*rounded up from 3.5 stars*

This was a twisty tale told in two timelines. It was a quick read because I was trying to follow the threads. I still have a pit in my stomach after finishing because holy moley does the psychosis happening in this story terrify me. There were definitely some bits that didn’t fully add up for me, but it was definitely a page turner.

Nicole started over in California after leaving England behind. She got married and had a daughter. Now there’s a reporter on her step asking questions about the life she thought she had buried. The one her husband has no clue about. The one that is going to be revealed when her daughter goes missing.

This is a dual-timeline kinda sorta mystery. We switch between 1986 and 2010, with Nicole and Cassie. Unbeknownst to the sisters, they have fallen for the same guy, the front man for Secret Oktober, Ben Edwards. Cassie is obsessed with the band and meets Amelia, who is able to get Cassie into the after-parties, where she meets her famous crush, Ben. She believes they have a true connection, but one night Ben sees Nicole singing at a bar and is smitten. She knows Cassie will hate her if she finds out about them, so she keeps it a secret. During one night in 1986, someone ends up dead, and Nicole ends up running away to America after the trial ends. Now it has all caught up to her, and her family is paying the price.

There's no real tension or suspense, although we don't know for sure who's dead or who did it. It's a definite slow burn for sure, and the pace never really quickens. The characters weren't necessarily likeable, and I probably would have enjoyed it more had there been some more mystery surrounding the death, or some tension in the 2010 plot.

All in all, if you enjoy reading about fangirls and obsession, about having secrets from your family, or a secret past, then this might be for you. I just wanted more "umph" in my mysteries.

Thank you to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for a digital copy for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.

🎸 I Would Die For You 🎤
Genre: Thriller
Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3.5)

This book follows the story of Nicole and Cassie, two sisters, whose lives get tangled up with a member of one of the hottest bands in London in 1986. The book flashes backwards and forwards from 1986 to present time, where Nicole’s life gets turned upside down when her daughter goes missing. She tries to figure out if the events in 1986 had something to do with it or not.

I enjoyed the dual timeline in this book but I felt there were times in both the past and present that dragged on a bit. There were a few twists that I guessed from a thousand miles away but the ending did surprise me a bit, which won the book back a few points for me.

This book may be for you if you like:

🧑‍🎤Rock Star Infatuation
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦Family Drama
⏰Dual Timelines

A big thank you to @williammorrowbooks for the advanced copy and @macmillan.audio for the accompanying audiobook in exchange for an honest review!

I love a good thriller and have been looking for new-to-me authors, which is why I requested this one. I really enjoyed this read--thanks so much for the gifted copy

It's a very interesting book about a family and how things can go wrong real quick? The band was big in the 80s.Cassie just loved them especially b e n. She had a friend who was a very bad influence on her. And they snuck in to see the band and things got really crazy when they went to the party. Her parents are also dealing with a divorce at the same time. T her sister named Nicole somehow got involved in this too. Cause Ben saw her singing one night in a bar. There's a lot of different issues in this book. Especially when they went to California in 2011.. Nicole moved there away from her family but this was really interesting part of the book because she had a little daughter this became very interesting because you can see what was happening. Her daughter got kidnapped and things were not going well with our husband as well. She tried to put the past behind her. But you'll find out what happened to the band and it's a very interesting twist in terms, you can see how startum can really confused young people..

This was my first book by this author. I loved the dual timeline and all the wild twists it had to offer. This book left me shocked ( in a good way!). Recommend it for sure!

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.

Sandie Jones crafts an intriguing psychological thriller in "I Would Die for You", delivering a gripping narrative that delves into love, trust, and deception. The novel lures readers in with its deceptively simple premise—an intense romance that becomes shadowed by unsettling secrets—but quickly evolves into a layered exploration of manipulation and obsession.

At the heart of the story is a seemingly idyllic relationship, but as the novel unfolds, the cracks in the foundation become impossible to ignore. Jones excels at weaving tension into everyday interactions, making even the most mundane moments feel foreboding. Her ability to craft unreliable characters ensures that readers are constantly questioning motives and alliances. Nothing is ever quite as it seems.

Jones doesn’t rely solely on shocking twists to keep the reader engaged; she builds psychological complexity that forces us to grapple with themes of control and vulnerability. There’s a haunting quality to the narrative, leaving lingering questions about how well we truly know the people closest to us.

The pacing is sharp, the dialogue precise, and the atmosphere laced with unease. Fans of psychological thrillers will appreciate how Jones balances the suspense with character-driven storytelling, ensuring the emotional stakes remain just as compelling as the mystery.

"I Would Die for You" is a psychological rollercoaster—crafted with precision and propelled by emotional intensity. Jones proves once again that she understands the mechanics of human fragility and deception, delivering a captivating mystery.

I adore Jones, but really struggled with this. I found all of the characters to be unlikable. The story had a lot of promise.

Prepare to be consumed by a whirlwind of suspense, secrets, and the intoxicating allure of the 1980s music scene in Sandie Jones's latest masterpiece, "I Would Die for You". While known for her deeply human and often unsettling explorations of relationships, Jones takes a thrilling turn with this release weaving a dual-timeline narrative that is as mysterious as it is engaging.

Set between the sun-drenched shores of California in 2011 and the electric energy of London in 1986, the story centers around sisters Nicole and Cassie and their entanglement with Secret Oktober, the hottest British band of the era. When a writer comes knocking on Nicole's door seeking insight into the band's downfall, it unearths a past she desperately tried to bury. The same day, her daughter goes missing, and Nicole is forced to confront long-abandoned memories, convinced of a sinister link between the two events.

In 1986, a sixteen-year-old Cassie is utterly obsessed with Secret Oktober and their magnetic frontman, Ben Edwards. Her intense crush leads her into the scandalous backstage world of the band, a world of groupies and excess. But when Ben's attention is captured by Cassie's older sister, Nicole, a talented singer in her own right, a dangerous collision course is set in motion, threatening to tear their family apart.

Jones masterfully uses the alternating timelines and perspectives of Nicole and Cassie to build a palpable sense of tension and unease. You'll find yourself questioning who is truly speaking, playing a guessing game of motives and secrets as the true history of what happened all those years ago slowly unfolds. The novel delves into the dark side of celebrity fandom, offering a chilling perspective on obsessive fans and the chaos that can erupt from the frenzy of idol worship.

While some plot points may stretch believability and veer into absurdity at times, they don't detract from the overall gripping mystery. The twists and turns are plentiful, keeping you hooked and devouring the pages in one sitting. "I Would Die for You" is a story of family dynamics, obsession, lies, and revenge, set to the synthesized sound of the 1980s. It's a riveting thriller that explores the fraught relationship between obsessive love and fame, leaving you with an open-ended choice of which characters to love and which to hate.

If you're a fan of psychological thrillers, mysteries, and stories that explore the darker corners of human nature, all infused with a captivating sense of mystery and the thrilling backdrop of the 80s music scene, then "I Would Die for You" is a must-read. Sandie Jones, delivers a crackling thriller that will leave you breathless until the final, surprising scene.

I love Sandie Jones books and this one did not disappoint. I could not stop reading and the twists and turns were crazy!

The dual timeline of this book works perfectly and I loved both timelines. The end of the book….WOW!

Thank you NetGalley for a digital copy of this book.

Cassie, a sixteen-year-old is obsessed with the band Secret Oktober. She is in love with one of the members and does everything she can to meet him and hang out with the rest of the band. Nicole her older sister is trying to make a break singing. She secretly starts to see the same band member that her sister has a crush on.

Fast forward 25-years and Nicole has started a new life, a new husband and daughter. But then things start to unravel and things from Nicole's past start to come to the surface.

This is told in two timelines now and then and from Nicole and Cassie's perspectives. I had a really hard time keeping it straight. I also felt like the ending just sort of ended and I had a few questions about what happened.

This was not my favorite book by this author.

This is more a book of mystery, suspense, and family drama. It has dual timelines - 1986 and 2010. The 1986 events are set in England. The events in 2010 are set in Coronado, California.

The 1986 events involve the rock and roll scene from the 1980’s. The good, bad, and ugly.

Nicole Forbes is the main character. She is hiding a secret from 1986. A secret she has kept from her husband. Her past life begins to unravel when her eight year old daughter, Hannah, goes missing.

As Nicole’s story begins to unfold, the writing made me curious about the secret she has been keeping. It motivated me to read more.

Several of the characters were unlikable. The ending left me wanting more.

Ugh. I hate to give such a low rating, but this was awful. I really just wanted the book to end. The characters were so unbelievable - one minute the Nicole and Brad have the perfect marriage, the next they are suspicious of each other and think the worst of one another WITHOUT SAYING ANY WORDS TO EACH OTHER. The plot is drawn out to create drama and suspense that doesn't exist, most of which doesn't make much sense. The characters are flat. The writing is sophomoric and basic. What a disappointment, as I enjoyed a couple of her other books.

Thank you to Net galley and Minotaur Books for the opportunity to read this.

Nicole Forbes has completely reinvented herself since her early adulthood and she’s put that life behind her, at least until now. When her daughter goes missing, supposedly picked up from school by an aunt who doesn’t exist Nicole is forced to revisit her long ago buried past. Back in 1986 Secret Oktober was the it band and Nicole had caught the eye of Ben Edwards, the leading man, but her sister Cassie is obsessed with him. I’m a night that will change all of their lives forever, Cassie takes matters into her own hands. How does the past connect to the present and will the secrets from her past come back to bite Nicole in the end?

I honestly had no clue what this book was about when I started it, I just enjoyed the cover. I was pleasantly surprised when I found out it was about a band and their falling out. My interest was hooked from the beginning of this book and held as this story unfolded. I enjoyed the twists and turns as these puzzle pieces fell together. It was suspenseful and interesting the whole time. The jumps between the last and present were a great way to mix this story up and I thought this was very well done. I enjoyed this mystery the whole way through and had a fun ride while reading it.

Nicole Forbes has a great life with her husband, Brad and daughter, Hannah in California. A journalist shows up at her door, asking about her past involving a band from the 80's called Secret Oktober and their lead singer Ben, that she's tried to keep hidden. When her daughter is picked up from school by the aunt that she doesn't have, Nicole is concerned that her past is back to haunt her.

I read The Other Woman by this author and absolutely adored it so I was intrigued to read another book by her! The story is told in two timelines, one in 2011, and one in the 1980's that interweave with one another. I enjoyed the 1980s much better then the 2011 one. I felt like it was more interesting, and faster pace. Older Nicole kind of annoyed me, and I didn't care about her timeline. The biggest downfall of the book for me was the ending, it felt very abrupt and left me unsatisfied.

Overall, very entertaining read - but not the best ending!

This is a twisty, nostalgic thriller that blends 1980s band obsession with a present-day mystery. The dual timeline kept me intrigued—especially the backstage drama and family tension in the ‘80s storyline. While the premise was great and the pacing solid, some of the twists felt a bit far-fetched, and I didn’t fully connect with the characters.

Still, it’s an entertaining read with a unique setup and a fun retro vibe. Worth picking up if you love music-centered thrillers with secrets from the past.

Thanks to the publisher for this ARC!

So many twists! I loved the dual timelines of this story. Each chapter kept me hanging and ready to figure out what was next. With all the twists I wasn’t sure how everything would pull together and was shocked with how it did. I can’t say much without giving away the ending but WHAT?! So many possibilities for how things could play out from there!

Two different timelines, involving Nicole. There's music, groupies, twists and turns, but this was not a hit for me. A little light on the character development. It all starts when someone asks Nicole about her part in the downfall of a popular band in the 80's. Then her daughter is kidnapped...this was a lighter read and it was okay, but I didn't love it. I will try more from this author, though!

Nicole has run from her past for decades, but we can rarely outrun our problems. Her younger sister, Cassie, is slightly obsessed with the lead singer in a popular band. What starts out as a typical fan fawning over a star quickly morphs into something more serious and the domino effect reaches far and wide. A very unique and interesting story!

I may need to accept this isn't the author for me as I've only enjoyed one of her books. this started out good enough but I really hate books about fake celebrities so it really lost me from there, I thought the whole past story was stupid.