Was given a chance to be an ARC for this book and it was great! 3 high school friends estranged after Henry's brother was convicted of murder. Ally, Grace and Henry come back together to figure out who really killed Ms. Applebaum and clear Jake Hanson name. Along the way they go on to discover other crimes that are happening. It's 3 crimes in one book. Such a great fun read.

Murder Between Friends... You would think the friends are keeping a secret about something they did together, but that is the farthest thing from the truth. This story follows three different POV's. Grace Topham, Ally Copeland & Henry Hanson. It follows as all three of them try to clear Henry's brother, Jake's name for murdering a former teacher.

Each friend is doing their investigation for a different reason. Ally trying to find out if her dad was having an affair with Applebaum. Grace confused that maybe her eyewitness testimony to seeing Jake that night Applebaum was murdered. Henry feeling terrible that Jake took the fall for messages he sent.

But what happens when the unexpected comes to light and Jake's freedom is almost taken away again? Grace, Ally, and Henry do everything in their power to make sure Jake doesn't take the fall again.

The ending was the exact twist I didn't expect!!

eARC Review: Murder between friends by Liz Lawson

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Pub date: April 22 2025

I have highly been anticipating reading this book for this year, & I’m so glad that I had the pleasure of being able to. I really enjoyed the continuous plot twists while reading it, and how unexpected the ending was! I truly admired the detective skills of Ally, Grace, & Henry in solving the crime of who was responsible for the death of Ms. Applebaum!
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Well I will start out with that I had really high hopes for this book. The concept was cool but it seemed to fall flat for you. I think it was too predictable and I found myself already knowing what was going to happen.

The twists and turns were crazy in this book. I forgot how fickle friendships can be and then you add on murder trials it's just not gonna work out to well. The development of new version of an old friendship is always interesting to read about. It almost felt like a treasure hunt for the truth. i give it 4.5

Great YA whodunnit with a twisty ending that you won’t see coming!

Thank you Delacorte Press for granting me an ARC! All opinions are my own and not influenced by the publisher.

Thank you to Liz Lawson, Random House Children’s, and Netgalley for the E-Arc of Murder Between Friends! This YA thriller was a quick read (under 400 pages) with short chapters! Grabs you from the beginning and keeps your attention throughout! Lots of secrets and drama! It will leave you guessing for the very end and rooting for this friend group to find their way back together! This book publishes on 4/22/25!

This was a really fast and easy read. The pacing is lightning quick and Lawson keeps the plot moving forward at a frantic pace. While it definitely felt like it was written for a younger audience I enjoyed it just the same. There is plenty of mystery and some great moments of suspense.

Thank you for the ARC. This book was a bit juvenile but overall it was a quick read. There was murder, suspense, drama and a touch of romance. The book kept me guessing about who done it and why. The last twist definitely got me and was unexpected.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC of this book!

Murder Between Friends is the story of 3 friends who are trying to clear the name of Jake, one of the main character's brother, who has been in prison for murdering a teacher. He is released but set to be retried and the town is up in arms. Convinced of his innocence, Henry, Ally, and Grace undertake an investigation of their own to figure out who really killed the teacher. I loved this and read it in one day! The pacing was great and I thought the multiple POVs were done well. There are a lot of twists and I thought the ending was great! I will definitely be adding this to my classroom library. It's perfect for fans of GGGTM, The Agathas, etc.

I really loved the character dynamic in Murder Between Friends and how this group of friends worked together to clear a name and put the real killer behind bars. Grace was willing to question her memory and dig for the truth, Henry wanted to alleviate his guilt and clear his brother's name, and Ally stuck to her determination to help out her best friend while wanting to discover how her dad was connected to the person behind bars. Thank you NetGalley for an ARC, I look forward to reading Liz Lawson's future works.

This book was really interesting! It had a lot of twists and turns I wasn’t expecting and I really enjoyed trying to figure out what was going to happen next.

This is the first book I have read by Liz Lawson and it will not be the last. This book took me on such a roller coaster ride that I was like OMG I need to keep reading to see what was going to happen.

This is a story about three best friends Grace, Ally, and Henry. Then one night changes everything for them. Now it is Ally, and Henry who stick together and Grace is all by herself. Then something changes for the three and they find themselves needing each other. The closer they get the more information comes out as to what has happened to their friendship. As they uncover the lies they must decide if they re going to stick together or go their separate ways.

Thank you to net-galley for allowing me to read an ARC copy of this book.

Murder Between Friends von Liz Lawson hat mich von der ersten Seite an gepackt und bis zum Ende nicht mehr losgelassen. Ich bin förmlich durch die Seiten geflogen und habe jede Sekunde dieses Thrillers genossen. Es ist eines dieser Bücher, die nicht nur spannend sind, sondern auch ein richtig gutes Gefühl hinterlassen.

Die Geschichte dreht sich um Jake, der nach Jahren im Gefängnis entlassen wird – nicht etwa, weil seine Unschuld bewiesen wurde, sondern weil sich herausstellt, dass der Staatsanwalt eine Affäre mit der Richterin hatte. Während einige glauben, dass Jake zu Unrecht verurteilt wurde, sind andere immer noch überzeugt, dass er Ms. Applebaum, eine allseits geliebte Lehrerin, ermordet hat. Sie wurde in ihrer eigenen Gefriertruhe gefunden – ein Fall, der die Kleinstadt erschütterte. Nach Jakes Entlassung beginnt die Suche nach dem wahren Täter erneut. Mittendrin: Grace, die damals eine entscheidende Rolle bei Jakes Verurteilung spielte. Sie fühlt sich verantwortlich und setzt alles daran, den echten Mörder zu finden. Gemeinsam mit ihren Kindheitsfreunden Henry (Jakes Bruder) und Ally beginnt sie eine eigene Ermittlungsmission – um endlich die Wahrheit ans Licht zu bringen.

Besonders gelungen fand ich die verschiedenen Erzählperspektiven. Jeder Abschnitt wird entweder aus der Sicht von Henry, Ally oder Grace erzählt, was einen intensiven Einblick in ihre Gedanken und Gefühle gibt. Die Charaktere sind so authentisch und realistisch geschrieben, dass man sich sofort in ihre Welt hineinversetzen kann. Gerade bei YA-Büchern ist es nicht selbstverständlich, dass Jugendliche wirklich wie Jugendliche klingen – doch hier passt es perfekt!

Der Thriller ist rasant erzählt, voller Wendungen und mit genau der richtigen Mischung aus Spannung und Leichtigkeit. Ja, einige Teile des Mysteriums sind vorhersehbar, aber das hat mich überhaupt nicht gestört – denn das wahre Highlight des Buches sind die Charaktere, ihre Dynamik und die fesselnde Erzählweise. Liz Lawson schafft es meisterhaft, den Leser immer wieder an der eigenen Theorie zweifeln zu lassen. Und glaubt mir, am Ende ist es nicht die Person, die ihr vermutet!

Murder Between Friends ist ein unterhaltsamer, cleverer und unglaublich mitreißender YA-Thriller. Wer gerne Geschichten über Teenager liebt, die selbst zu Ermittlern werden, wird hier definitiv auf seine Kosten kommen. Absolute Leseempfehlung!

I finished this book in about 3 hours because I was hooked right from the beginning! Was it a perfect book? No, but it was entertaining and fun. Bonus: the teenagers had very realistic personalities and dialogue, which is not always (or usually) the case for YA books.

I appreciated getting the perspective of the family and friends impacted by Jake's arrest. Each chapter is told from 3 people's perspectives: Henry (Jake's brother), Ally (Henry's best friend), and Grace (Henry's ex gf who may have given THE evidence that got Henry's brother convicted in the first place). What happens to those friends and family members that never stop believing in their loved one's innocence? And what kind of story would we get if those exact people were able to solve the case?? That's the story in Murder Between Friends.

I do have to say that I 100% called the ending at page 25 which I know seems impossible but I just got a feeling and I was right.

Thank you for NetGalley for this ARC!

A cute fast-paced YA thriller, with teenagers solving the crimes happening in their small town. The characters very accurately reflect the teenage mind and thought processes.

An intriguing young adult thriller. I was hooked from the first page and needed to know what was going to happen. I enjoyed the different point of views in each chapter. It was nice to see everyone’s different perspectives. Overall, a great read!



Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC!

Didn't really care for this one. Three (former) friends have to band together to exonerate the one friend's brother, who has been accused and convicted of murdering a local teacher. All of the characters blended together and I didn't really care for the plot. I did give an extra star because there was a twist at the end that I didn't see coming, so bonus points for surprising me.

A fun and enjoyable young adult thriller. I enjoyed the concept of the teenagers becoming sleuths- it reminded me of a modern day Nancy Drew. While much of the mystery was predictable, I still enjoyed the characters and the plot. This does read more young adult and would be good for those that like a lighter thriller.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children's | Delacorte Press for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 stars ☆
⤿ spoiler-free review
thank you to net galley for this arc!!

ೃ⁀➷“How do you feel, knowing they're letting a killer out of jail today? ”

characters: Grace, Henry and Ally all used to be best friends. But when Grace testifies in court against Henry's brother, ultimately putting him in jail, that friendship breaks apart. Over the course of the book, you see them work out their problems, while solving this case together. Henry and Grace are adorable, I love how soft they are with each other. Ally, I feel is misunderstood. Overall, I love them all.

plot: When Jake Hanson, a convicted murderer, is let out of jail, his brother, Henry, Henrys bestfriend, Ally, and Henrys ex bestfriend, Grace, decide to solve the case of who really killed the beloved English teacher before Jake gets put back in prison.

pacing: The first half of this book was a little slow, really setting up for the next half. Once this story picked up, I couldnt put it down! The plot twist mostly got me, and that last page was perfect.

✧.* the point is: if you are wanting that YA murder mystery vibe The Cheerleaders, Kara Thomas, and AGGGTM, Holly Jackson deliver, you will probably enjoy this book aswell!