I received an advanced reader copy of this book to read in exchange for a honest review via NetGalley and the publishers.

This story is of a journalist (Petra) who has been fired one too many times and in a desperate attempt to keep her job goes to unethical lengths to solve a murder, podcast & write news pieces on her findings.

This book was easy to read and hard to put down, each time I thought ‘this is the last chapter’ the last sentence sucked me in to another!!

Although disturbing to read how far Petra takes her findings, leaving many innocent people publicly slandered, I think all can appreciate the ending!

Thank you Netgalley and Oceanview Publishing for the copy of Killer Story. I liked the writing. Even though Petra was an annoying character, the writing made me want to keep reading. I admit I couldn't relate to Petra because she kept whining about being fired so often but never tried to figure out why or what she could be doing better. Then as time went on she kept worrying about being ‘canceled’ instead of being ready to accept consequences for her lack of ethics. I’m sorry Petra wasn’t a more compelling character, because the story was really good and it was ruined for me by Petra. Then what she does near the end is ridiculous and makes no sense. Maybe this book was trying to point out how the competition drives people to extreme measures but it was really over the top. I think people who don't need to like the MC will enjoy this. For me, the ethical concerns were too much. I look forward to reading more from this author because the story and writing were so good. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

This book was a page turner from beginning to end. This book is insane. Petra a reporter on the verge of being fired knows a you tube star who is murdered in her dorm. She pitches a podcast as a way to get to the bottom of the truth. The problem is not everyone wants the truth to come out. I can totally see this as a movie or tv series. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I liked the storyline of this book, however, I couldn't get behind Petra, whose POV you are reading. I wanted to know more and uncover the mystery, but it was so hard to want to continue with Petra. If it weren't for Petra, I think the story would be at least 3 stars, maybe 4. However, it is hard telling without reading it through another prespective. I wish I could like this book more. I might give it a try when it releases on January 17th, but until then, I'd have to give it 2/5 stars.

This was a great book, lots of twists and turns, so many suspects, i was shocked to see who the killer was. This would make a great movie

Good characters and lots of suspense. Engrossing plot makes it hard to put down making it a relatively quick read. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

Killer Story by Matt Witten is a story about struggling journalist, Petra Kovach, who launches a podcast about the unsolved murder of her once friend and controversial YouTube star, Olivia to bring her justice and also in order to save her job. The story is told in first person by Petra. Matt Witten's writing style was concise and precise. The words pull you in into this fast paced, super conflicting murder mystery.

Even though I couldn't stop reading this masterpiece, I didn't completely like the story. Petra was extremely difficult to like as a main character because of how little respect she had for her own moral values or someone else's privacy. Maybe it comes with the territory of being a journalist.

I thoroughly enjoyed the story, but it was only because of Matt Witten's excellent writing. His words drag you in and keep you locked into the story. The plot twists and thrill were engaging and entertaining. So really, I just didn't like the characters or the ending.

I would still recommend this to murder mystery fans because as much as the conflict annoyed me, the dialogues and story plot made up for it. This was my first book by Matt Witten and I'm sure I would be happy to read more.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Oceanview Publishing for providing me with an advanced copy of Killer Story in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

I really love the way Matt Witten tells a story... It seems I start every review I write about one of his books that way, but you'll have to pardon my lack of originality because it's a true statement every time. This latest is a prime example. I could not stand the protagonist. Seriously. She irritated me from start to finish. I found her foolish and unsympathetic and emblematic of what I see as a fundamentally irritating element of current youth culture with its righteous indignation and blind willingness to seek fame and publicity at all costs. I didn't like her choices, her personality, or her rationalizations. Yet I could not put her book down and would not stop reading her story for anything.... That is absolutely a credit to a talented storyteller. 99% of the time, if I can't connect with the main character I can't connect with the story. Beyond that, I can't force myself to continue reading the story. Without some connection - be it empathy, sympathy, adesire for understanding or agreement with the choices the character takes - I find it very difficult to fully immerse myself in the story. Yet despite a marked lack of those elements here, I found myself furiously turning pages to see what would happen next and where her series of infuriating decisions would take her. It helps that the underlying concept - a quest for justice, however self-serving and misguided in its execution - is a theme I find perennially interesting, of course, but mostly I think it's about the quality of the writing. Witten is a master at pacing and character development. I responded so strongly to Petra as a character because she was so strongly and thoroughly developed that I could not help but respond. It made the writing leap off the page and the story absorb my imagination until I couldn't see anything but the tale as presented. It's a fabulous thing when the writing clicks like that, because it means the reader IS the story, and that resonated so strongly with me because of the nature of the story and its examination of what it means to not only tell but live the story you find yourself in... At this point you can sign me up for Witten's grocery lists. If he writes it, I'll read it.

In this novel, our protagonist is Petra — a forever “aspiring” print journalist, frequently laid off by cross-country newspapers (mostly budgetary reasons), but who has an incredibly loyal boyfriend who has a job that makes it fairly easy to pull up roots and follow her from state to state. Petra just might be at her last chance place of journalistic employment in Boston. In order to avoid another layoff, she pitches a local story about a friend who was murdered 4 years ago. Her boss wants her to turn it into a podcast. Her friend was Livvy — who was a talented 14 year old when they met while Petra was mentoring at a teen writers’s camp at UCLA. And Livvy was extraordinarily talented — she was admitted to Harvard and became, to Petra’s dismay, a right wing firebrand (think Tomi Lauren) and influencer with millions of followers, who was murdered just off-screen after her last live broadcast. Someone was arrested and surprisingly acquitted, but Petra increasingly isn’t so sure that the presumed killer got away. Faced with various personal crises, she decides to write about Livvy’s end days, her “killer story.”

Matt Witten’s characters (as in “The Necklace”) aren’t totally drawn in black and white. Petra finds herself crossing ethical lines to get others to reveal secrets (like considering burning a confidential source). She puts herself in questionable situations to “get the story” and she’s not totally forthcoming with a fiancé who deserves her full honesty. There are times when Petra is more concerned with her quippy exit lines instead of realizing she just received another version of “no comment.” This podcast will revive her career and possibly make her famous. How far is she willing to go? Will justice actually be served? Or will the episodes be tailored for drama instead of truth?

I was caught up in the grayish aspects of the story — like real life, solving mysteries is messy and so are the challenges of 21st century journalism. How much is about the truth and how much is about the potential number of clicks? Rather than dwelling on the real murderer, I found myself thinking a lot about Petra’s methods. She was definitely a flawed heroine. 4 stars for a multi-layered thriller!

Thank you to Oceanview Publishing and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): YES Natalie, the rival, has greenish eyes.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO The Boston home of Petra and Jonah has roses and sunflowers out front, but it wasn’t specifically said they co-existed at the *same* time (fairly impossible since roses are June blooms and sunflowers are August flowers).

I would like to thank Net Galley for this ARC. I was initially interested in this book because the premise seemed relevant to today's current events. It was also something I had not read yet, the murder of a popular you tuber. However, I felt like something was missing in the book. Some of the details didn't seem to go together. For example, Petra felt close enough to Olivia that she wanted to find her killer, but had no idea what her posts were about or her political beliefs. I felt that the evidence that Petra uncovered was too convenient especially when the police could not find the same evidence. It was a fast paced novel, which i enjoyed.

Received an ARC from NetGalley and Oceanview Publishing

in exchange for an honest review

Trigger warnings: talk of sexual assault, acts of physical assault, gun use, suicide, hate speech.

Petra is the main view the story follows. She is a journalist who is going to be laid off so she presents a new take on an old story. Two years prior Livvy was murdered, and the killer was never found. Petra was a camp counsellor in college and one of the campers she came to know well was 14 year old Livvy. Years later Livvy was in college and became a person with alt-right political opinions and used her social media platforms to spread hate, Petra having immigrated herself found it hard to believe this was the same girl she knew and at the time her and Livvy drifted apart. Now two years later she had the perfect opportunity to try and catch the killer and hopefully keep her job. With just two weeks to solve this case, Petra does things she's never done in her career before.

I understand what this story was about and what the aim was, however Petra was just an awful person. I know a lot of journalists do some awful things, but I felt

some of the things Petra did was a little extreme. She was constantly trying to play the victim card while she was hurting others and she'd turn the bad things into good to advance her career- as well as justifying it as good for the podcast and helping to catch the killer. Petra would do anything for the story from wrongfully convicting someone of it, ruining her personal relationships, committing crimes, and spreading false information even at the expense of

those people. She came off as a very whiny person- when she would have to share her story she was very jealous of the other person and wanted it all for herself, she had no problem being selfish thinking everything would work out for her.
I'm giving this a solid 3. The story was great and the way it played out, but Petra was a very dislikable person and it was sometimes hard to get past that for the story when she's the POV you read.

Wow! Another great read by Matt Witten! Loved this storyline and the different POVs. So many great surprises. Characters here are amazing and kept me totally invested. Complex story told with precision and care.
Highly recommend!
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book

This is a really fast paced and exciting crime thriller!
It’s so well written that I had to keep reminding myself it wasn’t based on a true crime.
The topic of podcasts is so current it makes it very relatable, and I found myself not wanting to put it down.
An easy 4 star rating 💫

There were many aspects of this book that I enjoyed a lot, most of these prompted me to keep reading. I will list these in an orderly fashion, and then continue with the things I found difficult about this book.

01: I thoroughly enjoyed the reporter aspect of this, it was very refreshing to see a realistic approach to how cruel journalism is in our current time! It was lovely to see Petra’s undeterred passion throughout this book, and to see what truly goes on behind newspaper publishing companies. This was definitely one of the things that kept me going!

02: The mystery was very complexly built, right when I thought I knew who killed Livvy, Petra would discover new information that blew my theories to bits. It was super exciting following the story with her, learning about all these other issues such as Sarah’s rape and Brandon’s sexuality along with her. The suspense kept building up, and by the end I was dying to know who had killed her.

03: It also raised awareness about very sensitive and important topics as I’ve aforementioned, and I think those play a key role in making this book relatable and realistic.

However, there were also certain things I would like to bring attention to that ruined the thrilling flow of this story.

01: The dialogue. At times, the way the characters spoke were very informal and they used a lot of our newer society’s slang. I found it very often placed among normal speech to appeal to younger readers, but I think it really was a bad attempt at connecting with “Gen Z Readers”. Sorry!

02: At the beginning of the book, Petra told a disturbing amount of lies. In my opinion, it was quite alarming how casually she could make up things to manipulate other people. As I’ve finished this book, I now see how it relates to the ending (a very perfect ending, I must mention). However, I think at the beginning of the book there are a few unnecessary lies that she tells that could’ve been cut out to avoid making her seem like a bad person.

In conclusion, I think there are a few things I would change about this book, mostly the occasional informal tone, but the mystery and the main ideas of this story were original and exciting. The pros, for me, outweigh the cons, but I would recommend reviewing certain parts to secure larger satisfied audience rates! A very good read!

melisteee reviews <3

I read Matt Witten’s debut novel The Necklace and was blown away. It went straight into my top five books of 2021. When I heard his second novel was available I knew I had to read it.

The prologue introduced us to the main character Petra who launches a podcast to investigate the murder of controversial YouTuber ‘Livvy’ who she loved like a sister.

What I love about Matt Witten’s writing is it’s very on trend. He pulls you straight into the story by using current themes in the news and on social media. The use of podcasts was a main theme and it’s what encompassed the whole story as news reporter Petra tried to break the story of the century.

The author is a master at character building, pulling off a female teenager and Petra too was a great character. The dialogue is wonderful and has a really authentic feel between the characters.

My only criticism is this book was more of a slow burn through the middle of the storyline compared to his debut.

I’m really looking forward to seeing what comes next.

I thought overall this book was very good, It was one of the best books I have read over the summer so far. The best part about this book is the ending which was surprising. Overall, Loved it.

Petra is a struggling journalist with an inside source on this years most sensational murder. Can she ride this inside knowledge to achieve the success and glory that has eluded her? How far is she willing to go?

Loved the premise, really didn’t like or identify with the characters. Solid mystery that kept me guessing until the end. Overall, entertaining read.

My thanks to Net Galley, Oceanview Publishing and Mr. Wooten for the opportunity to read an advance copy of Killer Story in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

This was a thrill ride that never let up. I grew really attached to Petra and her struggles in finding Olivia's murder felt like my own. Admittedly, the first like, 10% of the book is a massive info dump, but once that's over and the story gets rolling, it's hard to put it down. The ending is going to divide people, I think, but I enjoyed it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Oceanview Publishing for letting me read this copy, but my thoughts are my own.

I always enjoys when author writes books that relates with technology or social development situations. This is my first read from Matt Witten and I am sure not the last. Killer Story is a thrilling story about journalist who tried reopen cold crime case. I enjoyed my reading time I spent with this book and let me break down some of the points about it.

1. Struggling journalists with grey morale as main character who torn between journalists ethics, get big popularity and save her career, or genuine solve her old friend murder. I am glad after all emotion up and down, she take the best route to being honest with her self.
2. An annoying youtuber as victim. Yes this story give alot spotlight about how fast growing internet and social media as public medium to spreading some informations also sensitive issues, ruining someone's life and to help some crimes investigations.
3. Real passive aggressive competition in workplaces. I personally enjoy the idea using true crimes podcast style as way to open cold cases and solve all mysteries. And I always enjoyed good competitions plot.
4. The pace is my most favorite, very fast and keep kicking me to edge chair this end of the book. The plot and all twists successful keep me intrigued.

This is a thrilling story of a crime that must be solved. You guess immediately who did it. After reading a bit more it was someone else. But go on reading, you recognize that it was a third person. This keeps up until only on the very last page when you discover who really is the culprit. Or do you? The author keeps the story going at a crisp pace so that it is difficult to put the book down. As a byproduct of reading, you will learn about modern podcasting as well as present day journalism.