Skip to main content

Member Reviews

This mystery kept me guessing! Amy and Sarah are best friends and roommates entering their senior year at Meadowbrook Academy, a prestigious boarding school in Connecticut. The morning after the big senior boathouse party (and their fight), Amy wakes up and finds that Sarah and Sarah's boyfriend have been murdered in their apartment.
LIz has a big job as school newspaper editor. She wants to get the inside scoop! Unfortunately, Liz is a social outcast and no body wants to talk to her about the murders. Liz gets a big break when Amy is temporarily moved and they become roommates. Together they discover a lot of secrets that Sarah has been keeping that leave Amy wondering if they were really ever friends. The suspect list continues to grow and will keep you guessing throughout this book.
I really flew through this book. Sometimes it felt a little slow but the increasing suspense kept me going. A great mystery book for high school libraries.

Was this review helpful?

I know when I pick up a Jessica Goodman book, I'll be reading a page-turner. This is no exception! Amy is starting her senior year at her boarding school - but not the way she hoped. There's a double murder in Amy's dorm room - Sarah (her best friend), and Amy is the main suspect. Amy starts unraveling secrets as she tries to figure out what really happened in their room the night Sarah was killed. This is a solid YA-thriller.

Was this review helpful?

Solid YA thriller that kept me guessing throughout the twists and turns. I love unsettling settings like this. I would definitely recommend this book to my audience.

Was this review helpful?

Predictable and a little derivative I feel like I've read this story 100x before. Murders are happening on campus and our protagonist is the top suspect so she is racing to solve the mystery before she's next.

Was this review helpful?

I love me a good murder mystery but this one just didn't do it for me. It was an enjoyable read but left a lot to be desired. I thought it was slow and way too redundant and overly descriptive. The mystery aspect was intriguing, but this book was way too YA for my tastes. I think I would have rated it higher if there was a little more character development. The characters fell a little flat to me and I felt disconnected and not as invested in them as I prefer. I overall enjoyed this book and would probably read more from the author.

Was this review helpful?

Boarding school. Murder. Mayhem. Jessica Goodman's books and YA murder mysteries are hit or miss for me personally because I'm a mood reader. I couldn't get into this one. I think I was looking for more of a gothic dark academia vibe. As a Librarian, our YA patrons eat this stuff up. Definitely one for the public collection.

Was this review helpful?

I'm a sucker for thrillers—this one delivered nonstop suspense and sharp twists. Loved it all! 4 stars!

Was this review helpful?

A slow burn, YA thriller set at a boarding school rocked by a double murder. With dual POVs, secrets, with a focus on privilege and ethical dilemmas. Good read for YA murder mystery fans.

Was this review helpful?

I am a sucker for mysteries that take on private school campuses and was excited to read this YA novel. I felt that this was a decent read, but not really my favorite. It centers on Amy, whose roommate Sarah (along with her boyfriend) were murdered in their shared dorm room. While much of the story is told from Amy's POV, we also get chapters from Liz, who is the school newspaper editor, desperate to make a name for herself. Amy ends up getting moved to dorm with Liz since she obviously can't stay in the crime scene room, and they warily work together to try to absolve Amy from suspicion.

I enjoyed the flashbacks to previous times that let the reader know that there was more to Sarah and Amy's relationship than meets the eye. I did think that some of the things they fought about were a little petty, but then again I was once a teenage girl and know how big things can seem at the time. I almost immediately figured out who the villain was and was really hoping to be proven wrong, but alas, had it right from the get-go, which was a bit disappointing. That being said, the author did introduce a couple believable red herrings, which added some suspense. I wasn't sure if I liked Amy and I really didn't like Liz, but I do feel that both grew as characters over the course of the story.

Overall, a decent read in a genre I love, but was a tad disappointed that it all seemed too easy to untangle. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

The Meadowbrook Murders is a great YA murder myself. Amy is a senior at an exclusive and prestigious New England boarding school and suddenly finds herself thrust into the spotlight when her BFF roommate Sarah and Sarah’s boyfriend are found murdered in her bed in their dorm room. Desperately hoping to clear her name as well as her boyfriend’s, she reluctantly teams up with Liz, the editor of the school newspaper, who’s more interested in breaking the story and making headlines than she is in Amy’s innocence. While it felt a little uneven at times with the pacing and plot details, it was still an entertaining, quick read.

Was this review helpful?

This is a dual POV YA Murder mystery that will have you second guessing your main characters connections from the beginning to the end.

When Amy's best friend Sarah and roommate ends up dead in the room next to hers, yet she didn't wake up when it happened, how does she not look guilty? Amy's boyfriend has a secret connection to Sarah. Now Amy has even more motive.

Amy is quickly stuck with the editor of the school newspaper, Liz, as your new roommate and you must balance living with her and dealing with outside ridicule and speculation on the role she played in the murder. Will Amy discover the truth about Sarah's mysterious friend, and who killed her before she gets pinned with the murders?

Was this review helpful?

Huge shout out to @prhaudio and @netgalley for the #gifted copies of The Meadowbrook Murders! This YA thriller takes you to a chilling boarding school where a girl and her boyfriend are murdered in the room next door, yet her best friend hears nothing. 😱 Jessica Goodman masterfully weaves a twisty dark academia tale that keeps you on the edge of your seat. If you're a fan of murder mysteries, drama, and unlikable characters, this one's for you! Have you read it? What’s your favorite Jessica Goodman book?

Was this review helpful?

This was a great murder-mystery set in a private school with compelling characters and lots of twists and turns to the plot. The dueling point of view characters added to the suspense, each with their own good reasons to go sleuthing.

Was this review helpful?

Just finished The Meadowbrook Murders by Jessica Goodman and it was a super solid four-star read ⭐️!

If you’re into YA murder mysteries with campus drama, messy friendships, and a journalist MC chasing the truth 🕵️‍♀️📚—this one’s for you.

It starts with a hangover and a murder (new fave trope??) and takes off from there. Suspicion, secrets, and so many sus characters 👀

As a journalist, I loved Liz’s POV—torn between grief and ambition, and always chasing the story. ✍️

The vibes are sharp, fast-paced, and full of tension. Bonus points for the Susan Orlean mention! 💛

A twisty, satisfying read I’d totally recommend to fellow journalism nerds and thriller fans alike. 🔎💀

GR: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6754372083

BLOG: https://open.substack.com/pub/beawritesandreads/p/the-meadowbrook-murders-by?r=fjvxq&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

IG and TIKTOK: posts coming to @beawritesandreads on May 29th at 9 am PST

Was this review helpful?

"The deeper Liz digs, the messier the truth becomes – and with a killer still on campus, she can’t afford to make any mistakes."

This was a perfectly acceptable YA mystery/thriller. Nothing groundbreaking, but I didn't hate reading it.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you to Netgalley for providing with an ARC for review.

I have read everything Jessica Goodman has written and I have to say this might be my favorite so far. I fee like I connected with the characters so much and I really wanted to find out who the murderer was.

I definitely had an inkling as to who did it but there was nothing to blatantly hint to it. It was more of a hunch and I got it right. That didn't take away from the story for me though. I still thought everything came together really well and the ending was satisfying.

Safe to say I will read anything Jessica Goodman writes at this point. Highly recommend.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you to Penguin Teen for the eARC.

Did Not Finish.

I don't know if it's because I recently read a book with a journalist (and I didn't like him that much), but when the second POV was introduced as Liz, the outcast high school newspaper editor, I was immediately disinterested in the rest of the story. I do think this one would be good for someone who isn't prejudiced against journalists (never thought I'd be typing that sentence) but just not for me.

Was this review helpful?

Never found myself a fan of the dark academia genre, but did enjoy this thriller. I do recommend this book for those that enjoy a mystery thriller with a great twist.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Young Readers Group for providing the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Was this review helpful?

In this gripping story, the brutal murders of two high school seniors, Sarah and Ryan, within the walls of their elite prep school send shockwaves through the community, igniting a desperate search for answers and raising fears of further violence. Utilizing a suspenseful dual POV narrative with viewpoints of two teenage girls, each approaching the unfolding mystery with their own motivations. It was a fascinating exploration of the benefits and drawbacks of real-time true crime analysis, as well as the personal cost of revelations that can shatter one's perception of loved ones. Despite it being a YA novel, the mature writing style and engaging plot ensures that adult readers will also find this book equally captivating.

Was this review helpful?

A fast paced mystery that will keep you hooked until the end! I enjoyed seeing the two girls different pints of views and following them through the story

Was this review helpful?