I love Ashley Winstead; not only is she one of the nicest humans ever, her books are always so so good!

This Book Will Bury Me follows Jane who is writing a tell all about her experience with being an amateur online sleuth. You will follow Jane navigate the death of her father, as well as working with a group to find and follow leads with murder cases across the country. When Jane and her fellow sleuth's get called in to help they head to Delphine, Idaho to see what they can find.

I loved this book, I was wrapped up in Jane's story from the beginning and needed to know how it was going to end. I also need to know if this online sleuthing is as intense as it is in the book! Leslie Howard did a phenomenal job narrating this book. I did not want to stop listening.

Thank you Ashley Winstead and Sourcebooks Landmark for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I liked the unique angle of this one about true crime and how a person could become heavily involved but I think the mystery didn't come together for me and I found it overall a little boring and more centered on family drama.

How do you rate a book that is a five-star bit of storytelling, but that is based on a one-star ethical decision by the author and publisher?

I’ve chosen not to leave a star rating for this book because while I greatly enjoyed reading this and I think Winstead is a master at writing this kind of thoughtful suspense, I’m never going to be okay with an author releasing a novel based on a real murder case in which the victims are young, recently deceased, and have living relatives.

This is all made worse by the fact that the case this book is based on has not even gone to trial as of the publication date. You have to work pretty hard to justify using someone’s story as entertainment fodder under the circumstances.

And it’s really a shame, because the book is a good one, and probably didn’t need to borrow exact details about the horrific murder of a group of college students to succeed.

To Winstead’s credit, she changes a lot in a way that makes this a much better story than what really happened, and also adds an element to this that is more about the central characters’ motives for their grassroots investigations that is both a respectful and thoughtful examination of grief and a well-written piece of character depth and development.

Still, I just can’t get on board with the exploitation of *very* recent murder victims and their families to sell fiction books. Winstead is so good at what she does and didn’t need to stoop to this. I hope we don’t see it again, from her or any other novelist.

I read this via audiobook and I have no idea what was even happening in the story. Please tell me why the narrator was whispering for 3/4 of the book. I had to turn the volume up very loud to hear, and then she would start talking normally out of the blue and almost blew my speakers.

Thank you Tantor Audio, Ashley Winstead, and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and honestly review this book.

DNF @ 14%. Sadly, giving up on this one. I was very bored and it was feeling super repetitive. The ethics of the book also feel maybe a bit off which was souring the reading experience as well. Thank you for the opportunity to review.

Having looked at some of the reviews, I feel quite conflicted about submitting my own. If the book is based on a real life case, then I'm unaware of it but I certainly wouldn't support this as I feel it would be exploitative. I listened to the audiobook recording and found it reasonably compelling. I thought that Leslie Howard did a solid job narrating. I haven't read any of Ashley Winstead’s other work but having read ‘This Book Will Bury Me ‘, I'd be open to it. Overall, I enjoyed the premise - albeit I thought the killer was fairly obvious. I also didn't really see the point of the parallel story about Jane's deceased Dad. It's a relatively quick read and one which I think will be popular among true crime aficionados.

I thoroughly loved this murder mystery! The characters were unique and very well-developed, and the plot kept me second-guessing everything. Although it became clear who the killer was halfway through the story, it was still fun to keep reading to see how the characters would figure it out themselves. The ending was satisfying and neatly tied up all loose ends.

First off, @ashleywinsteadbooks is a dang queen 👸🏼 She could literally write a user manual and I’d read it. She can do no wrong. Second, buy this book in March. This one did not disappoint. The true crime aspect was amazing and I loved that they were internet sleuths. It reminded me of do not f*ck with cats. Anyone remember that doc? You won’t get away when the internet comes to play. It also pulls heavily from some pretty huge murders that happened recently, so it was fun to see what way Ashley was going to go with the book. Let’s just say the ending had my jaw on the floor, it was 👩🏼‍🍳💋

As a true crime fan, this one hit all the marks. I loved the investigation aspects from the sleuths, how they get wrapped up into the story they’re investigating, and that twist!! I couldn’t put this one down.

Leslie Howard was phenomenal. She really kept me invested.

An interesting crime thriller from the perspective of sleuth citizens but it was confusing to follow several crimes.

Overall, I enjoyed the story but felt that I would have enjoyed it more as a read instead of an audio experience. I found the chat room experience to be difficult to follow during part one of the book in the audio experience. I think the publishers missed an opportunity to do something more creative with the audiobook to make it more true crime immersive or re-work the chat room experience so that it is less repetitive with each persons screen name read each time. I thought the story was good but I thought that it was slow to get going then felt rushed at the end. The tell-all portion of the book purpose and title didn't really hit as hard as I thought it could have.

Another solid read from Ashley Winstead. I really enjoyed the way this story was presented with the narrator being the main character who was giving us the back story and then bringing us up to the present. It was such a clever and effective way to deliver the information and really helped me feel a connection with the character.

When Jane's father dies suddenly, she feels untethered and without a purpose. Ironically, a dismembered body is found around the same time, and she finds herself fascinated by an online group on unofficial crime detectives and falls in with them. What starts as a way to distract herself and pass the time soon turns into what might almost be called an obsession or addiction. Jane finds she is good at it and that makes her feel good about herself. She also finds herself pulled into the orbit of four other people and together they form their own "amateur murder solving task force" - - it's almost a high for her.

However, as you see when the story unfolds, there are unexpected twists and turns that will keep you guessing. It's a fun ride.

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: The narration was quite good. It made the story even better and pulled me further into the action. I thought it worked well as you were reading/listening to a book about those with an online presence. It lent a proper feel to things. 5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.

This book spoke to my true crime loving heart. I read my first true crime book in seventh grade. It was Fatal Vision about a Green Beret who was accused of murdering his wife and children. A teacher asked me if my parents knew I was reading it and my shyish self responded that they bought it for me, so I’m sure they know. I have been captivated by true crime since.
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Jane, a college student, is devastated by the unexpected loss of her father. Seeking an escape, she becomes a bit obsessed with true crime. She finds herself immersed in an online community of amateur sleuths who not only teach her the art of solving cases but also become her friends.
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When news breaks of three murdered college girls, the forum erupts with theories, and Jane and her friends dive in. I know some had issue with how much this touched on a recent crime, but I felt there was so much more to this one that it didn’t bother me.
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As the online sleuth gang digs deeper, inconsistencies pile up, and it becomes clear to them that the police aren’t doing enough. The media causes more confusion, and every clue leads to more questions than answers. They travel to the town where the crime happened and do some of their own investigating.
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Jane and the gang suspect they’re being watched. Is the killer aware of their investigation? Things get intense. And I did figure some things out along the way, but that didn’t stop me from being fully invested and enjoying this to the end.
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The found family aspect of the online true crime community was one of my favorite parts. They were all such different personalities and all at different places in life, but true crime bonded them. As part of the Booksta community, I can definitely relate!
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If you’re a true crime lover like me, this book just might be right up your alley!

Thanks to @bookmarked and @netgalley for a #gifted copy.

Thank you Netgslley, Tanor audio and Ashley Winstead for the audio Arc of This Book Will Bury Me.
Narrated by Leslie Howard

This Book Will Bury Me, is the second book by Ashley Winstead and I throughly enjoyed this slow burn thriller. Both the plot line and the characters are well developed, entwining within each other to progress the storyline as a whole. It has all the necessary elements, including inspiration from true crime to draw you in, capture you, hold you until the very end.

This book was narrated by Leslie Howard and I loved listening to her voice.

4 stars.

I have always been intrigued by amateur sleuths who somehow find clues to crimes that potentially help solve the crime. I have always wondered how they see things no on else can.

This Book Will Bury Me had me hooked from the first line. The audiobook narration was excellent, and the narrator brought the characters to life.

I have read several Ashley Winstead books and have enjoyed all of them.

The setting was amazing and hooked me right away.The first half flew by!
However, I lost some interest towards the middle and the twist didn't hit me as I hoped it would.
Round up from 3.5

I liked this book, i just didn't love it.
I liked the pace and the authors writing i just didn't connect with the characters and the twist/reveal was so obvious to me.
I think its a good book to read if you want a fast pace mystery with a wide range of characters.

Thank you Netgalley and Tantor Audio for the ALC.

Story: 🌟🌟🌟🌟
Narration: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Overall: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

This Book Will Bury Me is another sharp, disturbing thriller from Winstead. Jane, grieving the death of her father, turns to true crime to distract her. When she becomes friends with other armchair detectives, they become invested in a local crime. They become involved in the investigation, which leads to devastating consequences.

You can’t help always depend on Winstead to govern you a thriller that gets under your skin. This one is no different. Dark, creepy, and unsettling, I loved this audiobook.

ALC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was tentative about this one as I couldn’t help noticing the mixed reviews. Honestly, up until 30%, I thought I might end up DNFing the book because I just wasn’t gelling with the story. Then it just clicked and I was hooked. While Winsted attracts lovers of the thriller genre, it’s notable that her true strength is character studies. While this is often framed in a thriller setting, it’s the character’s internal journey that matters. In the case of this book, it’s Winsted doing her thing but dialled up to 100. 90% of the book is character study and it takes bit of adjustment if you’re expecting a thriller. Added to which, the MC’s downward sauntering spiral in the wake of her father’s death is repellent as well as engaging in the first half of the book. The MC is holding the truth at arm’s length (which Winsted portrays very skilfully) and that doesn’t create enjoyable character-reader engagement, unless you’re in it for the character study as well.

This is my second Ashley Winstead book, and I think it’s time to admit her writing just isn’t for me. I listened to the audiobook of This Book Will Bury Me, narrated by Leslie Howard, and while the performance was solid, the story itself didn’t land.

The pacing felt uneven, the characters never really clicked for me, and like a lot of other readers, I was uncomfortable with how closely this book seemed to draw from an ongoing real-life murder case. It felt distracting and unnecessary, and it took away from the reading experience.

Thank you to Tantor Audio and NetGalley for the advanced copy of the audiobook.