Murder, a boarding school, and investigative journalism are all ingredients I can get behind; unfortunately, this one lost me a bit. At times, it felt like a bit of a rip off of Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, or maybe that’s just me having read all those books. But these teenagers acted far more mature than any teenagers I have ever taught, so the characters just didn’t feel authentic to me. Also, a bloody gory murder mixed in with catty, gossipy teenage setting was a bit jarring and felt off. I did like the pieces about journalism and what is fair game and what is invasive; I would’ve liked more depth on that topic for sure. At the end of the day, I finished it and it was fine.

This was a fun YA boarding school murder mystery. This story mainly follows Amy and Liz. They are both students at the Meadowbrook Academy in Connecticut. Amy wakes up one morning to find her best friend Sarah and Sarah’s boyfriend dead in the room next to them. Liz is the editor of the school newspaper and wants to cover the murders in hopes she will win a journalism scholarship. Liz and Amy must find the murderer before they are the next victims.

This is one of those stories that’s full of twists and turns and you find out everyone is lying and hiding secrets of their own. Both Amy and Liz had reasons to be the killer so this made the story even more interesting trying to figure out who actually did it. I think this is perfect for fans of A Good Girls Guide to Murder and who like academic small town book settings. It’s a fast paced mystery full of twists and turns that will keep you guessing.

Best friends and roommates Amy and Sarah are preparing to enter their senior year of high school at the prestigious Meadowbrook Academy boarding school. The school year is set to begin with "Senior Sanction," essentially a day of welcome rituals held specifically for the further bonding of the school's seniors. Amy looks forward to making lasting memories with Sarah over the course of the year.

Then Amy finds her Sarah and her boyfriend, Ryan, lying in her dorm room bed after having been stabbed to death. Though Amy’s room is next door, she never heard the murders. The Academy was on lockdown at the time of the murders, so there's an abundance of fear that the guilty party is amongst the school's faculty, staff, and teachers.

While the police investigate Amy's room as a crime scene, Amy is assigned to room with Elizabeth "Liz" Charles, a low-income scholarship student and editor-in-chief of the school paper. Liz has never been popular with other students and grows even more unpopular when she starts reporting on the murders, hoping to impress herself to a committee that might award her a prestigious journalistic scholarship for college.

Amy is initially very critical and distrusting of Liz, who, for her own part, has difficulty connecting with the struggles of Amy and thee victims' other loved ones, given that she has never been truly accepted by them. Nevertheless, Amy and Liz slowly begin to experience a bond forged in their shared desire to determine who committed the murders and get justice for the victims.

I liked the book's overall story. I'm a major fan of dark academia, particularly of the sort involving private/boarding schools and the twisted secrets of society's elite young adults; and Jessica Goodman did not disappoint with this one.

The mystery aspect, however, was a bit lacking for my tastes, as was the final reveal of the murderer and motive for the crime. The ending also seemed a little rushed and lacked punch. (Mind you, it all still made sense, given the circumstances; and it never beggared belief.) But the social and relational dynamics that played out over the course of the story all but made up for those less positive aspects.

This is definitely the best private/boarding school mystery I've consumed in quite a while.

Thank you to Net Galley and Penguin for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book. The central mystery made me read through the book in almost one day. I thought I knew who the murderer was relatively early on, but I was incorrect, and I felt like the actual killer was realistic and an interesting twist. I really felt as though I could see the campus of the school as I was reading through.

When Amy walks into her room to find her best friend and roommate Sarah brutally murdered along with her friend’s boyfriend, life will never be the same. Sadly, Amy and Sarah last conversation didn’t end on the best of terms. So, Amy knows that people might question if she played any role in her friend’s death. Liz is always looking for the next story that will help her get into her dream career, so looking for clues of a death at school seems ideal. Yet when both girls are forced to live together, they both must find a way to come to terms not only with what happened but see if they can find ground on which they both can agree to solve Sarah’s murder.
This is a fun book with chapters being told both from Amy and Liz’s perspectives. Allowing the book to really highlight those who attend the school and have privilege vs. those without. There are quite a few twists and turns, and readers will be swept away in this perverse school.
Thank you so much to Penguin Group Young Readers Group and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this title.

A great Goodman mystery! As a lover of boarding school/locked room mysteries, this novel scratched that itch! Full of drama, intrigue, and with two enjoyable protagonists at the helm.

My Thoughts

I am stealing the end quote that is in book description which states “The Meadowbrook Murders is a gripping mystery about the inextricable way power, privilege, and secrets are linked, and how telling the truth can come at a deadly price.”

True words that were borne out over the course of this story.

Words that are both descriptive and also a warning to readers that what seems at first to be a straight forward who done it turns out to be a much more complicated tale which I enjoyed as it unfolded.

Feeling sure whom the murderer actually was did not in any way, shape or form detract from it’s actual reveal near books end.

I actually felt kind of relieved when correct because it proved that what you see isn’t always the truth, in real life or in fiction.
[EArc from Netgalley]

On every book read as soon as it is done and written up for review it is posted on Goodreads and Netgalley, once released then posted on Amazon, Barnes and Nobles as well.

A great murder mystery set at an elite high school boarding school. I loved the format of the story, told in alternating chapters between Amy, the roommate of the murdered girl, and Liz, a school newspaper reporter. As all eyes turn to Amy as a suspect, she and Liz both work on finding the real killer. The pacing was great. I never felt it was moving too fast or too slow. Things unfolded in the way they should. There was more than one suspect to make the reader question what happened. I enjoyed this one.

I randomly figured this one out about 3/4 of the way through, but I’m ok with that. It was far enough in that I didn’t feel cheated out of the mystery. I love a boarding school setting, and the pace of this was really good. Lots of good twists along the way.

Decent mystery for teens set in a boarding school. One POV is Amy, chief suspect and supposed BFF of the victim, the other is Liz, an outcast who wants to be a journalist. Together, well... no surprises, they become partners (and roommates). Unfortunately, both voices sound the same so it doesn't really matter which you're hearing from. The killer is a surprise, with no real clues for readers to follow: the motivation and opportunity are only explained after the fact (which might disappoint those trying to solve the mystery on their own).

eARC provided by publisher via Netgalley.

Jessica Goodman is one of my auto-buy YA authors. I always love getting my hands on her next book so I had to dive right into this one right away!

Power and privilege are at play in this twisty mystery set at a prestigious New England boarding school.

I loved the dark academia vibes! Jessica Goodman writes complex characters and complicated friendship dynamics so well. Amy’s best friend was brutally murdered in their dorm room. But as Amy searches for answers, she finds out that there was a lot she didn’t know about her best friend.

Liz’s POV added a lot to the story and I really enjoyed following along her journey as the editor of the school paper!

Read if you like —
🔍 YA mysteries
🔍 dark academia
🔍 multiple POVs

If you’re wanting to dive into young adult, Jessica Goodman is an amazing place to start 🙌

The main characters were good, with histories and flaws that complicated their lives. The action was pretty slow at first, with lots of mourning and confusion, but it got a lot better near the end of the book. The mystery was okay...I correctly guessed the killer about half way through the book.

gripping and twisty dark academia with a lot of clever twists and vibes and some interesting and strong intrigue. 5 stars. tysm for thea arc.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Jessica Goodman is one of my new favorite authors, and this book did not disappoint. The plot was compelling, duel perspectives intriguing for the reader trying to solve the crime along with Amy and Liz, and powerful writing that evoked so many feelings. It took me a while to finish this book because it seemed to hit a lull in the middle of the story. It was still interesting and entertaining, but it didn't match the fast paced nature of the beginning and end. Goodman's ability to create realistic characters is, in my opinion, best seen in this work. Even the characters we don't get an inside view of and/or meet once or twice pop off the page and introduce themselves immediately.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I cannot wait to read it again once it's published!

Thank you, PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers group for the copy of The Meadowbrook Murders by Jessica Goodman. I enjoyed this book so much! It was an easy read and Liz and Amy were good characters even though I sometimes would get confused about whose POV I was reading. I never try to figure out who the villain is, so I liked the ending. The epilogue was touching. 4 stars.

I went into the story with no expectations and I could not remember what the synopsis said, so basically I went into the book blind. I was unfortunately very let down with basically everything associated with the story. I could not connect to either main character so therefore I rooted nobody on and was not invested enough to care what happened. Also, I knew who the killer was pretty early on, so that was not a surprise either. The author tried to throw in lots of suspects and twists, but they were all just dead ends and felt a little like filler to the big reveal at the end. I am sure others might enjoy this story, but it did not do it for me.

This is a fast-paced YA thriller set at a prestigious boarding school where Amy and her unlikely new roommate Liz team up to investigate the murder of Amy’s best friend and her boyfriend. The alternating perspectives kept things interesting, and while I guessed the killer early on, the twists and character dynamics still made it a fun, suspenseful read.

The first week of senior year is a time for the students of the prestigious academy to blow off steam before they begin their final academic year. Following a late night party. Amy and her boyfriend Joseph sneak back to her dorm for an hour of closeness before he goes out the window and Amy falls asleep. When she awakens the next morning she finds her roommate and her boyfriend Ryan murdered next door. Immediately falling under suspicion Amy is devastated reeling from grief. She finds an unexpected ally in Liz, the socially awkward and general misfit who is editor of the school newspaper. Liz dreams of a journalism scholarship and feels that covering this crime and finding the culprit will land her the coveted prize. Amy discovers that the girl she thought she knew so well was not that person and that her secrets .did not die with her although she paid a heavy price. This twisty YA thriller related from multiple points of view was engaging and thought provoking. One of the aspects I enjoyed was the interaction between Amy and Liz, two opposites who are able to put aside their differences and work together and the bond they form. The solid who dunnit plot was enhanced by the exploration of grief and loss and how it affects individuals differently .A sudden death is devastating to anyone but for teens it a totally new experience. A solid entry in the dark academia genre..

This is a fast paced mystery as two students attempt to find out who killed two of their classmates. Amy was the best friend and roommate of one of the students who was killed and has since been moved into a dorm with Liz, the ambitious journalism student who is itching to cover a career making case.

Liz and Amy are unlikely allies and often butt heads as they both try to uncover the truth behind their peers death. I liked the growth both characters had throughout the story. And while the culprit wasn’t hard to anticipate, I enjoyed the way this story wrapped up.

Overall, if you’re looking for a YA past paced dark academic mystery, check this one out!

Thank you to Net Galley and Penguin for the ARC. I'm always in the mood for a boarding school murder mystery but this was just an extremely one dimensional read. The characters have absolutely no depth, they're just cliches, and the plot itself was really boring, the setting generic, the mystery lacking, the killer obvious. The only reason I finished this book was because I read the first half on a flight and then finished the second half while waiting for my return flight.