Thank you Random house-Ballantine for the chance to read this ARC by Jilly Gagnon!

The story was well written but the parts that were written like a script made me wonder if that was what really happened or if it was fabricated by the script writer, Emily. In the end, she wrote a script that was loosely based on the actual events of her friend’s disappearance which made me wonder about this even more.

While this was not my favorite book, I will definitely check out other books by Jilly Gagnon.

I loved the premise of this story and I enjoy and good mystery. I also enjoyed going back and forth between the script and present time. The pace of the book lost my interest in certain parts but it was overall and enjoyable read.
Thank you for the opportunity to read and review.

Frenemies, strong setting, sharp suspense — I loved this book. Will be featuring it on the 08 September episode of my podcast The Library of Lost Time.

*3.5 stars rounded down to 3 stars on the scale*
Centered around the effects the disappearance of a college student had on her friend group, Scenes of the Crime follows a group of friends on their return to the site of their friend's disappearance in an attempt to gain closure on what really happened.
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It was very interesting to read how the author alternated between actual events and the screenplay draft of one of the main characters. At first, this was confusing because the details in the draft did not always match the actual narration but once I realized it was intended, I could appreciate it better.
I liked how none of the friends can trust each other because it is representative of how hard it is nowadays to make deep connections, especially in college. The mystery itself was not too engaging, and the interactions between the women made it feel like a YA piece, which I feel a little on the fence about.
The book ended with a sense of unfinished business, which was really satisfying, because it leaves room for the reader's imagination.
If you're looking to try something new, add this to your TBR and check it out when it releases in September!📚🤞🏾
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Check out my review posted on May 5, 2023 on Instagram: @booksareavibe
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cr3E8HfLd8a/?igshid=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==

Scenes of the Crime by Jilly Gagnon has all the markings of a great, fun rompy little mystery- a missing friend, a reunion of old college friends, long-held grudges and tentative connections, a winery, a screen-writing narrator- it should have been a slam-dunk read for me. I really enjoyed her previous novel, All Dressed Up; so I expected this to be just as light and humourous, with just the right amount of suspense and edge. I was let down. The main character, Emily, catches a glimpse of Vanessa while sitting in her favorite coffee shop; yet, Vanessa vanished during a wild college girls‘ weekend at the winery owned by Vanessa‘s grandparents. This sighting sets in motion a return to the winery with the group in order to get closure on Vanessa’s disappearance (and assumed death). Emily contacts the original women- successful, married, ‘have-it-all’ blogger Brittany (and Vanessa’s cousin); former athlete, wine saleswoman Paige; emo wallflower Lydia; and screenwriter Emily all gather at the winery. And it is clear their friendships have not made it past the night of Vanessa’s disappearance. And each woman seems to have a reason to avoid the details of what happened that night. Slowly, the edges are peeled back and everything is not all that it first seemed to be…

The main issue I have with the story is that about halfway through it just stops making sense. There is one scene that builds tension, but the rest is filled with tepid attempts to flashback to the night of Vanessa’s disappearance. The real story of that night simply doesn’t make sense. I didn’t buy it. At all. And the resolution makes even less sense. The writing itself is fine, it’s the plot that did me in. It felt rushed and unfinished. The premise had promise, but the ultimately it just didn’t click. I struggled to finish this one. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for the eARC. Publishing date is September 5, 2023.

Scenes of the Crime is a thriller novel that revolves around Emily, who is a screenwriter for a popular tv show. 15 years ago, Emily's friend Vanessa disappeared while on a girls trip and Emily has been haunted by the disappearance since. Emily convinces her three other friends to visit the winery where Vanessa disappeared to get closure. However, Emily has an ulterior motive as she is trying to write the story into a screenplay. Strange things begin happening and secrets are revealed.

I thought this book had a very interesting and had a different layout than any other book that I have read. The chapters are split into present and past, and also split into regular story telling and into a script layout. I really liked the script portions of the book! The only issue that I had with this book was that there were parts that were a little confusing. Overall, I enjoyed the book! 3.5 stars.

This was a dark read of friendship and enemies. I found myself getting lost in piecing together the story as it unfolded and left me with questions but I also think that was part of the authors plan. We all have our own storyline of how big events in life played out but how much of that gets twisted and swayed by others opinions. You never know the thoughts going on in someone else’s mind at any given time. Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for this ARC!

This one didn't hold my interest at all, and I couldn't get invested in the characters. I made it halfway to the book and still felt like not much had happened, although I still pushed through. I did enjoy the "frenemies" plot as that made it the most interesting

First of all, thank you @netgalley and @randomhouse for letting me read this ARC!

This doesn't come out till September 5th 2023....ssooo I'm a little early 😬🤷‍♀️🤣

I think I liked the premise of this better than the execution. While I liked the story itself but I could have done without the mix of screenplay scenes inside.

It would go for a while and then change over to screenplay format. Sometimes the screenplay was flashbacks and sometimes it was current events. That was really the only problem that I had with the book.

This was definitely a frenemies book. So toxic but so good. Some losing contact and then coming back together after 15 years to finally have closure and figure out what happened to their missing friend. Backstabbing and petty and you don't see the twist coming.

Sadly wasn’t the hugest fan of this one!

I really enjoyed the premise, the setting, and the script-writer scenes peppered in—they kept me guessing as to what was really happing in real life. But I think the very slow pacing and the frustrating characters made it difficult to love! Quite a few of the flashbacks didn’t seem to contribute very much to the present timeline, although the writing was lovely and the author had some great turns of phrase.

Still, I’m grateful to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc—really thought I’d love this one!

Scenes of the Crime by Jilly Gagnon is a gripping and suspenseful thriller that will keep readers on the edge of their seats. The characters are well-developed and their dynamics and relationships are intricately woven into the story. The setting of the winery is vividly described, and readers will feel as if they are there with the characters, experiencing the tension and drama firsthand.

Overall, Scenes of the Crime is a well-written and engaging thriller that will keep readers guessing until the very end. With its complex characters and twisty plot, it's a perfect read for fans of suspenseful mysteries. I would give it 4 stars.

This book is a closed population thriller surrounding the death of one girl in a small group of friends. It seems as if every one of them has a motive for murdering her, and all these reasons are drawn out throughout the novel.
I thought this started a bit slow, but really picked up about halfway through. The final 25% of the book was full of drama and activity and it was in-put downable at that point!
Overall, I’m glad I stuck with this book and really enjoyed the twisty ending.

Interesting plot, and the location. I just did not love this book, it was and easy read and the characters were fine. This for me wasn’t a book I couldn’t wait to get back to.

Thanks for the advance copy of this, but I couldn't get into it. I didn't like the screenplay format at all. And it needs some final editing.

I love mysteries that are interspersed with other ways of telling the story and this one having a blockbuster screenplay throughout was great! I highly enjoyed this thriller I would recommend this to thriller readers and mystery readers a like!

🤔 one of the most interesting conundrums for me, as a book reviewer/bookstagrammer, is recommending a book I didn’t love.

This book here was one of the simply-not-for-me reads.

⭐️⭐️/5

💧I so wanted to like this book - the cover, the plot - I was like “YES PLS”. It just didn’t grab me. Started strong & kind of petered out.
💧lightly suspenseful/mysterious. I found myself becoming drowsy during reading, which is my #1 indicator that I’m not into the book.
💧a bit long at some points, I found the descriptions of various layouts to be confusing
💧female frenemies!! Don’t see that a lot & I enjoyed it immensely 😈
💧heavy dialogue-driven storytelling
💧long chapter length
💧almost DNF’d - more so because it was.. a bit lukewarm? Uneventful. Not a lot of action. & the action that was there didn’t have me on the edge of my seat or anything.

& my good-to-knows:
🔪 missing persons
🔪 friendship drama
🔪 unlikeable characters

Overall, it was okay. Writing the movie script as flash backs was new for me and I enjoyed that. I feel like when a character is writing a book or movie, you don’t often see what they are actually writing. However, I felt like there were a lot of plot holes and a bit overly descriptive. I had a hard time seeing these girls as ever being friends, or agreeing to go anywhere together given how they treated each other. But i enjoyed the ending.

I really enjoyed All Dressed Up so I was really looking forward to Scenes of the Crime, but it was disappointing. None of the characters were at all likable so I found it hard to relate to them. The winery was over described and didn’t have a realistic flow to it. I also found the script scenes interspersed with the narrative a bit annoying. And oh, so many lies.

Jilly Gagnon’s Scenes of the Crime tells the story of four friends who revisit the palatial Oregon winery of trust fund baby, Brittany, which also is the last place any of them saw their college friend, Vanessa, fifteen years earlier. Who brings them back is Emily, the screenwriter of the group, who was likely the last person to see Vanessa the night she disappeared. Emily has had the story of that night bouncing around in her head, along with the questions unanswered for what happened that fateful night. Emily doesn’t remember all the details, so by bringing together the group to reminisce on the fifteen year mark of Vanessa’s disappearance, she is hoping to fill in the gaps of what happened.

This was a difficult read for me. I gave the book 25% of the material to grab me and push me to keep reading it. Unfortunately, I found my mind wandering more than being sucked in to the material. The screenwriter script parts made me often pause to interpret abbreviations. I felt it was a little odd, but I know authors are looking for something different sometimes. Of course, when the main character is a screenwriter, you can see why Gagnon included it. I didn’t get enough of truly who Emily was before the cast of supporting characters came in and I wasn’t fond of the glimpse of personality that came through with them. This book was a DNF for me. ⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for the advanced copy. Opinions expressed are my own. This book is set for publication on September 5, 2023.

#netgalley #arc #bookstagram

First and foremost I would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC.

What if your college days could be turned into the ultimate screenplay? The good, the bad, the ugly….

Emily and her friends thought that their spring break 15 years ago would be amazing but when Vanessa(also known as Vee) goes missing, the girls trip they thought was joyful turns ugly.

Bitterness and jealousy floods this novel, it was shocking to have the plot twist unfold within every chapter.

Did Vee really die or did she disappear without a trace leaving her friends to pick up the pieces?