Alright, I typically LOVE any type of dark academia read but I have to admit this was a lot more of a slower burn than I hoped for and I did find it a bit too long.

That being said, there was still a lot that I enjoyed about this book, especially about it revolving around a podcast! I find that this idea always comes across as entertaining and it adds a whole nother level and layer to the story! As a big fan of The Night Swim and AGGGTM, I was dying for this one to become a new fav. I always love jumping into a good cold case and this one was certainly intriguing!

I definitely can see this one working as a fun series similar to the AGGGTM one!

3.5 stars rounded to 4 for goodreads

Ahh … where to begin with this one?

“The Sorority Murder” by Allison Brennan is about a true crime podcast that launches after Northern Arizona University sorority sister Candace Swain is murdered. Student Lucas Vega is determined to revisit Candace’s murder, convinced the police have missed critical clues. Former US marshal Regan Merritt is introduced to Lucas after a guest lecture on campus and joins his mission to bring Candace’s killer to justice.

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing for my gifted eARC of “The Sorority Murder.” It comes out Dec 28 🗓

I was beyond excited for this one. I know some thriller readers are over the true crime podcast plot line, but I love any media-centered narrative. But Lucas is an amateur sleuth who starts a podcast, not a podcast host. So that media angle is missing. I went in expecting a story more along the lines of “The Night Swim,” but this is more about detective work than a podcast.

I also was hoping for girl drama! Rich women behaving badly is my favorite trope and this is a SORORITY MURDER. I was expecting crazy Greek life drama. There’s not much of it.

I loved Regan’s character — I typically enjoy law enforcement characters, and she was no exception. Her character kept me reading. Lucas’ POV wasn’t for me.

I would classify this as more of a mystery than a thriller, and I prefer thrillers to mysteries. That said — if you like mysteries and don’t want anything too dark or heavy, this is likely a good fit for you.

The Sorority Murder by Allison Brennan is a highly recommended murder mystery.

Three years ago Candace Swain was a popular sorority member and senior nursing student at Northern Arizona University when she left the sorority Spring Fling party and disappeared. A week later her body was found in a lake at a golf course. Her case remained open with the only suspect, a homeless alcoholic, missing. Now Lucas Vega, who was a freshman when Candace was murdered, has decided to do a podcast focused on Candace's murder for his senior capstone project as a forensics major. He is hoping to review the case, present some new information he has found, and have listeners call in with any additional information they might have.

When Regan Merritt, a former US marshal, is a guest lecturer at the university, Lucas invites her to share her expertise on his podcast. When reviewing the case and the information Lucas has discovered, Regan decides to join him on the podcast. She stays on to help as new information is brought to light and she believes Lucas may actually be able to solve the murder. It is also clear to her that Lucas is holding a secret of his own that may have been the impetus behind the podcast idea.

Regan is a great, fully realized character and hopefully she'll be back in her own series. She provides the maturity, intelligence, knowledge, and experience that the novel needs to make the investigation into the murder mystery seem believable. She has a lot of her own resources and contacts in the area that are of great help. Lucas is also a believable character, but he seemed younger than a senior in college. It is clear from the start that he is hiding something, but he is clearly dedicated to solving Candace's murder. He and Reagan make a good team.

The Sorority Murder is a compelling, complex, solid murder mystery and held my attention throughout despite the fact that the pacing of the plot is a bit uneven at the beginning and it does have a slow start while setting up the story. Once things get moving and new information is slowly coming in, the pacing picks up. Along with following Lucas and Regan, there are also excerpts from a journal Candace kept. The narrative approaches solving the mystery like a procedural. I enjoyed this approach where new information is discovered or uncovered in the quest of solving the mystery.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of MIRA Books.
The review will be published on Barnes & Noble, Google Books, and Amazon.

Two of my favorite things: a new thriller from Allison Brennan and a novel about a true-crime podcast. I don't actually listen to podcasts, but for some reason I'm a sucker for books about them. The podcast in The Sorority Murder is being hosted by Lucas Vega. Lucas is a senior at Northern Arizona University. (I love when a book takes place in my neck of the woods!) For his senior project, Lucas gets approval to do a podcast about a girl, Candace Swain, who disappeared three years prior after a sorority party and was discovered dead two weeks after her disappearance. It's since been delegated to the Cold Case Files. Lucas actually knew Candace personally as she tutored him, but he has an additional, more personal reason for being obsessed with her case. Joining him on the podcast is Regan Merritt. Regan used to work for the US Marshal Service, specializing in tracking down people. She's suffering from a deep personal loss and temporarily living with her father in Flagstaff. Regan has a personal relationship with Lucas's senior advisor, and he asks her to assist Lucas with his podcast.

Lucas already has some important clues as to what might have happened to Candace, and with Regan's assistance, his podcast is finally bringing out some anonymous sources that begin to fill out the puzzle. Of course, the podcast is also making some members of the college community anxious that the truth might finally come to light, which they can't allow to happen.. After one of their sources turns up dead, Regan knows they're onto something and she goes into high gear to protect Lucas, as well as to solve the case.

Allison Brennan is one of my favorite authors, and I thoroughly enjoyed The Sorority Murder. I'm hoping to see Regan again in future novels. My thanks to NetGalley and MIRA for providing me an eARC in exchange for an honest review. The Sorority Murder is scheduled for publication on December 28, 2021.

I’ll preface this by saying that I absolutely love Allison Brennan. And this book is no exception.. full of twists and turns. Fast passed and exciting! High up on the list of her best!

I tried to start this one but could not get into it. It seems just another story of college campus murders. I'm sorry!

Im still unsure how to accurately review this one. I did enjoy aspects of it, however there were things about it I did not enjoy as well.

Lets start with the positives first. I love novels that include podcasts/true crime aspects. This one definitely delivered that. It gives you all the podcast behind-the-scenes and also the background and footwork that goes into a podcast. The mystery in the story is also well done. Now, I am not sure if it was because the book is quite long, or there were several details that were put into the novel. I was unsure who the "killer" actually was until closer to the end. Regan's additional story line was unnecessary but since I enjoyed this tourtured character I also enjoyed the added information regarding her background.

Now the not so good. I hate this part. This book TOOK FOREVER to get going. I felt like I was spinning in circles and rereading the same 10 pages over and over again for about 100 pages. I almost DNF'd it. Lucas also could have used a bit more character development. He seemed cold/rigid and I didn't find him all that believable. My last challenge was the ending. I did enjoy the twist however, it was EXTREMELY far fetched.

All in all I feel middle of the road about this one.

I'm a sucker for a book with a podcast element to it-- especially a true crime podcast element, so I had really high hopes for this one. It was just fine. I think people who don't read as many thrillers as I have would actually really love this one-- but it felt really predictable. Once you're introduced to the person who is the murderer, details really fall into place quickly. I was also confused by the characters-- Lucas is the student running the podcast so I suspected he would be a much larger player, but he felt secondary to Regan. It's not necessarily a bad thing, but it was a bit confusing.

I was in a sorority in college and felt pretty jaded with it by the end, so it was interesting to read a book where the sorority institution is used almost as a villain. There were a lot of characters to keep straight, but it definitely wasn't as difficult as it is in other books. It was written with alternating POVs and had a pace that kept me interested.

If this one is remotely interesting to you, I think it's worth a shot. There are better thrillers out there, but this one was alright!

I loved the premise of this murder mystery--taking place on a college campus and lightly playing into Greek life, the reader is thrust into a years old murder that flips from present day to past victim. I enjoyed the podcast element as that is such a modern twist on solving true crime--I will say I thought the book was too long so it did drag a bit. Pacing could be improved. Overall, good, easy read for suspense lovers.

The Sorority Murder
by Allison Brennan
Pub Date: December 28, 2021
Mira

This author is extremely popular at our library so I was excited when I received this ARC from Mira and Netgalley.
Fans of Karen Slaughter will not be disappointed if you try this one!
I especially like True Crime pod casts, so this book which used a podcast as a way to work through the story and crime was an instant hit for me. This story was suspenseful and truly kept my attention.
Great Book Allison Brennan!

5 stars

I am always on the lookout for adult mysteries that my high school students will enjoy, and this one fits the bill perfectly. It is definitely a slow burn, but it sucks you in and keeps your attention. Perfect for high school students who loved A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder or Sadie.

This is the story of an unsolved murder turned cold case and a college student trying to solve the mystery through a podcast project. I really liked the idea of the book because it’s different and unique. Lucas is trying to solve the disappearance and the murder of Candace Swain, a sorority member with the help of former US Marshal Regan Meritt. I really enjoyed how this novel centered around true-crime podcasts. As each new piece of evidence was discovered, the reader was walked through the changes in the case. I enjoy procedural books, and this really worked. The characters were well written and believable. The sorority aspect also felt very real. The closing ranks, members of council demanding everybody do what they say, getting in trouble for going against council's demands, all of that are things that really happen. I feel like the author really did her research to bring us this book. The podcast, Greek life, police procedure, college life-all of it felt so real, and like stuff that actually happened. I would highly recommend this book to anyone! I don't want to give anything away, so I'll just leave with this: read the book!

I loved this one one. Allison Brennan is one of my favorite authors and this was a great Stand alone book for her. This was quick read with a plot twist I did not see coming.

The setting and plot drew me to select this title. In theory, this book should have kept me engaged based on my book genre preferences and types of characters for which I have a preference. That did not turn out to be the case sadly. It didn’t take many pages into the story to identify the killer and at times the story plodded along at a slow pace for me. Thanks to #Netgalley for allowing me to read this title.

A twisty, turny story through and through. Both heart stopping and sorrowful at times. Such a creative plot! I adore this author and this book was no exception. Well it might be an exception as in its one of the best of her works! The characters are beautifully written. They invoke emotion. I had goosebumps! This is one of those rare books when I am scared to get to the last page as I have to say goodbye to the characters I’ve come to love. Suspense from start to finish. Both gripping and chilling with a side of sorrow. Must read!

If I ever go missing, I want Lucas Vega on the case.

The Sorority Murder followed Lucas Vega in his pursuit to uncover the truth about a campus crime. Along the way you find out just why this case meant so much to him. Lucas never once gave up and did not stop until he achieved his goal, even if it put his life in danger.

This is a hard book to review as I don't want to give away any spoilers!

The only qualm I had was that the book did drag a bit and I was still left with a few questions on the back history of Ragen . I also wanted to know if she got her happy ending? Maybe there will be a sequel to an another case she helps with?

Allison Brennan, does an incredible job incorporating different points of view in order to have the story make a full circle and come together. I would be interested to see if this develops into a series with Ragen Merrit. I absolutely love college thrillers so of course this will be one that I add to the list of books I suggest.

All in all, great story and I really enjoyed this one!

I went into this one blind. I definitely enjoyed the podcast digging into a cold case aspect as that feels very relevant and ripped from the headlines, however the connection of the main character to to the case felt a little disjointed and out of left field. Overall though, a solid and entertaining read.

This murder mystery detective style thriller was truly a lot of fun to read. Set around a university sorority, Lucas makes his capstone project making a podcast around solving the murder of a sorority girl that had gone cold. He links up with a former US Marshall and… well, I’ll let you read it. I thought it was well put together and had some good twists. It was gripping with likeable characters and easily bingeable as well. However, there were times I felt the story did drag a little and I wanted it to pick up a little more. Perfect for fans of A Good Girls Guide to Murder, I definitely recommend picking this up on December 28!

Thank you to the publisher for a gifted copy in exchange for my honest review.

This is the first book I've read by Allison Brennan, and I definitely plan to correct that error!! The Sorority Murder is a captivating and exciting read that held my attention throughout. I love the depth of Brennan's characters and the many twists brought into play throughout the well thought out storyline.

Lucas Vega has put together a podcast as his senior Capstone project; a podcast which he hopes will lead to the solving of the three year old cold case of Candace Swain, a senior who left the Spring Fling her sorority was holding, and was found dead one week later. Two episodes of the podcast have been broadcast so far. He approaches Regan Merritt, a guest lecturer on campus, with some questions about how to get more people to come forward with information that he know must be out there.

Regan Merritt, a former US Marshal has come back to the area to stay with her Dad, a retired and well-known Sherriff, while she gets her life back on track. The murder of her son, and subsequent dissolution of her marriage has set her adrift. She doesn't know what she wants to do right now, she just wants to take a break and figure some things out. She agrees to be a guest on the next podcast episode and becomes interested in the case.

Vega's podcast and Merritt's subsequent investigation really get things churning on campus. Finally, it seems that long-buried secrets are going to come out as Vega has hoped. Now the biggest question is, will the answers come to light without more people dying first to protect the silence that's been in place for years?

This is a well-written and highly entertaining read that I recommend without hesitation.

My thanks to Mira who allowed me to read an ARC of this book via NetGalley. The book is scheduled for publication on 12/28/21. All opinions in this reveiw are indeed my own and are given freely.

I’m loving the mysteries that surround a podcast! I feel like more and more books are going this route and it just adds some much to the books storyline!
Meet Lucas Vegas he decides that a podcast would make the perfect Senior Year Capstone project. The podcast subject, is the unsolved mystery of Senior student Candace Swain three years in the past. Her Murder happened right on the campus. The only person of interest in Candace’s murder was a homeless alcoholic man who hasn’t been seen since the body of Candace was found three years ago. Lucas hopes with the podcast new clues and people will come forward and he can break the case! Professor Henry Clarkson, Lucas' advisor suggests using former US Marshall Regan Merritt on the podcast he feels it will add more stability to it. Regan has moved back to flagstaff after the dead of her son and she’s going through a divorce, she’s looking for a fresh start. The cold case certainly has caught Regan's attention, and as she and Lucas work on the podcast and dig for new clues a killer lurks in the background, just waiting for the chance to kill again and stop them from solving the murder. I loved this book this wasn’t a quick who done it, the author did an amazing job twisting the mystery from past and present! Four stars!