Thank you NetGalley, Sourcebooks Fire, and Natalie D. Richards for the advanced copy of Four Found Dead in exchange for my honest review.

I will keep this short and sweet. This was entertaining, but there was nothing earth shattering about it. It's unique in that we know who the bad guy is right away, but for me the "final twist" fell a little short. There's a part that happens earlier in the book that kind of spoils what a great twist this could have been.

Nonetheless, I enjoyed this author's writing style and wouldn't hesitate to read another of her books in the future.

I was very excited to read this book because I've read other books from this author, and it definitely did not disappoint, so thank you for the advanced copy Netgalley! I was hooked from the beginning, I always love a great horror/thriller genre story, and this had me at the edge of my seat the whole way through. You learn to love the characters who endured the situation that occured more as the story unfolds. I highly recommend this book and I cannot wait to see what else the author has in store next!

Natalie Richards is a wonderful author who will keep you on the edge of your seat the whole way through. In this book, the Riverview Theater is closing its doors, for good. Jo and her coworkers have the unpleasant task of performing the final shift...ever.

Enter a stranger delivering an eerie accusation, along with the power going out and people disappearing. Add to that, all the phones and safe items are stuck inside a safe, which the missing coworker has the keys for.

Being shut up in a derelict mall forces everyone to try and get out of this last shift...alive.

This dark and twisty thriller will keep you on your toes. Like all of Natalie D. Richard's books, it is hard to put down and there is no figuring out the motive until she decides to tell you what it is.

I am drawn in by locked room mysteries - and the premise of this one in a closed mall drew me in. However right from the start, this made me too uncomfortable and I pretty quickly decided this is not for me and to DNF. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the advance reading copy.

This one keeps you on the edge of your seat all the way. Remnants of Starcourt Mall in stranger things without the supernatural aspect. Great and thrilling for YA audiences.

Thank you to Natalie, Sourcebooks Fire, and Netgalley for an advance copy of Four Found Dead.

The movie theater where Jo works is closing, joining the rest of the abandoned mall that it is attached to. The final show is tonight and when the doors close for the final time, they plan to hit a restaurant to celebrate. While the closing is bittersweet, none of them can wait to be done with their manager who enjoys making their lives hell. As the clean up is completed and the crew is waiting to collect their phones and keys, their manager gets into an altercation with an unexpected guest that sends the entire night off track and into danger.

When Jo finds one of her coworkers dead and the lights go out plunging them into darkness, she is left to figure out how to make it through the night and out of the locked and boarded up mall. The survivors are now in a race to stay quiet, play defense, and find safety while a predator with a gun stalks in the shadows, taunting and fully prepared to kill again.

Abandoned/closed/empty malls have always been high on my creep factor, so I couldn’t resist picking this one up. It was a nice change of pace for some of the thrillers I’ve been reading lately that are much more slow burn and character-driven. This was 100% high speed, plot-driven, but still gave us enough about the characters that we wanted to know and cared about what could happen to them. It had me flipping the pages as fast as possible, lots of suspense and uncomfortable moments.

The things that I feel were lacking are pretty typical in YA thrillers - there are some plot holes and questions that we don’t get answers to…but if you think too long when you read this genre, you’re bound to find them even in the most seasoned thriller writer. The plot is supposed to be exaggerated and just unrealistic enough that you still feel as though all of the events unfolding *could* happen.

to be perfectly honest, this plot was fantastic but just executed very poorly. I thought it was going to go in a way different direction than it actually did, and I was a bit disappointed, sadly.

books that hook me in like natalie richards did in the first chapter are usually such a win for me! from the very start (and of course, the title), the reader knows that four people will end up dead. but the mystery surrounding the circumstances and the chance is what keeps me going - and revealing the killer also in the first chapter was a poor move, in my opinion.

by revealing the big "plot twist," the rest of the story felt boring and repetitive. I felt like I read the last chapter of the book first before going back to the beginning and starting over.

thank you to netgalley and sourcebooks fire for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

rating: 2.5 stars
wine pairing: dry creek zinfandel

I'm not sure if I misunderstood something in the beginning, or if the writing was unclear, but I didn't fully connect to this novel. It has an interesting premise, but I don't think it delivers. I think this one would actually be better as a movie; its more of a visual story. I enjoyed that it was set in a newly-shut down movie theater, and the tension was definitely there. There was something missing for me, though.

I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

For an easy read this book still gave me such a great story. There was always something happening and throw in another twist and it finished with a bang. Well done

This was a fast paced thriller with an interesting setting. I liked that the story dove right in, giving us news blurbs about the murders then immediately introducing the cast. This was easy to follow and almost sped by with the amount of tension and action.

We really only got to know the main character Jo, since there wasn't much time to delve into the others. I would have liked a bit more backstory on everyone and think this could have been a bit longer to accommodate that and flesh things out a bit more.

The ending wasn't really a surprise or a twist for me, but I did enjoy reading about Jo and the others struggling to hide from a killer and escape with their lives.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All opinions are my own. Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire and NetGalley for the copy.

This is a solid title. A dead mall is an excellent setting, and the author does a good job creating suspense. Ultimately, I don't think this title was for me, but other readers will certainly enjoy it.

Jo has just finished her final shift. After closing down, the Tempest Theaters and the attached mall are scheduled to be demolished. When the power goes out and their manager disappears they are stuck without any keys and their phones are still in the theater safe. Then they find a co-worker dead. Now they must escape into the shuttered mall and try and find an unrestricted exit. Who will make it out?

Four Found Dead is a thriller where you know how many are going to die and you are trying to figure out who is next. It isn’t hard to believe that the situation would happen and readers will wonder how they would react to each of the events. Richards did a wonderful job inserting information about each character as it was needed instead of trying to develop them early on. A fast-paced read that will leave readers breathless at the end.

Four Found Dead is a phenomenal YA thriller from start to finish. Filled to the brim with twists and a captivating plot, this one is sure to keep readers hooked. The ending is completely unpredictable. The characters are well-developed. The story is incredibly fast-paced. This is one not to be missed! Highly recommended! Be sure to check out Four Found Dead asap.

Four Found Dead was a thiller ride full of secrets and murder. It is set on the last night of closing movie theater attached to an already closed mall. Once the movie theater closes, the angry manager won't open the safe with everyone's phones and keys and lights go out. As the group tries to figure a way out, the murders begin. Who will survive the night and who are the four dead?

The first hundred pages were slow. Several comments were made by the characters that aren't explained until much later in the book. We learned who the murder was very early on, so it lacked suspense. However, as the cat and mouse game progressed the book gained everything it was missing. In all, Four Found Dead is an enjoyable book.

This is a face paced, cat and mouse chase game kind of book. A group of teenagers is being “hunted” inside a locked mall by a killer whose identity you know right from the beginning. What you don’t know or ever find out is the motive behind this crime. A little confusing. This was just an OK read for me.
Thank you NetGalley, Sourcebooks and the author for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Jo and her coworkers are showing the Tempest Theaters' final movies. As they clean up their workplace for the last time, their boss is confronted by his girlfriend. Then the lights turn out. Then someone turns up dead. Jo and her friends are forced to flee into the abandoned mall the theater is attached to with a killer in pursuit. Jo is forced to confront her past as she fights for her survival through the night.

I was very intrigued by the premise of this book as a slasher fan and with the great promise in the title of Four Found Dead. While the book did not meet all of my expectations, I did enjoy a lot of it. Richards has a lot of fun with the setting of the dark abandoned mall as the characters scramble through empty stores and back passageways looking for an escape. The book has a lot of tension and twists, and while not all of them worked on me, it kept me wanting to keep reading. Once I figured out who each character was, I became a lot more engaged in the book, since the opening is a bit overwhelming with all eight coworkers being introduced at once. The finale has a great set piece and I enjoyed Jo's character and her development throughout the book, as she made for a sympathetic and easy to root for protagonist.

Thank you to Sourcebooks and NetGalley for a copy of Four Found Dead in exchange for an honest review.

Four Found Dead by Natalie D. Richards is kind of a locked room thriller set in a movie theater which is closing and the adjoining mall which is also closed. After the last show, Jo and her co-workers are waiting for the manager to give them their keys and phones so that they can leave. Certain events end up with Jo discovering the dead body of her co-worker. And that's how the entire journey of them trying to escape the killer begins. It started off really well. The writing was good and you could feel the tension and the emotions that were being experienced by the characters. But slowly I started to lose interest in the plot. You know from the beginning who the killer is and how many people get killed. The rest of it wasn't enough for me to continue reading with interest. I did finish it but it was really difficult. If it wasn't for the review, this would have been a dnf. I would not recommend this book but I am interested in finding out what this author comes up with next because there were glimpses of great potential in this one.
✨
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an e-arc. All opinions expressed in the review are my own.

In Sandusky, Ohio, the once thriving three-story shopping mall is closed. Only the attached movie theater, Tempest Theaters, is still in operation, or was. At the start of Four Found Dead, Tempest Theaters has just shown its final movies. It's the last night of operation before it will join the rest of the mall in closing forever.

Jo and her six colleagues have locked the doors and their final clean-up at the theater has begun. It's bittersweet, but the friends are looking forward to going out and grabbing pancakes together after they leave.

Unfortunately, an unexpected altercation, involving their super-buff, jerk of a manager, Clayton, ends up putting their pancake plans on hold. They just want to get the heck out of there, but Clayton is spiraling and he's not letting them out.

They're literally unable to leave, as Clayton is the only one with the keys to the exit doors. After they finish their tasks, they quietly try to figure out what is going on with him. Maybe he has finally lost it? He seems dangerous.

Oh, also, the icing on the cake, Clayton's no phones on shift rule, allows him to lock-up all of their phones in the office safe at the start of the night and he isn't opening it now. Thus, the friends have no means of communicating with anyone outside of the theater. As the tension and anxiety continues to rise, the power goes out. They are left in almost complete darkness. Then the screams begin.

One dead body in the employee locker room starts it all. It's clear it wasn't an accident. The girl whose blood-curdling shrieks brought the others to the locker room to make the grisly discovery, is barely coherent. They can't get anything out of her, but they all know who did this...

The remaining coworkers, Jo, Hudson, Quincy, Naomi and Summer, need to find a way to escape. Clayton is lurking in the dark. Their only possible way out just might be through the boarded up, abandoned shopping mall.

I started this book on Sunday morning and finished it Monday. I could not put it down. I considered calling in sick to work, LOL. I haven't devoured a story like that in a while. It's such a compulsive read.

I loved the setting of the theater and abandoned mall. It was easy to picture every single scene in my mind. The lack of power, boarded up doors and stores made in particularly eerie. I felt like Richards did a great job portraying that.

Personally, I think this would make a fun movie. I would love to see a Netflix or Hulu adaptation. There's certainly plenty of abandoned malls around for them to film at...I also really enjoyed the pace. The tension continued to build throughout as the characters became more and more desperate for escape.

Jo was an interesting main character, as we learned a bit about her past, which included another traumatic and terrifying event that truly shaped who she had become as a person. There was a lot for her to prove to herself in the current circumstance.

The entire drama has a real survive the night feel and while it isn't mysterious per se, I definitely second-guessed some things and some character motivations. What this is though, is definitely a high-stakes, action-packed, drama-fueled Thriller. I found it entertaining as heck and am so glad I had the chance to read it already.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Sourcebooks Fire, for providing me with a copy to read and review. This is the exact kind of story I have been craving lately!

Hello! Today, I’m back with another review, this time for a YA thriller novel. I stumbled across this one on NetGalley last year, and it sounded pretty interesting. The premise sounded like it could keep me on the edge of my seat, but unfortunately, I found it kind of meh.

In this book, we follow Jo, a high school senior who has just completed her final shift in her local movie theater before it closes forever. But as she and her friends prepare to go home for the night, Jo sees something that scares her just before the power goes out. After stumbling across the body of one of her coworkers, the rest have to try and get out of the locked building through the abandoned mall before the killer strikes again.

One thing I liked about this book was that it was very slightly mixed media. Between some of the chapters, you get emails or newspaper reports about events that happened because of this book. There are also parts of a letter that one of the characters left for the others, which you read in full at the end. I enjoyed these little bits as they get you thinking about who died and what happened. We’re getting just a glimpse of the future, but we’re still left with questions about what’s happening in the movie theater.

That said, my intrigue wasn’t very high throughout this book. It started well; I was interested in what would happen. And my first evening reading this, I was sure I would get through this book super quickly. Unfortunately, I quickly stopped caring. I can’t pinpoint what or why it just put me off, but reading became a struggle.

The characters were interesting enough. I did feel for Jo; she went through a shooting when she was younger, and dealing with a shooter again must have been horrible. But I do feel like maybe more could have been done with that? I didn’t feel very attached to most of the characters, so even the deaths didn’t bother me much.

Honestly, I’m struggling with writing this review. I only read this book a few days ago, and I’ve already forgotten most of what I thought. It didn’t stick with me, and I just didn’t care enough.

This book was readable, and I’m sure plenty of people will love it. It just didn’t stick out to me.