I will be honest - I DNF-ed this book at 50%.

I adore the writing style and loved the prose-like way Gagnon writes. It felt like I was reading classic literature with some of her descriptions, which I love. And the setting! A breathtaking winery backed against the sea sounded so gorgeous and relaxing, and every time she peppered in a new detail about the setting, I found myself wishing I could vacation there.

So why’d I put it down? Two main reasons that weren’t my cup of tea: the pacing, and the characters. At 50% of the way in, I still felt like nothing had happened to advance the plot. Normally I’d keep going because the characters make me want to know what happens, but I found this group of women insufferable. All they seemed to do was make snarky comments to each other, and it was exhausting to read the long threads of dialogue that was mostly insults.

I would definitely give her other books a chance; she seems like a very talented author and I loved the alternating screenplays sprinkled in between chapters. Definitely very unique! This one sadly just wasn’t for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for the ARC in exchange for an honest review! This book will be available everywhere in September 2023.

Scenes of the Crime by Jilly Gagnon.
It is a little wordy for me so it is a slow start.
Emily is a successful sit-com writer/producer but hates it. She is also haunted by a tragedy 15 years earlier during Spring Break at college. A friend went missing. She doesn’t remember if she was involved because she was so drunk and it has been haunting her. She sees someone who looks so much like the missing Vanessa that it starts her down a path to find the truth. The four remaining friends (not so much anymore) get together at the same location where Vanessa vanished to remember her but Emily has an ulterior motive - she wants to find the truth. And write a book about it.
Each chapter opens setting the stage like a script…not sure I like that. It can be a little confusing.
The characters are hard to like - so self absorbed! Even Emily who is writing the story just want to know what happened because she wants to write about it to jumpstart her career.
I was glad I stuck with the book because it has interesting twists and turns but I would have enjoyed it better if I had liked any of the friends. Even the author calls the relationships toxic in the acknowledgments. Worth reading.

None of the characters are likeable and it didn't get interesting until about the last 30% of the book. The whole movie script vs. what actually happened was a good idea I guess but I also think it made it more confusing. I get why it was set up with it interspersed throughout the story, but I almost would have liked to see the movie version as it's own (shortened down) epilogue.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a pretty good story. I liked how the phone ships were incredibly multifaceted and showed that women can both love and hate each other at the same time. The writer definitely threw me off with the ending, I wouldn’t have expected that in 1 million years! I love that the women had a history together and that history impacted the present. All in all, a solid suspense book!

Emily has worked her way up to being a producer on a TV show. The show, she feels, is trash. Very successful trash that has run for several seasons, but trash none the less. And while she sits in her favorite coffee shop editing a script for the show she sees a ghost. Not the transparent kind or one that goes ‘Boo!’, but a ringer for one of her college roommates who disappeared 15 years ago, never to be seen since. And part of what rattles her so is that she, Emily, was so drunk the night of her friend’s disappearance she has no memory of what actually happened but she fears she may have drunkenly killed her friend.

For quite a while Emily has been working on a screenplay about her friends disappearance hoping that it might jog her memory. But after seeing her ghost she decides to gather her college roommates at the country house where they were when the girl went missing and see if they can find any clues.

The story is well told skipping back and forth between screenplay and current events cleverly keeping reader interest. I will be looking for more of this author’s books.

This is the first book I’ve read by Jilly Gagnon. I truly enjoyed the story, there were plenty twists. It was a bit difficult for me to get used to the script-style parts but that’s prolly because I’ve never read anything of a similar style. I’ve read books with podcast type portions & was a bit more comfortable with those but again, this script style writing was an absolute first & May be something I can get used to in the future. However, as I said, the story is wonderful, the characters so clearly written you can picture (and intensely dislike some!). Great read, solid 3.6 stars.

This novel fell flat for me for a couple of reasons. I wasn’t crazy about the “screenwriting” scenes. They seemed disjointed from the story and felt too much like reading the actual working script of a play. Also, I did not identify with any of the main characters; while everyone seemed to have a hidden agenda, their stories were uninteresting and I really didn’t care to know more about them. The big plot twist at the end was far too obvious and the ending seemed to be expressly written for that proverbial “screenplay”.

Fifteen years ago Emily’s friend Vanessa disappeared on a girl’s weekend away at a winery. Present day Emily is getting all the remaining friends back together at the winery to try to figure out what happened to Vanessa that night. Secrets come out and trouble arises.
This was an exciting story that I finished quickly. Thanks NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for this ARC that will be released September 5, 2023!

This was a very fun mystery/thriller! I'm giving it 4 stars, because at times I felt like it wasn't completely served by the story being told both as a novel and as a film script. I do think it was an interested tool, since it made it hard to tell what was real and what was fabricated, and the truth became more clear as the story went on. That said, it was also a bit frustrating, not knowing what to trust. It took me a little while to understand how the story narrative was coming together.

All this to say, I thought it was fresh, if somewhat predictable, for a thriller story. I can see how it would easily translate to a tv or film, and I really enjoyed reading it! Fun characters and an interesting, creative format.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Bantam for the advanced copy!

Fun and fast thriller with some twists! The story is told in 2 timelines — 5 college friends on spring break, and 4 women pulled together 15 years later. Our protagonist, Emily, is an LA screenwriter, so today’s version of the story is told via screenplay. I don’t always love a converging timeline, but the screenplay variation worked here.

It took me a little while to piece everything together, which added a fun element of surprise towards the middle of the book. Personally, I think everything "clicked" a little too early in the story, but overall, I did enjoy this read!

The plot was intriguing but I had trouble keeping up with the book as it switched formats. The book would have been better had it not included the script parts. Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group Ballantine for the ARC.

Emily is at a dead end job going nowhere writing a script for a mind-numbing show. She needs to come up with a blockbuster hit and break out of her doldrums. Once she feels like she recognizes a ghost from her past, she realizes she has the perfect story; she just needs to figure out the ending. In order to do that she has to go back to where it all started with the original cast of characters to see if she can finally find the perfect ending.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I found this story to have a pretty slow buildup, I struggled until about halfway through. But, once there, the story really takes off and I was intrigued and pleasantly surprised for the second half. It was somewhat confusing, especially in the beginning, that the author put the screenwriting excerpts in. However, at the end, I think they really added to the storyline. I think most people can identify with the kind of toxic friend relationships we see here and overall would recommend it to anyone looking for a good read.

I read about half of it so that’s why I only gave it a four stars. But from what I read it was absolutely amazing.

Women tend to be in competition with each other, these women however take it to a new level. One even dies because of it! This story is about five college-age friends gathered at a family winery when one mysteriously disappears. What happened to Vanessa that fateful weekend and what does each of the women know about the disappearance. Emily, is a LA based screen writer, writing for a sitcom but deep down, she has a screenplay idea about that fateful weekend. Brittany, is an entitled, self-centered person but wants to make sure she keeps up appearances at any cost. Paige, is blunt and a bit of a follower as she desperately wants to fit-in and be accepted by the in-crowd. Lydia, is the odd girl of the group, nerdy, smart and not in the same social standing as the others. When Emily decides to bring these women together to enhance her screenplay, she doesn’t realize the multitude of hidden secrets. Each one of these women have knowledge of the event but what will they do to keep their secret hidden? So, when a woman who looks exactly like Vanessa appears at the coffee shop where Emily is working, this sets off a chain of events ending in a stunning revelation.

I’ve read Jilly Gagnon before, I enjoyed All Dressed Up and thoroughly enjoyed it. This read was just as pleasurable. The characters are absolutely bitchy at times and yet you want to know what happened. The ending I did not see coming at all which is always a delight. I love a good mystery where you think you have it figured it but wham, not even close. If you enjoy a good mystery, some drama, good writing and delish read, then this book is for you.

This was just plain boring, I hated every single character.
The mystery was so predictable and I just don't want to talk about it.

Thanks to netgalley and the author for an eARC in exchange of a honest review.

Look, I don't find myself reading screenplays altogether often, so it's possible I have the wrong idea about this, but I'm not entirely unfamiliar. So, that said, I have a huge pet peeve about writers as characters who share their work (specifically as a plot device) when the work in question is just...not good. And here we are.

Review of Advance Reader eBook

Screenwriter Emily Fischer sees a woman at a local café. Only, as far as Emily knows, the woman, named Vanessa, is dead. She decides to tell Vanessa’s story.

But what really happened to Vanessa all those years ago? Emily decides on a girls’ weekend with Vanessa’s cousin, Brittany, and their friends, Paige and Lydia. Will one of them know the truth?

Will Emily discover Vanessa’s secret? And what will happen when she does?

=========

The unfolding story here alternates between Emily’s narration and her screenplay, giving readers a unique and interesting twist on the telling of the tale. As readers compare Emily’s narration and her screenplay, they’ll discover they are similar, but with interesting differences. Literary license? Or a truth and a lie? It’s up to the reader to decide the reality of the evolving story.

Strong characters populate this tale of a group of women who may or may not be friends. Although none of the characters are particularly likable, their relationships play a vital role in the telling of this tale.

It is the mystery surrounding the death of one of the women back in their college days that pulls the reader into the narrative. An undercurrent of uneasiness running throughout the story helps build the suspense; the plot offers readers a few unexpected twists, leading to a denouement that may be an unexpected surprise for the reader.

Recommended.

I received a free copy of this eBook from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Bantam and NetGalley
#ScenesoftheCrime #NetGalley

This was fresh and unique. The screenplay aspect was so fun ANF really added to the story. This was a good thriller with a deep mystery.

A mystery within a mystery and a sharp portrait of the complexities of female friendships. Atmospheric and moody, this tale of envy, love and betrayal is full of plot twists.

Thank you Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine Bantam, Jilly Gagnon, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.
This was a good book. I just could not really get the screenplay versus the real story. It was still good and a solid read though.