This Book Will Bury Me by Ashley Winstead
What a ride! ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫 (4.5 stars)
Pub Date: March 25 2025

This was my first book by this author and now I must go blaze through her others!

This one follows 24 year old Janeway Sharp as she falls into the intense world of online true crime sleuthing after the unexpected death of her beloved father. She gets sucked into the lure by a horrific crime that occurs right near her hometown so she can physically do her investigation and help her crack the case before the others. This gains her serious clout with the online community so much so that she is invited to join an elite group of four other tenured members to keep solving crimes. They begin looking into a horrific triple murder at a college in Idaho where things start to spiral out of control. Will Jane and her group crack the case before more students are murdered or will Jane and her friends be the next victims....?

I definitely recommend it for readers who like true crime, found family trope, and classic clever whodunnit stories.

I will say I wasn't a huge fan of the online chat style as it was a bit tough to follow at times and keeping the sheer number of chat participants straight. Thankfully that's only briefly used and not persistent throughout.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Ashley Winstead back with another banger! So many topics were represented in This Book Will Bury Me: grief, mother/daughter, online friendships, college days, true crime. The internet sleuthing guild was an eclectic group that reminded me of Cerulean Sea. The murder cases were realistic and terrifying. As a true crime fan I enjoyed the nods to real life personalities, podcasts and cases. This book is kind to the victims as well. I loved it!

I am a bit torn on how to review this one. On one hand, I like how it is written as the main character’s memoir of her time as a true crime sleuth. I flew through it, which is saying something as I believe the book is over 450 pages. However, it does feel icky to pretty much copy/paste the details of the very recent Idaho murders that have not even gone to trial yet. I think that was particularly jarring because there was no author’s note or any other kind of acknowledgement of that in the eARC I read. I see there is an author’s note on Winstead’s social media now and, hopefully, it is also in the final published copy. Overall, I think Winstead is an excellent writer, but I do think this could have been handled a little differently.

I received a DIGITAL Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book held my attention from the very beginning and never let it go. I loved the perspective of this book. It made it so interesting to see that it was being told from the future and almost like it was a memoir.

I have a tiny gripe about how it ends but I don't hate it, it's fine.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of This Book Will Bury Me by Ashley Winstead. This dark, twisty thriller delivers an immersive blend of psychological suspense and gothic atmosphere. Winstead’s writing is gripping, layering tension and dread with each chapter as the protagonist is pulled deeper into a world of secrets, obsession, and eerie discoveries. The mystery kept me hooked, though at times, the pacing felt uneven—some sections flew by, while others dragged a bit. The characters are compelling, but I wanted more depth in some of their motivations. Still, This Book Will Bury Me is a haunting, chilling read perfect for fans of unsettling, slow-burn thrillers.

following jane through her grief was absolutely captivating. i found myself relating to her emotions at different points in her journey, especially her obsession with uncovering every detail (something i can relate to in my own life). this story will keep you on your toes and have you eagerly trying to piece together the mystery of who the murderer really is.

I’m normally a book binger but I needed to take my time reading this one. I saw some backlash against the content being closely aligned with a current news story and so I read this one with some caution. While I do see where others would be unhappy about this story line I do think if you read the book in its entirety it’s evident there’s awareness around the nature of true crime and the nature of the world’s obsession with it and it’s dark underbelly. There is a common thread of grief throughout and the different ways people grapple with death. I’m glad I took this one slow. Thrillers / true crime / mystery aren’t my typical genre but this one really held my interest and stuck with me. An interesting book worth taking your time on about more than current events and more about finding your chosen family in unlikely places and circumstances. Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for the ARC.

3-Star Review

Ashley Winstead is an auto-read author for me, so I couldn’t have been more excited when I was approved for andvanced copies to review. Unfortunately, this book didn’t quite live up to the hype. While the premise was intriguing—blending true crime obsession with amateur sleuthing—the execution fell flat.

The story was fine, the twists were fine, but overall, it felt predictable and dragged on far too long. The pacing was slow, making it difficult to stay fully engaged, and while there were moments of intrigue, they didn’t pack the jaw-dropping punch I’ve come to expect from Winstead’s thrillers.

That said, I still appreciate her writing and will always pick up whatever she releases. This one just didn’t hit the mark for me. An average thriller, but not her best.

Thank you, NetGalley, Sourcebooks Landmark, and RBMedia, for the advanced copies in exchange for my honest review.

I have to start off by saying I’m not a huge thriller reader, but I love Ashley Winstead and the premise of this book sounded super interesting. I was hooked from the start of this book, and I loved following this journey of amateur sleuthers. There were so many good twists and turns, and I came to care about the characters. The ending was super satisfying.

I do feel like this was a little bit long, and could’ve been edited down a bit. I also didn’t find myself caring about Jane’s story/her discovering her father’s past— I felt the urge to skip those chapters to get back to the cases they were working on.

I have a love-hate relationship with this book. On one hand, I really enjoyed the true crime aspect of this book. The family relationships, sleuthing and twists and turns were enjoyable to read. That being said, it was incredibly predictable, I really disliked that the book was loosely based off of the University of Idaho murders, it just left me feeling yucky. I also found that the book was very long, too long, making it drag on during different parts. I enjoyed the characters, the suspense and the way that the story was told. I still can't decide how I felt about this book - there were things to like and things to dislike... I walked away a little disappointed, however not once did I consider this a DNF.

Thank you Netgalley for my advanced reader and audio copies.

Thank you NetGalley and SourceBooks for the E-ARC

I *really* loved this one. I couldn't put it down. The type of storytelling AW is amazing. It's written as an auto-biography of a 24 year old Floridian girl. She tells the story of how her father passed and she found herself in the life of a true crime sleuth. It felt like a unique way to tell a serial killer story.

I don't typically like sleuth books, but the way this was written made it feel believeable. AW did a great job of giving background on how sleuths get their information, how they utilize hive brain, and how they work with law enforcement.

All of the characters were likeable and the found family aspect was my favorite.

The reason I gave this four stars instead of five, is because I guessed the plot twist VERY early on in the book. As the story progressed, my guess became more solid, to the point that I suspected it was a red herring and she would change the twist. I was disappointed that my early guess was correct as it lessened the impact of the twist.

Overall, even knowing the twist, I still couldn't put it down and still wanted to know how it ended.

For fans of A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, but want an adult version.

I will NOT be reading this book but still wanted to provide a review to warn others and the author and publisher about what a disappointment this is. I just learned that the storyline and events in this book are *copied* (not inspired - identical) to the Idaho murders from 2022, and the murderer hasn't even gone to trial yet! I'm shocked this book was allowed to be published and disappointed I am just now learning about this situation as I was originally looking forward to reading this book. I've been disappointed with Ashley Winstead's last few books and will absolutely not be supporting this book by reading it or discussing it on my Bookstagram or Goodreads pages.

The opening alone will make you want to read this book!! I couldn't stop reading at times and was shocked at the ending. Jane Sharp suffers the sudden loss of her beloved father. While reeling from that, she finds solace in true crime sleuthing online. She meets a great group and they embark on solving the worst modern crime. Will they get to the bottom of this? Is everyone who they say they are? Can you really trust anyone?

This Book Will Bury Me by Ashley Winstead
Pub Date: 3/25/25
Format: ebook
Rating: ⭐️⭐️

For a book I could not put down for the first 40%, it hurts me to give this book such a low rating. While this book had potential and did feel like more of a return to form after Winstead’s last book, I really feel like this book crosses a line.

The Idaho Murders happened just over two years ago and I’ve had this arc for four months which means it was delivered to early readers about a year and a half after four college students were murdered in cold blood. This case has not yet gone to trial and families have not received justice.

For Winstead to copy SO many details of this case verbatim and then change the ending, call it fiction, and aim to profit off the victims stories is really in poor taste in my opinion. It also bothers me that she stole so many real life facts from the murders and she never once mentions the real victims names in her authors note.

Honestly the tie in with the main characters dad did not work for me either and felt like this was self insert fan fiction in a way. The connection to the main characters dad worked alright for me in the beginning, but as the book went on it felt very forced and jarring.

And much like her last book, it needed to be about 15% shorter.

As someone who used to list Winstead among my favorite authors I am very disappointed both in the author and the publisher for taking this book to print. These victims and their families deserve better.

I want to thank everyone for this early gifted copy of This Book With Bury Me by Ashley Winstead.

I’ve read most of Ashley’s books over the years but I think that I’ve come to the decision that I like her better as a romance author than a thriller author. I loved her first thriller and couldn’t stop reading it, but the last few have disappointed. I find that I can’t get myself into them and am very bored, which just makes me not want to read at all.

I want it to be known that I think Ashley is a great writer. I think that this book has a lot of potential and I was initially drawn in, but quickly because very bored on the main character and didn’t find that I was invested in her or her story.

This Book Will Bury Me – Ashley Winstead
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (all of the stars)

College student Jane Sharp turns to true crime sleuthing as an escape from grief, but when she and her online friends dig into the shocking Delphine, Idaho murders, they quickly realize they may be in over their heads. Told from Jane’s chilling perspective a year after the case’s explosive conclusion, the story unravels the terrifying truth behind the crime that captivated the world.

I will read anything Ashley Winstead writes—she’s just that talented. What makes this book so gripping is its twist on true crime: it’s loosely inspired by the real-life Idaho murders, adding a layer of eerie familiarity while exploring the dark world of online sleuthing. I loved that element (something different than a podcaster) while also being grateful to remain an observer IRL and through books! The way the narrator hints that things spiral out of control had me on edge the entire time. I picked this up when I was struggling through another book and, suddenly, hours disappeared—Ashley’s writing pulled me right in. 1000% recommend- but as always, check for trigger warnings.

This Book will Bury Me is a new thriller by Ashley Winstead. This was the first of her books that I have read, and I enjoyed it.

Jane Sharp is a normal college girl when her father dies unexpectedly. In her grief, she turns to the internet and stumbles into a forum for internet sleuthing- trying to solve crimes when it seems like the police can’t. After a successful investigation, she has some new best friends, and she leans into them instead of dealing with the death of her father.

The author notes that she has taken some inspiration from true crime, and it is apparently here. The main case Jane and her sleuthing friends are working on is very clearly based on the murdered of the college kids in Idaho a few years ago, but the story eventually does deviate from that.

This book takes on some of the issues that police face when internet detectives start to push the boundaries and take matters into their own hands.

Though overall I enjoyed this story, I did think it was a little overlong. Even so, it’s fast-paced. Thanks to the author, the publisher, and Netgalley for the ARC.

Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the advanced reader's copy of This Book Will Bury Me by Ashley Winstead.

I am not at all a true crime fan so my review may hit a little different for those that are. I actually don't get why so many folks are enamored with it and spend so much free time focused on it. Once I started reading my initial thought was I wasn't going to enjoy the book. I was wrong. I think the layout of using dialog from the character's online correspondence and chatting to be really useful writing tool to keep me as the reader engaged. I was curious to see how the amateur true crime sleuths got themselves embedded in the case. For good and for bad. Despite being very much a true crime novel, this one worked for me.

It's my understanding that this is a deeply personal book as the author lost her own father and was coping with the loss much like our main character lost her father and was coping the best way she knew how. I also now know that the events in this book mirror a real life case out of Idaho that is relatively fresh in the news cycle.

I went into this novel blind. Meaning I did not read the synopsis before diving into it. I am though a big fan of the author's previous works.

After her father’s sudden death, college senior Janeway Sharp stumbles across a true crime network on the interweb and quickly becomes enthralled as she looks for a distraction from her own pain and grief. Soon close friendships and alliances are formed as the armchair detective group takes on the shocking and brutal murder of three sorority students in Delphine, Idaho and are suddenly thrust into the spotlight themselves.

Looking at the reviews for this book, it strikes me that most people fall into two categories on it - you either love it or you hate it. Turns out, I am in the former. While this book didn’t quite bury me, it sure gripped my attention to the point of complete absorption. I. Could. Not. Put. This. Book. Down.

Unlike Ashley Winstead’s other novels that are works of pure fiction, the primary case in this book is based on a very true crime, and is part of what makes this book controversial. Is it too early to be featuring this brutal murder, an event that has left a town broken, in such a front and centered way? In fact, Winstead even includes an author’s note to explain her rationale on this and it’s definitely worth a read.

I would argue that although it is pivotal to the story, it is very much not THE story. At the core, TBWBM is about community and making sense of the senseless. It’s about our overarching desire for answers we may or may never be able to find. And it’s about family, those who we love and who offer comfort, and those who seek only to knock us down.

To prevent the risk of spoiling a book that’s best when gone into blind, I will end my review by saying that although, I didn’t love her last, this book was a major winner for me and such a pleasant surprise. Not since Verity has a first page grabbed me hook, line and sinker and I hope it does the same for you, if you choose to read it.

Thank you to the Alisᵗᵐ for buddy reading this one with me. Sorry I wasn’t able to slow myself down there at the end, but what a testament to the addictiveness of this book.

Read if you like:
▪️true crime
▪️serial killer storylines
▪️quasi-cozy mysteries
▪️epistolary format
▪️unputdownable thrillers

Thank you Sourcebooks Landmark for the advanced copy.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks for this ebook ARC. Inspired by true crime and internet sleuths, especially the case of The Idaho Four, Ashley Winstead has written an enjoyable and thought provoking murder mystery., with tense moments and good twists. Grieving after the sudden death of her father, Janeway Sharp leaves college and moves back home. Spending time on the internet she soon falls into the world of online private citizens who make it their hobby to investigate and attempt to solve famous murder cases. Jane soon becomes friends with, and joins a small group of “elite” internet detectives.
This small group of five bond and become close while solving their first murder together. They soon become pretty famous in the internet sleuthing world. They are soon drawn to their big case that may be their triumph or ruin.
While a very enjoyable read, this book also opens the reader up to the discussion of internet sleuths. Are they another burden for law enforcement to deal with while trying to solve murders? Or do they provide a service to a sometimes over extended police force? Some people in law enforcement see them as amateurs who get in the way and can hurt a case. While others welcome their help. And how do the grieving families feel about this help or interference into their tragedy?