Quick, propulsive, twisty read with an interesting structure of interspersing present moments with flashbacks and a proposed screenplay of the story that adds a layer of "what really happened" to the novel.

This is a great twisty (and twisted) thriller about five girlfriends and their trip 15 year ago to a family-owned winery where one of them ends up dead. Emily is now a screen writer who still mourns friend, Vanessa's death as it's surrounded by mysterious circumstances and the body was never recovered. So as she plans to capitalize by writing a screenplay, she revisits the past and the details slowly emerge as the novel alternates between past and present. Great suspense as themes of friendships, secrets, lies, and jealousies reveal themselves before the exhilarating conclusion! Couldn't read this one fast enough!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

Emily, a TV sitcom producer and writer, is haunted by a tragedy that occurred 15 years ago when her friend Vanessa vanished near the top of a cliff during a girls’ drunken spring break weekend at a winery (conveniently named The Cliff’s Edge). Emily has no recollection of the night except for a text exchange. Apparently Vanessa wanted Emily to keep quiet about something. A chance encounter with Vanessa’s doppelgänger prompts Emily to convince the three remaining spring breakers (Brittany, a privileged stay-at-home mom, Vanessa’s cousin,and heiress to the winery; Paige, former athlete, who works in liquor/wine sales; and gloomy tech coder Lydia, the one who had a goth phase) to reunite where Vanessa disappeared. Emily believes if she finishes a speculative screenplay about that night, she can recover her memory and the group can get some closure.

The structure of the book is distinctive: as the reunion is set up, chapters are interspersed with pages from Emily’s screenplay and its imagined (?) scenes. The group dynamic has changed — Vanessa was probably the center of a spoked wheel. Now Emily is only partially friends with Brittany, Brittany has stayed close to Paige, and snarky Lydia is back to brew up confrontation. Their desire to just talk about the fateful evening gets spooky when personal effects of the missing girl show up. Is Vanessa still alive? Or was she murdered? Is there an outsider taking advantage of the reunion?

I could understand the present day tension and cattiness, but the same group 15 years ago seemed like an odd bunch then with their shifting alliances. Most of these women suffer from hangovers and over drinking in the present as in the past — apparently not having matured in their drinking habits. Add a cavern system that connects to the wine cellars from the beach below the cliff, and the plot gets more twisty. This is a tale about friendship, some that turn toxic or always were that way.

As noted, the screenplay pages were clever and moved the action along in ways that a story could otherwise be spoiled. The book is compelling and enthralling. It seems a lot like a locked room mystery. 4.5 stars for Jilly Gagnon’s second major release!

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

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): NO Only Lydia’s “slightly bulbous” eyes are described as brown.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO There is a scene where tables are decorated with “lush bouquets of rare flowers” and I wish I knew what kinds that meant. Proteas? Sea Holly? Birds of Paradise?

Woahhhh this book! So good! This was a new to me author and I can't wait to read more! Thank you for the ARC

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Bantam for the copy of Scenes Of The Crime by Jilly Gagnon. I loved the idea of a reunion of college friends overshadowed by a friend’s disappearance in the past. I wasn’t a fan of the screenplay scenes, and they were much more difficult to read on a Kindle. I know it was part of Emily’s story, but the excerpts felt so random. Maybe having more would have made sense.
The reunion is at a winery that is closed for the season, so the only characters are the women at the reunion. I never warmed up to any of the characters - talk about secrets and flaws! They are just together for a weekend and old hurts come out and they are so nasty to each other it was disturbing. I liked the idea of the story, but the execution was flat. There were ‘twists’ but none were a surprise or a shock. It wasn’t a bad book, but it wasn’t great either. I probably won’t remember it tomorrow. 2.5 rounded up to 3.

Solidly a not-for-me. I stopped at 10%. I liked the "Scenes" playing into the title, but I really didn't enjoy reading the format. It felt too much like a screen play and not enough like a novel.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC.

I loved the premise of this book, but I couldn't connect with the characters. None of them were particularly interesting, including the narrator, Emily. Additionally, the interspersed "script" chapters were hard to follow and distracting. While I'm sure there's a great story in here, I couldn't stay focused long enough to get to it.

Great book! This book was definitely a page turner and heart pounder lol! This book had a bit of everything! It had suspense, intrigue, murder, mystery, A good who done it, and a few crazy twists and turns! The storyline was very interesting and kept me glued to my Kindle! I definitely recommend reading this book as it was well worth reading! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!