I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I went in blind (as I prefer) and was captivated from the beginning! I couldn't read it fast enough. My only disappointment was the ending. It just felt a little too far-fetched. However, I still tell everyone to read this!

This book was an absolute standout! I was freaked out, scared, and could not stop reading. Excellent thriller!

Another excellent book from the Queen! Did I binge this? Yes! Did I stay up in odd hours of the night because I couldn't put it down? YES! Would I recommend this to my bookish community? Absolutely YES!

Intense, disturbing, and totally gripping. This thriller’s dark psychological twists kept me hooked even when parts made me uncomfortable (in a good way). The protagonist’s journey is raw and unfiltered, and the pacing is relentless. It’s definitely not for the faint of heart, but if you love psychological suspense that pushes boundaries, this one’s a winner.
Rating: ★★★★☆

If you’re looking for a gripping read that dives deep into the world of true crime, This Book Will Bury Me by Ashley Winstead is for you!

Swipe for a similar book recommendation and synopsis.

College student Jane Sharp’s life takes an unexpected turn when her father passes away suddenly. In her quest for purpose after her father’s death, Jane becomes obsessed with the disappearance of a local woman, plunging into the vibrant and sometimes unsettling world of online true crime sleuthing. Between her shifts at Starbucks, Jane finds herself communicating with a cast of unusual characters, all known only by their screen names, as they team up to hunt for a killer. As their investigation gains national attention, the stakes rise, and danger lurks around every corner.

Written as Jane’s candid “tell all” account, this book is more than just a story about amateur sleuths chasing down a murderer. It’s an exploration of grief, identity, and the quest for closure. While the pacing begins a bit slow, the tension and pace ramp up quickly, keeping you on the edge of your seat. The well-developed characters add layers of intrigue, making you invested in their journeys.

Jane’s observations raise timely and thought-provoking questions about our society’s obsession with true crime, privacy concerns, true crime as entertainment, and the ethics surrounding amateur investigations.

One aspect that has sparked discussion is the book’s close parallels to the real-life November 2022 murders at the University of Idaho. Some readers may find this uncomfortable or in poor taste. Winstead’s author note sheds light on her intentions, leaving it up to each reader to form their own opinion.

True crime and thriller fans will find This Book Will Bury Me an intriguing and thought provoking read.

As someone who has admired Ashley Winstead’s previous novels for their emotional intelligence and genre-bending sharpness, I approached This Book Will Bury Me with high expectations. Winstead is a master at crafting psychologically astute female protagonists, and this novel is no exception. However, despite her skillful prose and compelling narrative structure, I found myself grappling with deeper concerns about the premise of this particular book.

The story centers on Jane Sharp, a grieving college student who finds solace—and purpose—in the online world of amateur sleuthing. When a brutal crime involving three murdered college students in Delphine, Idaho captures national attention, Jane and her group of digital detectives dive into the case, hoping to solve what the police seemingly cannot. Told in retrospect, the novel is framed as Jane’s first public telling of what really happened, one year after the events shook the nation.

The novel excels in its depiction of online communities, parasocial dynamics, and the addictive pull of unsolved mysteries. There’s a grim fascination in watching these armchair detectives morph from harmless hobbyists into obsessive players in a deadly game. Winstead’s exploration of internet true crime culture is nuanced and intelligent—highlighting both its community-building potential and its ethical grey areas.

However, This Book Will Bury Me fictionalizes a case that is still painfully fresh: the 2022 murders of four University of Idaho students, a real tragedy that continues to unfold as the trial against the accused remains ongoing. This proximity to real-life horror gave me serious pause. Having worked as a prosecutor and presided over criminal cases as a judge, I am intimately aware that these stories are not puzzles for entertainment—they are deeply personal tragedies for those left behind. Fiction that leans too closely on unresolved real-life trauma risks turning someone’s worst moment into someone else’s beach read.

While Winstead includes a note at the beginning acknowledging the sensitivity of the material, for me—and likely others working in or adjacent to the justice system—this attempt to blur the lines between fact and fiction felt more unsettling than intriguing. I found myself frequently stepping out of the narrative to research what was real versus invented. That distraction was difficult to shake and impacted my overall immersion.

That said, once the story diverged more clearly from the real case and moved into its own speculative territory, I was reminded of why I enjoy Winstead’s work. The twists are well-placed, the pacing tight, and the final revelations cleverly executed. For readers less personally connected to the themes or not bothered by the real-world parallels, this may be a propulsive and rewarding read.

But for those who are wary of narratives that mine ongoing tragedies for fictional drama, especially one so raw and unresolved, I’d recommend approaching this title with caution—or skipping it altogether.

initial thoughts: i really liked how the author incorporated glimpses into the true crime forums (think reddit.)

however, i really didn't like that this book was based on the University of Idaho murders (maybe this was very well known, but I was not aware going into this book.) it seemed like the author was tracking along with the story, until she wasn't and that's when it went a bit off the rails for me.

overall, this was an okay thriller, not my favorite by this author, but I'll still pick up whatever she puts out next.

I think Ashley Winstead is too dark for me. While this book was well written and well plotted, I found it triggering in many ways. I think she's a great author if you like dark books, because her mysteries are very solid.

This was my first time reading this author and I’m on the fence if I will be reading more. I don’t care for her using a current court case/crime as writing material for a book. For me, it’s a bit ick. I didn’t see any of the twists and turns this book coming, so that’s a win!, but also didn’t really care for what happened to the characters and their arcs. I didn’t enjoy our FMC’s obsession with her dad.

Fantastic, I could not put this book down! The twists and turns kept me hooked and I found myself SO INVESTED in finding out what happened and who did what. I loved the different format and the pacing was perfect. The characters are fun and different, and I loved the back stories and wanted even more of their stories and history. This is not a typical thriller in my opinion, it has many layers and explores themes of grief and obsession. I HIGHLY recommend! Also just have to say I'm not surprised to get another knock out from Ashley Winstead, LOVE YOU!

Very interesting take on true crime and those who present it to others as a job or hobby and those who devour that content. I really would have loved more from the other characters' perspectives because the main character was a pretty average person with no special interest exactly in true crime or details about it. But it was a good, engaging thriller that fans of the genre and fans of true crime podcasts will definitely enjoy!!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me an advance reader copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! Really enjoyed reading this one! Winstead does a great job of creating a page turner that borrows from a real life true crime event & weaves in characters that you truly connect with! Will recommend to most of my readers!

Description
It's the most famous crime in modern history. But only she knows the true story.

After the unexpected death of her father, college student Jane Sharp longs for a distraction from her grief. She becomes obsessed with true crime, befriending armchair detectives who teach her how to hunt killers from afar. In this morbid internet underground, Jane finds friendship, purpose, and even glory...

So when news of the shocking deaths of three college girls in Delphine, Idaho takes the world by storm, and sleuths everywhere race to solve the crimes, Jane and her friends are determined to beat them. But the case turns out to be stranger than anyone expected. Details don't add up, the police are cagey, and there seems to be more media hype and internet theorizing than actual evidence. When Jane and her sleuths take a step closer, they find that every answer only begs more questions. Something's not adding up, and they begin to suspect their killer may be smarter and more prolific than any they've faced before. Placing themselves in the center of the story starts to feel more and more like walking into a trap...

Told one year after the astounding events that concluded the case and left the world reeling, when Jane has finally decided to break her silence about what really happened, she tells the true story of the Delphine Massacres. And what she has to confess will shock even the most seasoned true crime fans...

Beyond my thoughts on the book — which I will get to in a second! — I did a Q&A with Ashley! (She is just as lovely on Zoom as she is on Instagram!)

Thanks @bookmarked for my gifted copy of TBWBM and for coordinating an interview with Ashley!

Like all of Ashley’s novels, TBWBM comes with a deep dive — this time she’s taking us into the true crime community. I am vaguely aware of what goes on in the true crime community, but as a reporter I tend to stick to more traditional news sources.

Our MC is Jane Sharp, who has just lost her father and finds solace in the true crime community when a woman goes missing near her Florida home. The message board characters that Ashley crafts to go alongside Jane are fantastic. It’s a real motley crew and probably exactly who you’ll find on any forum. Jane and her new friends go all in on solving a mass 🔪🔪🔪 at the University of Idaho.

I loved TBWBM for its thriller/mystery aspects as much as I did its exploration of parasocial relationships. I think it will appeal to a wide spectrum of readers, not just thriller readers, so pick it up ASAP.

I ended up DNF'ing this book 30% of the way through. While I liked the format with chats from online forums it just took too long to get into the thick of the story. I do think something was lost reading this as an ebook vs a physical copy with the footnotes as this would have been better in physical so would like to try and pick this up again at a future time but not as an ebook. Many thanks to the publisher and Net Galley for providing me with an early copy of this book.

I'm sorry, Ashley Winstead, but I had to DNF this book. I don't like how similar it is to a real life case and it just feels icky.

I loved this book! I like that it was written as a tell all and the inclusion of the mixed media. I had that “I can’t stop reading” feeling. I thought it was interesting that twist was revealed about 60% in, but I still enjoyed the whole book. I’ve enjoyed all of Ashley Winstead’s books and this one was no different!

This Book Will Bury Me started off pretty slow, and I'm not convinced the first section of the novel was really necessary, but once I got into it, I got VERY invested in this story and in Jane as a character. I thought the suspense was really well done, the mystery is propulsive and I had a really hard time putting this down. I know that a lot of readers guessed the twist, but I really didn't, so there was a big payoff when I got to the big reveal towards the end.

After her dad passes away, Jane Sharp is looking for anything to distract her from her grief. What she finds is a group of online sleuths trying to solve murders around the country. After her successful involvement in a case close to her home, she is let into the groups inner circle. That's when a new case takes over the national conversation. Three college students murdered in Delphine, Idaho. Jane and her group really wants to solve the case, but run into constant roadblocks. As the group gets closer to the case, the violence only escalates and Jane and her friends are closer to the danger than any of their prior cases.

I really enjoyed the approach This Book Will Bury Me told in telling its story. Less a murder mystery than a fictional memoir of solving a murder, the book is narrated by its author a year after the events of the case as she is trying to clear up her involvement with the tragedies. Ashley Winstead uses Jane Sharp as a way to explore why we are drawn to true crime, the community it may bring, and the harm it may have on the victims and those involved with the crime. While the central murder is clearly drawn from the University of Idaho case, the book is not trying to re-examine those murders, but rather the industry that followed that case. Jane's journey of understanding her grief was a strong throughline in the book that I wished was not being overshadowed by the use of a real story as inspiration. The major twists were not terribly shocking for this genre, but I still enjoyed the ending and resolution of the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for a copy of This Book Will Bury Me in exhcange for an honest review.

Damn this was a good book. Unputdownable. Jane makes a compelling, flawed heroine, each of the other characters is exceptionally well-drawn, the pacing was perfect, the twist so satisfying. One of the best thrillers I've ever read, hands down.

I really wanted to like this book but unfortunately it was a miss for me. I don’t mind longer books but this one really seemed to drag. I enjoyed the true crime/online forum aspect of the investigation, but the characters didn’t seem real enough and I found it hard to believe they would have been given as much authority in the investigation that they were.

I know the author said she had taken inspiration from the Idaho 4 murders, but there were way too many similarities to the case and that left me with a bad taste in my mouth.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.