I love the variety in Ashley Winstead's books! Everything she writes may fit into very similar genres, but all the characters are always so different and so well flushed out. All the characters in this book had very distinct personalities and they were all super easy to tell apart even though I feel like we didn't get to know anyone very well, even the main character who's POV we follow. I have some pretty hot takes about true crime enjoyment but I did enjoy that this book talked about some of the things I think about without making it feel like my ideas are wrong. Winstead did a great job of showing how and why people on both sides of the conversation feel and didn't really lean one way or the other. While the MC is part of online true crime forums, she doesn't ever go on a tirade about why she's right and everyone else is wrong. I have yet to rate an Ashley Winstead book 5 stars, but this one is a really solid 4 star!

The ending made it all worth it! The beginning was a little slow for my taste, and I wasn't quire sure how this was going to turn out, but boy was this a wild ride! The character development was fantastic and the twists and turns kept me on my toes. A great thriller!

I really enjoyed how this book started out. I was hooked with the online amateur sleuths. The middle was way too long, but the ending I didn’t see coming!

I was so excited for this book and it was just okay. I feel like this was a big turn for Ashley Winstead and as someone who has read all of her books so far I didn't think it was her greatest. I feel like the concept was good but it seemed pretty obvious from halfway through what was going to happen.

SPOILERS AHEAD!


This book was good, but predictable, I figured out the killer’s identity at as soon as they were in Delphine and Citizen was the only one close enough to drive himself. That, and the constant reference to the book that tells the different true crime personas made it clear to me that one of the 5 was the killer since that was a possible persona.

I also felt the bits about her looking into her father’s life were a bit unnecessary to the plot. Especially the part about his Star Trek fanfic. Maybe it went over my head, but I just don’t see why that was included.

Overall I felt it was enjoyable, but I was disappointed by the fact that I could easily figure it out, even as a person who doesn’t read a lot of thrillers.

📚This Book Will Bury Me by Ashley Winstead

⚠️CWs for true crime, murder, death of a loved one, grief/loss, misogyny, incels, kidnapping, stalking, animal death, sexual assault, and more

Story: 1/5
Audiobook: 3/5 (narrated by Leslie Howard)
Length: 13h12min

Rating: ⭐️/5

I already knew I shouldn’t have picked this up based on the description alone, but felt like I had to in order to write a fully informed review.

To start things off…while I’m aware that the author acknowledged the inspiration behind this book (which is more than a lot of other authors can say at least!), I was still shocked and deeply disturbed by the outcome. This was so grotesquely linked to the Idaho murders that it made me physically uncomfortable from start to finish. Direct references included how the murderer accessed the house, the victims being in a sorority, the murder weapon, precipitating events to the murder, the red herrings, characterizations of the real life alleged murderer, and more. Not only did the “inspiration” just feel like lazy writing, but it came across as cruelly insensitive to the real life victims. And the fact that this case is still open!!!!!! Be so for real right now. What a weird way of capitalizing on a real tragedy for entertainment purposes. I had already been questioning the ethics behind the consumption of true crime content in recent years, but this book literally made me want to avoid any true crime content at all costs.

I absolutely loved In My Dreams I Hold a Knife, but all other Ashley Winstead books I’ve picked up since have been huge flops for me. At this point, I think it’s clear that me and Ashley Winstead are just not meant to be (no matter how much I love her covers!!).

Hmm. I am so incredibly torn about my feelings on this book.

Winstead is a great writer, of that there's no doubt. But I had some big issues with where some of the inspiration for this book came from. The University of Idaho murders happened very near me and it hit close to home. When I started this book, I immediately recognized all of the almost exact same details being used, down to pretty specific things. It doesn't sit right with me, especially since this case is so fresh and hasn't even gone to trial.

That being said, the story did go in its own direction entirely and eventually veered sharply away from the reality of what happened. I liked the twists, I liked the writing, I was still invested enough to see how it ended. It did NOT need to use real life tragedy as the basis. It feels cheap and gross to me and the twists, turns, and bulk of the story could've been done without being at the expense of families who are still grieving and a tragedy that is ongoing.

I truly wasn't sure how to rate this one given my complex feelings and even a few weeks after finishing, I'm still really torn about it. Good book, good writing, poor use of inspiration.

I feel like Ashley Winstead has now hit the one hit wonder wall for me. This book just didn’t work for me.

I did finish it so I won’t give it a one star. It kept me wanting to know what happened and had some interesting commentary on grief, but the rest?

The rest was unfortunately lacking in depth. I didn’t feel like I cared for any of the characters at all. Our main character The Searcher, felt very juvenile that I had a hard time realizing she was an actual adult who just lost a parent.

The characters also kind of melded together and didn’t have a unique voice.

For a book that has a lot to say about our obsession with true crime, it’s unfortunate that it pulled so much from an actual case and glamorized it even more. It just felt really dirty and gross. It’s not any better than the obsessive podcasts consumed.

I loved this! I loved the true crime aspect so much, and the POV of this one. Reading it as a memoir added such depth to the story. I knew early on that a certain character was involved and was not surprised when it was later revealed. I do love the multiple murders in this and the twists! I loved the ending. Can’t wait to read this author again!

True Crime is really a complex subject and our obsession with it as a society could (and probably does) fill many a thesis. I do enjoy thrillers that deal with the True Crime community and I actually haven't read one like Winstead's newest work before, which takes a closer look at internet sleuths and how they both work to help solve crimes but at the same time sensationalise those crimes in a completely tone-deaf, desensitised manner. Winstead really did well with that.

The book is also very much a studdy of our protagonist's grief after the death of her father. The way he dies is very specific and feels personal, and there are reveals later on that i felt were a bit glossed over on the whole, but I actually liked how grief and distracting herself from it was the reason behind Jane joining a true crime group that's working to solve a case that just so happens to be all over media when her father dies. It's relatable, it makes sense and it gives the whole story more of an emotional edge.
The thriller elements are well done, but also drawn out due to the structuring and form of the novel. I wasn't always engaged, although the central murder mystery is definitely a good one and the murders themselves brutal and merciless. Jane's group, who quickly become famous in the True Crime community because of their case solving successes, works hard to figure out who brutally killed three young women in a sleepy little town - just in time for another group of three young women to be killed the same way in the same town, with the murderer once again leaving no evidence behind. I wanted to solve this case, I wanted to know what went on. The characters in the group are well-written and I mostly liked them well enough, and while Jane was, at times, a frustrating protagonist I still liked following her.
There is a big twist later on that is very obvious, which was a little disappointing because I felt like it actually made some of the characters look a little stupid to not notice certain things (things that the writing very clearly almost spelled out for us), and while I actually don't mind guessing a twist, this one felt a little lame. But there was merit as to why Winstead chose to go this way with her story, at least.

All in all, a solid thriller that takes a closer look at the dangers of obsessing over true crime but suffers from slow pacing, being just a little too long and ending up in more of a conventional thriller sphere than I would have hoped for. Still, solid three stars.

Loved this latest book from Ashley! It wasn’t what I typically expect for her, but I loved the true crime tribute and vibe! Formal review to come on Instagram.

This book is my favorite of Winstead's so far! I really enjoyed the characters and the story. Our main character was extremely relatable, finding herself again after suffering a significant loss, getting head over heels in an online community, it all was extremely timely and engaging.

💻 Book Review 💻

Thank you to Netgalley and publisher for an arc in exchange for my honest opinions.

Publication: March 25, 2025

Rating: Not for me

This is my second thriller by Winstead and I was left feeling underwhelmed. I loved the different formats presented however, the pacing felt slow. There was also a lot of repetitive plot pieces too.

For fans of:
💻 First person POV
✍️ Singular timeline
💻 True crime
✍️ Popcorn chapters
💻 Descriptive
✍️ Sleuthing

🛑 Trigger warnings 🛑
⚠️ Loss of a parent
⚠️ Descriptive/gore

TY to Net Galley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the ARC. Although a slow start had me wondering for the first 30% of this book, the author delivered a great thriller with multiple twists and pacing that delivered in the end. Recommend!

Enjoyed this book. Fun writing, fast paced. Interesting characters and settings. The plot was very predictable but that didn’t detract from the read. It’s a great beach thriller. Enjoy.

This book deserves 5 stars in my mind, but the fact that the author is dramatizing and sensationalizing the murder of 4 college girls in Idaho was shocking. It felt like trauma porn. Still, it is a compelling story and I did love the way in which it was written. I'm a sucker for an Ashley Winstead novel, I'm just disappointed she would rip off a real-life murder - especially one that is still very fresh.

I. Loved. This. LOVED IT.

This was the first I've read from Ashley Winstead and it absolutely will not be the last.

Janeway Sharp is completely at sea. In her early-20s, she's adrift at school, at work, in life and when her dad - the person she loves most in the world - dies, she's thrown into even more of a tailspin. To cope with his death, Jane throws herself into the online world of sleuthing. She gets DEEP into the world of true crime, investigating two different cases with a cadre of mismatched friends who both help and hinder their investigations. When they're called in by the FBI to help out with an investigation in Idaho, Jane realizes she may be in too deep.

The ONLY things that bugged me here was how close the crime was to the University of Idaho massacre. I know it was inspired by those events, but at times it trod a little too closely. The other was that her dad's death felt very much shoehorned in at times, and using true crime to cope felt...weird.

THAT BEING SAID. This was still a 5 star for me.

I was definitely missing my bedtime because of this book. Winstead is a great storyteller and although I'm not typically a true-crime sort of reader, this fictionalized version really kept me interested. And that ending! Whew!

Read Completed 3/31/25 | 3.5 - 3.75 stars
This was good, but never really got quite so exciting that I'd round up to 4 stars. It was an enjoyable read that got me invested in the characters, but I was a little too detached with most of the story being an investigation into serial murders that didn't involve the main characters. At times, it was frustrating to see this group of armchair detectives being a little reckless to get the answers they knew were true, even though they were right in so many ways.

I also wanted a little bit more time in the end with the supposed "book" and a little bit more about Jane. I was almost worried it was going to be a little bit of an open ending, and it did get wrapped up but it was way too quick. The big twist of the book was very exciting (though at a certain point, I wasn't distracted enough to see it from coming) and then things fizzled a bit after that, so the pacing was a little off.

I have yet to really be head-over-heels for Ashley Winstead but this hit me a little better than most of her others. It's still something I'd consider recommending though not an instant favorite.

"You want what I once wanted: that insatiable longing for answers, the most human of urges."

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The only other book I've read from Ashley Winstead is Midnight is the Darkest Hour which I LOVED. This Book Will Bury Me has a similar writing style that is atmospheric, detailed and writing that pulls you headfirst into the story.

Aspects of found-family, internet culture, "armchair detectives", the oddities of dealing with grief and obsession are all done really well. The commentary on para-social style relationships and the toxicity of the "hive-mind" that is the internet were done incredibly well, but I think in trying to portray those aspects and make a point, Winstead voided all of that by lifting basically the entire case in the book from the real case of the Moscow, Idaho murders.

There were far too many matching details for this book to simply be "inspired by" that case, and the part that feels truly icky (and goes against what I think the book itself is trying to say) is that the Idaho 4 case hasn't even gone to trial. None of those victims or their families have received any sort of justice, and to have the gory details be put into a book... just feels wrong.

If this had just stayed in drafting a *little* longer and not been a "copycat" of the real life case, I think this would have been a 4-4.5 star read for me.

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

"Death is the one thing we all share. I was just the latest in line."

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

This Book Will Bury Me was published on March 25, 2025. Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark for the advanced copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.