A book club and a murder mystery - all my favorite things! This was very captivating from the very beginning - incredibly fast paced with lots of twists in this thriller of a book.

The Deadly Book Club follows the members of the most exclusive online book club. From the start, this book will race 100mph until the end. When it's time for book club to convene, the video feed is cut and all the members can hear is one of their own screaming for their life. The remaining members then get together, in real life, to make sense of what happened revealing many secrets and lies along the way.

This book kept my heart racing the entire time! Normally, I gravitate towards books with at least one likeable character, but I thought the shady characters in this book made it that much better. It's not just the killer that makes this book vicious.

This, unfortunately, wasn’t the book for me. I’m sorry to say that I wasn’t able to finish it. The synopsis sounded great, and I love thrillers, but the women were just so unlikable. It lost me during the middle section, and I just found myself unable to get through it.

Thank you for the opportunity to review!

This book has a great premise, especially for anyone who's extremely bookish and loves reading about book clubs. The idea of five powerful bookfluencers teaming up only to suffer one of them being murdered during their virtual meeting is certainly fodder for thrills. After all, the four remaining members all have their own motives, and once they start questioning each other, it's as if their friendships were never real to begin with.

I really wanted to be more invested in the story, but the writing just fell a bit flat for me. I couldn't really connect with any of the main characters (although I did feel for them and the difficulties of their individual circumstances). They were not likeable, and although I don't have to love all protagonists, I need some redeeming qualities in order to care what happens in the book. The writing also felt overly simple, with too much telling and not enough showing..

That said, it is a rather twisty novel. The author does a great job of keeping the reader guessing as to who was responsible for the murder, and certainly provides tension because the reader wonders who, if anyone, will be next. I'd probably give it 3.5 if I were able to assign half stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the ARC of this novel.

Alluring! Captivating!

We have 5 book influencers who claim to be friends but have their own secrets. The lack of effective communication, petty jealousy, I securities make the set of females volatile and untrustworthy. When a murder takes place during a live session, all bets are off.

These women start turning on each other even though a second ago they shared secrets amongst themselves. A possible romance angle is also woven through the tragedy. The fickleness of insecure friendships is well written though a bit annoying at times. I found Jessie the most sane amongst the influencers. Maybe the money angle of a certain character seemed a bit not well thought off.

The climax of the story was absolutely riveting and made the read worthwhile. The apathy, the horror, the planning.... totally devious. I would definitely recommend this book.

I thank NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for this E-Arc and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This fast paced murder mystery follows the POV of a few different influencers as they all struggle to figure out who the killer is of one of their members.

I love how different this book is, and how interesting it is being centred on influencers and an online book club! Trying to untangle who I thought it could be had me flipping through this book so quickly I finished it within 24 hours!

I did find some of it to be a little over the top - the fact that most, if not all the characters were all dramatic and a little bit toxic but it did also add to making it harder to figure out who did it!

Thank you to NetGalley, Lyn Liao Butler and Crooked Lane for allowing me to read this ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the early read in exchange for my honest review.

Five popular book influencers run an exclusive virtual book club—until one of them is murdered during a live meeting. As secrets, jealousy, and accusations surface, the remaining members race to uncover the killer before anyone else is targeted.

The book showed a lot of promise, but the writing felt choppy and uneven. I found most of the characters unlikeable—out of touch, quick to turn on each other, and difficult to connect with. Despite that, I was still curious to see how the story would unfold, and I’ll admit, the ending surprised me.

I’m rating this a 3.5. The plot was entertaining but could have been stronger. If you enjoy murder mysteries with female leads, this is worth a read.

“The Deadly Book Club” by Lyn Liao Butler is a fast-paced, twist-filled ride that had me hooked from page one all the way to the final sentence. It’s clever, addictive, and full of sharp turns that kept me guessing, just the way I like my thrillers.

The premise is fun and fresh, and I loved how the tension built through the book club dynamics, hidden secrets, and unraveling lies. The characters were layered and relatable, and the pacing never lagged. I genuinely didn’t want to put this one down.

It’s a solid 4.5 stars for me. Highly recommend for anyone looking for a book that blends suspense, friendship, and danger in all the best ways. This is my first book I have read from this author, and I am looking forward to reading more in the future. Huge thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

This book leaves the reader puzzled as to who actually committed the crime of the murder amongst the Bookers and the true motivation to do such a heinous crime. Wax it financial strife? Hiding behind the true profession as to how money is made? Jealousy and spite as feeling that one never receives as to what she deserves and as a result, her love goes unrequited? And lastly, who is Auntie Dodo? Successful in their own means, the woman of this book are strong and well.respected in their own right such as Helena in her cooking career and Jesse as a sportswriter. They don't even live in the same city but come together as influencers of what people choose to read as their interests vary according to the person. They are successful in their own right as evidenced by both Sidney and Kate as they created their own unique brand. Leigh as the youngest has her own following led mostly for selfish reasons but she does just desperately wants to be loved. When the screen goes dark and the screams begin to echo, everything changes. I really enjoyed how the book is told from each woman's perspective and according to the following days. I don't want to relay too much besides the Taiwanese being spoken but the ending was absolutely shocking and why that person was killed. The epilogue was amazing and especially as the final words were spoken. A sequel please!

Thanks to Netgally for the arc of this book!! I was really excited for this one - murder mystery and a book club? Sign me up. And while this was definitely a fun read, there was a lot of characters to keep track of making it a bit chaotic and confusing while reading, I had to keep going back and checking who’s who. A lot of storylines that didn’t all necessarily come together. I will say the ending was pretty wild and unexpected. Would recommend for a fun summer thriller!

The Deadly Book Club: A Thriller by Lyn Liao Butler

Not yet published Expected 21 Oct 25

Who needs enemies when you have friends like this. There is no girl’s girl in this book. I feel guilty liking this so much because none of the main characters were not “good” people. Everyone has secrets on this not only from their friends but family and spouses too. This murder mystery kept everything so nicely together though that I ate it all up to the last twists.

Recommended anyone that loves murder mysteries with drama and main charters being women.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“A virtual book club listens in horror when the screen freezes and one of their members is murdered in this twisty and delicious thriller”

Thank you @crookedlanebooks for providing this book for review consideration via @netgalley. All opinions are my own.

#bookreview #netgalley #TheDeadlyBookClub

Thanks so much for the ARC!! This cover really drew me on. I thought the setting was really cool too, and scandalous! Thanks so much again for the early read.

Loved the title of this book, which immediately captured my attention. However, I felt that we didn’t get to know the characters as much as I hoped, and it was hard to root for anyone in particular.

Loved the premise and it was a quick read. But somehow, the book itself didn’t catch me at all and I didn’t have a good time reading it. Unfortunately, I don’t think this author is for me,

I had a hard time finishing this book. While the premise initially intrigued me, the story quickly became frustrating. The characters—adult women—were written with such extreme secrecy, immaturity, and backstabbing behavior that it felt unbelievable and exhausting. Their actions often bordered on the absurd, making it difficult to connect or care about the outcome. What should have been complex relationships felt more like high school drama dragged out far too long. I pushed through hoping for a payoff, but in the end, it just didn’t feel worth the effort.

Holy toxic!! I honestly had a hard time getting through some parts because it was just… a lot. But overall still a quick read and kept trying to find out what would happen.

A story about five book influencer friends meeting on zoom and one is murdered. Who is the murderer? Behind the scenes of influencers, multiple POVS, lot of secrets and twists throughout the book. The writing kept me super engaged and the characters were very different and well written. This was a fun and thrilling book. I was hooked!

Full review to come on Goodreads and Amazon. Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for a review copy.

Five book influencer friends are on a zoom book club when the screens go black and screams ring out. One of them has been murdered and it seems like one of the other members is to blame. It leads us up to the murder and then after it, alternating between characters.

I really liked this one! I thought it was fast-paced and read really quickly. It built the suspense pretty well too I thought. However, the ending was SO obvious. Anyone who was paying attention I feel like could have figured out the whodunit (although some of the smaller details I did not get). I wish it had been a little more surprising, but it was still a very enjoyable read.

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for the E-Arc. I had such a hard time putting this book down. It was so captivating from the very first chapter. Five social media book influencers have their world turned upside down by a who done it murder. I thought I had the murderer but then it twisted into a whole different person. I loved it!