One of Us Is Dead
By: Jeneva Rose

@jenevaroseauthor you are brilliant and I will forever read everything you write! Three for Three!

I was hooked from the beginning in this hot mess of bitchy women, trying to figure out which one is dead. I could never settle on one for sure, I kept flipping back and forth. So maybe I was right, maybe I wasn't. The book definitely took a few turns I was not expecting! I happened to receive an ARC through @netgalley and then the awesome publishing company @blackstonepublishing
Sent me the audio version as well!

The narrators did an amazing job and I had no trouble remembering who was who!

I would normally summarize the book, but no one can do it better than Jeneva's husband Drew. Their videos/reels are hilarious. All you need to know is, if you haven't read anything by this author, you need to start. Immediately!

I absolutely adored the first two books from this author, however this one… not so much! I tried so hard to love it but in the end I found it boring, repetitive, and lacking depth. This is coming from someone who usually enjoys books about rich people drama but unfortunately this fell flat for me.

4.5 This was such a fun thriller! I LOVED The Perfect Marriage and The Girl I Was so I knew I was going to love this too. A murder book about rich women, I am here for it!! I loved the short chapters. The twist and the ending were perfect. I hated the characters but in the best kind of way for a thriller. The only reason I’m giving it a 4.5 is because I did find the beginning a tiny bit slow but it picked up and was so worth it. Jeneva Rose and officially become one of my auto-buy authors. I loved this book and will highly recommend this book all year long.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Blackstone Publishing for the gifted digital ARC in exchange for an honest review! This was my first read by Jeneva Rose and now I can’t wait to check out her backlist! This book was so entertaining and unputdownable! I didn’t even expect to love it so much, it was a wonderful surprise!

Wow, wow, wow! This book has it all!!! Drama and secrets? Check! Suspense throughout? Check! Multiple timelines and PoVs? Check! Well built characters? Check! Hilarious moments? Check? Jaw-dropping ending? Check, check, check!!!!

I still can’t believe what I’ve read! I was literally on the edge of my seat the whole time! I loved it sooo much!

The plotline was amazing! I felt it was unique and mysterious. The fact that the story was about rich people and their secrets and drama felt super fresh and exciting, different from the thrillers I’ve been reading lately.

Each chapter ended in a cliff-hanger, leaving you with a thirst of reading more! I couldn’t put this book down for the world! All my adult responsibilities were put on hold!

The characters were so well written! I could definitely see each of these women as a real person! I had such a vivid image of each of them in my mind and it was like I could hear their voices too (even though it wasn’t an audiobook). It definitely felt like watching a series instead of reading because everything felt so real. This could totally be adapted into a series btw!

I absolutely adored Karen and her lover! That’s all I’m gonna say because I don’t want to spoil anything for you, but I felt they were really good together!

I loved seeing how the relationships between these women evolved and I think this book sends a powerful message to readers about the friendships we make and about how not everything is always what it seems to be!

The ending definitely took me by surprise, I never would have guessed it!

I'm obsessed with this book! One of my favorite thrillers ever!!

This was the best book I’ve read probably all year long. I was HOOKED! I couldn’t wait to pick up more of her books after I read this one. I loved this one!

This book is like watching a trashy soap - lots of drama, horrible villain, women banding together to take down the enemy.
Jenny owns Glow - a classy salon for the wealthy member of Buckhead, very ritzy suburb of Atlanta, GA. With the help of her investor, Olivia, Jenny offers spa pampering as well as beauty salon options such as hair and makeup. With the help of her assistant, Kesha, they keep these well-kept women looking photograph ready.
Crystal has married Bryce, the ex-husband of Shannon - who is now socially tossed aside. Olivia ascends to the position of power on the local committee - digging her nails into everyone's business. Karen is caught in the middle - long time friend and supporter of Shannon but obligated to at least offer friendship to Crystal.
And the drama ensues.
Very enjoyable, nice buildup to the ending - though predictable, still very enjoyable.

I loved this book! So entertaining the whole time. I never would’ve guessed the ending or the twists. So wild!

I can see why this author is so popular on bookstagram because she really is a great storyteller. I will definitely continue my journey with this author's book as One of Us is Dead is my first read by Jeneva Rose.

I started with the audiobook and could not stand the narrators. Luckily I liked the book a lot more when I switched to reading it instead. It was like a cross between Big Little Lies (we find out in the beginning that someone has died - but we don't know who, witnesses are being interviewed by the police, then we go back in time to see what happened) and The Hunting Wives (obnoxious rich women and a lesbian relationship). It was fast paced and I enjoyed it other than - are there really people as despicable as Olivia? She was the worst. The ending was a bit of a letdown for me and seemed far fetched.

EXCERPT: Jenny - present

'I've spent thousands of hours working on these women. I've primped, waxed, cut, painted, spray-painted, powdered and massaged them. I know almost every inch of their bodies. But I also know their demons - their deepest, darkest secrets. The things we try to bury beneath the surface so as not to show the world the doppelganger lurking within us. So, am I surprised something like this happened? Not in the slightest . . . '

ABOUT 'ONE OF US IS DEAD': Meet the women of Buckhead—a place of expensive cars, huge houses, and competitive friendships.

Shannon was once the queen bee of Buckhead. But she’s been unceremoniously dumped by Bryce, her politician husband. When Bryce replaces her with a much younger woman, Shannon sets out to take revenge …

Crystal has stepped into Shannon’s old shoes. A young, innocent Texan girl, she simply has no idea what she’s up against …

Olivia has waited years to take Shannon’s crown as the unofficial queen of Buckhead. Finally, her moment has come. But to take her rightful place, she will need to use every backstabbing, manipulative, underhand trick in the book …

Jenny owns Glow, the most exclusive salon in town. Jenny knows all her clients’ secrets and darkest desires. But will she ever tell?

Who amongst these women will be clever enough to survive Buckhead—and who will wind up dead? They say that friendships can be complex, but no one said it could ever be this deadly.

MY THOUGHTS: Every now and then I like to read a novel about bitchy women, but One of Us is Dead takes this to a whole new level, and after the initial enjoyment, I'm afraid my enthusiasm began to wane to the point where I was toying with the idea of quitting this read. But then . . . something very unexpected happened that again, briefly, piqued my interest enough to carry me through to the end.

I think that if you are a fan of the 'Real Housewives' programmes you will probably love this. The women have all married wealthy men. They are mostly various degrees of spoiled, sculpted, plastic, back-stabbing bitches. They spend their time in the beauty salon, lunching, shopping, drinking, entertaining and organising charity fundraisers, which probably would have benefited more had they just donated their collection of Birkin bags. But murder? That's not what these ladies, and I use the term very loosely, do. Their weapons are usually their tongues, not baseball bats and Glocks.

There are a few things that annoyed me: the build up is very long compared to the rather quick resolution; and the very unexpected happening seems to get lost in the story until the very end and there doesn't seem to be any legal ramifications or investigation. This is a big issue!

I did love the cast of narrators in the audio version, each character having their own voice. I read/listened to One of Us is Dead and vastly preferred the audiobook.

There is a definite market for this book and I do wish I had enjoyed it more.

⭐⭐⭐.3

#OneofUsIsDead #NetGalley

I: @jenevaroseauthor

T: @jenevarosebooks

#contemporaryfiction #crime #domesticdrama #thriller

THE AUTHOR: Jeneva Rose is originally from Wisconsin but now calls Chicago home. She lives with her husband and stubborn English bulldog, Winston.

Thank you to Blackstone Publishing via Netgalley for providing both a digital ARC and an audiobook ARC of One of Us is Dead written by Jeneva Rose and narrated by Elizabeth Evans, Hilary Huber, Cassandra Campbell, Brittany Pressley and Andy Arndt. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review is also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage

One of Us is Dead by Jeneva Rose #jaylammreads

Another hit by Jeneva Rose. That’s three for three baby!

Here are the details. Jenny owns the hottest spa/salon in town. She spends her days pampering the grossly rich ladies of Buckhead
These women spend their time gossiping and causing drama with each other.

What I loved about this was the fast paced story and full cast of characters. There’s Olivia, the ruthless self appointed queen of the group. Shannon, who’s husband recently left her for a younger woman. Karen, a very successful realtor, who’s marriage is on the rocks. And lastly, Crystal who is the new girl in town, and the one that married Shannon’s ex.

With so many characters I was concerned I would mix all these ladies up, but the way Rose writes, it is easy to follow along. This story really kept me guessing! The chapters were short and the story kept moving quickly. I had a hard time putting this down.

And the ending was a delightful twist.

Keep writing @jenvarose!!

One of Us Is Dead is basically a fictional murder mystery version of The Real Housewives! For the majority of the book, you’re getting all the different points of view from a group of rich “friends” without even knowing which character dies. So it’s a double mystery of trying to figure out both the murderer and victim.

I didn’t enjoy this quite as much as the author’s last thriller, The Perfect Marriage, because the twists were more predictable for me. Still entertaining though! It’s a book full of money, cheating, glam, pettiness, and fights.

If you enjoyed Big Little Lies, this may be for you.

This is my second book by Jeneva Rose and she definitely did not disappoint! She does twists and drama better than anyone else and I cannot get enough. This story of 5 women in a rich town, the bitchy conceited rich one, the unhappy wife with kids, the ex wife, the mistress, and the owner of the exclusive spa. All of these women have secrets and their secrets are what get them into trouble! You don’t find out who was murdered until the very end, but this is what had me on the edge of my seat and flying through this book! If you loved desperate housewives or big little lies, this one’s for you!

Jeneva has done it again. I absolutely loved this book and it had me hooked from the beginning. It’s full of twists and the ending was completely bizarre. I thought I had figured it out until the last few chapters proved how absolutely wrong I was. If you are into psychological thrillers this one is for you! It was a quick read and I couldn’t put it down.

4.5 Stars

I loved this book! It was juicy – filled with gossip, suspense and murder.

The story is told by multiple POV’s of four rich housewives and their hairdresser. The women are bitchy and everyone has their own secrets. I loved this book from the first page, I thought it was clever that the book surrounded a high-end hair salon, a place where the women frequented to gossip and get pampered. It was a fast paced, easy read thriller and the ending was perfect. If you’re looking for a fun thriller this is definitely the book!

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Blackstone publishing for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to @blackstonepublishing for gifted physical and eARCs of this one! It was truly an honor to read it early. ⁣

⁣Kirkus Reviews called this one “sublimely bitchy,” and I think that’s the absolute best description. This is a thriller centered around a salon in Atlanta’s toney Buckhead — four rich female frenemies and their stylists, Jenny and Keisha. Olivia, the friend group’s Regina George, has waited years for her moment of power — and she will do anything and everything to collect her crown.⁣
⁣
I LIVE for bitchy dramas like this one, and I never saw the twists coming. Jeneva managed to weave together some Real Housewives-level drama with some absolutely killer plot twists. This was a fun, easy read. The author’s book “The Perfect Marriage” is one of my all-time favorites and a really, really tough act to follow. But it measures up 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 I recommend this to anyone who wants a fun, fast read or is in a reading slump. ⁣

⭐️ rating: five stars⁣
📚 genre: thriller⁣
#️⃣ pages: 355⁣
🗓 pub date: 4/26⁣
💇🏼‍♀️ the vibe: catty female friendships, Real Housewives-level drama

4.5 stars. I loved the setting of this book, a high end salon featuring lots of entitled clients and gossip galore. I was hooked right from the start and it was a real page turner for me. It’s one of the best thriller I’ve read in a while! Highly recommend picking up this one. Both the ebook and audiobook were excellent!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing a free advanced copy of this ebook and audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the audio. The narrator was fantastic. I loved the multiple POV and the drama.This gave me “hunting wives” vibes. If you like drama and the housewives shows than this book is for you!

I did find it hard at times to follow all the different POV since there were so many characters and backstories. I loved all the interwoven stories though.

The ending shocked me. I know a lot of people disagree but for me I was like (WHAT!) This is why I gave it 3.5 stars. It lost a half star for the random lulls that I just wanted to skim past and then it lost a star for lack of depth. I felt like all the depth and growth of the story came towards the very last few chapters. We got a lot of story but not a lot of “what happened, who done it” all in all I would totally read this author again.

Thank you to netgalley & black stone publishing for my gifted copy!

If any "Real Housewives" show, "Selling Sunset" and a murder show had a baby this would be it. The life of the glitz and the glamorous isn't all that fancy when there is a murder scene. The story is gritty and at times confusing due to the different point of views and story lines. There were times were I had no clue which husband they were talking about. My point of confusion made it a little hard for me to really grasp the story. The character voices were also a bit obnoxious. I understand there had to be a need to separate the evil and the good characters, but honestly at times the voices of Olivia and Shannon were too much for me to read.

One of Us is Dead is a story of a fancy and rich group of married woman who are "friends," yet what they really are is envious of each other. Olivia, our Queen B is a really entitled and disgusting human being who exchanges insults like if they were compliments. Shannon, has recently lost her husband to a newcomer; Crystal. Crystal is not like the others, but her husband who is a well known politician pushes her to join the gang of women. Tensions are obviously high as the entanglements of the women really come to light.

The setting of the story is mainly in Glow; Jenny's beauty salon. Where all the girls spend their time pampering their looks and making sure they don't look a day older. The owner, Jenny, is really the puppet master of the whole show as she knows everyones darkest secrets. I also couldn't comprehend how these women were coming to the salon every week?

As Olivia's rage continues to ramp havoc over the lives of the other woman, they slowly start seeing her true colors and discover there has to be a way to stop her.

The story has one singular plot twist that left me in shock. However, one plot twist for a thriller isn't really all that incredible. I found myself more annoyed at being inside the women's brains than actually enjoying the possible storyline. It was pretty bland until the big shock at the end.

"We tend to gravitate toward people like Bryce, people that seem untouchable, like nothing bad could ever happen to them. Like the world exists because they're in it, and not the other way around"

The good thing is that it is a very fast read. With the chapters being sweet and short (keep a book for all the characters), I was able to read it in two quick sittings. However, I really didn't love it. I didn't enjoy reading about the characters, and although the end made it worth it, I also think the voices of the characters weren't developed as they should have been developed. I also don't think I am a huge fan of changing point of views and "housewives" books, but if you are this might be your cup of tea.

* thank you to Netgalley and Blackstone Publishing for an ebook copy of this book in exchange for my honest review *

Overall rating: 2.5 stars

4.5 stars rounded off to 5.

WOW! What a ride!

Mean Girls meets Desperate Housewives, 𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘜𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘥, is a salacious, dark thriller that is sure to provide some sensational and dramatic entertainment.

Thanks Netgalley and Blackstone Publishing for the e-ARC!

Welcome to juicy gossip and backstab central – the town of Buckhead.

Synopsis –

In the posh and high society of the town of Buckhead, we have five women -

Shannon - the chairwoman of the town committee, recently divorced by Bryce, her ex-husband.

Olivia -the power hungry opportunist.

Crystal - the naïve Texan girl, newly married to Bryce.

Karen - a successful real estate business owner and lastly Jenny, the owner of the most happening place of the town, the elite “Glow” salon.

To say that their friendship is complicated is an understatement.

Who is going to survive and who will not?

Review –

The narrative follows the POVs of each of the five women. Being privy to their most private thoughts, we get a sense of the seemingly different personalities, backgrounds and current status in their wealthy social circle.

The plot is essentially slow burn, but certainly keeps you coming back for more. At its core, lies the understanding of what makes these women tick, what they really care about and how their behavior plays out given the circumstances .

I loved the idea of how everything revolved around Jenny’s salon. As a beneficiary of her rich clientele, knowing their deepest desires and secrets isn’t really an advantage for her. Soon, she gets inevitably sucked into a complex game of sorts woven by these women, wearing her patience and tolerance thin, driving her to rethink about her “loyal” patrons and question her choices.

In my view, Olivia was the most fascinating character of them all. As a master of mind-games and manipulation, this drama queen is full of tricks up her sleeve. Her persona is a devious cocktail of sass, attitude and trickery of the highest level, that can suffocate you with disgust and disbelief. You will definitely add “kinsult/“clexy” to your vocab😉, thanks to her!

It’s when all the gossip mongering, double-crossing and deception cross their boundaries, that the point of no return is reached. The author makes all the revelations layer by layer and I enjoyed how the fiasco gets “tackled” in the end.

That ending will simply leave you blinking, yet with a wicked grin, even if you have to stretch your imagination.

Overall, a refreshing concoction of spice, scandal and drama, that I highly recommend!