Hard NO on this one. Flat, stereotyped characters with no personality other than snarky comments and yelling. A narrator who is not unreliable so much as she is untrustworthy. Weird scripted scenes that may be telling the story or may be just out of the narrator's head. A tedious repetitive first half that took me a month to get through, then a third of the book with characters confessing for no real reason and then many more pages of the characters re-confessing to others. The tired and ridiculous premise of four women who absolutely dislike each other coming together in a remote location to think about another woman who they also disliked. A confrontation scene that played out with two hysterical unreasonable women having a sort of catfight - I had to doublecheck if the author was a man, it was so immature and misogynistic. In the end, the idea that the main incident had happened 15 years ago felt unrealistic, I would have believed it more if it had been just a five year time period.

Many thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. Unfortunately this one was really not for me and I cannot recommend it.

3.25 stars
Scenes of the Crime by Jilly Gagnon is a passable mystery involving five long time women friends who gather to discover the truth about their mutual friend’s disappearance 15 years ago.
Set in Oregon, five college friends meet at a beautiful winery for a reunion weekend. Their personalities are very different, but they share the one terrible night in the past when their girlfriend Vanessa disappeared. Emily, now a Hollywood screenwriter, wants to solve the mystery and use the story to revitalize her stagnant career.
The plot is reasonable, and the writing is a bit overly wordy, but fresh and youthful in tone. Unfortunately, the characters really deep-sixed this novel for me. They were all vapid, unlikeable, and spoke in mean-girl dialogue in the past scenes as well as present day. It was hard for me to care about any of them, and their guilt or role in Vanessa’s death.
One creative touch I liked was the use of screenplay excerpts inserted in between the chapters, breaking up the mean girl narrative and giving the reader greater insight into main character Emily. At times, though, these interjections seemed to complicate or detract from the plot’s forward movement.
There is an audience for this book, as the premise is a good one, but I could not connect with the characters or the mystery of Vanessa’s fate.

Thanks to Bantam Books/Random House and NetGalley for the ARC. This is my honest opinion.

Scenes of the Crime by Jilly Gagnon

#netgalley published 9/5/23
#mystery

Emily, a screen writer sees a doppelganger of a person she thought got swept out to sea 15 years ago. She has a very hazy memory of the night it happened. Emily decides to initiate a replica weekend of the day Vanessa died. What really happened. Did that weekend divide the 5 girl friend group that probably never belonged together in the first place? Can Emily figure out what really happened that night that Vanessa disappeared?

I had read another book by JG and liked it so I decided to give this one a try too. It just didn't grab me as well as All Dressed Up did. I'm not sure if I am going to try another book by this author or not. I just didn't want to keep picking this book up. Sorry. This was not a win for me. But if the story sounds good, give it a try.

#scenesofthecrime
#bookstagram #bookreview
#booknerdsbookreview

⭐️⭐️💫
This one was… well, it was.
The first half of the book dragged for me. The second half went fast but left me feeling… meh. None of the characters were developed well enough to make me care and the payoff was just so odd and didn’t feel like any of it made any sort of sense. The conclusion was a huge stretch and was just behind my personal zone of willing disbelief.

Four college friends are connected by the disappearance of their closest friend fifteen years ago. Emily is a show writer looking for new material and a change. When she invites them all back to the scene of the disappearance under the guise of a reunion, a story starts to pull together. Was the friend’s disappearance really an accident? What hidden secrets does each person hold?

This was a cleverly written novel. It is a mixture of present day reality and present and past scenes that Emily is writing for her new show. The style builds the mystery as you tread the line between fact and fiction. It is a very easy read, but do pay attention as you often find yourself revisiting the question of story versus reality. I enjoyed this one. 4 stars.

Review based on a digital Advanced Reader’s Copy provided by Random House Publishing Group/Bantam and NetGalley. Thank you!

I very much so enjoyed this book! I found it to be enticing right from the get go. The thriller aspect kept me hooked and I enjoyed the character POVs. I didn’t guess the ending which was a nice surprise!

A gorgeously atmospheric setting combined with my favorite premise, a toxic friend group with a magnetic queen bee at its center -- who happens to have been missing for years, since their last retreat. I loved everything about this brilliantly written thriller, from the mindblowing secrets the friends are keeping from each other to the screenplay-within-a-book written by the main character, a screenwriter attempting to solve her best friend's disappearance and presumed death by pulling the group back together for another (very sinister!) getaway. The twists were incredibly clever, the friendships dark and complex, and the narrator's voice intimate and witty.

I did not like the writing style that was used. Portions of the book were written as Emilie's screen play which was distracting and annoyed me.

I didn't find any of the characters to be likable. I viewed them as whiny narcissists. The plot was good even though it dragged on and felt redundant in places.

I received this galley from NetGalley.

This is a thriller/mystery set in 2 timelines. Five girlfriends in college, even then it's hard to tell why they were so close. Then one of them disappears. 15 years later, they return to the winery where she disappeared to get some closure or solve the mystery. This was a quick read, and enjoyable, but I had a hard time getting really into the characters or understanding their friendships or ties.

This was a book that I did not want to end, I enjoyed it so much. Fifteen years ago, five college girls, Brittany, Paige, Vanessa, Emily, and Lydia got together for a girls' weekend at a remote winery that belonged to one of the girl's family. But then Vanessa disappeared, later assumed dead and now each girl has a secret and no one is talking. Since that time, they have gone their separate ways and most have lost touch. Brittany is the rich bossy one, Vanessa's cousin, who is married with two children. Lydia has always been odd, hoping to go into medical research but now writes code for gamers. Paige remains Brittany's sidekick but is now married to a woman. Emily is the peacemaker and great friend of Vanessa, and has been a screenwriter in Hollywood, looking for a new story. Now they have decided to gather together to pay tribute to Vanessa and Emily is hopeful to discover the truth as she could never really remember what happened. Together, they seem to fall back into the roles they played in college yet discover, buoyed by alcohol, how toxic their friendships are when real feelings come forward and past grudges are put out there. Suspenseful and surprising, there are many red herrings that will throw you for loop and keep you reading. What really happened to Vanessa and just who is responsible? The author weaves a story that has you questioning what you think you know and second guessing yourself. Lots of twists and turns, it's a bit of a psychological thriller. I thought it quite clever that the author incorporated Emily's profession as a screenwriter to present part of the story as if it was a script being written for a movie, which is as it was. Additionally, the author, through the voice of the character Emily, sets the scenes and describes in details to make the story come alive.
Many thanks to #netgalley #scenesfothecrime #jillygagnon for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Reads form the POV of a screen writer who writes a screenplay of her and her dysfunctional friends friendships families and disappearance of one of the friends. Through writing this she tries to solve the mystery surrounding the friends disappearance. Once I got the gist of the way this book read, it was very interesting. A Cat and mouse type suspense thriller. Small bonus of a character named "Christine Silva"
Thank you to Netgalley, Random House Ballantine Bantam and the Author for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

An excellent locked room style mystery with a great twist! I really enjoyed the mix of narrative with the screenplay as the story is revealed. Would definitely recommend!

This was good, but I felt it could have been better. Now mind you, I read a LOT of these type thrillers so that could have something to do with it. The premise is good. Emily is a screenwriter for a mediocre sitcom and not very happy with her job. She decides to write a screenplay based on the disappearance of her friend Vanessa. Vanessa was part of a group of five friends, including Emily. All 5 girls took a trip to one of the girls' family's winery and Vanessa was never heard from again. Emily is certain one of the girls knows what happened, so she invites everyone back to the same location to try and get some answers. The story is told in current time and also through Emily's screenplay set in the past 15 years ago. I enjoyed the way the story was told and the setting of a winery off the Oregon coast was atmospheric. I just could not like any of the girls and didn't find them very realistic. They seemed like most of the other women in these types of books. I also had a pretty good idea of what was going on pretty early on. I was mostly right. I did see a lot of potential however, and would read something else from this author.

Thank you to #NetGalley, Jilly Gagnon and Random House for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

Scenes Of The Crime is an unexpected whirlwind thriller with layers of shocking twists and secrets which will have you reading non-stop until its jaw-dropping conclusion.

A group of friends who met in college years ago meet at the winery where one of them disappeared years ago on the anniversary of the mysterious death (disappearance) of their friend Vanessa Morales who was the bond that kept them together.

Emily Fischer knew Vanessa as her best friend. Her hazy memory of what happened the night she disappeared is the reason she convinces the women to revisit the place where something obviously occurred. But what? That night has haunted her for years.

But she also has another motive. She is a writer on a sitcom, and she knows she has more in her than writing for a silly show. She wants to attempt a screenplay about the weekend Vanessa went missing. She is sure if she can pull this off, she will have a hit on her hands.

The cast of characters at the winery this weekend, as well as the weekend of the disappearance are:

Brittany, Vanessa’s cousin. They both came from a very wealthy family, but when Vanessa’s parents die in a car crash, instead of embracing her the family treats her as an outsider. Britany got everything she wanted, including the winery when her grandparents died. Vanessa had to beg just to get tuition money. Spoiled and narcissistic, she enjoys taunting the others with what she has and looks down on them for what they don’t.

Paige, who is still friends with Brittany to this day is her puppy dog. She follows Brittany around and agrees with everything Brittany says, no matter what. She has no opinions of her own and waits for her friend to lead her.

Finally, there is Lydia who has had a difficult and challenging life. In college she was trying to pay for school and help her sick mother with her medical bills which were adding up due to all her treatments. As she looked for research jobs at school, Brittany somehow was always able to make it, so Lydia lost the job. Now, she barely participates in any conversations they have during this weekend.

Without Vanessa, these women hardly really know each other. Vanessa was truly the glue which held them all together and now without her things don’t seem to be going very smoothly. And then on the first night, items of Vanessa suddenly appear in the rooms of the women. Items she had on or saved before her disappearance.

What is going on?

Fear begins to take over the group. Why? Because they all seem to have secrets from back in the day. As we learn the history of each woman, it becomes clear Vanessa was not really who they thought she was, but neither were the other women.

And Emily’s screenplay which is dispersed throughout the story becomes invaluable to the reader. What is clear is that something terrible happened the night Vanessa disappeared. Was it one of them? Now if Emily could only find out what happened, she would have the ending she knows would be spectacular. Although it could cost her life.

What really happened to Vanessa?

Scenes of the Crime is filled with suspense, mystery and psychological torture. It immediately grabs you and its ending, a perfect ten.

Thank you #NetGalley #Bantam #ScenesOfTheCrime #JillyGagnon for the advanced copy.

Written as a split between real life and one of the characters' intended screenplay, the title of this book is dead clever. The story, a bit less so. The one thing that kept popping into my head when anyone referred to these women as "friends" was the classic line from The Princess Bride - "You keep using this word, I do not think it means what you think it means". There wasn't a likeable one in the bunch of them, and I admit to a little bit of hope for a wiping clean of the slate before the end. The story was ok, but not for me.

My thanks to Random House/Ballantine, the author, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Scenes of the Crime by Jilly Gagnon

Published: September 5, 2023
Bantam
Genre: Women’s Crime Fiction
Pages: 384
KKECReads Rating: 5/5
I received a copy of this book for free, and I leave my review voluntarily.

Jilly Gagnon lives in Salem, Massachusetts, but is originally from Minnesota, a fact she'll likely inform you of within minutes of meeting you. In the past, Jilly has written humor, news, essays, and op-ed pieces for Newsweek, Elle, Vanity Fair, The Huffington Post, McSweeney's Internet Tendency, The Onion, and The Toast, among others. Jilly loves terrible TV and excellent Manhattans. She often carries on far-too-involved conversations with her cats.

“This time I was going to find out how the story ended.”

Holy toxic friendships. The build-up for this book is so twisted, devious, and calculated that I could not put this book down.

The way this story is told is clever; it’s a mix between past and present, with a twist of creative storytelling. I was shocked at the twists throughout this book. This was such a house of cards!

The characters were not likable, but that was the point. It drives the point that it’s difficult to truly know what someone is capable of. Secrets can divide, and secrets can bind.

This was an engaging story with an interesting plot. It’s a quick read and will suck you into a dangerous world of secrets, lies, and greed.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this ARC. I love locked room mysteries, especially if done right like this one!! This one was full of secrets and juicy gossip! Check it out!

This one had all the elements of a must-read: location - CHECK, thriller - CHECK, old estranged friends gathering again after years apart - CHECK. But it just didn't work for me. I found the pacing way too slow, the characters were absolute cardboard, and I really had to fight to finish each chapter. There was enough promise to want to see what else Jilly Gagnon has up her sleeve, but unfortunately, this one was a miss.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

The set up of traditional novel interspersed with scenes from the protagonists based-on-real-life draft script was interesting, but could have been put to better use (wouldn't that make a delicious unreliable narrator device?!?!) This would be a good option for someone who likes frenemy drama (and ancient history), but I was looking for more tension and twists, and found it rather predicable.

I love a thriller set amongst a group of backstabbing frenemies as much as the next girl, but Scenes of the Crime ultimately fell flat for me.

It’s all just a bit too familiar - the “friends” who actually hate each other, the missing girl who held their clique together, the cliched secret affair, the secluded location. Even the big reveal at the end wasn’t much of a reveal, considering it was actually advertised at the beginning of the novel.

The screenplay elements in between chapters were creative, but the way they were written came off like a Pretty Little Liars rip-off, which diluted some of that creativity.

If you don’t mind a formulaic thriller, by all means go for it, but don’t expect your mind to be blown.
Fun at places, cringey in others. 2.5 stars rounded to 3.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House - Ballantine for the ARC.