This true crime book has me hooked from beginning to end. Loved all the elements from the online forums to solving the case in person. Did not guess the twist at the end. But the book had me guessing the whole time. This was my first book from this author and I will be reading more.

This was a tough one for me. There are aspects that I really liked while others that I hated or didn't care for. I loved the approach of unreliable a narrator and the mystery it added to know she was an active participant in the events that occurred but not know her full involvement until the end. However I didn't like how the author used a very horrific tragedy that happened to the Idaho college students, and basically used it as the plot in her book. While I understand many authors use real life event as inspiration for their novels this is not what that was. I also can't explain what it is about the first time we meet the villain that gave it away but I knew it was him. When it was revealed at the end I was not surprised.

As a big Ashley Winstead fan, I'm happy to report that I devoured this one.

It's a thriller, it's got elements of true crime and online sleuthing. But it also explores how tragedy and grief can make you vulnerable. Almost like a cult, online crime forums draw our lead character Jane in. She gets taken in by armchair detectives online, and it quickly consumes her life. Things get even more tense as the investigation moves from the computer to the real world.

I found it interesting the elements taken from the Idaho college murders, though the story is much more than that. Throughout twists and turns, this kept me turning pages and invested in the story.

I really enjoyed this book and the development of the storyline. The twist was definitely not predictable which I appreciated! Would def recommend to other thriller lovers.

✨️Review✨️
This Book Will Bury Me by Ashley Winstead
2/5🌙's

Overview: Our main character, Jane Sharp, has recently lost her father. She desperately wants to feel like she is doing something worthwhile. Mean while a sweep of murders have become the center of attention for internet sleuths. Jane doesn't mean to, but she gets roped into the wave.

Thoughts: This book started off very strong. I came in knowing that this book has some inspiration from the Idaho murder case. I felt like the book did a good job separating itself from the actual situations. I felt hooked pretty early in the book. I zoomed through the first 2/3rds of the book. The plot was building quickly, and pacing seemed right. once I hit the last 3rd of the book, I felt like I was struggling to stay interested. I even dozed off a few times while reading. The ending was really disappointing. Because of that and the lull most of the way through the book, I had to give this a 2/5.


I would recommend this book to anyone who loves internet sleuthing. This book heavily focuses on how people could fall into the internet sleuth craze just by feeling lonely and needing company.

Thank you for this E-Arc! All of these opinions are my own.

This Book Will Bury Me
By: Ashley Winstead
4 stars

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark for the eARC & @libby.app for the audiobook! I was hesitant to read this one at first because of the controversy surrounding this one. Having been heavily influenced by the Idaho 4 murders that are still in the process of going to trail this year, many readers felt this was insensitive. While knowing this going in, I have to say that in all things, especially art (which books definitely are), are influenced by real life events or experiences. This book relied on real life inspiration but the overall book had its own story to tell and veered off the path of events that have taken place.

I felt a kinship to this book as I have studied forensic science along with having had an obsession with true crime podcasts in the past. I hold a master’s degree in forensic science with a concentration in blood pattern analysis & crime scene investigation so whenever books get into the weeds of death, I open up my critical eye and comb through it. The way this book explored the internet sleuths and true crime obsession/junkies was spot on. There’s many documented crimes solved thanks to internet sleuths, one of my favorite being Michelle McNamara who was mentioned in the book who helped solve the Golden State Killer cold case posthumously.

This book follows Janeway Sharp, a 24 year old who loses her father to a heart attack in her senior year of college ( she attended later than her peers) and turns to true crime board to try and make sense of his death. While there, she finds herself connecting with a group of sleuths who are looking into the death of a middle aged woman found in a trash bag in a lake near her home in Florida. When the police have no leads and give up on the case, she finds herself invited to a special crime group made up of 4 other people to continue the hunt for the murderer. Together, Jane, along with the 65 year old librarian, a retired police officer, an ex army guy, and a computer genius working at Amazon successfully identify the murderer and become a sort of family she needs in her life.

When a shocking murder takes place in a small college town in Idaho where 3 college sorority girls are murdered, the true crime boards are in a frenzy to solve the case. Gaining national media attention and thousands of internet theories on TikTok, the crime group starts lookin at the evidence. Having gained a bit of fame from solving the murder in Florida, the group has a notoriety about them and when they hint at the wrong guy as a suspect, the world turns on them. As the group is under heat from media outlets, the college town police force, the true crime board, and people all over the internet, a second tragedy strikes the small town with another murder of 3 college students. When Jane finds a piece of evidence that no ones investigated, the five not only get asked for help from the FBI, but decide to meet in person in Idaho to stop the killer. Things really take a twist when the evidence starts to point to something no one thought possible and it becomes very clear that the groups lives are all in danger in Idaho.

My Thoughts:
While this book felt 100% true to what we see on the internet everyday whenever there’s a major crime event, there were times when I felt the world of fiction. For instance, in all of these cases the group worked on, there was ALWAYS someone willing to leak information or share crime scene photos. That’s truly rule number one when it comes to forensics. Any bit of information is evidence and having civilians looking at it would ruin any case brought to court.

The delivery of this book was done as an after-the-fact tell all by Janeway in the form of her essentially writing a book to clear her name. You know as the reader that someone terrible has happened if our protagonist is trying to justify her innocence right off the bat and that felt fun! With the snippets in between the story from Janeway, it added an element of almost a podcast and I’ve been loving the thriller trend lately of of mixed media/interviews/podcasts.

The found family in this one was so good. Each of our characters in the crime solving group had their own traumas to deal with and this was an outlet they allowed them to do some good in the world, despite being only human and occasionally messing it up. I think for me it was just a bit off with the whole idea of Jane solving murders because her father died young of a heart attack. I get that everyone grieves in their own way, but the harping on making a legacy for him/jane to honor his death, for me, didn’t make a lot of sense. You get a real sense of darker themes such a grief, obsession, power, and ethical boundaries that get blurred when mixed with fascination, danger, and the need for answers.

The portrayal of how fickle the media and internet can be was the most compelling aspect of the story for me. Once minute you do something the trained professionals couldn’t achieve and you’re a hero. The next, you speak too soon and ruin an innocent mans life and become the villain of their story. The book did an excellent job of raising the question about the true crime phenomenon and society’s role in sensationalizing tragedy for entertainment. As someone who has gotten their news from TikTok, that aspect of amateur’s taking advantage of a tragedy struck home a bit and made me rethink how I will proceed in the future.

The human desire for connection and purpose was forefront in this story as the reader sees Jane descent into obesssion to the point of missing work, not taking care of her body, and making poor decisions. Having a skewed hope of honoring her father in a way trauma bonds her to her new crime solving family and she takes pieces of each of them on to heal her heart as she copes with the loss of such an important figure in her life.

While I wish we got a glimpse into the current life of Jane at the end, I think the overall message was receive that she was healing and moving on with her life. Winstead is a master of her craft and weaves dark and complex stories that give you a suspenseful plot and even crazier ending.

3 stars.

I'm a big fan of Ashley Winstead and wanted to read this book so bad when I first met her in person at a book signing event. This was very different and I overall really enjoyed the story but it didn't stand out to me compared to her other books in the past.

An absolutely fantastic, 5-star thriller, which is very, very rare for me. It's equal parts plot and careful characterization. Perfectly paced and totally worth the read. I flew through this one.

This one started off so strong for me but I did end up falling off a bit. However, I still really enjoyed this story. I liked the sleuth aspect and thought it was such a creative twist. In the day in age where we do get controlled by the online narrative I thought it was cool to see the impacts in this story

Thank you Sourcebooks and NetGalley for this ARC!

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

I want to start by saying that I loved the first half of this story. It was thrilling and kept me on the edge of my seat. I loved that there was use of social media and chat threads as that’s relevant with the modern world. However, I predicted a major part of the story around 50%. This made the second half of the book drag a little for me. I would’ve enjoyed this more if it was shortened a bit.

Overall this was a thrilling read for the most part.

-I will note that this is inspired by relatively recent murders of a very well known case. I would check trigger warnings before reading.

In between a 3-3.5 ⭐️
I did like the true crime aspect of this, however it was so slow for me. I kind of was dragging my feet trying to finish it.
True crime junkies will definitely like this, but with one of the cases still being open I understand why it’s unsettling in ways. My stomach was getting a lil tight listening to those parts with that case.
I understand she needed inspiration from real life events, it was just tough to listen to.
I also didn’t guess the song plot twist.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review

After reading and loving In My Dreams I Hold A Knife, I was so excited to read Ashley Winstead's new release This Book WIll Bury Me. This book is perfect for true crime fans, true crime forum/blogger fans, etc., and those who followed the Idaho murder case. I thought the story was paced really well and kept me guessing until the end and the storytelling kept me captivated where I couldn't put this book down. The book keeps you entertained with twists throughout, and kept me guessing who the murderer was until the end.

I docked a star because it felt so closely related to the Idaho murders, but at the same time quite different, I almost wish it didn't align with the Idaho murders storyline at all.

For fans of true crime and psychological thrillers, This Book Will Bury Me offers a thought-provoking and emotionally resonant experience. It's a testament to Winstead's ability to craft stories that are as intellectually engaging as they are heartfelt.
This book absolutely got under my skin—in the best way. This Book Will Bury Me is a dark, emotional thriller that’s as much about grief and obsession as it is about solving a murder. Jane, still reeling from her father’s death, finds purpose (and a strange kind of comfort) in an online true crime community. But when their search into a brutal unsolved case starts hitting too close to home, things spiral fast.
Ashley Winstead nails the emotional weight of trauma and the pull of internet rabbit holes. I felt for Jane deeply—her pain, her drive, her need to feel something real. It’s eerie, sharp, and incredibly human. If you love psychological thrillers with heart and edge, this one’s a must-read.

This was a tricky read for me. I think if this book hadn’t reminded me of a recent true crime case I would’ve enjoyed the story completely. The book was well written and contained some characters that I was rooting for and felt relatable. I didn’t see any of the twists coming. I thought the ended was perfect. The only thing that leaves me questioning how I feel about this one is that I’m not sure about the relation to a recent crime case. I’m sure this happens in lots of thrillers and I just don’t see the connection in such a clear way. On the other hand I listen to some true crime podcasts, which makes me question if I am just being hypocritical. Either way, for a thriller this book has me still thinking about it, even after I’ve finished it.

This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year. I had a hard time with the writing of this book. It reminded me of Daisy Jones and the Six. Written like you are reading a book. I could not capture the essence of the characters. I tried multiple times to really get into and I know I would have if it was not in this format. It is definitely a me thing and I cannot wait to see what Ashley Winstead comes up with next. I was beyond bummed not to find a connection. Thank you to Ashley Windstead and Source Book Landmark for my gifted copy.

“This Book Will Bury Me” was such a gripping read, that had me shocked till the very end. If you enjoy mystery/thriller novels that are full of plot twists and have true crime obsessed, unlikely detectives, then this novel is for you.

I love Ashley Winstead; not only is she one of the nicest humans ever, her books are always so so good!

This Book Will Bury Me follows Jane who is writing a tell all about her experience with being an amateur online sleuth. You will follow Jane navigate the death of her father, as well as working with a group to find and follow leads with murder cases across the country. When Jane and her fellow sleuth's get called in to help they head to Delphine, Idaho to see what they can find.

I loved this book, I was wrapped up in Jane's story from the beginning and needed to know how it was going to end. I also need to know if this online sleuthing is as intense as it is in the book!

Thank you Ashley Winstead and Sourcebooks Landmark for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I liked the unique angle of this one about true crime and how a person could become heavily involved but I think the mystery didn't come together for me and I found it overall a little boring and more centered on family drama.

Have you ever loved a book when you were reading it but had trouble coming back to it to finish. That was me with this one. I don't know why it just didn't draw me back, but I did finally finish it.

Jane Sharp drops out of college while grieving the recent death of her father. As a distraction from grief, she starts following amateur sleuths on a true crime forum. She is soon drawn in.

When three sorority girls are killed, these amateurs up their game to new levels. Sometimes working against the police, and sometimes working with them, they form a found family of sorts and work together to solve the crime. Unfortunately, they are not always right as they try to find out what happened.

If you were a true crime junkie, this one would definitely be for you. It's crazy the lengths that they went to to solve the crime. It also touches on how being falsely accused by amateur sleuths can ruin somebody's life. It is entertaining and thought provoking.

I’m having a hard time with this review and how I honestly feel about this book. On one hand, it’s great writing, and I always enjoy this author’s work. On the other, I’m uncomfy with how quickly she used a very real, recent true crime case as the inspiration for this story. Just seems a little icky to me. Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark for the eARC.