"Savage Ridge" by Morgan Greene

"Savage Ridge," a darkly atmospheric crime thriller by Morgan Greene, was a book that I found somewhat challenging to engage with. The novel, set in the pine-shaded town of Savage Ridge, involves a deep mystery centred around a high school murder and its long-lasting repercussions. The story unravels through a dual timeline, which adds an intriguing layer to the narrative.

However, I struggled to connect with the characters and found the pacing of the book somewhat slow. This made the reading experience a bit of a slog, I put it down multiple times. Despite these challenges, the ending did provide some redemption, making the journey through the book worthwhile to an extent.

The book is characterised by its tension and suspense, with twists that keep the reader on edge. Greene's handling of characters and the exploration of moral duty are notable. The story, rich in small-town secrets and simmering resentments, ultimately presents a compelling exploration of guilt and its consequences.

Overall, while "Savage Ridge" has its merits, particularly in its atmospheric setting and the concluding part of the story, it didn't quite hit the mark for me, earning a three-star rating. It's a book that may appeal to fans of slow-burn mysteries and those interested in the psychological aspects of crime and guilt.

Check it out for yourself!

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher, Provided through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Savage Ridge by Morgan Green

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for granting me an early peek at this story. Savage Ridge is a textbook thriller, In this story, we already know who the killers are. The mystery is why they did it. While this story wasn't a favorite for me, I am sure it will hit the best seller list once the BookTok crowd get ahold of it.

Plot Summary

In the icy embrace of Savage Ridge, Nick, Emmy, and Pete face accusations of murdering Sammy Saint John. Although Sammy is the town's entitled nuisance. the Saint John family's reign tightens the noose. The tale oscillates between past and present, orchestrated by a cliché PI.

What I Liked: A Climactic Chill

The trio's struggle under the PI's scrutiny is intriguing. The climax hits hard, delivering surprises I didn't see coming. The potential is there, buried beneath the plot's frosty layers.

What I Didn't Like: Little Details and Chillingly Late Twists

Basic details. Dear Ms. Greene - If you're going to write a story that takes place in the USA, please use the correct units of measurements. It may seem picky but using Celsius vs. Fahrenheit was enough to break the illusion and tear me out of the story. The detective is memorable but that almost comes across in a bad way. Her conspicuous badassery is eye-rolling. The story's resolution is abrupt, leaving an unsatisfying shiver at the end (maybe on purpose?)

Conclusion: A Frosty Tale in Need of a Thaw

"Savage Ridge" is in need of some tweaks to become a recommendation from me. Fix the Fahrenheit slip, rein in the clichés, and untangle the plot earlier. A more satisfying resolution would elevate this chilly tale..

I enjoyed this story. Three friends all hiding one huge secret from high school, now pulled back to the town they once left and never wanted to return to. But the past has caught up with them. It was good and I didn’t see the ending coming.

This wasn't my favourite but I always feel books that start off telling you the killer is are a but less suspenseful than ines where you're trying to puzzle it out! The characters were a bit flat but I was still really engaged in the story and wanting to find out why what had happened, happened! The writing had a good pace to it and the multiple povs worked well

4⭐️

A standalone thriller, It’s a back to front mystery where we know who the killers are, the question to be answered is the why. Not generally my favourite approach, as I feel it’s harder to pull off.

It is set on a small US town where the wealthy Saint John’s have most of the town directly or indirectly in their pocket.
Ten years previously Nick,Pete and Emmy were responsible for the death of Sammy Saint John. They created the perfect alibi and got clean away with it.
However Ellison, Sammy’s brother is convinced that they are guilty and wants justice. He has has local police, state police and FBI involved in the past to no avail, now he has hired Sloane Yo as a last resort.
Sloane is a screwed up ex detective turned PI. She’s bright, she’s gutsy and street smart.

She has arranged to get the 3 main suspects back in town together for the first time in 10 yrs.

The character I really liked was Sloane, I felt for Emmy. I had no sympathy with Sammy. He is an arrogant entitled nasty piece of work.

It’s an easy enjoyable entertaining read. I liked the location setting, and enjoyed the story premise. There’s good detail on descriptions of place and people’s physical attributes, I would have liked more depth on their character traits and emotions.

Theres a sample of another book at the end called A Place Called Hope, that’s got an interesting premise, I’m keen to read it.

This was definitely a suspenseful read for me as the more I read on the more I was longing to know the truth of the night Sammy was killed.

I have to say this is a book I wouldn’t mind recommending to friends and family. Savage Ridge follows 3 individuals with a dark secret they will do anything to keep covered up. I was extremely surprised with the plot twist in the end. Good read. My only issue was the “why” was a bit predictable.

Savage Ridge is a slightly unusual mystery book in that we already know who the killers are. We just don’t know exactly why.

10 years ago 3 students murdered a 4th. The family were always convinced of their guilt but could never prove it. Now they’ve hired a PI to find out the truth once and for all.

The plot of this book is pretty good. The pacing mostly kept me interested and wanting to know more. I did find the 3 suspects a little one dimensional but not so much that it spoiled the read. The twists at the end were good although one of the reveals seemed a strange thing to keep under wraps for so long as it didn’t give any particular clues.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This story starts with the question of why, we know from the beginning who was killed and by whom but we don’t know why. We follow a trio dealing with their actions 10 years later.

This story is a good dose of small town drama with the twisty ending. The books had lots of narrator POVs and a duel timeline.

Thanks to NetGalley and Canelo for the ARC of Savage Ridge by Morgan Greene.

This was a fun thriller and i liked the aspect of knowing who the killers were from the beginning and then digging deeper through the story to find out why they did it. The twist at the end surprised me and I highly enjoyed that even though I would have liked the ending to be a little longer.

There was a lot of POV’s in this story and I would have liked if there was fewer POV’s because I didn’t feel like we got to connect with all the characters because we shifted between them all the time.

But overall I highly recommend this book if you want a fun thriller where you already know who the killer is from the beginning🤩

I love the small town mountain setting of this town.
We have a rich guy with a big house who rule the town, a sheriff, and three kids who murdered another kid- the rich guy's son. So they all leave town and years later they end up back there. I love books about people being dragged back to their hometowns.
I was really interested in why they killed the kid.
It isn't much of a mystery other than the why- because the story is about the people who did the crime, and the people investigating it.
I love the setting though.

The premise for this one was highly interested, I was so excited to start it. Unfortunately the characters lacked development and were completely boring. I just felt it was dragging and left me very disconnected from the story. I did not truly care for it.

From the beginning, we know who killed Sammy Saint John, but we don’t know why. This was a different spin on the ubiquitous thriller. Around 80% in, the twists start coming. I knew there would be one or two, but I hadn’t guessed exactly what.

I enjoyed the descriptive writing style and the dual timelines, but I think there were a few too many POVs for a story where you already know who the killer is. The book could’ve been just as good with fewer pages, or the main characters could’ve been developed further. I didn’t feel much for any of the characters because we never got to know them.

If thrillers are your go-to and you’re sick of waiting til the end to find out who the killer is, check this one out.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Good story, engaging and full of action.
Lots of twists in this one that aren't obvious or at least weren't to me.
Thanks for the opportunity to read and review

Ten years ago, high school classmates Nick, Emmy and Pete get away with murder. They vow never to return to their hometown. After a decade away, they’re lured back to Savage Ridge by a Private Investigator hired to prove their involvement.

I really wanted to love this book. I was intrigued by the premise that readers know whodunit from page one. Unfortunately, I just couldn’t get into it. While we know who murdered Sammy Saint John, we don’t know why until very late (way too late) in the book. I would have been okay with that if the characters were more dynamic and interesting instead of….flat and boring. I wanted to know more about who Nick, Emmy and Pete were as humans – their backgrounds, childhoods, personalities, relationship with each other…anything! Though the book takes place in the US, the author used British spellings and referenced Celsius over Fahrenheit. While it was a very minor annoyance, it left me feeling that much more disconnected from the story.

All that said, I was satisfied with the ending once I finally got there. I definitely didn’t predict the twist at the end. Special thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. I’ll be curious to see how this book is received when it’s published March 21.

Complex mystery with a whole bunch of not very likeable characters. Twists and turns in this fast paced story, but drags on a bit.

Savage Ridge is a slow to start thriller but one I'm glad I stuck with. 3.5 rounded up to 4. The pacing and plot was a bit repetitive in the first half and could use some editing, but the ending makes it worth it. A quick read once past the 50% mark. Nothing too new in terms of a who dun it murder thriller, no big character development or anything, but a very satisfying read!

This story has an interesting concept in that we know who the killers are, but the central mystery is why they killed. Unfortunately, the writing just didn’t live up to expectations. If you’re going to set a story in the U.S., make sure you have the temperature in Fahrenheit. How everyone missed that, I can’t understand. Not a big deal, but an example of the level of editing applied. So, the central characters are Nick, Emmy, and Pete, close friends in the town of Savage Ridge accused of murdering a classmate but never convicted. Said classmate is Sammy Saint John, an entitled wealthy jerk who apparently deserved it, but we don’t know why. Besides the fact that the Saint John family runs the small Pacific Northwest town to an exaggerated degree. The story is set partially in the past and partially now, ten years later, when they’re manipulated into returning by the most cliché PI ever.

Another example of bad writing – not only is she the typical female badass (shaved hair, tattoos, dresses in black, etc.) but any decent PI would NEVER draw attention to themselves by looking like that. EVER. And it’s exactly her looks that get her recognized by Emmy as the woman who piqued her interest in returning home. Any plain woman who blends in would never have been recognized and not have blown her cover as the same PI chasing them down now. It’s just ridiculous. So anyway, she’s working for the Saint Johns trying to get the three of them to admit to the murder. The story is mainly about her following them and them trying to hold it together and not break down from guilt, confessing their crime. And the reader is thinking just get to the end already and tell us what happened.

And therein lies another issue. I can’t spoil it, but a huge part of the murder isn’t introduced until like 82% into the story. What?? You can’t do that to readers, just throwing in a major plot point that late! Ugh. But anyway, had more of that been revealed earlier, I’d say it was a satisfying conclusion that had parts you won’t see coming. Because I did like the climax, but it ended too abruptly after that. An epilogue would have been nice and filled out the resolution more.

Anyway, if the aforementioned issues were tweaked a bit, it would improve the book immensely. I unfortunately just can’t recommend it otherwise.

I loved this quick read and felt it was very atmospheric and had enough twists and turns to keep you guessing

The Saint John family is notorious in Savage Ridge, Washington and ten years ago one of its members met a tragic end when Sammy Saint John was killed by his high school classmates Nick Pips, Emmy Nailer and Pete Sachs. His body was never found and they got away clean. They swore never to come back to Savage Ridge, but, of course, they stupidly do, tricked into it by private investigator Sloane Yo who wants them to pay for their crime. Why did they kill Sammy? Will they be caught?

The book is told in alternating then and now sections. It’s set in the U.S. but there are some British spellings and temperature is given in Celsius. One portion of the secret requires a bit of suspension of disbelief, but there’s a very nice twist. Enjoyable.