I really liked this story. It was action packed, and thrilling with a few nice twists and turns. I found that I just kept reading and needing to know more. Definite page turner

I’m going to give this book 3.5 stars out of 5. I thought it was really creative to use a soon to be abandoned mall/movie theaters as a setting for a mystery, but I wish there was more description of the mall. I enjoyed how in between chapters there was a newspaper article or email regarding the incident. I do wish there was more character development with the secondary characters; I felt like besides the main character the other characters had a one word personality traits. I wasn’t a huge fan of knowing who the bad guy was early on, and I wish that the motive was more clear

This book took me on an adrenaline-fueled ride, and I could not put it down!
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The action starts immediately as Jo and her coworkers close the theater for the last time. Their manager Clayton is a complete tool, and most of the time is all bark and no bite. However, today something seems more off than usual with him, and it has Jo worried. When the power goes out, and one of them is found dead it's a race to escape. All the exits they know about are locked, their phones and keys are locked up in the safe, and there is a killer on the loose. The only way to go is through the mall, where hopefully they can find a way out before the killer gets them.

I couldn't put this down, I felt like I was right alongside our group as they navigated the empty mall, and hiding from the killer. I really enjoyed everything about this book, and can't wait to see what Natalie Richards writes next!

Jo and her coworkers are closing at the movie theater they have worked at for some time. This is the last night the theater is set to be open. The coworkers plan to celebrate in different ways, but their celebration is shattered when one of them is found murdered. Who is next? And why are they being killed? Jo and her coworkers will do anything to survive in this tense, locked-room thriller.

Natalie Richards uniquely writes this book; in the story, the killer is known, but the motive is not. The setting is amazing and well-described as the characters make their way through various parts of the mall, trying to hide from the killer. As you read, you feel as though you are trapped inside the mall with the characters. The main character Jo was well-developed, and I enjoyed the flashbacks to an event that happened in her past. Overall, this was a great faced-paced thriller that kept my interest throughout. Although, I wish there would have been some more character development for some of the other characters. I also felt the ending was a bit rushed and would’ve liked more details. However, I recommend this book to anyone that likes fast-paced, locked-room thrillers. I give it 3/5 stars.

If you’re not reading YA books, you’re really missing out! Do you want to read about teens trying to escape a decrepit mall while trying to outwit a killer? Yes, you do! I loved the creepy setting in the mall, and I will never look at malls the same way again. The writing made me feel the tension, and I was on the edge of my seat the whole time wondering who would die next.

We know who the killer is almost right off the bat, but we don't know their motivations. The stalking of the group makes for a tense game of cat and mouse with quite a few confrontations. The only mystery is really, who's next?

The news blurbs in most of the chapters were neat, even though I found a few unnecessary to the plot or characters. The italic thoughts were a bit confusing at the end of some chapters because there wasn't a clear distinction that it was separate from the main POV. I don't mind questioning whose thoughts they are but I don't think it was well executed in this instance. That's my only complaint with this read.

Really great premise but the story fell flat for me. I didn't end up finishing it but it definitely shows a lot of promise!

I have read most if not all of Natalie D. Richard's YA mystery/suspense novels. I really enjoy them. This one was different in that the "who dunit" is not really a question. It is more about the reasoning behind it. The characters are trapped in an abandoned and dangerous mall and find themselves running for their lives. The story had a good premise, yet the action and events were very repetitive. I did not enjoy it as much as her other novels since their really was no big reveal in the end. It just seemed lacking.

The premise of this book was so promising. I loved the horror/slasher film vibes that seemed to be suggested by the summary, but it ultimately just fell flat.

I’ll start with the good…the setting was unique. I’ve read many books with this same general premise and an abandoned mall was a new one for me. The set up was also fine. I think the way the characters moved from normal night to danger was sufficiently terror inducing.

However, the twists weren’t really twists. The action was repetitive. And the reasoning behind the murders was iffy at best. Some of what should have been the most tension/terror filled moments happened “off screen.” And a lot of the “tense” moments felt manufactured. How many times can we “hear a door open” or “see a movement on the balcony” before it feels like we’re just being fed the same moment over and over again.

I also think the novel would have benefitted from multiple characters POVs. Jo’s narrating was grating at times and the cast of characters would have maybe been a little easier to connect with if we had seen through their eyes.

This book did not disappoint! I was unable to put it down. Imagine one last shift at your job and someone ends up dead! You will be on the edge of your seat with this one! Highly recommend!

Four Found Dead by Natalie D. Richards

Riverview Theaters, the final remains of a once popular shopping mall, is closing its doors tonight after the final screening. Now that the movie has ended and the patrons have left, Jo and her six coworkers should be packing up and heading to IHOP to celebrate the end of an era. But instead, an angry stranger shows up and makes a scene with their asshole of a manager, Clayton. And then the power is cut. With their phones and personal effects locked in a safe and all the exits boarded up, they have to get creative to find an escape. Jo and her coworkers must trust their wits and instincts to make it out alive.

This happens so rarely but this book absolutely did it - I was gripped from the very first page. I put this down to meet a friend to get manicures and I thought about this book the whole damn time! It made me so nervous and gave me all the heebie jeebies! This has the same high stakes and main character energy as A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder. I highly recommend this for YA thriller fans!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 - 4.5/5

Are we in big trouble?

Four Found Dead is a dark locked-room thriller. The uniqueness lies in knowing who the baddie is but not why he's doing this. I'm not sure that it completely landed. On the other hand, it does get right to the good stuff, building the characters as you go.

One of the problems is that it really stalls in the middle. It feels repetitive and overly descriptive, like it's trying a little too hard to be atmospheric and instead dragging on. They repeatedly referred to a prior incident. "This wasn't the first time I left a room with a dead body in it.." okay, tell me what happened or shush about it.

It was supposed to be the end of an era. Their last night closing the theater, which is connected to the once bustling, but now mostly lifeless, mall. Everything they did- trash, sweeping, even cleaning up gum- was for the last time so there was a nostalgia of sorts in the air.

Their manager is a jerk but it's their last night with him too. They just want to finish up and go have fun but the manager becomes preoccupied by something else, leaving the friends stuck there with no phones(their stuff is in the safe).

At first it's an inconvenience, but it soon turns murderous.. not everyone will make it out of this.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review!

At the start of this book Jo and her coworkers are cleaning up a movie theatre, after it’s final show. The theatre is the last business to close in a dead shopping mall. During the clean up, there is a sudden power outage and chaos ensues ending up with 1 dead body and seven people including the violent theatre manager locked in the mall. What ensues is a game of cat and mouse between the murder and everyone else. Who is the murderer? Who will survive?

I thought that this book had an interesting premise, and I usually love locked room mysteries. However, i felt that this one fell flat and dragged. The characters were a bit wooden, and not fully developed. It made it hard to get emotionally attached to them. Unlike most locked room mysteries it was obvious who the killer was right from the start. What was not obvious was why he decided to go on a killing rampage. When his motivation is revealed, it is more of a fizzle than a bang. There was just not enough suspense in this novel for my liking!

The most engaging part of the plot was the mystery of which four characters were going to die. I found it interesting trying to figure out who was going to make it out and who wasn’t.

Others might enjoy this book more, but it was just ok for me. Just not enough suspense to keep me turning the pages late at night especially when compared to “Fierce Kingdom” by Gin Phillips which is the same genre but had me on the edge of my seat.

Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks fire for providing me with an eARC of this book to read and review.

This novel is pure escapist fun. Seven teenagers are working the last shift before their movie theater closes forever in a mall that’s already vacant. They plan to go for pancakes and move on with their lives when they realize that they’re locked in the empty building, all alone with no cell phones, and pursued by a deranged psycho. Since readers know from the start that four die, the question is who, why and how. I didn’t really care that much about the first ones, because they had not been too established so other than, “oh no, someone died,” I wasn’t too invested. But after two bodies that changed, since we’re left only with a cast of characters that you’re already rooting for. There is also the question of who’s the baddie. Seems pretty obvious but there could be a twist. The thought that maybe one of those teens could be up to no good also made me suspect everyone. I liked Jo, the main character. She wants to be a doctor but at the beginning she doesn’t seem like she’ll make it. A self-described wallflower, she’s scared of everything and just wants to hide. When she’s forced to fight for her life, her transformation is fun to watch. This is a great YA read for adults too, suspenseful and addictive.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, #NetGalley/#Sourcebooks Fire!

✨ Three stars! ✨
What happens when you’re trapped in an old shopping mall with a maniac that only wants to kill you and your friends?
The title tells you how it ends: Four were found dead.

For me, this was a three star book because, while I liked it and I’m very glad I read this book, there were a couple of things that didn’t quite work for me. First, since everything happens in a movie theatre and then in an old shopping mall, it was hard to keep track of the characters’ surroundings. The scene descriptions were a bit confusing and I never had a clear picture of where things were happening. Also, during the first half of the book all the characters seemed almost like the same person and it was only towards the last part of the book that I truly knew who was everybody. Finally, a few key situations seemed a bit far-fetched, but I can’t get into that without spoiling anything.

As for what I liked, I’d like to point out that this book has a really interesting and original premise. Although I do understand that being trapped with an active shooter is becoming almost a trivial occurrence in the US, I’d never seen it told like this. Also, I really liked that we knew who the bad guy was from the very beginning. It allowed me as a reader to focus in other things, rather than being suspicious of everyone else. Three stars and I’d love to read more by this author!

Thank you, NetGalley, for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

The action starts quickly in this thriller and dives right in. There are numerous characters to try and keep track of and the fast take off made it difficult to get to know or care about anyone before things start going down…this caused me to be more emotionally removed from the story more than I like to be.

The reader knows that 4 workers at a theater die, but it’s not clear which characters, so that mystery element was fun to discover as the story unfolds.

The main character, Jo, has PTSD from a time in her past when she was trapped and in danger, and now as a similar type of scenario unfolds, she has frequent flashes to that horrible moment in her mind. She also wants to be a Dr. and often reminds herself (and I mean over and over again) to take action and be brave. These frequent flashes of thoughts felt disruptive to the story as the MC constantly reminders the reader how she has been through trauma before and it quickly became redundant.

I’m sure the current situation Jo is in caused a lot of her trauma to resurface, but how the author constantly flashed back made the fluidity of the story suffer. The writing was clunky at times, and the style is very wordy which also tended to take away from the feeling rather than building it. The metaphors and similes were a bit much at times, too. BUT the overall atmosphere of a shut down and abandoned mall and the attached empty movie theater after hours was a fun setting for the storyline and I enjoyed that aspect. That was for sure a positive of this book. I also appreciated the tense and suspenseful scenes toward the end.

Overall, there were too many redundancy issues, inconsistencies, and not enough character endearment for me to love or recommend this book. I was hoping for a slasher similar to Scream but felt disappointed. I just don’t think this author’s writing style is for me but maybe would work better for others or more of a young adult audience.

I recieved an eARC of this title from Net Galley

The book starts with a press release with the headline: Four Found Dead in Apparent Mall Killing Spree.
After the last movie ends, Riverview Theaters will close its doors forever.
The rest of Riverview Mall is empty & boarded up.
There are 8 people working at Riverview Theaters on their closing night: 7 Teenagers- Hannah, Hudson, Jo, Lexie, Naomi, Quincy & Summer; The theater manager - Clayton

The teens phones and keys are locked in the safe in the manager’s office. After the lights go out, Jo goes to ask Clayton for their phones & keys so they can go home, but then she finds the body of one of her co-workers.

What follows is a suspenseful night of hide & seek with the survivors trying to find a way out & avoid the murderer

The reader knows who the murderer is very early on.

There are news reports, press releases, pieces of a letter, etc. between some of the chapters.

I really enjoyed this book, knowing the identity of the murderer does not take away from the suspense. I will definitely be buying this one for my high schoolers.

There is some cussing throughout the book and discussion of past traumas.

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The Riverview Theaters is closing forever, it's the last business that is open in a now closed shopping mall. All of the customers are gone and now it's time for Jo and her six coworkers to clean and lock everything up. Their manager is the only one with the keys but once the lights go out he's nowhere to be found and one of Jo's coworkers is found dead. Now Jo and the rest of her coworkers need to find a way out and the only way is through a mall that is getting ready to be demolished.
The premise of this book is what got my attention, but I think the execution fell short. Everyone is locked in this mall and they know the only way to survive is to leave the theater and go into the mall. I thought there'd be more of a mystery as to who was trying to kill the group but the killer is revealed at the beginning. The motive for why this person was chasing the group down wasn't revealed until the last couple of chapters. Jo our main character wants to be a doctor so we see her trying to help those who end up getting injured, she also has ptsd from an incident that happened when she was younger which is why she froze when she saw the killer's gun. I like the idea of running through an abandoned mall and its dark and you have to find your way out but this was just overkill, the killer was just deranged and the reasoning was not all there. I didn't remember most of the characters I thought there were too many and I was really waiting for the death toll to get up to four. I think the best part of this book was the little snippets of news articles and emails from people close to the victims. I think the book could have been better if we didn't know who the suspect was so early on or maybe someone snuck in and did it.

Four Found Dead, had an interesting synopsis that draws you in, but the execution of the book just falls short. I thought I'd be a fan of this book but it just didn't happen.

"The last show has ended, but the nightmare is just beginning.

Tonight, Riverview Theaters is closing forever, the last remaining business in a defunct shopping mall. The moviegoers have left, and Jo and her six coworkers have the final shift, a shift that quickly takes a dark turn.

First a stranger arrives with a chilling accusation. Then the power goes out and their manager disappears, along with the keys to the lobby doors and the theater safe, where the crew's phones are locked each shift. The crew's tension turns to terror when Jo discovers the dead body of one of her co-workers.

Now their only chance to escape the murderer in their midst is through the dark, shuttered mall. With its boarded-up exits and disabled fire alarms, the complex is filled with hiding places for both pursuer and pursued. In order to survive this night, Jo and her friends must trust one another, navigate the sprawling ruins of the mall, and outwit a killer before he kills them all."

Because I can't be the only one who loves horror stories set in abandoned malls right?

This was my first book by this author and the premise sounded really promising. I think it was an interesting plot choice to reveal the killer in the first third of the book. The pace does still pick up a bit after this but I felt like the story lost a little of its luster. We are still waiting for the motive to be revealed and the locked mall setting is a unique (and nostalgic!) choice. Not a bad read at all, just not my favorite

This is not one of my favorites from this author. It was more thriller than mystery. I had a hard time staying in the story.