A book that has two women who meet in college. One is now successful with a home, husband, etc.. the other is for the lack of a better term a criminal. Somehow Cassie who is the criminal has now gotten to take over Beth’s life and people fall for it and make it as if she is the one who committed the crimes. I just could not wrap my head around everything in seeing how so many people would be that gullible and how Cassey could hold it together for that long as well.

This was a decent mystery, unfortunately I couldn’t really connect with the characters and wanted a bit more. I still thought it was fun.

DNF - Did not Finish. I decided not to keep reading this title. It was not for me. Thank you, publisher and NetGalley for the early title.

Cassie & Beth couldn't be less alike if they tried but somehow the two were matched together as college freshman roommates and formed an unlikely friendship. Fast-forward years later, Beth is now living the picture perfect life while chaos still follows Cassie around. Beth hasn't heard from Cassie in years so when she receives a phone call in the middle of the night from a man asking if Cassie is at her home she is thrown. When Cassie happens to call the next day explaining that she is in town Beth agrees to meet up with her. What she doesn't expect is for Cassie to arrive with luggage in tow, needing a place to stay for a few nights. By welcoming Cassie into her home Beth opens up her carefully curated life to the dangers that come along with her long lost friend and her marriage, her job and her life are all put on the line. "Framed" is the debut book by author S.L. McInnis and if this is her just getting started I can't wait to see what she publishes next. McInnis has created three loathsome characters in Beth, Cassie & Jay. With multiple POVs & flashbacks "Framed" is great read for anyone who likes a thriller with some good twists and turns. Thank you to Grand Central Publishing for a copy in exchange for an honest reviews.

Multiple murders, a bag full money, a woman on the run, a couple trying to get by and a detective trying to solve a case. I thought this was a good murder mystery .

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

Framed is a fast-paced and twisty thriller with a police procedural element. It's actually fantastic for a debut novel! It takes place in Los Angeles, which I enjoyed the familiarity of Southern California, and tells the story of two old friends who happen to have a lot of secrets. With drugs, murder, double crossing, the story will have you interested and the ending will surprise you.

I was given this book by NetGalley for an honest review -
I absolutely devoured this book!! What a read!!
Beth and Cassie were childhood friends that haven't seen each other forever. Beth is married and hopes to start a family. And then she receives the unexpected call from Cassie that shes in trouble and needs a place to stay. Cassie has secrets she hasn't shared, and a life much different than Beths. Cassie soon finds herself content in Beth's home and even Beth's husband. And then Cassie's gone, they say she was murdered - Beth's world tumbles and then the unbelievable ending!!!!

Framed By S.L. McInnis

This thriller noir murder mystery story is set in Los Angeles is a great read I thoroughly enjoyed with surprising twists. The characters were very well written and the perfection in the surface will leave you doubting and sets the stage for this thriller. Married couple Beth - a piano teacher and Jay the quintessential Hollywood producer of course. Cassie an old college roommate appears as a quadruple homicide is being investigated.

The writing was superb and really immersed me into the story. I enjoyed the setting being from Los Angeles I enjoyed the spot on mentions of some landmarks. I thought that the pacing was perfect in order to build the tension in the story. I really enjoyed this one and will be making sure to keep my eye out for Author McInnis future works.

I enjoyed this book and loved the twists and turns. It was a little slow at first but once I got into it I had trouble putting it down. we have ordered it for the library and patrons seem to enjoy it.

https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2020/03/13/the-reader-an-adventurous-book-club-pick-and-a-double-twist-you-wont-see-coming.html

This review appeared in the Toronto Star on March 14, 2020

Framed, S.L. McInnis
This first novel has been on my radar because S.L. McInnis is a Toronto writer and “Framed” has been enthusiastically blurbed by Samantha M. Bailey, another local talent whose own debut suspenser, “Woman on the Edge,” has been on bestseller lists since November.
“Framed” is a thriller with a large dash of police procedural, set in Los Angeles and told from the shifting perspectives of its five main characters. The plot turns on Beth, a failed classical pianist, and her former roommate from music college, Cassie, a mischievous wild child who has always played id to respectable Beth’s superego. She comes to stay with Beth and filmmaker husband Jay, who desperately needs money to finance a project. Beth and Jay don’t know that Cassie has just escaped a botched drug deal that left four people dead, nor that she’s carrying a bag containing loads of dough. Her criminal boyfriend, Rick, wounded in the melee, is hunting for her and the $1.2 million. Sex, death, money, music and a secret that binds Beth and Cassie. What more could one want? McInnis is a fine writer and “Framed” has a double twist I didn’t see coming.

Framed by S.L. McInnis is a great read! A real engrossing page-turner and worth the time of a read!!

Framed is a straight-minded LA noir drugs-and-murder mystery that although is fun and fast-paced has all the feel – and staying power – of a late-90s direct-release indie film. Maybe starring Michelle Forbes, Thomas Jane, and Keith David. S.L. McInnis succeeds in creating characters painted in shades of scandal yet for as fast-paced as the read is, the periods of slow build is more death crawl than murder spree.

The chapters within Framed move between five central characters over a period of five days. Beth Crawford is an accomplished pianist trapped as an unrecognized music teacher. Her husband, Jay Montgomery, is a wannabe movie producer. A dreamer without the bankroll. Their lives are mediocre; their marriage stale. Then former-friend and current wild child Cassie Oglivy crashes into their lives. She’s gasoline on fire; habanero on taco meat. She’s danger and fun rolled up into one and she’s on the lam. She sees her friend as a safe haven; a chance to escape from the drug deal gone wrong. Beth and Jay see Cassie as an escape. In LA noir fiction, nothing goes as planned.

While Cassie runs to Beth and Jay, both fall for her in different ways. Jay with her beauty; Beth with her spirit. McInnis builds up this delicious tension between all three while dealing with the mystery. That element drops as a simplistic police procedural and maybe too simple at that. Where simple can be easy, it also become too convenient. Framed swerves between these zones like a drunk on a bender. Sometimes the ride is exciting with no fear. Other times? Head-shaking ennui with a questionable urge to get back on.

Ultimately, Framed provides nothing new. A by-the-numbers story that satisfies the minimal genre requirements.

Framed is an enjoyable read and a good escape. For the reader anyway.




High-five to S.L. McInnis for the shout-out to Bryn Mawr and the Philly Main Line. Also thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the steal of a read.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Grand Central Publishing, and S.L. McInnis for the opportunity to read her debut suspense novel - 4.5 stars! I'm so excited that she is working on the sequel to this book - that means lots more twisty fun on the way!

Beth and Cassie were roommates at music school - Beth studying piano, Cassie voice. But years later, Beth is married and teaching piano to children and Cassie is involved in drugs and has ties to a scene where an undercover cop was killed. Their paths meet up again - but who can be trusted?

Best not know too much going into this book because there are lots of twists and turns, so enough said! I thoroughly enjoyed this book, told in many different viewpoints, Highly recommended!

Framed by S.L. McInnis was a fast-paced read with twists and turns to satisfy the biggest fans of this genre! Beth Crawford and her husband Jason live in Los Angeles where she is a piano teacher and he’s a movie producer.

Cassie is Beth’s old friend from her college days and when she calls to say she’s coming to town and wants to see Beth, we wonder why? The two have grown apart over the years. Why now? What does Cassie have to hide and what is she doing? There’s a bit of a police procedural thrown in here too with the point-of-view from a policeman who is working on a case. Is his case connected to Beth, Cassie, Jay and how or why? So many questions!

Here’s the official plot:

One dark Los Angeles night, Beth Crawford is driving home from a dinner party, furious at her husband for spending money they don’t have. A few blocks away, a scantily dressed woman in a blonde wig lugs a suitcase full of blood-spattered cash toward a bus stop. In the streets between the two women, police cars flash past, racing to the scene of a quadruple homicide, a botched drug deal in which an undercover LAPD officer is among the dead….

I like reading books where I have no idea what is going to happen next. So many times I can figure things out and make connections but this had me stumped. This is a book that I read in a single day, I had to know what was going to happen!

Framed is out now and ready to download on your Kindle here!

Beth Montgomery has a dream life, she barely noticed when a quadruple homicide and drug deal goes down in town. When her old college best friend, Cassie shows up, she insinuates herself into Beth’s life and guestroom. Cassie seems to like spending time with Beth’s husband too. Cassie has even darker secrets and she threatens to pull Beth’s family into the abyss right along with her