Locked room mystery's aren't always my thing but this one kept me entertained. The characters were interesting, and some quite unlikeable - which is always a bonus for me. Some of the pacing was slow at times but then it would pick up.

Thank you to NetGalley, Stacie Grey and Poisoned Pen Press for the free ebook in change for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this novel! The writing is stellar and I was kept interested from page one right up to the ending. I’m a sucker for a novel with people stuck altogether to figure it out. This was action packed and I thoroughly enjoyed the twists!

The cover definitely gives spooky and creepy vibes!

The book pulls you in from the start and who doesn't like a locked room story. This was my first novel by this author and definitely won't be my last. I loved the twists and turns and definitely will recommend this book. The feeling of not knowing who to trust makes the story even better.

Great writing and great plot.

Thanks NetGalley for letting me read and review.

4⭐️

20 years ago a group of teenagers were murdered with only one lucky survivor who just so happened to leave at the right time. Now, a couple decades later a new group of people are brought together to a remote mountain mansion. Each person has a connection to the original victims. What follows is over-the-top bad luck and guests being picked off one-by-one like a Willy Wonka factory tour.

This will have you questioning who can be trusted throughout the whole book. It’s told mostly through Therese’s POV with sprinklings of quick POV of other characters every once in a while. With any locked room thriller the outcomes are pretty limited, but this had great suspense without being overly obvious.

Thank you NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this ARC opportunity.

Pub Date May 14 2024

My first Stacie Grey novel but certainly not my last. A great locked room thriller with a dose of secrets and lies. The story unfolded nicely and it was impossible to know who to trust. Engaging cast of characters that kept me reading.
Thank you NetGalley and Stacie Grey for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This book was a just average locked room mystery that was a little slow and predictable with just an average ending. I felt that there were too many characters who needed more development and maybe flashbacks could be added to make it more interesting as well alternate methods of telling the story such as old police files, podcasts, or newspaper excepts. However, I did like the premise of the plot with a gathering of strangers 20 years after a teenage massacre with one lone survivor. Furthermore, I loved the isolated cliffside rustic retreat and the author did an excellent job painting the setting in my mind.

My rating 3 out 5

Thank you NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this eARC that will be published May 14 2024.

This was gifted by the publisher & Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

This book takes place 20 years after Amy survived. She left a house party, just in time...because later all of her friends would be dead. Amy did technically survive, but she could never escape the traumas. She and 9 others are invited to this remote getaway with a reporter who is going to take a deeper look at the case. But it wasn't what any of them expected.

This book was fun, but I honestly don't feel like it was memorable. It is a popcorn thriller, it will be a good time. But overall, it didn't stick with me. 2.5/5.

This book really kept me drawn in and it was so fast paced. The only reason it’s a 3⭐️ and not a 4⭐️ was because the ending was not good and kind of let down.

Theresa is coming back to her home town after 20 years. 20 years ago she was the only survivor of a group murder and now it’s coming back to haunt her.

90% of this book is a good whodunit. I was so invested into the whole plot line and the characters. The author set this up to be an amazing thriller to then thrown in so ending that wasn’t even a good twist. Maybe I’ve read too many thrillers and just excepted it.

Genre: Thriller
APK: Ebook
Pages: 322
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Series or Standalone: Stand-alone

Thank you Poison Pen Press for sending me a copy of She Left for honest review

A decent, Agatha Christie-styled whodunnit.

I found the killer to be much too predictable but did like the unreliable narrator and constant action. Just not a lot of substance as far as an overall thriller is concerned so it felt slow and slightly uninteresting.There were some points where I was just eager to get to the end of the book and so it felt like a long journey for a shorter book.

A good debut novel. A locked door mystery which introduces FBI agent Amy Therese Brewster. A group of people are invited to a mansion on a cliff, all having a link to a 15 yr old massacre. One by one the body count rises.
I enjoyed this book however it was a bit slow to start and the characters didn’t pop out and I kept having to recap who they were and how they were connected. Maybe a flashback for each including a backstory early on would have given them a little depth.
However I got into it from about halfway and enjoyed the story.

Amy, the only survivor of a mass murder, is now, 20 years later, an FBI agent, She also has (unwisely to be honest) agreed to be part of a reunion of sorts of those with connections to that awful night. This quickly turns into a locked room/Ten Little Indians sort of thriller that will keep you guessing, Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. A good read for fans of the genre.

If you're looking for a classic isolated thriller, this will be perfect for you.
A past massacre with 1 survivor. 20 years later, 10 people with connections to the dead have been gathered together. And one by one, they begin to die.
The plot will have you jumping from one person to the next as a suspect, and also have you wondering who actually was responsible all those years ago as well. The characters are varied, from the mother of one of the past victims, to a detective that had worked on the case.

The beginning of the book was promising, but I felt the middle was a bit slow and redundant. However, did not see the ending coming.....

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this arc in return for my honest review.

Pub Date: 14 May 2024

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC of this book. This was intense! The story was a bit of a slow burn but surprises throughout made it very suspenseful. The cast of characters was huge and a bit hard to keep track of at times. Overall a good locked room thriller.

Twenty years ago Amy Brewer was invited to a Memorial Day Party at her friend’s cabin. She was the only one to leave that night and the rest of the party was massacred.

Fast forward to today, Amy is now Therese and she gets invited to an interview by a reporter to tell her side of the story. However, when she gets to the house set on a mountain, she realizes it’s not what it seems.

The blurb and the cover made me really want to read this book. The premise sounded so interesting and the cover is pretty. However, this one just wasn’t for me.

I found the book to be very slow. There was A LOT of talking and speculation about who the killer was and was it any of the people who turned up to the interview? How did they all fit together? There wasn’t any action until over 50% of the way into the book. I found myself getting bored and it felt like a chore to finish.

And it pains me so much to not like a galley, but books are not for everyone so hopefully this one finds its person.

She left was a well written exciting thriller. I didn't expect so many surprises throughout the story. I will be recommending to customers.


Many thanks for my gifted copy.

She should have declined the invitation after the last gathering of friends turned into a deadly night.
Amy (now Therese) at 16 years old, left a party angry at her friends. When she arrived home, she discovered her friends all died when the house they were in was bombed. Now it is known for the Memorial Day Massacre.
Twenty years later, a journalist would like to uncover what happened. 10 guests tied to the victims have been invited to a remote lodge. The setting creates an eerie feel when a storm traps them inside and unable to leave. Secrets and lies are divulged which brings them closer to answers until one by one begins to die.
It is a super slow burn setting the stage for the characters and so many are introduced I sorta lost track of them. It is a locked room mystery which I enjoy. It becomes a mysterious popcorn thriller.
Thank you NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I normally love locked-in mysteries, but this one didn't work for me at all.

We have a LOT of characters to keep track of, all with various connections to each other and the original group of teenage victims. None of them are likable, and most of them aren't even unlikable enough to make much of an impression. I struggled to keep their identities straight.

Pacing is slow, with lots of finger pointing and repetitive content.

The plot felt predictable, and certain things just didn't make sense.

I'm currently at 70% on my Kindle copy, and I just don't care enough to get to the end.

Amy/Therese Brewer escaped a mass murder of her friends as a teen, but she's been summoned to a retreat by a journalist writing a piece for the 20-year anniversary of the killing. But things immediately start to go wrong, and when one of the guests dies under suspicious circumstances, Amy and the others will have to figure out what is going on before they are picked off one by one.

I liked the premise of this story, as I'm a big fan of locked-room mysteries, but I found this one to be a little too flat and drawn out for me. There are too many characters and not enough depth to any of them — I didn't care overly much for their well being or to know who was behind the murders. Overall I found it fun and it held my interest most of the time. I wasn't able to guess at who was behind all the crimes, but it's not something I found super memorable or recommendable.

⭐️⭐️⭐

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this awesome eARC.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐. 😁 For a very enjoyable read!

In the realm of mystery and suspense, Stacie Grey’s “She Left” emerges as a compelling narrative that intertwines the past’s shadows with the present’s ominous uncertainties. The novel, set against the backdrop of a small California community still reeling from the echoes of a decades-old tragedy, is a masterful exploration of guilt, survival, and the relentless pursuit of truth.

The protagonist, Amy Brewer, is a survivor of the harrowing event known as the Memorial Day Massacre, where she narrowly escaped a fate that befell her friends. Twenty years later, the past refuses to remain buried, and Amy finds herself among ten individuals connected to that fateful night, all summoned to a remote cliffside house under the guise of a journalistic piece. As the storm rages and guests begin to meet untimely ends, Amy’s resolve is tested, and the reader is swept into a whirlwind of suspense.

Grey’s narrative is a homage to the classic whodunit, yet it stands on its own with a fresh voice that commands attention. The pacing is relentless, each chapter peeling back layers of the characters’ facades, revealing complex motivations and secrets that are as unpredictable as the storm outside the house. The setting itself becomes a character, the isolation and the cliff’s precipice mirroring the psychological precipice on which each character teeters.

The author’s background in biotech research lends authenticity to the scientific aspects of the story, while her passion for mysteries is evident in the meticulous crafting of the plot. The homage to Agatha Christie is palpable, yet “She Left” is not merely a reflection of the past but a beacon for the future of the genre.

“She Left” is a novel that will resonate with fans of tense, clever, and goosebump-inducing stories. It’s a book that demands to be read in one sitting, and even then, it may just compel you to start all over again, searching for the clues you might have missed the first time. Stacie Grey has indeed left her mark with this novel, and it is one that will not be easily forgotten.

Thanks to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Two decades post her friend's demise, FBI agent Therese receives an intriguing invitation to revisit the scene of the crime, along with other connected individuals.My first book by Stacie Grey's work, this read leaned more towards cozy mystery than a thriller which was what I had expected. While the storytelling flowed smoothly, I found myself occasionally bogged down by lack luster details. Recommended for fans of cozy mysteries such as classic whodunits like Clue and Agatha Christie novels.