder and also has doubts on what happened to the victim. It doesn’t take long before they realize they have opened up a can of worms and it’s now or never to determine the truth of what really happened.

This book was a puzzle and kept revealing more clues as the story went on, and it was a nonstop train wreck at the end when all the pieces came together!

Thank you NetGalley for providing this book for an honest review. Allison Brennan is one of my favorite authors. I have loved every book that she has written and this is no different. I am not a big fan of podcasts so I wasn't sure if I would like this book, but it did not disappoint. There are lots of twists in this book and it will hook you pretty quickly.

True to form, Allison Brennan has penned another intriguing mystery that kept the pages turning late into the night. With true crime podcasts being all the rage these days, The Sorority Murder is certainly relevant and none too hard to believe as the story progresses. It is a stretch of suspension of disbelief toward the end, but that didn't hinder my curiosity about the story's secrets. I will say this one has a bit of a slow start, but once things pick up, it all moves at a fast pace. I liked the tension of the story and trying to solve the mystery before the reveal, so it certainly made for entertaining reading. Lucas took me some time to warm up to, but part of that may be knowing he was keeping secrets. That said, I really liked Regan right from the start. She's an interesting character that would make for a fun series, and I hope to see more of her. Slow start or not, this one ended up being a page-turner and is one to check out if you enjoy thrillers and true crime podcasts.

Candace disappeared from a sorority party and was found dead 9 days later, killer never found A former classmate, Lucas Vega, has evidence that might solve the murder. With Former U.S. Marshall, Regan Merritt, Vega is determined to unravel the murder of Candace. Will they solve the murder before anyone else dies?

I listened to this on Hoopla and I really liked the narrator. This was the first book I’ve read by Allison Brennan. I enjoyed her writing style, but I didn’t find it very thrilling.

I'm going to try really hard to make it through this review without any spoilers lol.

Lucas Vega needs to be my best friend. He is a forensic science student and was fascinated with a murder that took place 3 years earlier. He winds up teaming with Reagan Merritt who is a former US Marshall and their journey is hard to put into words.

There are a tons of turns and fast actions in this book. Add this to your to read list if you want a good thriller!

Title: The Sorority Murder
Author: Allison Brennan
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 4.0 out of 5.0

Lucas Vega is obsessed with the death of Candace Swain, who left a sorority party one night and never came back. Her body was found after two weeks, but the case has grown cold. Three years later while interning at the medical examiner's, Lucas discovers new information, but the police are not interested.

Lucas knows he has several credible pieces of the puzzle. He just isn't sure how they fit together. So he creates a podcast to revisit Candace's last hours. Then he encourages listeners to crowdsource what they remember and invites guest lecturer Regan Merritt, a former US marshal, to come on and share her expertise.

New tips come in that convince Lucas and Regan they are onto something. Then shockingly one of the podcast callers turns up dead. Another hints at Candace's secret life, a much darker picture than Lucas imagined—and one that implicates other sorority sisters. Regan uses her own resources to bolster their theory and learns that Lucas is hiding his own secret. The pressure is on to solve the murder, but first Lucas must come clean about his real motives in pursuing this podcast—before the killer silences him forever.

I enjoyed this read. I wouldn’t say the killer’s identity was well-hidden, but I still enjoyed finding out all the details of Candace’s murder—and the other things it’s connected to. I liked Regan’s point-of-view more than I did Lucas’s, and I’d enjoy reading more things about her. This was a solid read!

Allison Brennan is a bestselling author. The Sorority Murder is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Harlequin Trade Publishing in exchange for an honest review.)

I’ve loved every book Allison Brennan has written. My favorites have to be those in the ever-growing Lucy Kincaid series. So, when I discovered that Brennan had a new book coming out, it was one I knew I had to read.

This book seems like a crossover between Holly Jackson’s “A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder” and Vera Kurian’s debut novel “Never Saw Me Coming”. With a murder to solve on a college campus, Lucas decides to crowd source as much of the missing information as possible by hosting a podcast. With the help of his advisor, he even manages to bring in former US Marshal, Regan Merritt. She agrees that the events leading up to Candace Swain’s murder three years ago don’t add up, and since it’s a cold case, she agrees to help Lucas ask the right questions in order to get to the truth of what happened.

What Regan doesn’t realize is that Lucas has other motives, and isn’t being completely honest. What they quickly learn together is that the truth cannot be discovered if other truths are being used to hide them.

With a bit of a slow start, this book eventually picked up as they dove into the case together on and off the podcast. I’d definitely recommend picking this one up – especially if you enjoyed Kurian’s “Never Saw Me Coming”, both because of the college murder, and the added element of the psychology behind human behaviors.

I didn’t realize how much I crave good character development until I read this - because there wasn’t any. this was so story-oriented that the small tidbits of info I got about the characters wasn’t enough and I just didn’t care about them.

👍🏽: the relationship between Regan & her dad. the podcast element (always). the murder mystery.

👎🏽: little to no character background or development. predictable. very repetitive.

I like a story with multiple POVs, but this one felt like it was all over the place. I never got enough information, it was usually just the same from a different perspective. and then - SPOILER ALERT - the ending is explained AGAIN. like hellooooo I’ve been here through the entire book I know this already!!!

I was really intrigued by the synopsis of this book (enough that I kicked off my new year with it!) but unfortunately it fell flat for me.

3.5 stars

When a college sorority girl disappeared and was later found murdered, the local police quickly focused on one suspect. After that man also disappeared, law enforcement essentially shelved the investigation but a college senior, Lucas Vega, has now become nearly obsessed with the cold case, determined to find the truth. He has hopes that a podcast program will draw out new evidence that the police can’t continue to ignore.

Former US Marshal Regan Merritt returned home to Flagstaff after the devastating loss of her son, seeking comfort with her father, but coping with her issues and finding true peace are not coming easily. When she’s encouraged to work with Lucas, her initial reluctance soon turns into a quest almost as strong as his and there’s no doubting the value she brings with her background.

Allison Brennan is an author I admire and her books nearly always offer the tight plotting, vivid characters and tense pacing a really good thriller promises. In this instance, while I certainly enjoyed the story, it isn’t one of my top choices among her books because there is too much repetition of information due to, I think, the podcast style. That led to very slow pacing in the first half or so and, with almost any other author, might have caused me to DNF the book. Ms. Brennan’s proven quality of work kept me reading.

Reviewed by Lelia Taylor, January 2022.

A thank you to Netgalley for sharing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I've become an Allison Brennan fan over the past few years and I was excited when her new book was announced. However...I decided to temper my expectations since when I set them too high, it's far too easy to wind up let down. The fact that it was another addition to the getting oversaturated 'true crime' pod cast storyline, I figured it could go either way. So, I was pleased that I enjoyed it as much as I did. No, it won't win a Pulitzer, but it held my interest throughout, I found the main characters engaging, the mystery well done while not overly complicated, and I do love me a good psychopath - in literature that is. Great beach read, could be a fun popcorn thriller flick, highly recommended for readers of the genre - and, yes, true crime podcast fans.

Thank you to @netgalley and #harlequinpublishing for access to this ARC. It actually came out back in December so it's available now, just took me a hot minute to get to the review!

I've always had a thing for true crime documentaries. I can watch them ad nauseum and just never get enough. Investigation Discovery does an incredible job especially with my top two faves, See No Evil and Evil Lives Here. I've never been able to really get into true crime podcasts necessarily but, I've you've got some faves, lemme hear 'em!

Lucas Vega is a student at the same university where, three years ago, Candace Swain disappeared after a party one night, only to turn up a couple of weeks later, a murder victim. It's now a cold case but Lucas refuses to accept that, instead deciding to put together a podcast in hopes that it will unlock leads. He enlists the help of former US Marshal, Regan Merritt. But does Lucas have an ulterior motive, other than just wanting to help a family get some answers? Read to find out!

I genuinely enjoyed this one, twists and turns galore but also a satisfactory ending, my favorite kind of thriller!

#SororityMurder #AllisonBrennan #bookstagram #thriller #greeklife

Candace Swain left a sorority party one night and disappeared into thin air. Since then, Lucas Vega has not forgotten what happened and now three years later, he is doing a podcast for an assignment hoping to find out exactly what happened to Candace that night. When he reaches a dead end, Regan Merritt a former US Marshall steps in to help him. When calls start coming in and letters are sent to them, they know they are on a hot trail to find the killer. Will Lucas finally tell Reagan the secret he is keeping? Can Regan put her own grief aside to help Lucas?
I am a huge fan of Allison Brennan, and I really enjoyed this book. The character of Regan Merritt was written brilliantly, giving us a small glimpse into her life, and leaving the reader wanting more. I really hope this becomes a series! I liked Lucas and how he interacted with Reagan. The mystery was a page turner, but one thing I felt was a little over done was how many times we were reminded of what happened previously with Candaces timeline when she went missing. All in all, though, I am still a huge fan and would love to read Allison’s next book. This book was part of Harlequin Fall 2021 blog tour, and my thanks goes to the publisher for an advanced copy to read and review.

Lucas’s podcast is slowly gaining popularity and ruffling feathers of Candace’s sorority when his advisor brings in US marshal Regan Merritt to participate in interviews. Regan has problems of her own and this mystery is just the thing to keep her mind off her own issues. Soon Lucas and Regan are uncovering clues that the police may not have seen and
receiving threatening calls and letters. Who is behind the death of Candace SwSon.

I was unaware this was YA BUT ., I still enjoyed it very Much !

Allison Brennan doesn't disappoint in this new novel. I love the new lead character. There's great suspense as usual and I'm glad to read about someone new!

I loved the idea of this book. The whole Podcaster solving a murder is a trope I am starting to really enjoy reading about but unfortunately this one wasn't keeping my attention.
Had I listened to the audiobook maybe I'd like it more however the e arc I received was in pdf format and it made it slightly difficult as the text was formatted smaller but definitely not complaining and basing my rating on that.

Like I stated before my attention waned toward the middle and the book just dragged a bit and when we finally got answers it was just so underwhelming.

Maybe I'll pick up a physical copy when it's available and reread that way.

This book is based on a true crime podcast that launches after a sorority sister Candace Swain is murdered. Another student Lucas Vega is determined to revisit Candace’s murder, convinced the police have missed critical clues. This book has a great pace, keeping you interested and determined to find out the end. Would read another book from this author.

(4.5 rounded down)

I thoroughly enjoyed the book. It was an easy read - I didn’t want to put it down. The pace of the book was perfect. It kept your interest throughout the book. When I had to stop reading for awhile, I found myself anxious to get back to reading so I would know what was going to happen next. There was also plenty of action and not necessarily expected action which also kept your interest. I enjoyed the story line of having a podcast to solve a murder - as someone who listens to these type of podcasts in real life, this was a relevant and a relatable story line.

I found the characters in the book well defined, realistic as far as students and sorority sisters and what they are experiencing in life and you could relate to the characters different emotions throughout the book. When one of the main characters, Regan, was struggling as she watched some children with their parents, the writer made you feel her pain and hurt in that moment.

What I liked about the book - use of a podcast in the story line that made it feel realistic, not a predictable story line as far as who did it or what would happen next, multiple stories within the book that didn’t distract from the main story but gave the story line more depth, good pace

What I would change about the book - within a chapter, there were several times there wasn’t much of a transition from paragraph to paragraph - the story just jumped from one set of characters to another.
Also, the introduction to Adele was odd. Lucas finds Taylor and says Don’t die, you’re the only one you knows what happened to Adele and as the reader this is the first comment about Adele and it just felt odd. I thought ‘who’s Adele?’ Was this a typo on a name? Later of course you find out who Adele is but it was just this comment at that time that felt odd.

I did read this book on Kindle and the spacing throughout the whole book was off - it didn’t stop me from enjoying the book but I could see some people getting frustrated with the spacing issues.

Are you a true crime podcast listener? If so, this book is a must read!

Lucas isn't just interested in the death of Candace, he's obsessed. This obsession leads to the creation of a podcast. The podcast leads to new tips, and ignites a fire in Lucas to solve the murder. But why?

Regan is pulled in as a guest speaker on the podcast and finds herself pulled into the investigation, and questioning Lucas' motives for finding the killer. As things unfold and they get closer to solving everything, buried secrets become revealed.

I loved the way Lucas and Regan interact, and how they piece things together. Creepy, possible in real-life, and thrilling are all adjectives I'm using to describe Allison Brennan's newest book.

Thank you to @htpbooks and @harperaudio for my copies.

This was my first book by Allison Brennan and I really enjoyed it! I’ve heard great things about her so glad to finally get to read one of her books. I did the majority of this one on audio and the audio portion was perfect. Did a great job of keeping my attention and was easy to follow. I finished it quickly cause I couldn’t wait to see what happened. I’m giving myself a pat on the back because I did figure this one out, but every once in a while I get lucky and guess right. It didn’t take away my enjoyment of this. I love dark academia books especially college centered ones and this was no exception. Definitely check this one out!