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.

Years ago, Vanessa Morales vanished during a spring break trio with her girlfriends to a remote winery on the Oregon coast. Emily may have been the last to see her, and thoughts of what happened have lingered in her mind for years. Emily wants to tell the story in her job as a screenwriter, and she manages to gather the other friends for a reunion trip to the same winery so she can dig into the past and try to come up with the right ending for the story.

The format of this had my head spinning a bit. Parts are told in a normal first person POV, then suddenly we switch to a script in every chapter as we see inside Emily's head and the story she is writing. This method made for a very unreliable narrator, as I couldn't tell if the things in the script format actually happened or if she was making them up. Soon, Emily's edits were appearing in the script as well, and I realized I had no idea what was true in this story. The climax of the book was even written two different ways, which was such an interesting way to write it.

The characters were all extremely unlikable. Queen bee Brittany, her hanger on Paige, mouthy Lydia, and Emily who appears to have no spine. I wasn't rooting for anyone in this morally gray tale, but I was still supremely entertained.

This story was unique, the setting was so atmospheric, and it was very twisty.

Thank you to Random House Ballantine for the eARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

Loved the idea but poor execution didn't really work for me. Seemed very disorganized and rambling. Better editing, cutting out the rambling would definitely improve this one. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

I enjoyed the descriptions of the setting and could picture myself there. I had a difficult time connecting to/getting in the mind of the characters because they were definitely not likable lol.

I was promised an unforgettable mystery that was suspenseful and propulsive, but I don’t really feel I got it.
The girlfriends who lost one of their number on spring break 15 years ago and who now come together for a reunion weekend are all terrible people. Their relationships with each other are terrible. My biggest issue with the plot is that I didn’t buy that these former friends would have been willing to come to a reunion, especially to deal with a shared trauma. They don’t like each other.

In addition, they are not distinct personalities; I had a hard time remembering who was who, even with this relatively small cast. There is a big reveal early on that I thought must be some kind of red herring, or fantasy reveal, or something, so I kept expecting that but – nope, it was what it was. The mystery part seems mainly to come from what’s real and what main character Emily is crafting for her screenplay. There is a lot of wine drinking in this book. That may appeal to some readers.

It was easy to read, and I definitely see a movie in this book’s future, but it just didn’t work for me. Maybe it will work better as a movie.

I read an advance reader copy from Penguin Random House and Netgalley.

Loved the setting descriptions, and the twists along the way, overall I found it hard to connect with the characters, there are a lot of back and forth> got a little confused > I didn't like the reading format, the scripting chapter was hard to follow > the character's relationships were toxic and frustrating at the same time.

Thank you, NetGalley and the Publisher for the eARC.

Scenes of the Crime is a must read for anyone who enjoys the mystery/thriller genre!

I loved the addition of the scenes written as script - their inclusion made sense given the background of our main character. The scenes also helped keep me guessing - Was Emily actually interested in finding out what happened to Vanessa or just interested in furthering her stagnant career? Did that specific event happen or was it Emily’s added dramatization? Who is lying and who can you trust?

I really related to the present-day group dynamic between the four college friends. You simultaneously know so many intimate details about each other’s lives while also being a complete stranger to who they are now. I thought the author did a great job conveying those bonds and distances, while also highlighting the destructive nature of their relationships to one another.

I loved the winery as the choice for the setting! So atmospheric and claustrophobic - I could perfectly envision the caves, the chill in the air, and the damp from the water. It was the perfect stage for someone to hide in or go missing forever.

The ending was reminiscent of the one in The Villa by Rachel Hawkins. It’s the perfect conclusion for a book featuring toxic friendships. Overall, an interesting and well-written thriller!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

A group of college friends reunite at the place where one of their friends disappeared fifteen years ago. The gathering was much like this one. Nobody knows (or admits to knowing) what became of Vanessa, but strange things begin happening, perhaps clues to whom, or what, is behind Van’s disappearance. The members of this dysfunctional group of used-to-be friends make the best of their reunion by suspecting, blaming and squabbling their way through the plot. The story alternates between a combination of script notes and prose, written from the perspective of the event organizer, a television scriptwriter. As such, each setting at the old lodge and winery is intricately described in colorful detail, and in-depth conversations convey the many moods and inner monologues of the speakers. A complex and engaging read.

Thank you to NetGalley, Jilly Gagnon & Random House Publishing - Ballantine for an arc of Scenes of the Crime in exchange for an honest review. This review is wholly my own & may not be reproduced.

The synopsis was intriguing. Five friends take a spring break trip to a winery where one of them goes missing. It is now 15 years later and Emily can’t let the past go and just has to know what happened to Vanessa, so she concocts a plan to get the remaining friends together to recreate their time at the winery to try and figure out what really happened to Vanessa. But we all know that it’s just not going to be that simple.

I loved the cover and the potential, but this one fell a little flat for me. I also just read a 5 Star thriller prior to this one so my expectations may have been set a little too high. I didn’t hate it, but didn’t love it either. It was just ok, so as you can imagine, it’s getting 3 stars from me.

It just took a bit too long to get interesting and then when it did start to get interesting, the twist was a bit of a letdown. I almost DNF’d it just because it took WAY too long to get going. You just can’t do that with any type of book. The reader needs to be hooked very close to the beginning, not past the halfway mark. I hated every single one of the characters & some of them, you’re supposed to. It was not really much different than any other thriller with a group a toxic friends where one of them disappears.

I might have rated it a half star more if the pacing had been faster. I was just bored through most of it and it took me way longer to finish that normal because I had to force myself to continue on.

To the author, I’m sorry, I hate giving bad or semi-bad reviews. I respect your talent and the time & effort you put into this novel. It just was not for me.

3/5 Stars

I loved this book! It was dark and twisty and a slow burn. I know that's not a popular opinion but I love books that start off slow and build up incrementally so you're wholly invested in the characters and cringe when something bad is or has happened. Great read!

I DNF’ed this book at 35%. I like the underlying plot but this is just way too much. I’m 35% in ONLY on chapter 6. My kindles estimated read time is around 20MINUTES a chapter. That’s ridiculous. And the amount of bickering this group of girls do? It’s insufferable. I wanted to keep reading until 50% before doing this but I found myself skimming through pages just trying to find out something interesting. 2/5 stars for me.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

This was a pretty good mystery! I enjoyed the story line and thought it was well developed. Normally, I have trouble picking out twists and turns and didn't see all the ones in this. It was good! I enjoyed it! It had a bit of a different voice than I'm used to with my mysteries/thrillers, but I still enjoyed it.

Really liked this book in the end. Started out a bit slow and at first was thrown off script being thrown in at the end of the chapters but I ended up enjoying those parts the most in the end. The characters were all so different and I liked how their shared college experience tied them together and brought them back together 15 years later

This one wasn’t my favorite. It definitely kept me interested in turning the pages but for me, the ending was missing the wow factor.

Thank you, NetGalley and Random House publishing for a digital copy of this book for my honest opinion

Five girlfriends get together for a reunion weekend at a remote winery on the Oregon coast under the guise of reconnecting. It's told between the past and present. The premise was interesting but I found my mind wandering. It was difficult to get the full impact of what the author was trying to convey in the physical aspects.

I always find the best mysteries are those when a reader can almost imagine themselves there. At 50% in I still felt like nothing had happened to advance the plot. As much as I hate to skim, I did skim a bit until 65% in when it picked up some.

I’m glad that I pushed through, the ending was great. I think most people can identify with the kind of toxic friend relationships we see here.

Thank you to Random House Publishing/ Ballantine Bantam and NetGalley for a free advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

A screenwriter arranges a reunion of friends from college to get to the bottom of the mysterious disappearance of a mutual friend.