The plot of this one sounded promising, but it fell pretty flat for me. First of all, the characters were horribly UNlikeable. Each of them were unappealing in some way, even Emily the "wholesome Minnesotan" screenwriter.

The premise of the story is a bit two-fold. First, it tells the story about a group of girls that get together to "give closure" to the loss of their friend Vanessa, who went missing 15 years prior. Simultaneously, Emily is trying to write a script about what really happened, and she wants to use the getaway as an opportunity to do some digging/ask some questions. The narrative folds as a mixture of current time, past history, first person narrative, and screen-writing.

I can't say too much without spoiling the story, but overall, I didn't love it. The mixture of traditional storytelling plus screen-writing made the "true" narrative feel a little confusing. The ending was only okay... without saying more than I should, I just felt like the girls didn't "deserve" how they ended up.

Four college friends reunite for closure after being haunted by the specter of a woman believed to be dead as a result of their actions fifteen years ago in Scenes of the Crime by Jilly Gagnon.
Emily, a screenwriter with ambitions of getting her own work out there after years on a successful though mind-numbing sitcom, is inspired to revisit the disappearance of her compelling friend Vanessa during a spring break trip with her college friends yet again after seeing someone who looks like Vanessa fifteen years after she was supposed dead. With a renewed determination to finally get her story told, Emily convinces the remaining friends to get together for a reunion weekend where Vanessa disappeared so they can get closure, but really Emily wants to learn from each of them exactly what happened that night years ago. Bringing together the unlikely quartet of Brittany, Vanessa’s entitled cousin, Paige, a former athlete eager to bow to whoever has power, and Lydia, the dark humored wallflower, Emily, the mediator of the group, begins to piece together portions of that night from the others’ perspectives, which they reluctantly share and that they’ve kept hidden for years, that results in the truth behind a tantalizing mystery, which Emily drafts out for the screen as new details are revealed.
Alternating between prose and the script of a screenplay, the narrative develops in what appears to be both a real and fictional version of the group’s remembered and current experiences related to Vanessa’s disappearance; the screen written portions move swiftly and portray a fitting cinematic feel, making it incredibly easy to envision the events taking place and the expressions on the faces of the characters in the frequently tense situations they find themselves in. The truth of what occurred was hidden from readers behind a layered, revisionist storytelling tactic of the narrative to weave stories that could each be plausible, which obscured the truth and reality of the situation for a prolonged time with less of a satisfying payoff than might be expected. The dynamic between the “friends” is strained and toxic, conveying cliquish behavior that was frustrating to witness despite it possessing a realistic quality stemming from a surface-level friendship forged by circumstance and proximity, which was exacerbated by the secrets each of them harbored regarding their involvement in Vanessa’s questionable choices and ultimate disappearance.
Overall, I’d give it a 3 out of 5 stars.
*I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed Jilly Gagnon's first title, All Dressed Up, and was expecting to like this one as well - I generally love locked-room style mysteries and friends with secrets. But there were a lot of issues with this novel, lots of things that didn't really make sense to me. You always put aside your disbelief a little bit for fiction, but this was just asking too much. This young women did not like each other at all - they were awful to each other and I can't believe they were ever good enough friends to spend a week together, let alone come back together 15 years after a "tragic accident" after not talking all that time. Also, the resolution was entirely forced. I don't want to give spoilers but the explanation made absolutely no sense to me and seemed completely and utterly out of character. The villain was clearly projected even though all of the characters were awful and unlikeable. I enjoy books with clever characters I love to hate, like Gone Girl, but none of these ladies were Amy Dunne. I will definitely give Gagnon's next title a try as I really enjoyed her first one, but although I was able to finish it, this title fell flat for me.

This book was an interesting read. The story itself kept me invested but I wish there wasn’t so much description at times. I found myself kinda skimming over those parts so I could get to when the “action” started. Also I would’ve liked if the chapters were shorter but that is just a personal thing. Overall I’ll be looking out for more of this authors books.

This was a great mystery/thriller with an unpredictable ending. I am certain it will be a hit when it is published. very well written and fast-paced.
Thank you random house publishing and Netgalley for the ARC.

15 years ago Vanessa disappeared during a college friends weekend at her grandparents vineyard. Each of her girlfriends has something to hide in connection with her murder? accidental death? disappearance? Screenwriter Emily wants out of her tedious sitcom script writer's job and thinks that Vanessa's disappearance could be the story that she could tell; if only slightly fictionalized. To this end, she convinces the remaining "girls" to return to the vineyard to reconnect and share their thoughts about Vanessa's disappearance/demise so that she can glean details to add to her screenplay. Little does Emily know that getting this group of women together will have murderous results. Emily tries out different scenes in her head to fill in the blanks about that long ago weekend which can sometimes be confusing for the reader. Are we revisiting actual events or is Emily getting creative? What is her ultimate goal for this weekend? Always the peacekeeper among the girlfriends, has Emily finally decided to put herself first? and at what cost? Subplots about various toxic relationships between the women and their shared history are related in flashback chapters. All and all, an engaging read, however I found the ending to be a bit predictable.

Many thanks to Random House publishing and NetGalley for providing me with this little gem of an ARC. Sharply observant of dysfunctional female friendship drama. A trope that I am here for all day. Cleverly done in both present and past time. Interspersed with Emily's screenplay it was just delicious. If you liked Run Time, you will ADORE this. It publishes in September. Can't wait to physically hold this one. Read it on a non work or school night. You will turn the pages until dawn to discover what really happened to Vanessa.

A thriller involving friends getting together at the scene of a crime that happened many years ago. I loved the play on words in the title. The story was told as part story and part of a screen play the narrator was writing. The story alternating between the two. It was a slow burn at first setting up the creepy scene of caves and caverns built into an oceanside cliff that held the barrels of wine for the winery and of introducing the characters and their relationships. As the story progressed, we learned more about the night the women experienced many years ago. The story built in intensity as we learned what exactly happened and why. There are twists you won't see coming. Overall, an entertaining thriller with a cast of characters you will love to hate.

This novel is your typical “whodunnit” plot about a group of friends going on a retreat to figure out which one of them holds the secret to their friend's disappearance.

Emily is writing a screenplay that is true to life in hopes that it will help her dredge up some locked-away memories of her friend Vanessa’s possible demise. So in true mystery fashion, she gathers her troops, returns to the scene of the crime, and tries to reenact their last weekend together.

What will she find out, and will her memories prove that she can’t even trust herself?

Just an ok read for me. I’m not a huge fan of mystery or suspense. I believe someone that religiously reads this genre would have fun with it. The screenplay interspersed within the plot was a unique addition and a welcome break from what could have been a tedious and long-winded novel.

The publisher provided ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

While I didnt guess the twist at the end, this book was hard to follow. I found Myself skipping to get to the end. The winery setting was creepy but I found the back and fourth hard to keep up with. Thank you!

This one was not for me. I found the scene descriptions far too descriptive and frequently found myself skimming over the descriptions. I found the characters hard to connect to and also found the plot fairly predictable.

Emily is a screenwriter who sets out to solve the disappearance of her college friend. Fifteen years after Vanessa went missing, Emily gathers the same group of friend’s to see what she can uncover. Told through real time/past time and a film script, the story unfolds with a building intensity.

Really enjoyed this fast-paced mystery that will keep you guessing about what REALLY happened. Add this one to your to be read pile!

I love a good so called locked room mystery. This one was so good I read it in one sitting. So good.
I just reviewed Scenes of the Crime by Jilly Gagnon. #ScenesoftheCrime #NetGalley
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I received this book as an ARC in return for a fully honest review.
What can I say, I loved this book. Not sure exactly what I was expecting, but I’m so glad I was able to read it. First off, I LOVE the play on words in the title. Didn’t get that till later, but it made me laugh out loud when I did notice it. This book does a lot of going back in forth between the present and the past and that can make it hard to follow; not the case with “Scenes of the Crime”. I loved that I knew exactly what point of time I was at. The story is fantastic, full of twists that you don’t see coming nor can you figure out. Jilly Gagnon never dumbs it down for you as the reader, and it’s clear she fully trusts us to use common sense when going through some of the twists. There is nothing i love more than an author who trusts my brain. Jilly Gagnon also has an amazing talent when it comes to writing from the point of view of a 20 something and 30 something year old women. Her writing style and the story kept me hooked and constantly picking up my device to keep reading. If you enjoy fun, twisty mysteries, then this book is definitely for you!!! I want to thank NetGalley, Penguin Random House, and Jilly Gagnon for the ARC of this book.

This book had so much potential - four friends reunite at a remote winery to figure out what happened to their friend Vanessa, who disappeared 15 years ago. At the ends of most chapters, there are scenes from a screenplay that the narrator, Emily, is working on. Some of them take place in the past before Vanessa disappears, some of the scenes are in the present. The whole time, I wasn't sure if these were scenes that actually happened, or if they were just in Emily's head. She's trying to write a movie script to escape her job at a stupid sitcom and that's partly why she asks her three "friends" to join her at the winery - so she can figure out the story behind Vanessa's disappearance.

I found myself convincing myself to pick up and resume this book. The first half could be shaved down maybe 20% - all we learn is how terrible these women are and how their relationship with Vanessa was maybe not as good as they thought. We get a long tour of the winery but I still had trouble picturing this tunnel and set of caverns that's supposed to be inside a cliffside.

There is lots of speculation on Emily's part about what happened as she pieces some things together, but not much actually happens until about 60% and then things pick up. I don't want to give anything away but things do pick up. I'm not sure the payoff was worth the set-up, though, and I had a few thoughts about where a twist might take us, but it didn't play out that way.

Scenes of the Crime had all the makings of a book I knew I wouldn’t be able to put down. Unfortunately, the novel fell a little flat for me. I thought the premise was great, a group of friends from college meeting together in the location where their friend went missing to pay respects was going to be interesting. But then we find out that none of the “friends” had really talked in multiple years. Why would they even get back together for a girls trip? During the first part of the book, when they are all together, they are mean to each other and making snide comments that are pretty rude. I got a little lost when the book flips between the screenplay the main character, Emily, is writing. They felt disjointed and would confuse me later on which part of the book I was reading, if this the screenplay or really happening? The book flips from the present and past as well, so as the book moves forward you get more details on the dynamics of the friend group. Finally in the last third of the novel, we get to a lot of action which made the book go by faster. Even though the ending was good, I didn’t feel it was enough to save the rest of the book for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bantam Dell for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Scenes of the Crime, by Jilly Gagnon is a thriller novel, that will leave you with several questions right up until the very end. Fifteen years before, Emily's friend Vanessa disappeared without a trace while they were on a girls trip. Emily still has many questions surrounding Vanessa's disappearance so she decided to go back to the place where it all started. Soon, Emily and her three other friends are back at the winery where Vanessa disappeared. Emily says it is so they can all get closure, but she really wants answers. Did Vanessa die? If so, who killed her?

This book is an interesting thriller that will keep you hooked until the very end. In the beginning, the book was slow a little slow. It is mostly descriptions to set the scene but once the action started rolling, it did not stop. I do wish that some of the plot twists and action scenes were more drawn out. What I truly enjoyed about the book was how part of it was written as a screenplay, that Emily was writing. Having this additional element, adds a new layer to the novel. It makes you question whether you are reading the real events of that night or just what Emily had written. I have never seen that in a novel before, so it was exciting to see. The ending was a great way to tie everything up in the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for grating my wish for an ARC of this book.

Girls reunion weekend gone wrong. Reconnecting at the same location on the anniversary of a friend’s mysterious disappearance with twists and turns through the entire weekend.

The format through me off initially, with the script as the second narrative, but I got used to it and it was definitely a creative approach. I got through the book pretty quickly, but it was ultimately just okay. The characters and storyline fell a bit flat for me overall, but it had some interesting spots and I would definitely read another book from this author.

Scenes of the Crime by Jilly Gagnon tells the story of Emily, Vanessa, Paige, Lydia and Brittany. College friends who were at a remote winery when one of the disappeared. Now 15 years later, they are meeting at the winery for closure and things happen. This was an interesting story line and the characters were believable. The writing was very descriptive. So the scenes seem very real. Emily is a screenwriter so some of the scenes were written in that format. It made it interesting. I will recommend reading this mystery. Thank you NetGalley for letting me review this book.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Emily is surprised to see a woman who looks like her friend who went missing many years ago. She decides to do a get together with her friends to try and figure out what happened that night. This book grabbed my attention from the start.