I Would Die for You by Sandie Jones is a recommended domestic mystery that follows two sisters in dual timelines.

In 2011 Nicole Forbes lives with her husband Brad and eight-year-old daughter Hannah in Coronado, California. When a writer, Zoe, comes to her home asking about her involvement with the scandal surrounding the 80's band Secret Oktober. Nicole left Great Britain and never looked back in order to distant herself from the downfall of the band. She also never told Brad about that part of her past. Later that day her daughter Hannah is picked up from school by her aunt - but she doesn’t have an aunt. Nicole is frantic that there is a link between Zoe's appearance and Hannah's brief disappearance. Now she may have to tell Brad her secret.

In London in 1986 sixteen-year-old Cassie is obsessed with Secret Oktober and lead singer Ben Edwards. She closely follows the movements of the band, trying to get Ben's attention and get into the backstage parties with her new friend and fellow groupie Amelia. What she doesn't know is that Ben heard her older sister Nicole singing an original song she wrote at a local bar one night and he can’t help but feel drawn to her.

The start of I Would Die for You was compelling and grabbed my complete attention. I was anxiously waiting for the big secret(s) and what happened in the past The switch in the narrative between time periods and points-of-view worked well. It was looking like a winner but as the novel continued, my enjoyment lessened. You will have to set disbelief aside several times and the ending was a complete disappointment.

The present day story became bothersome. It is uncertain why Nicole never shared more information about her past with Brad. Yeah, it's newsworthy and maybe scandalous, but she should have at least told him an edited version. For two people that are described as having a good relationship readers will be left wondering what exactly that is based on because the facts seem to belie their devotion to each other.

Following the band in the past and the obsession with them was entertaining but also had some disturbing elements to it. The characters were better developed in this time period and the infatuation beyond reason with the band members is clearly depicted.

This is a 3.5 rounded down based on the ending. Thanks to St. Martin's Press for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

The review will be published on Edelweiss, Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

Oof, this was a difficult one to get through. probably should have DNF'd it, but I kept thinking it would get better. It did not. I don't think I am a big fan of this author. I have tried other books by her and they really just are not for me.

The characters were painfully unlikeable, there was no actual character development, and no one that was relatable. Underwhelming, predictable, and a very rushed ending. Do not waste your time with this one!

I listened to most of this one on audiobook but did switch for the last 20% or so because I wanted to finish and see if my hunches were right on how everything came together. The narrator did a great job with the story. The story is told in two timelines and I enjoyed the 1986 timeline much more than the 2010 timeline. The characters didn’t feel fully developed and nothing really made sense to me in the 2010 storyline. (For instance if a child is kidnapped there is more follow up by all of the professionals that this book depicted). Even in the more interesting timeline there was a lot of leaps of faith the reader had to take, but overall it was an entertaining book. Overall I gave this one 3.5 stars which I rounded up because it did grip me enough to finish in one day.

I liked it! The short, well written chapters read fast and easily. I had the good fortune to receive an advance copy of both the ebook and the audiobook; I read and listened alternately, depending on what I was doing, as I struggled to put it down. I was anxious to find out how things went down in 1986 and how they were going to be possibly revealed or explained in 2010. The momentum built right up to the end. As always, I’m looking forward to the next Sandi Jones book.
Thank You to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the invitation/widget to read and enjoy this ARC.

what the heck even happened in this? cassie was a major psychopath and I didn’t even know what was going on for half of this because it was so out there.

not a fan and would not recommend. thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the arc - out 3/25/25

A fantastic psychological thriller with lots of twists and mystery! Sometimes the pacing was a little too fast for me, but I was intrigued and on the edge of my seat the whole time. I do wish there was a little more build up to the ending, but overall I really liked this book. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy.

This was a very enjoyable thriller. A super quick read/listen. I binged it in one day and would definitely recommend. It kept me guessing till the last few chapters since it was written very cryptically which I love in a thriller. I did guess a part of the ending but there were many things thrown in that I never could have seen coming.

I really liked Sandie Jones’ The Other Woman, so I was excited to get approved to read I Would Die for You.

In the present day, Nicole Forbes lives in a seaside town with her husband and daughter. She isn’t expecting someone to knock at her door one day with questions about the downfall of one of the biggest bands of the 1980s, a story she’s concealed from her current life, eager to escape the events that occurred. In her past, 1986, Nicole’s younger sister is obsessed with Secret Oktober, one of the hottest bands in London. Cassie harbors a crush on the band’s frontman Ben, and she’ll do whatever she can. Cassie doesn’t catch his eye though, Nicole does, and her beautiful song. This sets them on a course that will tear their family apart.

I think the concept of this book was fantastic. I loved the dual POV of the 80s and the 2010s. I liked Nicole and Ben and thought their story was really nice. I do think the execution was lacking though. I felt like the pacing was a bit uneven and at times, I didn’t fully understand what was going on. I thought the stuff that took place in the 80s was more intriguing and almost wish we’d stayed fully in that story. There were plenty of twists and turns towards the end, but I found the middle dragged for me, I also hated the ending. It didn’t feel fully resolved and too abrupt.

Thank you to Netgalley and Minatour books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3/5 stars

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of I Would Die for You by Sandie Jones. This book was not my favorite. It was told in two timelines, following Nicole in 2010 California and 1986 London. Nicole had hopes to be a singer in 1986, and she falls in with a band who might help her achieve her dreams. But something dark happens. As 2010 Nicole comes to grips with what happened in her past, she’s racing against the clock to make sure her family is safe from her past decisions.

I felt like this book was all over the place, kind of scattered. I felt like I was missing details, but at the same time, felt like it dragged on forever? I’m not sure how that’s possible. Were it not an ARC, I think I might have DNFed it. Ultimately, this one is probably ok to miss.

I Would Die for You had all the makings of a great suspense. However, this one fell a little flat for me. I enjoyed the dual timeline. 80s boy band music, the groupies following them around. What was really true or made up between Cassie and Ben. To now with Nicole's daughter being taken. I was pulled right into this book but the pacing was off for me. I started to get bored towards the middle. The end pulled everything together nicely. This is definitely more suspense than thriller.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books for an ARC of I Would Die for You by Sandie Jones for an honest review.

I usually enjoy Sandie Jones' books, but I had a really hard time with this one. I had trouble investing in any of the characters, and it very much read like a YA novel. This one would be good for someone who is looking for a light read without a lot of substance.

I always enjoy a book with alternating timelines and the narrator does an excellent job. It takes place in 1986 and 2011. I had both an audio and eBook and alternated between both. I am not sure if it was a pacing issue, but I was a bit disengaged. I enjoyed the 1986 time the best. If you enjoy murder mysteries, I would give it a try. Thank you to NetGalley, Minotaur Books, and Macmillan Audio for both the ARC and ALC in exchange for a review.
3 star

I had high hopes for this book but it fell short. The characters are unlikable. None of the twists were surprising. The alternating timelines were great at first and then they just started running together and became confusing. There are several plotlines that are unanswered. And the ending is abrupt. I really hated it after reading the entire book hoping to get a resolution. Wholly unsatisfactory.

I went in blind with this one, and, based on the cover alone, I was anticipating a locked-room mystery or a thriller set on an isolated island. The plot of this book was completely unexpected, but I ended up enjoying it more than I thought I would. The story is told in alternating timelines, perspectives, and settings: Cassie in London in 1986 and Nicole in California in 2011. I liked this format because it kept me guessing about how the two plotlines were intertwined, and I really had no idea how the story was going to end. There were several enjoyable plot twists and a couple that had me scratching my head. You may have to suspend disbelief a bit with this one. The ending was quite abrupt, and I wish there had been a couple more chapters or an epilogue.

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I Would Die for You by Sandie Jones had an intriguing premise, but unfortunately, it didn’t quite live up to my expectations. The book starts off with promise, offering a suspenseful premise and a potentially gripping storyline. However, as I continued reading, I found the plot to be overly predictable and lacking in the twists and surprises I was hoping for.

The characters didn’t feel as well-developed as I would have liked, and I had a hard time connecting with them. Their motivations seemed shallow, and some of their actions felt forced or out of character. The pacing was uneven, with some parts dragging on and others feeling rushed, making it difficult to maintain interest.

While the suspense element is there, it didn’t fully deliver. I found myself guessing the "twists" early on, which took away from the impact. The writing was decent, but I was left feeling somewhat underwhelmed by the overall execution of the story.

Overall, I Would Die for You is an okay read, but it didn't quite capture my attention the way I hoped. If you're looking for a light psychological thriller, it may work for you, but for me, it was a bit of a letdown.

This was my first novel that I read by Sadie Jones and I couldn't put it down. The thriller follows Nicole, a wife, mother, and an environmentalist type trying to save seals in California. Her life seems pretty normal until a journalist comes to Nicole's house asking about her past that she thought she buried years ago and then her daughter goes missing that same day. Are the two events connected? The book goes between the present day and in the past where we learn about Nicole and her younger sister Cassie's relationship with a famous boy band. I enjoyed the two different timelines and how you never knew until the end what the truth really was.

Thanks Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC, I can't wait to read more of Jones' books in the future!

Another Sandie Jones winner! This book hooked me in so hard, I couldn't put it down. This was a one sitting kind of read and I was SO annoyed when friends called to chat, I had to get up and refill my wine glass or make dinner. Pick this up only when you have time to binge it all at once.

This book was a fairly quick read. I had a hard time getting into the characters. They were all unlikable in their own way. The relationship between Ben and Nicole was lacking and it didn’t make me invested in them. Towards the end the story got kind of messy and I was ready for it to be done.

This story is told in two different timelines beginning in California 2010 and switching back to London 1986. In 1986, Cassie and her new friend Amelia are crazy over the famous popular band, Secret Oktober and madly in love the bandsmen. Cassie's older sister, Nicole, meets one of the band members and sparks fly. In California 2010, Nicole's past secrets suddenly threaten her marriage of 25 years to Brad when Zoe knocks on her door and starts asking questions about what really happened in London back then. I usually love this author's books but this one missed the mark for me. I found it very confusing and hard to follow at times.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/Minotaur for the ARC of this book

Really good. Held my attention and kept me guessing what was going on. Enjoyed the characters and the plot. Flew through this book in 2 Days. Definitely recommend for a good quick mystery! Thank you NetGalley for this ARC