This is going to fly off my library shelves. A sweet gay romance paired with a twisted serial killer mystery? It is the peanut butter and chocolate of the things that are hot right now, and it's executed very well. I debated about my small quibbles -- there's a smattering of implausibility here and there, and one stretch where things dragged a little -- but they're too small to keep me from rating this mystery very highly.

Definitely one of the books I will be waiting to acquire so I can hand it to students!

I chose to read this because I was in search of a book with a gay male lead, and this particular plot sounded appealing. I was expecting to be disappointed, but I actually thoroughly enjoyed this book, so much so that I finished it in four days so I could find out whodunit.

The mystery aspect of the book definitely left me wanting to read on, and despite all the clues, I still wasn't able to correctly guess the ending. There are lots of twists that keep you on your toes.

I loved reading about the setting of a small coastal town on the beach, and how gossip can travel quickly in those types of places. The book also delves into how people react to tragedy, and touches on characters with mild PTSD.

The m|m couple seemed a little forced, like it came on very suddenly, but it also didn’t overpower the plot, and was subtle and cute to read about. And it being a YA book, it wasn’t too explicit that younger readers couldn’t enjoy it but would still know what was going on despite the toned down writing.

There could have been a bit more diversity (two LGBT characters, one POC), but some is better than none, I guess.

One complaint I have is that because this is a YA book, 99% of the sleuthing is being done by people just out of high school, which is hard to wrap your head around.

My other minor complaint with the book was the names of the teens, in that they don’t really fit the time period (present) or are just strange. For a bunch of 18 year olds, they all seem to have names befitting their parents, not themselves. This isn’t enough to downgrade my rating, but just irked me every time I happened upon one of the aforementioned names.

I really enjoyed this YA mystery/thriller! It was a fun read with a solid, mostly believable story line, intriguing plot twists, and interesting characters. It kept drawing me in, over and over, until I was done and I would give it a solid 4.5 stars!

I found this book to be quite enjoyable. It wasn't to dark which was a surprise considering the content of the story. I found the characters to be very well written and very likable. I loved the plot because it was something that I don't read about to often. The story is all about our main character Mac who is trying to solve the mystery of his friends murder. This has a very contemporary feel to it which is nice and I liked how it wasn't at all confusing in how the story played out, which sometimes happens in mystery novels. The best part about this book was how fast it moved, it didn't linger on things that weren't important at all and it got straight into the plot and solving it.
There were no filler words or pages thrown it to get a better word count just a pure and unaltered plot.Great read if you like mysteries you won't be disappointed. This was my first book that I've read by Tom Ryan but it definitely won't be my last that's for sure.

I really wanted to enjoy this one, but it really just didn't hit the mark for me. It seemed promising in the beginning. We follow Mac and his group of friends a year after a mysterious Catalogue Killer sweeps through their town, leaving four people dead in their wake. Plagued by suppressed grief, Mac begins to investigate the murder of his friend Connor after finding an ambiguous note he left behind. After a few chapters in, though, most of the scenes felt rather choppy and Mac's motives felt forced, as he really never had a direct reason for investigating besides the note, which didn't tell us much.

Most, if not all, of the characters were flat and didn't really bring much to the story besides anger toward Mac for resurfacing the memories of the serial killer. The romance felt insta-lovey and pretty cringey at times, and I had trouble really feeling anything toward it because of how underdeveloped it was.

In all, I was very underwhelmed.

A powerful, moving read. I loved the depth Ryan gave his protagonist, and the emotional journey he embarks on. Much better than I anticipated!

Take a true crime book, turn it into fiction, set it by the ocean, add a bunch of teenagers having authentic end of HS feelings and you get this book which I loved. What makes it shine is the relationships between the teens as they leave high school--and the feelings the main character has as he reflects back on his relationship with one of the teens who was murdered.

The mystery unfolds in a super satisfying way. You'll make a lot of guesses and you'll probably be wrong at least some of the time because there are enough twists and turns to really make it fun. Or terrifying, you pick.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. It's one of those thrillers you hardly can't put away once you start reading it. A great story of how a serial killer's murders were uncovered. I highly recommend it.

**I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**

I don't think that this book was for me, but I DO think that others will like it. I didn't connect to any of the characters; it could have been because the main was male and usually in my YA reading the leads are female.

That is probably why I found myself wanting to know more about things from Doris' and Carrie's POV. Especially Doris, of course. Or Ben, even: would've liked to know more about his problems.

I was very surprised at the twist ending and felt satisfied with how things turned out. If it had gone the Mr. Anderson route I was prepared to be even MORE surprised but upon reflection that probably would've come out of left field.

This really has no bearing on the book itself, exactly, but I think I am sick of teen amateur investigators discovering things the cops all missed...yes, let's just forget their years of training and experience and bring in some kid who pokes around in the grass for 5 minutes and discovers a clue. COME ON. Although I did feel like the part with the watch was more realistic and I felt better about that. I read a LOT of books where the teens one up the cops and solve it all so I think I'm just over that trope. I really felt sympathy for the Detective Parnatsky. I liked her.

I feel like I would've liked the WHY to be explained a little more, but I can't be more clear than that without spoilers. But WHY? Just because of nature? The signs that were supposed to point to the character's future actions were just thrown in at the end; we hadn't really LIVED the evidence. For example:

"Oh, she liked to collect birds."

"Well that explains why the world's rarest bird went missing at the zoo."

Instead of:

"As I searched her room, I noticed pictures of birds everywhere. Magazine pages, hand-drawings, even a few from coloring books. I had never realized before that she had been interested in birds. Or maybe obsessed was more like it. Could SHE be connected to the missing bird from the zoo?"

So in my lame example, I feel like the information is just handed to us and in the second try, the character is collecting information about another character through evidence. Or maybe it only makes sense in my head. Anyway.

Maybe I missed the reason why the victims had to die, as well. Sorry it's so vague I'm trying to go without spoilers.

Maybe it was just me, but I didn't like the romance - it was too instantaneous for it to be believable. Again, I do read a lot of YA where this happens but I don't always buy it.

I did think that Mac was a well-fleshed-out character. He had issues, he had backstory (his parents showed up like, what, one time in the book? Meh), and he had complicated relationships.

The beginning of this book read like The Sacrifice Box but it definitely is not. All in all, I don't feel like I wasted my time reading this (the ending really made it worthwhile) but it just wasn't for me. I'm pretty sure I would pick up another book of Tom Ryan's.

Also loved the cover and title!!

I enjoyed going on this journey with Mac. The mystery is what initially drew me in, but I also can't resist an exploration of questioning past feelings for a lost friend. The story morphed into something that exceeded my expectations.

Wow, wow, wow. Amazing novel. Great plot, awesome love story, terrific characters and a fantastic twist at the end. I cannot think of enough superlatives to properly hype Keep This To Yourself, but you should definitely put this on your TBR list.

I received an eARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

One year after a serial killer terrorized the small coastal town of Camera Cove, Mac is trying his best to move on. He has just graduated high school, reuniting with some of his childhood best friends to dig up a time capsule. One member of the friend group cannot be there because Connor was the final victim of the serial killer that has not been caught.

After going home, Mac decides to finally open up a bag of comics that Connor had left on his door on a day that ended up being the last day of Connor’s life. In there, Mac finds a small note that tells him that Connor may have actively been investigating the serial killer.

Instead of moving on, Mac begins to investigate this. Under the guise of seeking items for a rummage sale, he begins to make contact with each of the victim’s families to search for clues that the police may have missed.

This was so good. YA thrillers have always tended to be a hit or miss for me, but the YA thrillers that are getting published within the last couple of years have all been outstanding. Keep This To Yourself manages to explore the obsessive nature of unsolved crime, the early beginnings of a romance, and the uncertainty of the summer after high school graduation. The main character is also gay, and it’s nice to read a thriller where that’s the case. (This is still a great rarity!)

If you have read Last Seen Leaving by Caleb Roehrig and loved it, you will definitely love this one. Similarly, if you have read The Cheerleaders by Kara Thomas and loved it, you will definitely love this one too.

KEEP THIS TO YOURSELF was the kind of thriller that kept me stressed to the very last page. At one point I literally had to tell myself to relax my jaw...which is the sign of a good thriller, right!? It captivated me with easy and engaging writing and an intriguing plot that I couldn't quite guess how would end up. Getting to take the journey with Mac was equal parts sad, stressful, and heartbreaking.

The plot definitely kept me glued to the page (I read it in one day!) and that's the main thing I ask for in a thriller. Mac is trying to get answers for a mystery no one's solved in over a year. Everyone's telling him to move on, but this is his best friend that died...and he can't seem to settle on closure. His life feels so pointless unless he finds out who was the Catalogue Killer. But he suspects Conor wasn't just a victim - what if Conor was trying to solve the case?! Mac takes it on himself to piece together the old old clues. And he starts turning things up. I appreciated that this was rather a 'cold case' because it gave the characters more room to be prying since the police had given up. Of course the incompetent police plot line was a bit predictable, and at the end, I confess I couldn't believe in the decision the cops had made?? It seemed WAY too far fetched. But I lvoed unravelling and unwinding the clues with Mac.

It also featured a group of childhood friends who've since split apart since Conor died. They had all such complex and interesting personalities, and it was interesting seeing how they all fit together...and broke apart.

Mac was a really soft sort of boy, totally quiet and shy, and he did have a nicely solid arc that didn't involve him changing personalities, but he did become a bit more assertive. His romance with Quinn, a cousin of another of the serial killer's victims, was super cute and I adored how rambunctious and bright Quinn was. Definitely a splash of fun in a very grim plot. Their relationship erred on the side of instalove though, but it's still just so so good to see queer characters taking the lead in genres other than contemporary!

Overall?! This was a solidly good thriller that I'm super glad I requested on impulse from Netgalley! It will make you chew your nails and ask questions and throw yourself wildly down rabbit trails that lead to nothing...until Mac unwinds the mystery and you discover the shocking truths with him.

This book is so twisty in all the right ways. You're kept guessing the whole time and nothing really comes together until the end. And that's coming from someone who figured out who did it, but was so very wrong on the reason why.

Mac is a lovable MC who just can't get past his best friend Connor's murder and will do anything to solve it. But Camera Cove is not the picturesque town that it looks to be from the outside. As in any small town, there's a multitude of secrets and they seem to be getting people into a lot of trouble. This mystery is layers deep and I was shocked at every revelation and every piece of the puzzle solved. The setting really amps up the creepy factor and you're not sure who you can trust, not even the MC. The characterization in this one is stunning and I felt like Mac was my best friend and we were solving this mystery together. The side characters are just as lovely, with Quinn being my favorite,

I can't say anymore as I'm afraid I'll give something away. If you love thrillers, you'd be stupid not to pick this one up.

The premise of this is so intriguing, and I admit I raced through the first half of the book without putting it down. I liked Mac (the narrator), and I found the entire situation enticing (he finds a note from his dead best friend a year after his friend was killed by a serial killer). I couldn't wait to discover, along with Mac, who had killed the four victims -- and why.

Sadly, this book never really took off for me. After half the book, I still knew no more about any single character (including Mac) than I had at the beginning. Everything that we learn about any of them was told to us rather than shown, and even the few action scenes had no foundation to explain them. For instance, when Mac meets Quill, the love interest here, all we learn about Quill is that he's bi-racial, his parents are wealthy, he likes to swear, and his cousin is one of the victims. Apparently that's enough to support a romance, however.

It just didn't work for me. When the killer is revealed, I didn't feel any satisfaction or fulfillment. Because Mac never digs deeper than the very surface in his narration -- we don't even know his parents' names or have a basic physical description of them, for goodness sake; they were about as present as adults in Charlie Brown comics -- there's nothing really to support the claims of the mental problems behind the killer's behavior. We're simply told the killer was evil. Plus, Mac has so little perception into the people around him that we, as the readers, are skimming the surface throughout. Mac doesn't even seem to know himself, so it's no wonder that we get no depth to anything or anyone.

I was so disappointed. This book had the promise of a Karen McManus or Caleb Roehrig, in my opinion, but it never even came close to delivering. I might pick up another book by this author, simply because I know writers can grow and become stronger the more they write, but my expectations would be much lower. (By the way, the writing style in itself was very smooth and easy to follow. Ryan can clearly write -- hopefully his characterization skills will grow to meet the writing skills.)

I really enjoyed this book. It really kept me guessing what was happening. I do think the characters could have had more depth. We didn't really learn much about them other than their relation to the main plotline.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. I LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF THIS BOOK!!! I loved the storyline and how Mac slowly uncovered the mystery of the Catolog Killer. I never would have guess who the killer was!! I’m so glad I got the opportunity to read this early!!

Thank you to Albert Whitman & Company for the arc of this book.
I didn’t dislike this book, but I am not sure if I liked it either, at one point I did consider putting it down, I am glad I didn’t though, the end was a twist you don’t see coming.
I just think this book lacked umph for me, except for that ending, that was very good.

In Keep This to Yourself by Tom Ryan we follow Mac as he struggles with the death of his best friend, Connor, by the hands of a serial killer. Mac doesn’t feel the police were completely thorough with the hunt for the killer so he sets out to see what he can discover on his own, meeting the families of other victims and piecing together clues that the police may not have found value. Mac just wants to find the truth so he can finally move past this horrible time.
Overall I really enjoyed Keep This to Yourself - the plot was solid and wasn’t disjointed with implausible character choices or plot devices (I hate when things miraculously happen to make things easier for the characters). Ryan weaved his mystery pretty well, with new information being revealed slowly until BOOM, the big finale. This is something that’s super important to me when I read mystery novels and I feel Ryan hit the nail on the head. I don’t want too much information given right away but slowly peeled back so I can start making hypotheses about what happened.
My only major complaint is definitely based within personal bias - the romance (I’m super finicky about romance plot lines). I felt the mystery plot was perfect for this novel and there was a romance plot line that I found to be unnecessary. I know fans and the primary audience will love this part of the story, but I felt it was too forced and wasn’t needed for the overall mystery narrative. However, I wasn’t irked by it enough to hate it - I’m not that much of a naysayer - I just would have prefered more focus on investigation than kissing. :)
I’m giving Keep This to Yourself 3 out of 5 Awesome Points. It was an enjoyable read with a main character that provides a lot of emotional depth as well as growth throughout the entire novel. Plus, it was easily digestible so can be enjoyed by a variety of readers. I’ve never read anything by this author so I’ll be checking out more of their works.

***Thanks to NetGalley for providing me a complimentary copy of KEEP THIS TO YOURSELF by Tom Ryan in exchange for my honest review.***

4.5 STARS

What an unexpected gem!

Ingredients for a perfect mystery:

1 serial killer
1 estranged group of friends
1 murdered friend
1 kickass narrator
A bunch of interesting minor characters
1 possible love interest
A generous handful of clues
A sprinkle of red herrings
An ending I didn’t see coming

KEEP THIS TO YOURSELF is one of those novels I wanted to reread immediately after I finished to figure out the clues I missed. How did I not know of Tom Ryan before KEEP THIS TO YOURSELF?

Ryan gave protagonist Mac a likable and sympathetic voice. He’s not only grieving for the loss of his best friend Connor, he’s also harboring an unacknowledged crush for his pal. Additionally, Connor was the glue that held his friend group together, without him they’ve splintered. As much as I liked Mac, I didn’t his other friends, at least for the first 90% of the book. They were interesting people with individual personalities and nuances, whom I wouldn’t have chosen to befriend. Quill, Mac’s new friend and possible love interest, stole my heart.

The plot moved quickly, with my list of suspects constantly changing. They all made sense, until they didn’t.

A strong recommendation for KEEP THIS TO YOURSELF.