For closure, four friends gather at the winery where the fifth member of their group died years earlier. They have long since grown apart, but agree to meet and secrets start coming out. With places to hide and escape to, the winery on a cliff sets the scene for sneaking around, hiding secrets, and bringing the past into the present.

I enjoyed the book and the setup of a screenplay vs what is actually happening in the girls' lives. However, I found myself getting the characters confused at points, which was odd because they really leaned into their college stereotypes when they returned to the winery. Overall, I will keep reading more from this author because I do like the twists and mystery.

What makes this locked room/isolated subjects mystery different is the POVs we are taken through.

Vanessa, one of a five-some of college friends/frenemies, disappears, and 15 years later, the remaining ladies meet at the scene of the disappearance to gain closure. Each has something to hide. Each is guilty in part for Vanessa's disappearance and presumed death

Brittany, Vanessa's cousin is now sole owner of their grandparents' luxe coastal winery atop a cliff riddled with caves.

Emily is trapped in a dead end job in LA, as a scriptwriter. She's determined to use the story as the basis for a movie, and won't stop until she's written the perfect script.

Paige and Lydia are each hiding additional secrets about the weekend Vanessa disappeared.

The novel weaves flashbacks to their college days with each suspect's version of what happened and to the scripted version Emily is writing, along with editing notes and changes. But, not everything is edited,
So the reader doesn't ever know what is true and what was "inspirational."

Jealousy, spite, unreliable narrators, juicy gossip. Did these friends have Vanessa's back or were they literal back-stabbers?

A bit twisty, this one. Some things a bit imaginative but still plausible, I suppose. Snotty, catty friends are called back to the scene of their crime 15 years after their friend Vanessa disappeared. Emily is the one who calls them together, mostly so she can finish the screenplay that has been haunting her and could potentially break her out of her monotonous job as a wealthy writer of a mundane but very popular tv series. As (I think) the author expected, I didn't like any of the characters. That helps with the twisty part where you're not really sure who did what in the disappearance of Vanessa. They all sort of had something to lose, but there are so many stories, plus the screenplay version, you're not really sure who did what and why. Including the screenplay part was a bit confusing, as I get distracted when things don't match up. Emily is trying to change details for the screen (I think), so you're getting the screenplay version and then the real version. For example, in the screenplay, she breaks a shadowbox of memorabilia to get a knife. But in the real version, she grabs a corkscrew? The inconsistencies are on purpose, but they trip me up when I'm that deep in a book.
I sort of want to reread this one so I can connect the dots. But then I don't because there's a lot of repetitive introspection that gets tiresome. "but why, but who, but when, or did I, I'm guilty, she's guilty, etc etc etc." 3.5 stars from me. Thanks for a copy of the book!

DNF! I always finish books but I’ve been trying to trudge through this one forever. I didn’t make it far, but I found the flipping back and forth to be very confusing and I was just overall not intrigued with the overall storyline or the way it was written.

Watch out! Nothing is as it seems here! This truly twisty locked room mystery keeps you guessing with its innovative POV switches and format changes. Part narrative, part screenplay, it reads like a work in progress. This did contribute to some confusion, but more than kept me on my toes.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for my free copies. These opinions are my own

Four friends meet at a family owned winery for a reunion and to remember the friend they lost there 15 years earlier. Secrets held tight for years are slowly revealed and what happened years ago come to light.

Mean girls grow into mean women, as this book proves. Characters all held onto their own secrets and grudges, which usually leads for interesting reading, but these women were all unlikable, immature, rude. I found it very hard to keep them straight, initial introductions weren’t well defined. Sentences were long, chapters were even longer. Story was told alternating with a screenplay being written, which totally thru me off. The story line was choppy, slow moving until 3/4 of the way in. I appreciated the author trying something new, but the editing didn’t work. New to me author, would give her another try to see her writing in a different setting.

Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for this ARC. This is my honest opinion.

***will only post to Goodreads and Instagram.so as not to deter others from buying.

This one reads very YA the friend group is so irritating, I could find a single character that I enjoyed or thought was well rounded

Scenes of the Crime follows main character Emily and her closest friends from college as they return back to the scene of the crime for a reunion, a vineyard in Oregon laced with the mystery of Vanessa's death. Written between a screenplay and present day, the cast of morally grey characters each holding a key secret to unraveling what happened years prior.

The premise of the story seemed very promising, but sadly fell very formulaic and average- the twists ultimately letting me down. There was little suspense or red herrings, and no stakes. I also continually found myself confused, mixing the girls up, and lost. Each of the girls are characterized by one or two traits, and all are unlikable in some way. Being in the mind of a middle-ground character did not help elevate the story either.

The relationships and drama between the girls needed to be heightened, seeming shallow and not authentically toxic or problematic. Besides that, the toxic group of friends does feel relatable to the reader, reminiscent of real-life experiences, at its own fault of being very generic.

Thank You to Bantam Dell for an advanced copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Scenes of the Crime by Jilly Gagnon is your typical “who did it” 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. This is not my typical genre of reading but overall it was decent.

There were parts of this book I loved and parts I didn't enjoy. The main character was interesting, but the other important characters were less interesting. The mystery of this book organically caught my attention, but by the end I was wishing it was shorter. This book used a mixed media approach, which was a screenplay along with the normal narrative writing and I really enjoyed it. The cover is interesting but isn't as eye catching as it could have been. This book was an okay read and if you like mystery you should look into this one.

Spring Break should have been amazing. A winery with your 5 best friends- what could go wrong? E.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g.

Vanessa Morales, one of the five, disappeared on the fated trip and is presumed dead. Everything changes when Emily Fischer, another spring breaker, swears she sees Vanessa's twin at a coffee shop in California.

Stranded in a job where she's no longer progressing, thinking she saw Vanessa sparked a fire. Tired of writing more and more episodes for a network comedy, and watching others with lesser talent continue to progress, Emily decides to get the girls together to see if she can solve the crime and write her own screenplay.

All 4 girls make the trip:
Brittany- cousin of Vanessa, social media darling
Paige-a former college athlete,
Lydia- the quiet one. No one really knew what she was thinking
Emily-sleuth and screenwriter

Who knows what happened to Vanessa? Does someone know more than they're letting on? Melding past, present, and scenes from Emily's up-and-coming screenplay, you'll be waiting until the end to see just whodunit- and how.

Emily is struck by inspiration after seeing the doppelganger of her missing friend in the cafe where she was revising a television script. She decides that Vanessa’s (her friend) story needs to be told. But to do that, Emily must solve a fifteen-year mystery: What happened to Vanessa the night she went missing? The answers lie with three other people there that night: Brittany, Paige, and Lydia. Emily leans on Brittany to have a girls’ weekend at the vineyard where they last saw Vanessa. But not everyone wants to be there, and everyone has secrets about that night. Will Emily be able to tell Vanessa’s story? Will she solve what happened that night fifteen years ago?

When I read the blurb for Scenes of the Crime, I knew I wanted to read this book. I, along with millions of other people, love reading about cold cases. This book would be just that: the reopening of a cold case. And it was. But it was also a story about secrets, friendships, and how those secrets can destroy lives.

What was interesting about Scenes of the Crime was how the author wrote it. The author told the present-day story from Emily’s POV, with Brittany, Paige, Vanessa, and Lydia having their chapters. But, it was also written as a screenplay to tell the story fifteen years ago, complete with editing notes. I liked it because it gave insight into the girl’s frame of mind the night Vanessa disappeared and the girl’s weekend.

The main storyline was well-written and kept my attention up to the point when the author started to reveal the girls’ secrets. Everything after that, though, I thought was overkill. I had figured out what happened to Vanessa reasonably early in the book. So, to add that extra bit of drama about her grandparents disowning her and the will didn’t do it for me.

The mystery angle of the book was well written, but the author stretched it thin. How? Well, at one point, five different mysterious scenarios were going on. The author did a great job of keeping them separate, but I still got them jumbled up. The primary angle (what happened to Vanessa) was twisty, turny, and often unbelievable. I wasn’t surprised at the considerable twist that occurred almost at the end of the book (see previous paragraph), but I was surprised at who was involved. Then, I was astonished at what happened to that person. It was almost too much.

The end of Scenes of the Crime was almost anticlimactic, and I wasn’t a fan of it. With everything that went on that weekend, this is how it ended up. I was happy for Emily, but dang.

I would recommend Scenes of the Crime to anyone over 21. There is language, violence, and sexual situations.

Many thanks to Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Bantam, NetGalley, and Jilly Gagnon for allowing me to read and review this ARC of Scenes of the Crime. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

Holy Smokes. If you enjoy twisty suspenseful destination thrillers, this should be your next read. I thoroughly enjoyed the unique way they author blended in real scenes with screenplay scenes from the upcoming movie about the tragic weekend in the past. Such a cool plot device! Full disclosure: these girl ‘friends’ are fluent in passive aggressive speak and barely seem to like each other. While a bit cringy for me since I appreciate authentic relationships, this set-up was perfect for a psychological thriller where you cannot trust anyone. It is hard to write a review without spoilers, but if you like propulsive psychological locked room/destination thrillers, you will enjoy this new release!

Emily has been writing a script based on her friend, Vanessa’s, disappearance 15 years ago. Emily sees a woman at a cafe who looks exactly like her old friend so she decides to get her old group of friends together and return to Brittany (Vanessa’s cousin) and Vanessa’s family winery, where they were when Vanessa disappeared, hoping to put the pieces together. Emily learns there are many secrets about that night that have been left untold.

The story flips between Emily’s point of view and her script. I felt the story was a little slow moving and slightly predictable, but I enjoyed the storyline overall and how the past details being told as the movie script.

I received an ARC of this book. I found the format of this book somewhat confusing and hard to follow. The story was very good. I couldn't wait to find out the ending!

This was incredibly good! I could see it being picked up by some book clubs for sure. Highly recommend from me!

At a coffee shop in CA, Emily Fischer sees a woman who looks like her college friend Vanessa, who disappeared 15 years ago during spring break. This doppelgänger sighting prompts Emily to reach out to the 4 other women who were on that spring break trip and invite them back to the place of Vanessa’s disappearance for the weekend. Emily hopes this will help her fill in some blanks as to what actually happened that night.

This is an interesting story full of secrets and lies. I was not crazy about the “scenes” scattered throughout this story., but it did not take away from my reading experience.

Thank you to Netgalley, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Bantam and Jilly Gagnon for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

The atmosphere was so thick throughout, it felt like another character. Anytime toxic friendships are included, I’m happy and this was really well done. Smooth writing with a great sense of plot.

This was another good locked-room type mystery! This book for sure kept my interest. Some parts were a little predictable but it was fast paced read for me. I loved the parts written as a screen play and all the twists and turns!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this Arc in exchange for an honest review!

Can secrets be kept forever? A group of five girlfriends take a spring break trip to a remote winery on Oregon coast. One of the girls, Vanessa disappears. The case is closed by police, funeral. But the girls really never had closure. 15 years later Emily is working in a cafe and spots Vanessa doppelgänger and it sparks something in her to get the friends together to remember her. It also works in her advantage as she is a screenwriter and working on a script about Vanessa’s disappearance. It seems the friendship that was there 15 years ago has drifted apart as the girls have grown up and changed. The story is told in a way that you feel like you are watching a reality show. The secrets and twists really keep you engaged. Many thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Bantam and NetGalley for the digital review copy of this novel. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.