Thank you for advanced copy.

I believe this was a suspenseful, fast paced read that young adults will love. The characters were engaging and interesting. I mostly had the ending figured out but there was one twist that I didn’t see coming!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc and to PRH Audio for the alc.

This was a pretty decent ya thriller. One reason I am choosing to not rate this book 5 stars is because I found some parts of the story to be a bit slow. I also thought the story was slightly predictable. Overall, I thought it was a decent ya thriller, and I thought the three audioboook narrators did a good job. I may consider reading more by Liz Lawson in the future.

Thank you NetGalley for an aARC.
This was such a good suspense 'who done it' kind of book. I had no idea the ending was going to be what it was. It kept me on the edge of my seat and kept me wanting to read "just one more chapter" until the very last page. The book is a murder mystery and is told from the perspective of three different people. I definitely recommend this book. I love that the book explores different family and friends dynamics. I love the way the author did the multi-POV. I'll be honest, there is a part in the story where one of the MC's talks about how old and boring the book Frankenstein is and I almost cried at that- I absolutely LOVE Frankenstein. I don't know if this is how the author actually feels, or if it was just a dialogue for the teenage character in the story (because let's be real here, a lot of teenagers don't always love the required reading at schools). Regardless, the story was amazing. The characters were dynamic and you really felt for each one of them. I would read another book by this author for sure.

This was definitely a fun read. I really liked all the characters. Everything made sense- there were no loose ends or plotholes for the sake of throwing off the reader. I wish we got a little more of Jake somehow! This was a little slow for me personally for a while, which is why I took off one star, but it picks up and then doesn’t stop! This will definitely be a book that will fit into my classroom library.

Thank you for the ARC. I usually do not read young adult, but this book was surprising good. It kept me guessing until the end.

3.5 stars. This was an ARC from NetGalley. This is a highschool, YA, who-dun-it, with a group of used to be friends coming back together to try to clear the accused of a murder that took place several years ago, very reminiscent of a Karen McManus novel. Overall, I enjoyed this story. The characters were well developed and kept the story moving forward. I will say all the twists were a bit predictable and I had figured out in the first fourth of the book. The second half did get a bit slow, and felt like it could have been edited down. Quick, enjoyable read #netgalley #murderbetweenfriends #ya #whodunit #highschool #mystery

This was awesome! A story of murder, gripping suspense, DRAMAAAAAA, etc. I love how quickly the story develops and progresses. I found myself completely engrossed in each page.

4 stars

This book was really good. I liked 2 of the 3 main characters. Ally was problematic for me. I get that she was supposed to be loyal and determined but she came across as petulant towards Grace and and more than a little reckless when investigating. If this was my 17 year old, she would be grounded for life! I loved Henry and Grace together and apart. I was really surprised by the last twist in this one. Would have like to see a little more of an epilogue but it ended ok without. Can’t wait to see if this is a one-off by this author or she has more great stories to tell!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for my free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Jake is being released from prison and everyone is thinking about what happened two years ago. One of the reasons Jake was convicted was because Grace said she saw him near the scene, but now she wonders if she saw Jake or someone wearing Jake’s jacket. Grace, Ally, and Henry (Jake’s brother) decide to rekindle their friendship and look for evidence to prove his innocence. Did Jake kill his English teacher? If he didn’t, then who did?

Murder Between Friends is a stand-alone thriller that immediately grabbed my attention and kept me engaged the entire time. I was fully invested in the results of this investigation and waited for the conclusion as the pages almost turned themselves. Lawson created characters that were believable with an investigation that was just as plausible. Murder Between Friends would be a fun read for all thriller fans.

"Murder Between Friends" is the perfect example of why Liz Lawson has become an auto-buy author for me.

I love that her YA books are filled with mystery, murder, and drama for days. I also enjoyed that there was a bit of romance and plenty of twists and turns to keep readers guessing.

While I was able to guess who the killer was a little sooner than I had hoped, I still thoroughly enjoyed the storyline.

Thank you to Liz Lawson and Delacorte Press for selecting me for this ARC. I can't wait for the next book from Liz Lawson!

I had a lot of fun with this one. These kids did a lot of questionable things in the name of saving someone they care about, but man was I screaming at them! They were so lucky that they were able to get out of so many sticky situations. It was driving me crazy that they kept doing things alone, but it all worked out in the end.
I was worried that I had figured out who had done it about halfway through, but was pleasantly surprised when I realized I was wrong. When the real killer was finally revealed I was jumping in my seat because I was completely taken by surprise. There were a lot of twists and turns and it was a very enjoyable read. I’d read an article written by Ally Copeland any day.

I really loved the mystery behind this book and how the plot was laid out! I liked that we got the POV’s of all 3 friends: Grace, Henry, and Ally. The timeline was interesting to follow because it all happens within a short period of time as told by the beginning of the chapters. I really enjoyed the start of the book and how it laid out all the relationships between the 3 main characters but also how other side characters viewed the situation and those involved. This book had several twists and turns that I didn’t seem coming and the ending had me even more surprised with the truth of it all. I really enjoyed how you think the book is going one way and it all blows up and has this huge gotcha scene, and yet it doesn’t actually solve the mystery the teens were hoping to and continues in that directions once again. The ending was really well done and was a little shocking to find out considering I thought it was someone totally different based on the first half of the book, but also made complete sense with what you find out in the last 1/3 of the book.

There was a lot to this book because this type of situation had everyone feeling some type of way. Having parents that want to protect their kids and don’t want them getting involved in scary scenarios, other high school student being being awful and judgy to Henry and his family but also to Grace when she poses questions about Jake’s possible innocence to them, family drama, grief due to loss of a parent and some questions about how they died, solving a murder and investigating leads, forgiveness in a friend group, etc. It was really fascinating to see how it affected each of them individually in their personal lives and as a trio.

I will say the one major thing that annoyed me and kept me from rating higher due to how prominent/persistent it was, was how Henry and Grace treated Ally. They were genuinely not good friends to her at times even when I really don’t think she didn’t anything wrong. There’s this scene at the end when Henry and Ally exchange apologies kind of but I did not think Ally needed to give one for being hurt by the fact her two best friends were doing stuff without her and being “sneaky” within the 2 months since her dad died. Getting the POV’s of everyone made my feelings even worse at times because we read how they felt about how Ally was behaving or what she was saying and I just think those thoughts were completely uncalled for. It made it hard at times having main characters I was supposed to like but in actuality wasn’t the biggest fan of.

Also, I feel like Ally bringing up discoveries about her dad and his possible involvement with Miss.Appelbaum and what we find out before his death was totally dismissed by Henry and Grace. And even when it was proven to be connected and they found out the truth behind everything (spoiler: that he was essentially murdered) it wasn’t mentioned a single time after that. It was just frustrating how Henry’s brother Jake was still alive and they were fighting for his innocence, but Ally’s dad is DEAD and they didn’t seem to care or be supportive of her at all. I just hate that her grief and feelings are totally pushed aside to ‘save’ Jake and her friends are still not there for her just like they weren’t right AFTER he died.

It may seem like I had a lot of cons to state but I really did enjoy this book, sometimes I’m just more detailed of the things I didn’t like in order to explain why I feel the way I did so that others who read my review can see if that’s something they want to read as well. I will say, I think sooooo many people will love this book because it is fast paced and has more suspenseful/action chapters as you get into it!

I received a digital copy from NetGalley & the author of this novel in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Liz Lawson for this novel!

This book was good I really enjoyed it even tho it was a YA READ IM REALLY STARTING TO LOVE THESE TYPES OF BOOKS !!! I will recommend to any school age and even adults about this read I loved it

Murder Between Friends by Liz Lawson was a fun and engaging YA thriller.
I enjoyed this read a lot. I loved how fast the pace was. It was one of those reads where I was kept up much later than I should have been because I HAD to know what happened next.
The increasingly tense plot takes turns the reader won’t see coming.
I loved reading The Agathas. So to say I was excited for a new story by Lawson is an understatement.

Short Summary:

A group of estranged friends must come together to try and prove the man convicted for the murder if their teacher is innocent. But there are more factors at play than they ever could have imagined.

I really enjoyed this. It was a nice cross between a detective novel and a "whodunnit" mystery. Every perspective offered new insight into what might be happening without giving anything away. I thought I saw the end coming, then it came out of left field and hit me straight in the face. This was a nice, quick, fun read. It wasn't so heavy it dragged, but it wasn't so lighthearted that it came across as childish.

Best Parts:

Plot line
Character development
Connections

Worst parts:

Ally's attitude
Shady adults

Loved this murder mystery. This book had friends doubting each other even when brought together to solve the mystery of their teacher's death. I was invested in the book to the very end. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Ally, Henry and Grace are old friends, but following Ms. Appelbaum's murder and conviction of Henry's older brother with the help of Grace's testimony, the friendship fell apart. Now, two years later, Jake has been released on a technicality and Grace starts to question whether she really saw him that faithful night.

The more and more they dig, the more dangerous their investigation becomes. Our trio find themselves in a middle of a drug trafficking scheme, cheating and betrayal scandals. Will they make it out alive this time?

I loved the story, it was easy to follow the narration, but due to its simplicity, the plot was predictable. I wish the characters were more fleshed out and had a little more of a challenge in their investigation.

People were killed, but when 3 teens start digging around all they get is a little "stop digging" note on the door? Doesn't make sense to me.

The main "villain"(if we could even call him that) felt like a last minute addition. Like, we do not see him until the scene, where he literally confesses?

Other than that, the book is pretty solid and is guaranteed to keep your attention for the night.

Liz captured my attention from the start with this. At no point was I ever sure on what was happening next and I loved it! I need more!

I really enjoyed this arc! I couldn’t put it down. Murder between friends is a fast paced, thrilling YA mystery. There are 3 povs- Henry, whose brother, Jake, was found guilty of murdering a beloved teacher. Ally, Henry’s only friend and the only person who has stood by Henry’s family. And Grace, their ex-best friend and the person whose testimony sealed Jake’s fate. But as Jake gets released on a technicality and faces a new trial, Grace starts to think maybe it wasn’t really Jake she saw that night. The three of them band together to try to solve the real mystery as to who killed their beloved teacher and clear Jake’s name.

This book was fast paced. I was never bored and I enjoyed the individual backgrounds of each character as well. I love multi pov books because when stuff starts to go down, you get mini cliffhangers as it pops to the next pov. This book had a few unexpected twists up until the very end!

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Random House Children’s and Delacorte Press for allowing me to
To read this arc and exchange for my honest review

This is a YA murder mystery and it was amazing. It reminded me a lot of A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder except even better. The book follows three best friends and is told from each of their POV’s. It has thrill and a great twist. I would highly recommend this one even to those that don’t typically read YA because it did not feel like a YA book at times.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.