While this sounded intriguing and seemed to have all the components I love in a murder mystery, I can’t say I was too keen on it. And this is largely because I failed to connect to the characters. While yes the author did build the character arcs, they still felt very one dimensional and missing any emotional depth for me to care about them enough. The mystery was ok it just wasn’t compelling enough to make up for lack of interest in the characters. There were some great themes although they seemed to fade into the background without much substance.

A locked room mystery with clue vibes. It was good. It’s hard for a mystery or thriller to really stump or surprise me but the characters were each good in their own way. I enjoyed reading this!

This took a second to get into but once there was a hint of romance I was much more invested ha! I thought the murder was interesting and I had a pretty good idea who did it… however I had no clue what the main secret was the entire book. Once everything is revealed at the end I was pretty surprised and I was a bit shocked by the actual ending. Not sure how I feel about it all. But I was entertained!

Suddenly a Murder is a fun and engaging YA Mystery from debut author, Lauren Muñoz. As soon as I read the synopsis, I knew I had to pick it up.

A 1920s-themed getaway, a fancy mansion, and a murder that no one saw coming - this book had me hooked from the beginning! As a big fan of Knives Out and One of Us Is Lying, I couldn’t resist this locked-room mystery, and it didn't disappoint.

The story follows Izzy Morales and her best friend Kassidy, who celebrate the end of high school with a Gatsby-style party at the Ashwood Manor. The night is all glitz and glamour, until Kassidy’s boyfriend is found dead. Murdered to be exact. Suddenly, everyone’s a suspect. And Izzy? She’s the one who brought the knife.

What I loved:
The Gatsby-inspired setting
Twisty suspense that kept me guessing a lot of the way
Complex friendships full of secrets and tension
The locked-room vibes made it impossible to put down

I did struggle a bit with the writing style, it went back and forth from first person narration to third person. The friends attitudes after one of them was just killed also felt a bit unrealistic, and the detectives were atrocious.

This is perfect for fans of YA thrillers. If you love messy friendships, murder mysteries, and high-stakes drama, Suddenly A Murder should be on your TBR!

A gripping locked-room mystery where a 1920s-themed party turns deadly. After a murder at Ashwood Manor, seven friends are forced to confront their secrets and alibis. With twists and tension throughout, this thriller is great!

When I read the blurb for this, I just knew I had to read it. A modern-day "locked room" mystery but in a 1920s setting? That sounded awesome!

However, while the storyline itself is pretty well done, and I definitely did not see all the twists and turns coming, it was really difficult to like any of the characters, especially after their friend has been murdered and they just... don't really seem to care all that much. I know they're all eighteen and literally just graduated from high school, but their reactions just didn't make sense to me at all.

The flashbacks got a little confusing as well, because they aren't in chronological order, and while the "now" narrative is first-person present tense from Izzy's POV, the flashbacks are third-person past tense from various characters' POVs, depending on what's being described/explained. That made it a bit jarring to follow along, especially when we learn things from another character's flashback that Izzy doesn't know about in the present, so it almost feels like a continuity error at first read until you remember that the "main character" during that flashback wasn't her.

There's also a "consulting detective" involved in the case who seems like the author's attempt to create her own Sherlock Holmes/Hercule Poirot, albeit female. There's a lot of attention given to her but not the actual homicide detective, so at times, it felt like this was almost supposed to be a "backdoor pilot" of sorts for that character, and though Izzy is the main character of this book, we'll actually be following the consulting detective in future books as she's called in/asks to investigate a particular crime.

After finding out this was a debut, I felt a little bit better about it, as this author definitely has potential, and I would be interested in reading whatever she comes up with next (and seeing if my theory about the consulting detective being the common thread holds true). Though I hope it's a little more organized and the characters are a bit more tolerable than this one.

3 stars

**I received a free copy from Netgalley and am leaving this review voluntarily. All thoughts and comments contained within are my own.**

I adored this one! The characters, the setting, the murder! It was great. I adored this one! The characters, the setting, the murder! It was great.

This book was okay... I liked the twists in it, but it was a little too far fetched and I wasn't a big fan of how it ended.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review an advanced copy of this novel. I highly enjoyed it and will be recommending it to others.

This is just not for me. The switch in past vs present but also going from third to first person made it really confusing to follow and get into the story

The first 1/3 was kind of boring and the main character feels like she has no personality. Most of the characters only traits were that they’re rich.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was full of twists and turns. I loved the 1920’s party vibe that was happening in the background of the story. The mystery in the book was very well done and it had me guessing throughout the book. The cast of characters all had skeletons in their closets and motive for murder. This felt like a game of Clue and was a fun read.

Loved this.
Genious setting and amazing 1920s vibe - perfect for a little murder.
Even though I saw the murder from a mile away, I don´t hold that against the book - I´m no longer the target audience - and the set-up of the book and the plot are just masterful.

A unique and interesting locked room thriller that kept me intrigued but overall a little disappointed in the predictability of the twists and turns.

2 stars!

I was unfortunately very disappointed in this book for so many reasons. Anything compared to Knives Out is an auto read for me, and then mix in a locked room mystery and I'm absolutely sat. However, I felt like the mystery in this book was honestly not that great, and I felt uncomfortable at times that these were only high schoolers.

I think one place where this book really suffered was the characters. No one really had any personality trait except being rich, except for the guy who wanted to be an olympic rower. I thought the 1920s aspect was going to be more integrated into this, but you honestly could've taken that part out and the book would've been the exact same.

I also don't feel like anyone (except the killer) had any motive for committing the murder so when it was explained I was like yep. I also strongly disliked the main romantic subplot (I did not find the man compelling nor did I believe they liked each other), and the main character Izzy didn't actually figure things out but instead just listened in on the detectives.

Finally, don't even get me started about the end of the book. (Minor spoilers ahead) The grooming storyline??? The victim blaming??? The detective knowing who Izzy was the whole time??? That definitely docked the story down for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I love a good locked room thriller! This book kept me guessing and turning those pages. The last 3rd of the book was very action packed. I enjoyed it!

This was an interesting graduation celebration turned murder mystery. It's intriguing and has twists and turns at every corner. It makes you question who the real killer is and what the real motive is.

With comps like One of Us Is Lying and Knives Out, this book has a lot to live up to—and Muñoz delivers! The atmosphere is stellar and there’s plenty of suspicious motives to go around. Suddenly a Murder is a fun and compelling locked room mystery that nods to classics like Agatha Christie while weaving in hard-hitting modern issues. Looking forward to Lauren Muñoz's next book!

Thank you Penguin Teen and PRH Audio for the free advanced copy!

I thought this was really well written and I look forward to reading more from this author in the future. I think it will find readers at our library, so we will definitely be purchasing for the collection.

A 1920s theme party with an added murder? Sounds like a recipe for a great read! This is about a group of friends that have recently graduated high school and apart from some teen drama, life is going pretty well. Until someone is discovered dead in their room! I'm not usually a fan of mystery without more thrilling aspects, but this one was good. I'm not sure if I liked the ending, but that makes for a more interesting book sometimes, doesn't it?

This book was not what I expected. In a good way. The mystery was well written. The characters were interesting and written in a believable manner.