Stacie Grey's new thriller burns hot and fast. Set in a remote California mansion, it follows Gertie, who returns home after 25 years for a will reading. She barely knows her siblings, and soon discovers they're all hiding something deadly.

Grey builds tension masterfully. The desert heat presses in as family secrets surface one by one. Each character could be the villain, and Grey keeps us guessing until the final page. The plot occasionally feels familiar – wealthy family, shocking inheritance, suspicious servants – but Grey's sharp writing and clever twists keep it fresh.

This is a book you'll finish in one sitting. It's smart, tense, and satisfying, proving Grey deserves a spot alongside thriller heavyweights like Ruth Ware and Liane Moriarty.

4.5/5 stars

Perfect for: Anyone who loves family secrets, isolated settings, and endings you won't see coming

Oh my goodness what can I say. I started this book and read 70% in one sitting desperate to finish it but sleep was needed. Finished it the next day and it was so good.
This was my first Stacie Grey book and I absolutely loved it.
The story centres around Gertrude “Gertie” Glass as she is summoned to her late father’s house in Palm Springs for the reading of his will. A man she hasn’t seen since she was three and she knows that her half siblings won’t be welcoming.
She is absolutely correct and when the lawyer tells them what her father has left them all, the trouble really begins. Gertie has her suspicions about her father’s death and when a staff member is murdered a couple of weeks later, Gertie sets out to get to the bottom of it all.
Gertie was a lovely character, the others not so but this just adds to the drama and the tension can be felt throughout the book. It’s fast paced, a lot happens but until the end I was clueless as to who had done what.

A brilliant story, a beautiful location and a fantastic story.

After the mysterious death of her father - Gertie Glass becomes mixed up in some serious family drama. Wanting answers, she conducts her own investigation to uncover the family secrets and what exactly happened the night of her father’s 90th birthday.

I can say I truly didn’t know who was involved in the death up until the very last few chapters! Lots of different twists that came together nicely.

Gertie hasn't seen her siblings since she was a toddler, until now. She was summoned back to the family home she barely remembers in order to be present for the reading of her father's will. Unexpectedly, Gertie inherits a large portion of the family business as well as her father's sprawling home in Palm Springs. Gertie begins to question the events surrounding her father's death.

The story takes us on a wild ride as Gertie maneuvers family secrets, jealousy, and lies. I really grew to love Gertie's character. The siblings were unlikeable, but that is what makes the story. If you like a locked room mystery full of family dysfunction, you will thoroughly enjoy this thriller!

Thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

She Didn't Stand a Chance consumed me. I was completely intrigued. The characters were complex. I was hopeful with some, and disgusted by others. Stacie Grey masterfully crafted a cast of characters that fueled both intrigue and suspicion. The novel masterfully weaves together suspense and domestic mystery, creating a tapestry of secrets, betrayal, and greed. The plot is skillfully layered, with subtle hints and clues that kept me guessing until the very end.
The conclusion left me breathless. This is an absolute five-star read without reservation. I enthusiastically recommend picking up "She Didn't Stand a Chance" upon its release on August 12th. Thank you to Poisoned Pen press and NetGalley for this Advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me a copy of this book to review.

This was an edgy thriller novel, and I enjoyed it a lot. I am looking forward to reading more by this author.

Gertie returns home for the reading of her father's will. she hasn't seen her siblings in years. she comes to realize that her father might have been murdered.

So I have to admit I wasn’t a huge fan of the authors first book but I’ll always give a second chance and im glad I did because I enjoyed this book so much more!

I really liked Gerties character (don’t expect to like anyone else 😂), she may appear timid and Naive at first glance but she definitely can bite and I loved her development and character arc over the course of the book as she searches for answers surrounding the death of her estranged father.

If you like a good pop corn mystery thriller up I recommend giving this a try!

Thank you for the gifted arc!

Publishes: August 12th

A special thank you to NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press and author Stacie Grey for gifting me an advanced copy of She Didn’t Stand A Chance!

This was a fun thriller, mystery read full of suspense and twist after twist after twist!

Gertie returns to her family home that she hardly remembers for a reading of her father’s will. Her half siblings are not happy with her inclusion in their father’s final wishes. Gertie is determined to find out what really happened to her father.

What will someone do to get what they want?

I don’t give out 5 stars often but this is a 5 star book! I loved it and devoured it! I love the little bits of humor in a book full of mystery. The book had a good pace and who doesn’t love a book about family secrets! You know there’s bound to be drama….or death! Not sure how I feel about the title because I feel it doesn’t really match with the plot but that doesn’t really matter. That’s just me nitpicking haha.

Thank you to Stacie Grey, Poisoned Pen Press, and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

“She Didn’t Stand a Chance” tells the story of Gertie Glass, a young woman who hasn’t seen her half siblings or father in over two decades, but is summoned to the infamous Glass residence when her father passes away. Gertie shockingly stands to inherit a substantial portion of the family business and the prized Glass home, and no one is more enraged and motivated to stop it than her half brothers and sisters. When Gertie discovers that her father may have been murdered, she's set on finding out the truth and exposing the killer. But things soon turn deadly when a member of the household staff dies not long before she has a near-deadly accident of her own.

The premise of this book drew me in and I was looking forward to reading it and enjoying it. But ultimately, this mystery failed to hook me in and keep me engaged. The story just fell flat, the pacing felt uneven, the characters weren't developed enough save for Gertie and had very little substance to them, and the writing started to feel repetitive after sometime. Another issue I had was how Gertie seemed to come to important realizations or conclusions in her investigation from the vaguest answers her questionings yielded, or clues that were seemingly confusing only for her to have "put the pieces" together almost immediately afterwards with no real explanation as to how she did that.

I only really was engaged in the story towards the end and I did like the inclusion of the emails, chats, letters, etc. in between the chapters. However overall, while the idea of this story seemed promising, unfortunately I felt that the execution did not quite work out as expected.

She Didn’t Stand a Chance by Stacie Grey
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Dead dad, raging siblings, surprise inheritance, and a whole lot of petty from beyond the grave. 💀😂 Arnold Glass is dead.
Gertrude “Gertie” Glass is now stuck at the reading of a will for a father she didn’t even know — surrounded by siblings who can’t stand that she’s even in the room. Cue the sad piano and sibling side-eyes because, guess what? He left everything to Gertie. 🙃

This story leans all the way into family dysfunction — resentment, secrets, guilt, and the never-ending why did Dad hate us all so much saga. You will feel for each sibling, no matter how chaotic they act, because that deep-rooted pain? Yeah, it’s real.

Now Haylee (yes, with one Y and two E’s)… baby, let’s not even go there. 😂
Also, please remember to appreciate your house staff. That part? Chef’s kiss.

Was it predictable? Yes.
Was it messy and satisfying anyway? Also yes.
Arnold’s letter…had me HOWLING — Serves him right.🤣

This book gave Clue vibes. I loved the mystery, it was a very quick book to get through! I enjoyed it a lot.

This book has family drama, a mysterious death, and an FMC who's childhood and life has made her resilient and determined. Well paced, short chapters, family secrets and greed that lead to murder. Pretty decent twist but also kind of predictable. I don't feel that took away from the story line though. Overall, I enjoyed this and would recommend to others.

Gertie finds herself aligned to reunite with her siblings and father who she hasn't seen since childhood upon learning he has passed and desires her presence for a will reading. Arthur, a mall magnate, lives on a secluded Palm Beach estate. Despite the fact he hasn't seen Gertie in so long, he stands to give her a piece of the pie that all the siblings are vying for. This is a classic mystery novel feel- the formulaic plot follows the plethora of siblings as we learn about each one, determining whether or not we find each sibling capable of doing harm to beloved father Arthur. Things happen one by one, a timing made so popular by our beloved Agatha Christie. While I do think Grey did a fantastic job managing the bones around this one, I think it might have been too predictable for my taste, as well as losing my interest in the ending half. I can't wait to give this author another try, and thank the publisher so much for the chance to read this eARC!

This is a good mystery book, very much like clue. I really liked that there are text and letters between chapters, that was a unique element that I hadn’t seen before. Overall, it’s a good read just didn’t really make it for me.

Gertie is returning to estranged father's home for the reading of his will, much to the dismay of her half siblings. Of course, they don't think she deserves anything. So when she is named the benefiter of her father's beloved architectural masterpiece, and a stake in his company, revenge ensues and Gertie isn't so sure that her father simply "fell" down the stairs to his death.

I really wanted to enjoy this book because I loved the setting and story. The house itself was almost a character itself because it was described so beautifully. I also really liked that in between chapters there were bits of texts, letters, online chats etc. to move the story along and show what was going outside the house as well.

The story fell short for me when I felt like it just kept repeating itself, over and over again, to the point that the twist wasn't really much of a twist at all. I think it could've been shortened a lot to be made a lot more suspenseful.

Received as an ARC

This book was a good and classic whodunnit, in the vein of Knives Out.

Gertie Glass didn’t have a relationship with her father so she is surprised when she receives a letter after his passing to come to the will reading. Trapped in the Glass house with all her siblings, Gertie gets the sense that there is more to her fathers passing, especially since the cops are still investigating, even though she was told by her siblings it was a slip and fall.

After the cops arrest the one they think is responsible, things just don’t add up. Gertie must navigate her bitter siblings doing everything they can to make her unwelcome. To uncovering the truth, was it really a slip and fall on unsafe stairs or was it someone in the house?

She Didn’t Stand a Chance has a great premise, and I really loved the inclusion of letters and text messages between chapters—it added a unique touch and gave me something to look forward to.

Unfortunately, the execution didn’t fully land for me. The writing was very repetitive, the characters lacked development, and the frequent grammar issues pulled me out of the story. As someone who loves literature and is working on a book of her own, the editing especially made it hard to stay engaged.

That said, this book might still work for other readers. It’s a fun idea, just not one that stuck with me. I’m still open to giving this author another shot—it just wasn’t the strongest first impression for me.

I loved this book so much, that I read it in just a few hours. I couldn’t put it down! The characters were well-developed - loved a few, hated most of them. I definitely enjoyed how unlikeable Stacie Grey made a majority of the characters.

The book seamlessly blended mystery and domestic suspense, with so many elements of murder and greed. The book could have gone in so many directions from the start and I love that we were given hints and clues to try and figure it out.

I’m still not over the ending and am thankful it was a page-turner. A 5 star read for me, with no hesitation. Highly recommend picking up “She Didn’t Stand a Chance” when it’s released on August 12th.