I received a free eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I could not click the Request button quickly enough here! Jessica Goodman is one of my favorite YA authors, and this might be my favorite of hers yet. This was another plane read, and it proved to be an excellent distraction. I called the outcome about halfway through, but I still enjoyed the ride (there’s also something satisfying about the “I KNEW it!” moment).

The story takes place at Meadowbrook, a fancy boarding school for rich kids. Every year, the seniors arrive a week early for “Senior Week,” where they have the run of the campus, and the faculty kinda looks the other way on things like curfews and boys in girls dorms. Amy and her best friend Sarah have been dreaming of this week since they were freshman, but when the novel opens, Amy’s reeling from their first big fight. But things are about to get so much worse, because when Amy wakes up, Sarah and her boyfriend have been brutally murdered. Amy, being the roommate who claims to have slept through the whole thing, is of course the prime suspect. Since her dad is a semi-renowned tech dude who went through a high profile divorce, Amy knows a thing or two about unwanted spotlight.

Amy shares narration duties with Liz, the editor of the school paper (I guess it’s more like an online newsletter?). In spite of the fact that it’s a dying art, Liz has still always wanted to be a journalist, and her dream is to break a big story and get the coveted Page One scholarship (it pays for a full ride for a student journalist). It’s pretty clear where this is going - of course this brutal murder is the best thing that ever happened to Liz! She pretty much immediately breaks the story on the school website - without getting any kind of permission. She’s flying high, but her classmates pretty much immediately bring her down to earth, pointing out how messed up it is - these were *people* and she’s treating them like a big scoop. And it doesn’t help that Amy now needs a place to live, and Liz is apparently the only senior with a single room. Liz is thrilled at first because she thinks she’ll be able to get an exclusive from Amy. But Amy thinks she’s a ghoul, and has no interest in engaging.

The mystery itself is interesting enough, but I did really like the relationship between the two girls. Amy’s rich, and Liz is there on scholarship, so they both have the stereotypical views of one another. And they both have qualities that make them pretty unlikable - Amy’s extremely privileged, as you’d expect, and Liz frequently chooses her journalistic “integrity” over, y’know, being an actual empathetic human being. They’re both sort of The Worst at times.

I really enjoyed this. Neither of these characters is particularly likable, but they were interesting, and their teenaged detectiving didn’t push the limits of credulity the way it sometimes does. I also enjoyed the entirely linear timeline. I feel like mysteries as a whole are relying way too much on the Big Little Lies flashback structure these days. As I frequently lament - more often than not, that kind of structure is really just hiding a paperthin plot. But this is a fun read, and although it’s not putting a particularly *new* spin on anything, it’s still an enjoyable ride.

If you liked “A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder”, you’re bound to enjoy “The Meadowbrook Murders”! With similar dark academia vibes, you’ll get your thriller fix from this one.

The story revolves around a group of boarding school teens who are not what they seem on the surface. When two of them are murdered, all their secrets will be revealed and a very unlikely friendship will form.

This book contains well developed characters and introduces surprises at the perfect rate to keep you hanging on! I spent every waking minute I had yesterday reading it (don’t tell my boss)! I’d love to see a story about Amy and Liz in the future!

I really thought I would have so much fun with this book as I usually eat up YA mystery/thrillers but that unfortunately wasn't the case here. It started off SO strong, with the opening scene being one of our two main characters discovering her best friend and best friend's boyfriend brutally murdered in their dorm room but it fizzled out pretty soon after. The characters also felt one dimensional and their backstories fell a bit flat for me. I made it through about 2/3 of the book before just skimming through the last third to see if I was right about the killer.
2.5 stars rounded up to 3.

The Meadowbrook Murders by Jessica Goodman is an addictive YA thriller set at the elite Meadowbrook Academy. Amy’s world unravels when her roommate, Sarah, and Sarah’s boyfriend, Ryan, are found murdered in their room, and she didn’t hear a thing. As suspicions turn toward Amy, she begrudgingly teams up with Liz, the school paper’s editor, to uncover the truth.

Fast-paced and full of suspense, Goodman weaves a tale of privilege, secrets, and friendship, keeping readers guessing until the very end. With sharp writing and a dark academia vibe, this is a must-read for thriller fans. Releasing February 4, 2025.

Thank you to Penguin Teen and Jessica Goodman for this e-ARC.

Stories that are dark and mysterious and set on a New England college campus are some of my favorites to read. Goodman's title was entertaining and full of page turning thrills. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Jessica Goodman!!!!! She does it again. OMG I absolutely devoured this (as I have with all of Goodman's books). I can never get enough of the eerie academic setting and how Goodman's books never feel like YA. The Meadowbrook Murders was soo twisty and kept me guessing.

Secrets don't die in The Meadowbrook Murders by Jessica Goodman.

The book delves into the aftermath of a brutal murder, where all eyes turn to Amy, the roommate of the victim. The narrative unfolds with twists and turns. The author's descriptions of the setting bring the sleepy Connecticut town and the academy to life, immersing the reader in the atmospheric locale. The story is told from alternating points of view and the characters are well-written and believable, each with their own secrets and motivations. The plot is filled with suspense, foreshadowing, and a resolution that keeps the reader on edge throughout the book.

Overall, The Meadowbrook Murders is a compelling mystery that delivers on its promises. The book earns a solid 4/5 for its plot, 3/5 for writing, 3/5 for pacing, and 4/5 for its atmospheric setting and credible characters.

It's a good read for fans of mystery and suspense novels. I rate this a solid 3.5 (rounded to 4) out of 5 stars.

#TheMeadowbrookMurders #NetGalley @PenguinTeen

When Amy Alterman wakes up at her boarding school to find her roommate, Sarah, and Sarah’s boyfriend, Ryan, murdered in bed, a whirlwind of a case that takes the country by storm begins.

The story is told in alternating POVs: Amy’s, and Liz’s, the editor in chief of the school paper who is trying to break the story and crack the case - who Amy also happens to now be rooming with after her original dorm becomes a crime scene.

The story was a bit slow, but the mystery unfolded well. I liked the ending a lot, I think it wrapped up really nicely. Solid 3 stars! Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Jessica Goodman is back with another entertaining YA thriller sure to please her fans.

Set at a boarding school the week before classes resume, things take a dark turn when two popular students are found murdered in a dorm room. As clues are revealed, it becomes clear it was someone on campus, but who would have wanted them dead?

Told in alternating viewpoints from Amy, who was friends with the victims, and Liz, a loner and aspiring journalist, clues are revealed to the reader regarding hidden secrets and rivalries. Liz feels a bit random as a character, as her connections are tenuous, and her desire to uncover the truth leads to annoying actions on her part, but she and Amy end up playing off one another well.

This is a fun and quick read, though the characters could be more developed, and the ending was more predictable than in other books by Goodman. Still, fans will be happy to have a new mystery from the author.

This one was so good! We start off with a BRUTAL murder in the dorms of a prep school (love a good prep school thriller)! I kind of wish we had a little lead up to these murders but we get that lead up throughout the book! Amy's roommate, Sarah, and Sarah's boyfriend, Ryan are murdered during senior week. No one heard a thing and there aren't a lot of clues to who did this.

There are a few secrets in this one that are shared later in the book. We gradually get the background on Amy and Sarah's friendship which is tested the night of the murders. There is also another big secret that came out that had my jaw dropping!

I didn't predict who was the killer until right before it was revealed, so this one will leave you guessing!

P.S. I didn't take a star off of this but I LOVE all Jessica Goodman's covers and this one was so different than all her other books. Bring back the old style for this one!

I'm a big fan of Jessica Goodman's books, but this one fell a little flat for me. Considering how much of the story was (rightfully) focused on Sarah, it felt like I didn't really know her at all. And, considering the motive for the murder, it felt especially glaring. In general, the characters tended to feel underdeveloped or fell into tropes, which was disappointing because there was so much room to make them more interesting and nuanced.

Lastly, the book implies Amy is underage while dating Joseph and ... no one seems to be concerned? Including his mother? Especially since it is very clear that Amy and Joseph have a physical relationship. (Apologies if I missed the part where she turned 18 her junior year of high school.) The story would have worked just as well if his age was adjusted to align with hers.

4,5(rounded to 5 stars)
First of all thank you Jessica Goodman NetGalley and the Publisher for an eArc, in exchange for an honest review♥️🥹🙏

Spoilers ahead! Read at your own risk!
WTH was that!??? I am genuinely hooked on this book! I loved it! Even though Amy made me mad sometimes with her actions, it was understandable. Liz was not the most likeble person in the beginning but she turned out to ve my favorite of all! Also, PETER I TRUSTED YOU! What a turn of events! I am speechless!

The writing style was so very good, it was very easy to get into the story! Thank you again! It was a fantastic read between my studies🤌🫶

For a YA mystery, this is a complex double-murder whodunit. The characters are multi-faceted and well-developed. The author skillfully explores the full range of emotions felt by the school seniors, especially Amy and Liz. I enjoyed the way Amy and Liz were forced together in a realistic manner and the way that their relationship developed. I appreciated that the murder was not explicitly described, though the salient facts were presented. This mystery grabbed me and held me til the end - I was all in and was still very surprised at the end! Fantastic mystery!

"The Meadowbrook Murders" is a decent murder mystery. There are some pretty good twists. The murder and motive are both surprising and not surprising.

Tragedy strikes the perfect Meadowbrook school. Daughter of a tech billionaire, Amy wakes up to find her roommate and the roommate's boyfriend brutally murdered in their dorm room.
Across campus, Liz, a scholarship student and school journalist is hoping for something exciting to happen so that she can write an award winning article.
It's a setup for these two girls to hate each other. Amy was hounded by the tabloids when her parents divorced. Now she is forced to share a dorm room with a journalist who's dying to make a name for herself when she’d much rather be alone to grieve.
The school wants the crime solved and their students safe. However, they also want to control the media coverage.
Overall this is an average mystery. The suspects are the typical ones. However the relationships among the characters is what really drives the narrative and makes this a worthwhile read.

This was a really solid YA murder mystery. It went back and forth between the point of view of the victims best friend and the editor of the school newspaper. I am a huge fan of boarding school stories which is a good way to get pesky parents out of the way. I guessed the murderer quite early but still really enjoyed this one.

I love a good academia thriller! While this is YA, it is engaging and propulsive. Some great multidimensional female characters drive the story, but unfortunately there are several less developed characters that left me with questions. A quick read with good twist.

I flew through this one. Sometimes a twisty YA mystery is just what I need and I couldn't stop turning the pages. I didn't fully guess the ending which is always a plus. I enjoyed the boarding school setting, the student reporter angle, and multiple POVs.

For fans of A Good Girls Guide to Murder comes a new chilling YA academic murder mystery.

It’s the first week of senior year at Meadowbrook Academy. For Amy and her best friend Sarah, that means late-night parties at the boathouse, bike rides through their sleepy Connecticut town, and the crisp beginning of a New England fall.
Then tragedy strikes: Sarah and her boyfriend are brutally murdered in their dorm room. Now the week Amy has been dreaming about for years has turned into a nightmare, especially when all eyes turn to her as the culprit. She was Sarah’s only roommate, the only other person there when she died—or so she told the police to cover for her own boyfriend’s suspicious whereabouts. And even though they were best friends, with every passing day, Amy begins to learn that Sarah lied about a lot of things.
Liz, editor of the school newspaper and social outcast, is determined to uncover the truth about what happened on campus, in hopes her reporting will land a prestigious scholarship to college. As Liz dives deeper into her investigation, the secrets these murdered seniors never wanted out come to light. The deeper Liz digs, the messier the truth becomes – and with a killer still on campus, she can’t afford to make any mistakes.

For fans of true crime this one is fast paced, twisty and absolutely captivating. This review is short because I loved everything about it! No complaints here, bravo!

Interesting story but nothing new. Boarding school, murder, many potential suspects…

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/212806852