All I can say is wow! This thriller follows Jane Sharp, who is experiencing loss, grief, and an identity crisis following the unexpected death of her father. To distract herself, she begins an obsession with true crime and a group of amateur internet sleuths. One of the cases is centered around a serial killer who targets a group of sorority girls on an Idaho college campus. This is similar to the real-life case a few years ago. When the amateur sleuths become internet and television sensations, Winstead beautifully shows America's fascination with serial killers and true crime podcasts, and how these groups can both help and hurt the progress of local and federal law enforcement. They can also unknowingly put themselves and others in harm's way. I loved being buried in this book for a few days. The pacing kept me turning the pages from beginning to end to find out what happened next. The imagery of the title is also skillfully present throughout the novel. This is sure to be one of the top books of 2025. Many thanks to NetGalley, Sourcebooks Landmark, and Ashley Winstead for an advance reader's copy in exchange for my honest review.
CW: serial killer, detailed crime scene descriptions, and mentions of child and animal abuse (no details).

Ashley Winstead delivers another hit! I was thrilled to receive an early copy through NetGalley. As a fellow Houstonian and a long-time supporter of our local thrillers book club, Ashley’s releases always feel extra special to us.

Her latest book, This Book Will Bury Me, dives into the true crime community, exploring how everyday people connect over unsolved cases and even attempt to crack them. It’s fascinating to see how popular these groups have become and the lengths some will go to uncover the truth. I thought this novel offered a fresh take on crime-solving from an “armchair detective” perspective. The twists completely caught me off guard, and I was hooked right until the last page.

This Book Will Bury Me is a retrospective story of Jane, whose father’s death has her spiral into a true crime obsession that eventually connects her with a group of true crime junkies. As she gets more and more involved with the group, a shocking and very publicized series of murders places her at the front and center of both media attention and an active investigation. I didn’t expect to enjoy this as much as I did; the plot is parts investigative procedural, a dissection of our true crime cultural obsession, and Jane’s grief over her loss. The ending stays true to the story’s style, and you’ll recognize the similarities to life 2022 homicides that shook the media then.

I usually would say that this is a good, standard popcorn thriller, but I feel a little icky about this one since it seems like the Idaho murders fanfiction...

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for sending me this book!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Wow! Ashley Winstead’s best work yet! Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to *devour* an advanced copy of this!
The book follows the story of Jane Sharp who has just lost her father and looking for answers at any cost. She quickly becomes caught up in the world of online sleuthing and finds a virtual family that helps her aching heart. When a serial killer begins targeting an Idaho college town, Jane feels a pull to catch the killer and in some way, make her father proud. As she begins searching for answers, she finds more than she ever could have imagined.
I was so intensely drawn in by the characters and this story that I couldn’t put this book down!

This book kept me reading frantically until the end. Immersive and clever, I enjoyed the characters, as well as the world of true crime message boards and the friendships and jealousies that spring from it.

Murder mystery of the year! One of the best written, expertly plotted murder mysteries I’ve ever read. I’m not necessarily a true crime fan, but I know a lot of people who are, and they are going to eat this up. Even as a non true crime fan, I really enjoyed the easy readability this had. It flew by really quickly!

As a rule I never read books over 400 pages (my own fault, I’m too ADHD) and I didn’t notice the page count until after I had requested the ARC, so when I first saw the page count I was like oh damn…but this did NOT feel like a 500 page book. In fact, I actually just read another murder mystery ARC right before this that is a solid 100 pages shorter, and this book flew by way faster for me than that one did. A 500 page book has no business going by this fast but it did, because it was just that enjoyable and easy to read. Now THIS is the kind of ease of readability that I prefer every murder mystery to have! This went by so fast for such a long book and didn’t feel long at all, so don’t let the length deter you.

What’s unique is that you’re not experiencing the events as the MC is, you’re actually reading a book written by the MC about the events that occurred. Which is a unique approach and gives this a different kind of feel. So many twists especially near the end! A rare 5 star rating, because I don’t have any critiques that I can think of. This was excellent!

Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks for sending me an advanced copy in return for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the chance to read an advanced copy of this unique thriller.
Seeing a serial killer investigation through the perspectives of internet sleuths was fun and new.
The story centers on Jane, a young woman who leaves college because of grief after her father dies from a heart attack. While at home struggling to come to grips with her loss, she comes across the online community of internet sleuths/detectives who use unofficial internet research to help in solving crimes. As she becomes more engrossed in this world, she finds herself involved in a serial killer search.
The writing was engaging and creative. The book is written like the main character Jane's memoir/tell-all, which was a fun aspect and technique.
I think my only complaint was that it was a slow burn and on the side of too long. The last third of the book was the best. The pace picked up then and snowballed from there.
I would recommend this book if you are looking for an entertaining and creative take on a murder mystery. It was fun, and I enjoyed the writer's style.

This was a wild, twisty ride.

I’m so conflicted with this story.
On the one hand it was really well written, fast paced with a great host of characters. The found family aspect was my favorite of all. These people who have suffered and found each other when they needed each other the most.
If this book had been completely fictional I would’ve given it a solid four and a half stars.
But the thing is, it’s not completely fictional. She tells the story with many very specific details of the killing in Idaho a couple years ago, which is still an on-going investigation.
When I first started the book I didn’t realize that it’s based off of real events. I ended up checking and finding the real story.
It was so frustrating trying to figure out what was fact and what was fiction. In the middle of reading I took a break to read the whole story of the real Idaho murders so I could actually figure out what was real and what the author added to the story.
I think that making a book/movie/show based off of true crime has become increasingly popular but not only is this an on-going investigation, the author has so many extremely specific details and then changes the story.
It all felt so uncomfortable reading it. Many times I wanted to DNF purely because it felt like such an injustice to the real life victims. The names were changed but their descriptions, the killings, the suspects and many, many other aspects of this story are based off of what happened to real women.

This book dives into the world of true crime and how many people dehumanize the victims, yet I feel like the author missed her own message. Reading about the speculating of the women, about who they were as people in a fictional way where there were plenty of unkind things said about the characters. It felt so icky and so incredibly disrespectful.

I really just don’t understand why the author wrote this book the way she did. I loved her book In My Dreams I Hold a Knife, so I know she can write an amazing murder mystery, so why take from a current investigation?

As for the fictional part, I loved the mystery and the sleuthing/true crime aspect of the story. I really enjoyed how well the characters worked together and this beautiful chosen family that they’ve found in each other. I did feel like the twist was very predictable, but, it was nonetheless impactful.

I’m interested to see what the authors note will be when this book is released and how the public receives this story.

I will still read more of her books in the future so long as they are purely fictional. This just felt so sad and wrong and disrespectful to the memory of the women and their families and friends.

Thank you NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review

Soooo you're saying I can just read the NEWSPAPER and read this book basically? Tacky. It's okay to be inspired, it's not okay to write a true crime word for word and call it fiction.

Thank you @bookmarked #partner for the gifted copy of this book.

F ⭐️ I ⭐️ V ⭐️ E 💫 S ⭐️ T ⭐️ A ⭐️ R

Oh Ashley what have you done?! You have written my favorite book of yours that’s what you’ve done! Wow, this book I read in a paced buddy read and it was nearly impossible to stop every day at our agreed upon chapter. It is so hard to categorize this book because it felt like true crime, mystery, thriller but also explores grief and found family. Ashley writes in a way that made me hang on her every word. This book is focused upon a group of citizen sleuths that meet online and try and solve true crimes. Each character has their own history which brings different behaviors and thoughts to how they solve each crime. I am having a hard time telling you how much I loved this book however when I think about it, I just think it was the characters overall. Each character was so easy to visualize and the further I got into the book I almost felt like I was sitting around the table with them trying to solve a crime. I loved how Ashley brought together these arm chair experts along with the police viewpoints. This book felt very real on so many levels because she explored what happens when the wrong assumptions are made, how sometimes tunnel vision happens in crimes all while painting a very shocking ending. I know there are some details that resemble the Idaho college murders and think it’s worth mentioning that if you’re sensitive to that material that maybe this isn’t the book to choose. I personally loved it and will be buying a copy in March when I can!

A masterclass in character development and storytelling! After I finished this, I needed to take a few days to actually let the ending sink in. I’m never this shocked or surprised. The twistiest ending I’ve ever read.
The dynamic of these characters together and the concept just blew me away.
Without giving the story away, I’m just going to say that this is a five star must read. Go now, buy the book, rent the book, borrow the book.. read the book.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

If I could give this one 10 stars, I would! Hooked me from the first page and could not put down until the end. Ashley Winstead has done it again, best thriller/crime write of our time!

This book stayed with me. While reading it I couldn’t decide if I loved it or hated it. The author developed such complex, sometimes detestable, characters that sucked me in. Sometimes I rooted for them. Sometimes I wanted to shake sense into them. I would recommend it for true crime and thriller lovers. I do have to note that i hated the footnotes. They were useless and distracting. What did make me uncomfortable is just how closely the novels central murder mimicked a very recent, horrific crime. It didn’t feel like the author honored it appropriately nor has enough time past that we’re so distanced from it as consumer. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC of 'This Book Will Bury Me' by Ashley Winstead.

This book DEVOURED my whole soul. When I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about it, The twist left me heartbroken more than shocked. Ashley Winstead truly did it again with her incredible writing skills. I especially found adding the footnotes to be a stroke of genius on her part in making the book that much more unique.

I did choose not to rate it 5 stars due to its pretty much exact copying of the Moscow Idaho college murders in November 2022. I know that Winstead's point was focused around people obsessed with true crime and what can happen when "amateur sleuths" are out there tampering with evidence etc. but i feel like perhaps she could have been more open with that similarity, since it does feel somewhat exploitive.

This wasn't for me. Just didn't care for the main character. I'm sure true crime fans will enjoy it. ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

In a world of Internet crime solving sleuths and multiple murder mysteries comes This Book Will Bury Me. I thoroughly enjoyed being part of the core group of web sleuths. The bond among the 'misfits' created a sense of found family that made the reading experience entertaining and memorable. It was also refreshing to explore the story from this unique perspective.
Ashley Winstead perfectly delves into the scary reality of society's obsession with true crime and how that obsession can hinder investigations and cause harm to the families grieving.
The ending of the book is what made the book for me. Just... wow! And despite its length and the potential for it to be shortened, keep reading—it's all worth it for that ending!
Thank you @netgalley and @bookmarked for the ARC.

This book DEVOURED my whole soul. When I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about it, plotting out my own theories only for them to be proven wrong. The twist left me heartbroken more than shocked. Ashley Winstead truly did it again with her incredible writing skills. I especially found adding the footnotes to be a stroke of genius on her part in making the book that much more unique. A fantastic job! I can't wait for the hardcover to be released so I can devour it all over again.

I looooved this book! A few things that really made this book for me were: 1. I liked that the main character talks directly to the reader. 2. The main character loves true crime and helps the police solve crimes. 3. The development of the story.
I was hooked from the beginning and although a slow burn, I needed to find out what would happen next.
I would highly recommend this book!

I don’t even know where to begin. I have really enjoyed all the other books by this author, but this book is so obviously about the 2022 University of Idaho killings just in fictional form. I am so disgusted that anyone would even think to do that? I was nauseated when I realized what I was reading.