Very Dangerous Things takes us on an exhilarating journey into the world of mystery and criminology. I was genuinely surprised by how much I enjoyed this book, especially after not connecting with Suddenly a Murder—this one feels like a complete step up in every way.

The story centers on Dulce, a sharp and intuitive protagonist whose brilliant mind reminded me of Spencer Reid from Criminal Minds. Dulce’s intelligence and insight drive the plot forward, making her an engaging character to follow. What stood out most was how each character carried weight in the story—no one felt like a filler. Everyone seemed like a viable suspect at some point, which kept me second-guessing the whole way through. Even when I thought I had it all figured out, the narrative would twist just enough to keep me questioning.

One of the strongest aspects of the book is the tension and unpredictability. The sense that no character was truly safe heightened the stakes and made the mystery feel more real and immediate. Even though some of the twists felt a little predictable in hindsight, the way Muñoz executed them kept me hooked.

My only complaint lies with the pacing and length. While I appreciated that the story moved quickly and didn’t linger too long on unnecessary details, there were moments where it felt too fast. Some scenes—particularly those building the backstory and exploring relationships between characters—felt rushed. A bit more room to develop the side plots would have elevated the story even more.

Overall, Very Dangerous Things delivers a gripping mystery with a compelling protagonist, a well-constructed cast of characters, and enough twists to keep you engaged until the very last page. It’s a major improvement from Muñoz’s previous work, and I can’t wait to see what she writes next.

2.75 rounded up. Cute-ish but left me wanting a lot more.

As an adult, I really enjoy YA thrillers. They're usually easier to digest than the often unnecessarily fibrous books of adult authors and often have better twists. Unfortunately, every now and then I come across a YA thriller that probably would be better-received by a teenager rather than an adult, and this is one.

It's a confusing narrative from the jump, as we immediately start from a third-person perspective but switch to a first-person perspective and go back and forth a few times throughout the book. It's jolting, doesn't make much sense and is tricky to follow. To further complicate the narrative, our lead character is a perceptive little teen detective and makes deductions of characters throughout the book. These are little italicized paragraphs that aren't explained as such, thus, I was left scratching my head for the first few chapters as to what was going on. Don't get me started about how our *allegedly* perceptive heroine is wildly oblivious to so, so much throughout the book. Add in a wild conspiracy theory that comes out of nowhere about her mother's death, a sharp antagonism to technology that leads to her only using a flip phone, and the quote from p. 48 that says, "I always score off the charts on the hearing test that the school nurse administers every year," and we are introduced to quite the unhinged MC.

The other characters aren't much better. The best friend is quite an abusive gaslighter, the principal is wildly inappropriate with his students (eating lunch with them, showing off crime scene footage, etc.) - this is just the surface of the crazy iceberg that is our cast of characters.

We definitely lean into the drama for this one. I was constantly shocked by how much petty drama in which our MC and her inner circle were constantly involved. It was a constant reminder that this is a high school book that cannot be taken too seriously, despite the murder. No spoilers but even the solution to the murder involves some very shaky legality.

It's not all bad, though. The fact that our MC is involved in so much high school drama ensures that we have a very atypical antagonism among our MC's team. It was an interesting dynamic to have a murder-solving gang not quite like each other that much.

The murder was also fun! (Or as fun as a fictional killing can be.) The how and why were rich and interesting, though I thought whodunnit was glaringly obvious from the beginning.

We're left with an ending that is cute-ish and sets the novel up quite nicely for a sequel, though I must admit that I wouldn't be interested in reading it. Its flaws made reading it a bit of a slog, and the redeeming qualities just weren't enough to really ignite a fire in me to see what happens next. It will probably be far better received by its target (teen) audience, but it just wasn't for me.

Munoz's Very Dangerous Things is a fun take on the classic whodunit murder mystery. Having the setting be a criminology high school provides a funny environment for the murder to take place and the dry humor in the prologue sets the tone for the rest of the story.

The heart of the novel are the characters and their relationships with each other as the novel progresses. Nuance and depth are given to all of the high schoolers so they don't feel flat or stock. The adults are a little more one-dimensional, but I feel that is allowed in a teen YA book.

Like every good mystery there are some twists at the end, with some more surprising that others, but all in all, a very fun read.

Thank you to the author for sending me this ARC on NetGalley! This book is perfect for fans of "Truly, Devious" by Maureen Johnson (except Dulce is more likeable than Stevie). The beginning of this book was a bit too slow for me, but I got hooked a few chapters in.

I loved the confrontation scenes between Dulce and Sierra, because who doesn't love tension? Also, the chapter 31 Dorothy quote??? I was ready for Zane to be the accomplice. The epilogue was definitely cry-worthy, and I love that Dulce can now have some inner peace.

I thought that the plot twists were somewhat predictable, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, especially because there were so many of them that I couldn't keep up! Every time I thought I had the mystery figured out, Lauren would switch things up.

All in all, a great read that kept me on my toes until the very end. Highly recommend!

First I want to thank NetGalley for allowing me this ARC to read and review.

This book was so good! It had me on the edge of my seat since the first page. I wish I had the chance to attend J. Everett myself with how the school is. I never knew what to expect and the last person I expected of course the one who did it. I love how it would make you feel like it going to be one thing and then changes and you just never know.

In 2023 I read Suddenly, A Murder by the same author and LOVED it. (It's an ARC, I'll get to it *facepalm*.) So, I was super excited to see a new offering by Munoz and it did not disappoint. It has so many elements I love - a specialized school, shady characters, an unlikable semi-main, and of course, murder.

J. Everett High is a private school in Cherry Cape that focuses on criminoloy. Students are sorted into various 'capsules' by interest - forensics, journalism, etc. For decades the school has staged a murder mystery each year to challenge its students. They form their own teams, then receive information to solve the case. A student is selected to play the victim and is instructed how to go about playing dead. Any student could discover the crime scene at any point in the first couple weeks of school, and the game is on.

The only problem is, when Xavier Torres is discovered, he's actually dead and suddenly there is a real murdet to solve - one that doesn't come with packaged witness statements, evidence, and clues to solve the murder and claim the $30,000 prize.

The thing is, Xavier was murdered in real life the same way he was supposed to be in the game, so there is no shortage of suspects who had access to the materials for this year's game...

To say I was captivated is an understatement. I absolutely loved it from start to finish and based on the ending, I really hope Munoz makes it into a series. I know there's only so much murder high schoolers can solve before it borders on ridiculous, but there's a cold case that's given several mentions throughout that could at least make a nice duology. And maybe another mystery on top of that one could be found...basically I really want a series.

Our main character is Dulce. She and her best friend Emi are a team, and come close to winning every year, despite being the smallest group participating. Dulce's former best friend Sierra heads up a different team, along with her boyfriend Xavier and his younger brother Enzo, who defected from Dulce and Emi's team the previous year in the middle of the game. Never mind that Sierra is cheating on Xavier with Enzo.

LOTS going on.

There's Rose, who latches onto Emi at the beginning of the year, which annoys Dulce. And Zane, a transfer from Cherry Cape High, who seems to know Xavier, despite his denials. Adding to the chaos is the fact that Dulce and Sierra used to be best friends, even had their own little detective agency in middle school, but a betrayal by Sierra leaves Dulce reeling after Dulce's mom dies in a car accident when they're in 8th grade.

So, Dulce has a lot going on. There's the fake murder mystery she is determined to win, the internship with the city coroner she wanted so she can access all the documents related to her mother's death. strain on her friendship with Emi when Xaiver is killed because Emi wants to solve the real thing, and of course, a mysterious boy who she can't stop thinking about.

I don't want to say a lot more, because there are crucial relationships one must know to figure out how this all ties together and the discovery of them one by one is something that makes this novel work so well, on so may levels.

At first Dulce wants nothing to do with trying to solve Xavier's murder, because Sierra is the prime suspect, who is charged with his murder. Sierra tries to enlist Dulce and Emi to solve it, but Dulce refuses, based on what happened when Dulce's mom died. I one hundred and ten percent supported Dulce in this, and I am pretty sure other readers will too. But as that web is untangled, Dulce eventually is drawn in and has more suspects than she could possibly handle. Yet she does, and while I had a good idea of who the brains of the operation was, that did not dimish my enjoyment of the book at all. Even though I guessed who the 'who' was, I did not know the 'why' and discovering that was just as important. This does not mean the book is predictable, but when you've read enough YA thrillers, you pick up on clues faster than someone who may not read this genre as often.

The novel is not perfect. There are times when you have to suspend some belief, but that is balanced out by the superb writing, character development, and the fact that the mystery itself is so addictive. It is a unique plot and setting (I would have SO loved to have gone to a school like this one!), and the red herrings are not obvious or misplaced. Sometimes authors can over-do it in that department to try to throw readers off, but I did not feel like that was the case here at all.

Something else I enjoyed were the flashbacks, which helped to round out the characters even more. No one felt cookie-cutter here and their individual backstories helped each one stand out. I appeciated that the high schoolers felt like high schoolers. They talked and behaved the way 16 year olds do, without any embarassing slang or trends that would quickly date the book in just a few years.

The grief and guilt that Dulce feels from her mother's death is palpable, but it does not weigh her storyline down. She's carries it with her constantly and we eventually find out why. She is easy to relate to and her development is consistent throughout the novel, not just fits and starts. She's one of the most authentic characters I have read in YA in a long time.

Absolutely fantastic. Highly, highly recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley for letting me read this ARC
This book was amazing in so many ways. At the start you couldn’t tell who the murderer was but as the story progressed more clues were revealed. I guessed the murderer mere pages before they were revealed. All in all an amazing book and all of the characters were really enjoyable and relatable!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was a quick and enjoyable read. I loved the concept of a school for wanna be detectives and a murder mystery game gone wrong. (with a little teen romance in the mix) There were so many shady characters that it was hard to predict who it would be.

I'd be open to reading another book with this group. And I really wish this school was real so that I could attend!

3.5 stars

I got an early copy from netgalley and this was very addictive to finish.

It is very well written and I enjoyed myself immensely throughout the book. I wish the author explored more of Emi (the side character more) as I felt that there was so much more that could be written about her. The small hint of romance is rather adorable and very believable. The protagonist is likeable as well and the male character was also very easy to love. I enjoyed myself immensely in the book.

The ending caught me off guard and i did not see it coming at all. However sometimes, i feel like the book has some rather unbelievable moments and so out of pocket but i still enjoyed myself when reading the book

I loved this new YA from Lauren Muñoz! The whole "real murder happening during a murder game" is actually a favorite trope of mine and this story is no exception. Criminology students are thrust into a real murder scene when one of their fellow students is murdered. Very Dangerous Things captures the high school vibe well (at least as this middle-age woman imagines it) and all of the students are suspects. Dulce & her friends / frenemies are quickly embroiled in the mystery. And the mystery quickly involves the past - Dulce's mother's death.

Very Dangerous Things is lots of fun - great characters, dialogue, and twisty turns. There's action and, above all, a solid mystery. Bonus points for all of the shout outs to Dorothy L. Sayers & her iconic Lord Peter Wimsey novels as well as the Golden Age locked room mysteries. I highly recommend to any fans of the Truly Devious or the Charlotte Holmes series.

FWIW, I received this ARC from #NetGalley and #PenguinYoungReaders. This voluntary review is my own opinion.

Set at a high school for those aspiring to be in the criminology field, we follow Dulce and her friends while they try to solve the murder of a fellow student. I enjoyed this YA mystery. The murder was interesting with a satisfying conclusion. Definitely worth the read if you enjoyed books like The Agathas.

Thank you PenguinTeen and Netgalley for this eARC, these opinions are my own. I devoured this book! I would have finished it in one day but I made myself stop reading and finished it the next day! Dulce Death Castillo (love that name!!) is enrolled at J Everett High a private school that focuses on criminology and various aspects of the field. Every year they have The Game, a murder mystery, in which the winning team gets a cash prize. Dulce and her best friend Emi have come in second the last two years but she feels that this is her year. Unfortunately Xavier Torres is chosen to play the victim, it only matters cause the team with the victim usually has a leg up. Then Xavier is found actually dead is the same way that The Game’s victim was supposed to die. The main suspect is his ex-girlfriend, she was the last one to see him and she just happens to be Dulce’s ex-best friend. The ex friend who totally betrayed her. All signs point to Sierra, but she swears she’s innocent, and is asking for Dulce’s help. Who could have wanted Xavier dead? With a long list to choose from Dulce and Emi have their work cut out for them. They’re joined by the new kid Zane and Rose, who’s always hanging around much to Dulce’s displeasure. But each of them have their own secrets and when it looks like even Sierra is hiding things the case becomes more complicated. As more people get hurt things become increasingly dangerous for Dulce and her friends. Can they figure out whodunnit? Lauren Munoz kept me guessing on this one and just when I thought I had it figured out another twist! I loved that it takes place at a school for criminology creates expert ways of looking at the case! Fast paced, thrilling, with a corrupt law enforcement, a dislikable victim, grief and loss, a smidge of romance, and a very witty best friend! Perfect for mystery lovers!

This book is everything you didn’t know you needed—think Veronica Mars meets Wednesday with a fierce, smart, and slightly stubborn protagonist you can’t help but root for. Meet Dulce: she’s been solving mysteries since middle school, and now she’s at an elite private school that’s basically detective-training heaven. But when a student is murdered and all eyes point to her ex-best friend as the prime suspect, Dulce refuses to get involved...until she doesn’t.

Cue the whirlwind. There's swoon-worthy boys, classic high school drama, and enough twists to keep you guessing. But it’s not just teen drama; there’s a shady sheriff, secret affairs, and a heated election that have the adults all tangled up. As Dulce dives deeper into the case, the stakes rise fast—and so does the danger. She’ll risk everything, including her own safety, to uncover the truth.

Fast-paced, clever, and just plain fun, this book is like binge-watching your favorite mystery series with a cup of hot cocoa. A perfect ode to Dorothy Sayers but totally fresh for today’s readers. You won’t want to stop turning pages!

This book was a pleasant surprise.
I thoroughly enjoyed it, as it was a quick read and a good time.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

VERY DANGEROUS THINGS by Lauren Muñoz

Thank you Netgalley and Penguin Teen for the earc (July 29)

It was only supposed to be a game.
J.Everett High stages a game each year: the criminology students must solve a murder. When Xavier Torres, the student playing the victim, is found poisoned it lines up with how things are supposed to go. Except...he was actually murdered. And the police think Sierra Fox did it, so she enlists the help of Dulce Castillo to solve Xavier's murder.
I remember when I read SUDDENLY A MURDER, and I loved how twisted it was, so I had very high hopes for this book. VERY DANGEROUS THINGS was an explosive read with twists and turns galore. From the prologue, before I even knew what was going on, I was hooked. As the story unfolded, the mystery unwove, I remained so. This book is a thrilling tale that left me shocked...more than once. It's not just a story of murder. VERY DANGEROUS THINGS is a story of friendship, secrets, and betrayal. It left me grasping for the whodunit it, picking away at the evidence as I tried to solve Xavier Torres's murder. There were times when I thought I had it figured out, and Muñoz entered a twist that left me dumbfounded, mouth agape as I reveled in shock.
As the story moved along, I was appreciative of the flashback chapter because it added something to the story that you don't get with first person pov, because it allows for the reader to get more insight from other characters, time periods, etc. And, honestly, some of those chapters had me pointing fingers. Admittedly, it was in the wrong direction. It was until the last few chapters that I figured everything out, which was amazing. I love that this book wasn't predictable. It was mysterious and left me wanting more. With more mysterious needing solved, I would love to see a second book with these characters.
10/10 would recommend. VERY DANGEROUS THINGS is a must read for mystery lovers, drama lovers, and lovers of shocking whodunit reveals.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Net Galley for an ARC of this book.
Very Dangerous Things is a fast [aced thriller that will keep you guessing. Everyone is hiding something and things aren't always what they seem. I enjoyed this thriller and couldn't put it down. I think readers that enjoy Holly Jackson and Karen McManus will love this book.

James Everett High, a criminology-focused school, hosts an annual murder mystery game that provides students with the chance to win a huge cash prize. Dulce and her best friend Emi are excited about competing for the prize this year to fund their dream trip to England. However, their plans are majorly disrupted and chaos ensues when Xavier, the student picked to play the “victim” in the game is found dead. Now, Dulce must work with her ex-best friend, nemesis, and number one suspect, Sierra, to solve the case and find the true killer.

I am clearly in the minority here, but I did not like this book very much. After finishing, I realize that I may not be the correct audience for this book, but I think the right reader would really enjoy it. First, the things I liked about it. The setting was intriguing and unique (how many other books take place at a high school focused on solving crimes with detective Harry Potter vibes?), and the characters were well-developed. Now, some of my issues with the book. Despite liking the characters at first, I quickly grew to feel that they were very immature, even for the YA genre, and the plot dragged on much longer than necessary. The great reveal at the end was a little unsatisfying to me, but I liked how the author teased future books and left the door open to make this a series with some interesting unanswered questions. I think this book would be perfect for readers that are actually of YA age, whereas a general audience who enjoys YA fiction may not enjoy it as much.

2.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group/G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Penguin, and GP Putnam Sons for this ARC! All opinions are my own.


“Very Dangerous Things” introduces us to J. Everett High, a specialized school that allows students to study criminology. The school has a yearly game, where they stage a murder mystery for teams of students to solve, with a money prize for the fastest team. But when the student who is supposed to be playing the victim turns up dead for real, this is no longer a game. It’s real murder.

Dulce Castillo gets wrapped up in the case when her ex-best friend and the deceased’s girlfriend, Sierra, becomes the primary suspect. Claiming innocence, Sierra begs Dulce to put aside their problems to find the real killer. With her best friend and a cute new boy on her side, Dulce agrees to solve this case. But she comes to realize the very big difference between a game and a real murder: there’s a real killer at the end of the line.

I loved “Suddenly A Murder”, so when the chance arose to read Muñoz’s latest, I had to go for it! She is an excellent storyteller when it comes to mysteries, and I thoroughly enjoyed every bit of this story. It’s very different from her first book, which was set in an isolated manor, and I liked that we got a more open world in “VDT”. The characters were unique as well, which is no surprise, since I feel Muñoz does so well with writing distinctive characters. The pacing was good, the plot was great, and I the killer reveal was a total surprise. If you’re a fan of mysteries or true crime, or loved Muñoz’s first book, then I highly recommend this one.

This is a fun whodunnit set at a private school in a small town. It's twisty and entertaining, while also, somehow, having some plot points that should be unbelievable. I enjoyed it enough that the craziness didn't bother me. It was a fast, easy read and I'm glad I got to read the ARC. I definitely want to read more by Lauren Muñoz!

I love a book with a fun school setting, and this one's school is for amateur/upcoming detectives. The cast of characters was also fun, and I really loved how each character who initially was a suspect ended up coming together to help Dulce in the end. Each character, including Dulce, was not morally perfect and yet had their own grounded reasons for doing the things they did in the end. Als Sierra is so fascinating and I desperately want her own spinoff (and thought she and Dulce should have kissed..oops)

I do think this lost steam midway through and picked up towards the end, which clarifies why this one isn't a perfect five-star to me.