This was not what I was expecting from an Ashley Winstead book. It was fiction, but with the underlying tones of a true crime story. I missed the pure twisted nature of her previous books. Still enjoyed it, just a different take.

The Premise of this book is what drew me into wanting to read it, this is my first by this author so i was anxious to see what it was all about. I also like true crime books, videos etc. That being said, I feel like this book was too much like the real-life scenario that the author tried to fictionalize, which made it uncomfortable. I felt like the first half of this book was well written and easy to follow, however I feel the ending was not handled in a sensitive manner to those involved in the trauma. Before starting this book, I had never heard of 2022 University of Idaho Murders. As I always do I read every detail in a book, (dedications, authors notes, etc ) after reading the note from the author at the beginning. Which stated to proceed with caution when reading if the reader is sensitive to these cases but not really knowing any information about the cases, I didn't think it would be a problem. While reading, I did become more curious and started looking into the news reports on the murders and was absolutely appalled that the author's story and details were almost identical to the case. Maybe I should have been prepared for this, but this is a fictional book based on a very true story and that doesn't sit well with me. I feel that it is disrespectful to the victim's family, friends and other survivors to base a fictional novel on a very real case, especially when justice has not been served.

Ashley Winstead delivers a gripping psychological thriller exploring true crime obsession and the ethics of amateur sleuthing. The story follows Jane Sharp, a college student drawn into an online investigation of a real-life murder case, blurring the lines between curiosity and danger.

Winstead’s use of footnotes and an unreliable narrator adds depth, keeping readers engaged. While its parallels to real-life crimes may be unsettling for some, the novel offers a thought-provoking look at society’s fascination with true crime. This Book Will Bury Me is a compelling, suspenseful read that lingers long after the final page.

This one lives up to the hype. Janeway Sharp is a 24 year old true crime savant who is reeling from her father’s death and meets best friends who become her family through an online forum. Dark, quirky, and hard to put down- this book will pull you in and keep you guessing. It is incredible!

While I found This Book Will Bury Me to struggle with pacing a bit at its beginning, as it dragged out out its exposition and pre-Delphine cases, once the protagonists made their way to Delphine, the plot started to tighten and the pace definitely picked up speed. Although I could have done without that first half of the novel (as well as the extended discussions of Jane's father), Winstead is clearly a skilled writer, and built the world of Delphine, the online world of the Real Crime Network, and Jane's web sleuth circle of friends to the point that it all became nearly tangible. Writing from the perspective of armchair detectives was a clever approach, as well, and kept the mystery feeling fresh. I did pick up on the plot twist fairly early on, but that didn't stop its reveal from being compelling. All in all, while I think it may have benefited from being significantly condensed, This Book Will Bury Me was a well-written, unique take on true crime and worth the read!
Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for my advanced digital copy!

A gripping story of grief, hyperfixation, and the intimacy of online communities, This Book Will Bury Me kept me riveted throughout. In fact, it was quite hard to put the story down so that I could go to sleep! But though I really enjoyed the storytelling here and deep dive into the ways online discourse, social media, and the popularity of true crime converge today, there are things about this book that made me uncomfortable—chief among them the use of a real and very recent murder mystery whose setting and details were barely smudged in this work of fiction, as well as the use of a real sorority (full disclosure: that I am actually a member of!).

Though I understand that the author's own grief and interest in true crime inspired this book, I do wish some of the details surrounding the real case of the University of Idaho murders had been changed to separate this work of fiction from an ongoing case. That said, I still did really enjoy this book, the portrayal of the online true crime community, both for good and for ill, and the nuanced depictions of grief, desperation, and the desire for a supportive community/found family.

I love true crime books, and I think if done well, thrillers that are based off true crime events can be really good. However, because the case depicted in this book is still so fresh (the guy hasn’t even gone to trial yet!) I found this one to be in poor taste. If you haven’t heard about the Idaho Murders, then you may feel differently about this book but because I watch a lot of true crime and have read so many articles on them it didn’t sit well with me. I don’t mean this as an insult to the author either. She’s a great writer and its very easy to get sucked into her books but this one is just “too soon”. Especially considering the details in this book and the case are nearly identical.

My suggestion would be to market this book in a different way rather than a work of pure fiction because it’s not. Sure, the names are changed but again, the details are nearly identical. I don’t think the families would appreciate someone profiting off this case and saying, “oh it’s just fiction”.

𝗠𝗬 𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: ⭐⭐⭐

Jane and her group of friends are obsessed with true crime. When three college students are murdered, they begin looking into the mysterious details of the case. Every new discovery only brings up more questions about the crime. Lots of twists and turns make for an entertaining and enthralling read.

This one just wasn't for me. This was my second book from Ashley Winstead and so far they have left me really disappointed. I definitely can see the appeal, the writing style is very unique but I feel like I can rarely connect to her characters. I had to DNF this one after putting in a lot of a effort to read it. Just not enjoyable for me.

Thank you to Sourcebooks, Ashley Winstead & NetGalley's Public Catalog for sending me an early copy in exchange for my honest review.

When Jane's father unexpectedly passes away from a heart attack, she leaves her senior year of college to return home. Feeling lost and disconnected from the father she thought she knew and looking for a purpose, Jane becomes obsessed with true crime. Jane joins forums and throws herself into an investigation of a nearby crime. As she gains notoriety from being part of the team to solve it, Jane finds her purpose.

What an incredibly twisty ride! This Book Will Bury Me was great from start to finish. By the time I was 98% of the way through I thought there was nothing left to surprise me, but the author still had some surprises in store. I was familiar with the real life Idaho case from 2022 that was the inspiration for the book, but if you think this is just going to be a rehashing of a that case, that couldn't be farther from the truth. I liked that the book was part mystery, part true crime, part police procedural. It is written as a tell from Jane's POV to dispel misinformation surrounding the Delphine Massacres. The characters were complex and left me with many questions to ponder the reliability of Jane's narrative versus the widely accepted narrative of events.

While reading, I thought the pacing of the book was quite slow for a thriller. It was also very long, and I felt like there were many parts that were unnecessary. There was a whole chapter just to talk about star trek and explain Jane's dad's fanfiction which didn't add anything to the story.

I had enjoyed the overall mystery in this book but after finishing the book, I read a few reviews that made me aware of the fact that the Delphine case in the book had way too many similarities to a current ongoing Idaho case (that is still pending trial) for it to be a coincidence and that doesn't sit right with me. I will not be recommending this book to anyone.

Okay, bear with me. There are definitely some positives and negatives about this book.

The first third of the book, which I think is why a lot of people dnf'd it at 30%, is mainly the build up and a lot of backstory about her fathers death and how she coped. She became a Web sleuth with four other online characters and helped solve a murder. They became somewhat of a online celebrity because they truly did help. This section although well written, droned on a little bit. I felt like it could have been shorter or more concise to get to the meat of the book.

The next portion of this Book, is where I almost dnf'd. It is strikingly similar to an actual murder that happened in Idaho. To the point that these girls were killed on Queen's Lace Road, the real murders happened on Kings Road in Idaho. The timeline was nearly identical, the idea that people were called before the cops, the extra roommate saw the killer but went back in her room and didn't call the cops until hours later, same as the real murder. It felt like I was watching the 4-Hour Netflix documentary over again. Good for someone who never saw it or never heard about the real murder. the guy they arrested, still hasn't gone on trial,

It felt slightly morbid to take that story, that hasn't even been tried yet, + skew it enough that it became fiction. I think this is why a lot of people stopped reading at this point.

I kept reading because I really enjoyed her book " in my dreams. I hold a knife" so I wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt.

There is eventually another set of murders which cause the sleuths to decide to go to Idaho and become FBI consultants. I don't know which I would believe more, them working with the FBI or the fact that they found a stray eyelash by zooming in on crime scene photos.

I did really enjoy this book, finished it in like 2 days, I think. Mainly out of morbid curiosity to see how much more this book would look like the real slayings in Idaho.

Whenever I finish a book and I am buzzing about it, in a good way or bad way. I try to explain to my husband. It puts a lot of things in perspective when I try to explain what I'm so excited or upset about. My response to him this time was, it felt like she was going to write about the Idaho murders and then realized people may be upset so she added a bunch of other things to make it seem less of the focus. The reason I think this is because they bring in a character that is definitely the fictionalized version of the guy who was arrested. He does eventually get arrested but they release him because he has an alibi. The murderer she picks is very different, again. I think she did this as a saving Grace.

The question is would I recommend this book? For someone who hasn't sat down and watched several hours of footage through the Netflix documentary, absolutely I would. If someone has a lot of prior knowledge of this crime I would say yes, but tried to separate fact from fiction.

Thank you netgalley for letting me read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Mark your calendars for March 25th! This is the best thriller I've read in quite a while--going back to early last year. I'm talking about a straight thriller--domestic intrigue, true crime, serial killers. (There were a few great books last year that were marketed as thrillers that I consider more literary fiction with a little thriller nuance, like ATCOTD and TGOTW.) It reads like it is nonfiction--the voice of a young woman who was caught up in a scandal of sleuthing gone awry. If you like the ID channel or other true crime programming, you will love this. Ashley Winstead is a must-read for me. But all her books are so dramatically different. It's hard to beat the dark academia classic of In My Dreams . . . but this might be my favorite. (Possible spoiler--but it's in the first pages.) The FMC is also grieving the loss of her father, and her involvement is connected to her grieving and processing, albeit in ways that might not always seem logical outside of her mind. I found this element endearing and also relatable. Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for the advanced copy and the opportunity to share my review.

I don't enjoy true crime, so I wasn't sure how I would feel about Ashley Winstead's upcoming release, which focuses on a (fictional) young woman's deepening immersion into the true crime community after her father's death.

This Book Will Bury Me hooked me from the start, and I flew through it in just a few days. Even when I was uncomfortable with the content, I had to keep reading! The book's approach is unique, structured as if the narrator were sharing her version of events in response to somebody else's book about the same events.

If you're a fan of Ashley Winstead's previous works, I think you'll enjoy this one. It's a departure from her other books (more true crime than thriller, although it is fictional), but with the same sharp, captivating writing.

This Book Will Bury Me was such a fun read. This book is packed with mystery, self discovery, suspense and I really liked the internet crime solving aspect.

Jane suddenly and unexpectedly loses her father. In order to cope with is death she gets involved with a crime sleuthing community and learns how to solve crimes. Jane meets several people in this online community and quickly finds her people. After solving one murder with the help of the internet sleuths, another atrocious triple murder is committed on a college campus. ***Reminiscent of the 2022 Idaho mursers** Jane and her crew jump in guns blazing to solve the latest crime.

Jane quickly discovers the people she has grown close to while solving crimes might have things to hide. Jane needs use her newly acquired sleuthing skills to figure who the real killer is.

Overall this was a sold 4.5 start read. I was engaged and excited to read this book just to see what would happen next.

When a young college girl's dad dies, she becomes obsessed with true crime to deal with her grief. There are many similarities to the Idaho murders that is going through the court system currently. It was a tad slow to me and very predictable but it did keep me entertained. I received an advanced readers copy and all opinions are my own.

I'm very much invested in the real life "Idaho 4" case, so finding out this is based off that actual murder is tough for me. I like true crime and I don't typically have a problem reading/watching something based on a true story, but I feel like this is just too soon after the murders.

If you don't know the story or can be objective, I think people will devour this book. The writing is well done and I think the mystery was equally as good. Just read at your own risk if you're familiar with the case.

I loooooved this one. Much more my style than her last - loved the true crime angle. I was hooked from the beginning - I did have an inkling as to where it was going, but it didn't detract from my reading experience. A great thriller.

Very clearly modeled off of the Idaho college murders but I enjoyed the story. The twists and turns made it so I could not put this book down, I will purchase for my library and recommend for true crime fans!

I really wanted to like this book as the premise was promising. After finishing and reading about the novel online, I've since learned that it is derived from a real-life murder. It changed my outlook on this story, turning it from mediocre to something I won't recommend. So many things were stolen from the real event. The smaller details are so similar that it's hard to see it as anything other than a murder tragedy retelling.