Thank you Netgalley and Simon and Shuster for providing an ARC of I killed Zoe Spanos by Kit Frick for an honest review.

I Killed Zoe Spanos by Kit Frick was a quick and enjoyable read. It may be because I am so entrenched in the genre, that this book didn't impress me as it did some other reviewers. It has been compared to Sadie, and while Sadie is a superior book, the Missing Zoe podcast excerpts transcribed in the book were my favorite part.

The story follows Anna as she takes a nannying job in the Hamptons, and tries to shed her former party girl life. Soon after she arrives in the Hamptons it is revealed that Anna strongly resembles Zoe, a girl that has been missing for several months. As Anna spends time in the Hamptons she finds herself oddly connected to Zoe. The story is told in THEN/NOW timelines, and slowly the mystery of what happened to Zoe is reveaed. The beginning of the book shows us Anna confessing to Zoe's death, but her confession is full of holes and her story is muddled. Honestly, I was mildly confused by the ending and am still not entirely sure what happened. Other than the HUH ending, that tried to tie up too many loose ends, the writing was compelling and the descriptions of the Hamptons were interesting and lush.

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed I Killed Zoe Spanos. The characters were relatable and quirky. I especially loved the little girl Paisley that Anna goes to watch for the summer in the Hamptons. This book very much gave me feels and felt a lot like Big Little Lies or like a Gillian Flynn Gone Girl vibe. I was impressed that this was a young adult novel. Due to the fact that I cannot post my review until the 29th on my blog for the blog tour I will not be posting a blog link yet. I will update on Netgalley once I am allowed to post for the tour. The author's writing was beautiful and very descriptive, This was one book that I breezed through while reading. I was kept on my toes for most of the novel. I was proud of myself that I actually found out the twist of the novel before the end this time! There were still twists that I did not expect though. The plot was fast-paced and exactly what you would want in a thriller. This would make a great movie or even a tv show. I usually do not like most young adult thrillers but this is one book that did not disappoint. I could relate a lot to Anna. This is going to be one popular book once it comes out. Thank you so much for giving me a copy to read. I loved how it put me in the summer mood. This would make a great beach read.

Anna Cicconi is ready to turn over a new leaf. She’s done with hard partying that ends in blackouts and is ready to start college in the fall. But first- she has a pretty great summer gig in the Hamptons as the nanny for a charming eight-year-old.
When Anna arrives in the small community of Herron Mills, she’s almost instantly pulled into the mystery of missing 19-year-old local Zoe Spanos, who hasn’t been seen since New Year’s Eve. Anna bears a striking resemblance to Zoe and the more she learns about the missing young woman, Anna is convinced she knew Zoe and may even know what happened to her.

When Zoe’s body is found at the bottom of the lake that summer, Anna is charged with second-degree manslaughter after supplying police with an odd confession that doesn’t hold up under scrutiny. Local teen Martina Green doesn’t feel the police have done the work necessary to uncover the truth behind Zoe’s death, especially when the autopsy doesn’t support Anna’s claims.
Martina’s podcast, Missing Zoe, has gained national attention. Can she uncover the truth and clear Anna’s name?

I Killed Zoe Spanos is a YA novel inspired by the Daphne du Maurier classic Rebecca. Instead of Manderley, readers are given Windemere, a crumbling estate located in the Hamptons. There are plenty of suspicious characters and muddled memories that make Anna an unreliable narrator seeking the truth after plenty of convenient blackouts.
I guessed the connection between Zoe and Anna immediately but there was no way I could’ve guessed the truth behind Zoe’s death. It was a bit too convoluted for me and required a suspension of disbelief I didn’t care for. It moved at a great pace but needed more time to flesh out the creepiness of Windemere if Frick wanted to captivate readers with the deep foreboding found in Rebecca.
All in all, a fun summer YA thriller that was entertaining but wasn’t a total stand-out for me.

Thanks to Margaret K. McElderry Books and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review. I Killed Zoe Spanos is scheduled for release on July 1, 2020.

A very enjoyable, solidly written, and neatly plotted YA mystery, taking obvious inspiration from Rebecca but with a bit of Gatsby in there as well. A little bit of a stretch in some ways as the truth was revealed, but I liked Anna as a narrator and her confusion and growing panic drove the story nicely (though I did find her character seemed a little distorted in the wintertime segments - perhaps why I found them a little flatter to read, though still compelling). Recommend to fans of Sadie, The Unfinished Life of Addison Stone, or As I Descended.

It took me a while to fully immerse myself into the book mainly because I didn't identify or frankly didn't even like the cast of characters presented.

I wish there had been more of the podcast as well (note: this will be great as an audio). However lack of interest of the characters and podcast aside, I did end up really enjoying this novel. It laid out the clues pretty nicely with everything being wrapped up at the end. I felt that nothing was left open ended which is excellent for a mystery. The twists made sense in the universe of the novel which will make it believable and not out of nowhere for readers.

Overall compelling mystery with mediocre characters.

Seventeen year old Anna Cicconi's life is a mess. She's spent far too long partying with her friends, blacking out, and not liking the person she's become. After she graduates high school, she lines up a cushy, summer job as a nanny in the Hamptons. Her theory is that you have to be the best version of yourself to take care of a kid so she views the job as an opportunity to turn over a new leaf and work on becoming the person she wants to be. Only, when she arrives in Herron Mills, she begins to be mistaken for missing teenager, Zoe Spanos. Zoe disappeared New Years Eve and the police haven't done their due diligence according to podcast host and family friend Martina Jenkins. With all the mistaken identity, Anna delves deep into the Missing Zoe podcast and a little detective work of her own and somehow. it ends with a confession, "I killed Zoe Spanos."

Kit Frick's, I Killed Zoe Spanos is a must read for the summer. The setting, the characters, the plot all lend to spell binding hours of reading. I couldn't put it down. I was near the end of the book and still wondering how it was going to wrap up and answer all of my questions, which Frick does in a surprisingly, excellent way. Five stars!

I Killed Zoe Spanos is an addicting YA mystery that is thrilling and intriguing for the entire read. Kit Frick did a great job of making the plot interesting and engaging, especially with the addition of the podcast featured in the book.

I was so intrigued when I read the synopsis. So, when I began to read the book I was so captivated by the story. These two teenage girls, Zoe and Anna, are linked in so many ways one main connection being their resemblance. Zoe is missing while Anna becomes the new nanny to a family living in Herron Mills. Everyone in the community is feeling a certain way about it because Zoe is still missing and Anna's uncanny resemblance is only highlighting the unsolved mystery.

Anna is working this job to do better for herself. She isn't perfect and liked to be rebellious. So, she is taking this opportunity to do better for herself and prove that she can lead a structured life.

As the story continues, Anna becomes more involved in trying to figure out what happened to Zoe after listening to the 'Missing Zoe' podcast. I really loved this aspect of the book. It made it feel like I was listening to a podcast which made the story so engaging.

When they discover Zoe's body, Anna confesses to Zoe's murder. The podcast points out the holes in Anna's confession which makes me wonder if Anna is truly responsible.

I give I Killed Zoe Spanos 5 stars. The story is always interesting and thrilling as Kit Frick allows readers to come along for the ride of figuring out whodunnit. I love her writing style and her idea to write in a podcast was genius. This is one of my favorite YA mysteries of the year!

Review is available on my blog, The Reading Fairy

Actual Rating: 3.5 stars!

TW: Death, Murder, underage drinking, overdose, accidental killing, blood, death of a parent (mentioned), absentee parent (mentioned), stomach cancer (mentioned), ablest language, cheating
Rep: Chinese Side Character, Black Side Character

Disclaimer: I received an ARC via Netgalley from the author+publisher, in exchange for my review. All quotes taken may not match final copy. 

”But there are some secrets—my secrets—that Windermere will hold forever, trapped beneath the ash like spilled blood.”

I'm not a huge fan of thrillers and mysteries too much, and they're simply okay. Though, I have to admit I enjoy reading them quite a bit-I think they maybe my comfort read??? (is that the right word?) especially since I do enjoy them, but don't rate it highly. I wasn't sure whether I was going to like it from the first page, but eventually I got used to it.

From the start, we're told of Anna's confession and for some odd reason it didn't exactly click with me than? It also took me about a good roughly 20% for me to get used to this book and the storyline. That 20% was a little boring and rough, but after that-it kicked off and I couldn't put this book down! 

That's scary considering what type of story this is-but honestly, I was addicted. I was making guesses and I was thinking among the lines of, "watch-the victim (Zoe) actually faked her death and by the end, she'll come back." I think watching Pretty Little Liars a few years ago actually made me think that and a few books I've read did that. I was also really glad that it didn't happen like that.

This book was so twisty that it kept me trying to guess every time, I though I figured out something-it actually went into an opposite direction than I originally thought! It also put me a little frustrated because about 80% done, there was still no answers.

Just place food instead of sleep and that's me 😂. I kinda refused to eat, and do school work because I needed the answers. The ending was a little confusing, but I'm really grateful there was answers that were answered.

Can we talk about the podcast aspect? I don't listen to podcasts, but honestly I actually really like podcasts being intertwined within the story. It just makes the book totally awesome and unique since very few stories I know incorporate those kind of aspects. I also loved how the podcast helped bring awareness to Zoe and helped solve the mystery in a way. 

I actually kinda liked the plot more than the characters? Don't get me wrong, I did like reading through their perspectives but it was mainly for the mystery and nothing else. I couldn't really connect with the characters liked I really hope-so I don't think any of them are my favorite.

Highly atmospheric, deeply creepy, beautifully written. This Rebecca-based thriller was full of satisfying twists and turns and helmed by Anna, a great unreliable narrator. The inclusion of podcast episodes gives another, more grounding perspective to the story that would otherwise get completely unmoored in delightfully creepy uncertainty. Some diverse side characters, an effective and rich Hamptons setting, and interesting exploration of class and race and missing girls. Not much creeps me out anymore, but this did. Frick is rapidly becoming one of my favorite writers of YA thrillers.

Thank you Netgalley and Simon and Shuster for providing an ARC of I killed Zoe Spanos by Kit Frick for an honest review.

One of the best YA Thrillers I have read in a long time! From the beginning of this story it kept me guessing on what was really going on all the way till the end.

Anna believes she killed Zoe Spanos she doesnt remember quite how it happened but she knows she did it.

This book was so gripping from the beginning. It's so psychological, too, which I found intriguing. I'm looking forward to interviewing Kit for our newsletter.

I loved this fun story, and will include it in Mashable's summer book preview publishing in early July

This novel has been receiving a lot of buzz in the past few months, and with good reason. Thrillers for me are always a hit or miss since some thrillers latch onto the systematic formula and then I’m capable of figuring out the killer 30% into the book. This book is different though. We know the narrator is unreliable, but at the same time, we also know that everyone else we meet is just as unreliable. Plus, we’re given memories that we’re unsure whether they’re true memories or merely false memories. Thing is, I could never truly tell what was going on in this novel and that’s a good thing! I like being puzzled and pretty much suspecting EVERYONE for murder rather than it being easy and having the one creepy person in the book be the killer.

I rather enjoyed the varied story-telling that was provided in the book. The past was told in the first person present tense by Anna, a girl who bears a striking resemblance to the dead girl in question, Zoe Spanos. While the present is told in the third person and we also get a podcast transcript. So the book has a lot of variety in story-telling.

The book is marketed as being a cross between Courtney Summer’s Sadie and the gothic novel Rebecca. This is what this book has in common with those two novels: Sadie: There’s a missing girl and the book is told in podcast transcript 50% of it. But that’s where the comparison ends. Rebecca: The protagonist loves to sketch, so does Anna. The protagonist is also a middle-class girl who marries a rich widower. Anna is a middle-class girl who is hired to be a nanny during the summer for a wealthy family in the Hamptons. The novel Rebecca is plagued by the memory of Rebecca and the maid who is obsessive about her. This novel is plagued by the memory of Zoe Spanos and her ex-boyfriend’s mother who is obsessed with her. Again, this is where the comparisons end.

I Killed Zoe Spanos is a taut thriller and has you second-guessing every character in the novel and for that I LOVE IT. This thriller is twisty and will leave you guessing, and like I said, NO ONE IS SAFE. Anyone could be the killer and trying to figure out what exactly happened to Zoe Spanos that fateful New Year’s Eve night will have you reading way past your bedtime.

READ THIS IF YOU LOVE TWISTY THRILLERS WITH UNRELIABLE CHARACTERS.
*Thank you so much to NetGalley and Margaret K. McElderry Books for the digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This was such a good, unique, psychological thriller! I loved the way the dual timelines were done and this was a great example of the unreliable narrator that remains sympathetic and keeps readers invested until the very end. I really didn't see the ending coming, either, which is what makes a great mystery to me. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more from Kit Frick!

I absolutely adored this novel! Although I'd never heard of Kit Frick, I immediately went out and bought one of her previous books. It's billed as YA but don't let that put you off if your'e not a fan, as this is an intricate and compelling story of a young woman who goes missing and ends up dead. There are SO many suspects and SO many red herrings! Anna is hired as a nanny to Paisley and she gets caught up in the drama of the story which takes place in the Hamptons. She looks eerily like Zoe and has odd "memories" of meeting her even though she's never been there before. There's the boyfriend, the friends, and a podcast that tries to shed some light on events that are confusing to everyone in the town. It's reminiscent of the novel, Sadie and Frick described it as related to Rebecca. I was glued to this one and the best part is, you don't know EXACTLY what happened until the final page! A clear winner for me!

I was totally drawn in by the summery yet mysterious cover of I Killed Zoe Spanos, which is a summer mystery set in the Hamptons. Brooklyn teen Anna is eager to leave her partying and frequent blackouts behind to take a nannying job for the summer after graduating high school, complete with a guest house, pool, and adorable child to take on outings. There is even a hot Yale student who lives next door. Things are looking great until people start mistaking her for Zoe, a girl who recently went missing and happens to be the girlfriend of the hot guy next door. As Anna starts listening to a local student's podcast about Zoe's case, she becomes obsessed with finding out what really happened, and starts to remember things that aren't adding up, but that may actually link her to Zoe's disappearance.
This book has a great mysterious atmosphere, lots of fun characters, and moves along quickly. I didn't love the ending, but I still really enjoyed the book.

I was given I Killed Zoe Spanos by Kat Frick in exchange for an honest review! All opinions are my own.

I really loved this book. I wasn’t sure it would be in my wheelhouse but oh how wrong I was.

✅ Murder
✅ Podcast
✅✅ Murder Podcast

It was everything I needed and more! I absolutely loved the tragic story of Zoe and Anna. 🖤 Zoe Spanos disappears on New Years Eve in Hamptons and Anna who comes to nanny coincidentally for the summer - thinks she knows what happened - or does she! 😳

It’s a great YA (I rarely read YA but this reads a bit mire adult to me) thriller/ murder mystery. I loved every page/ truly.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 rating from me! Some of the povs were confusing otherwise it would have been a perfect five star read for me! I highly recommend this fractured family story with a surprise ending! I’m so glad I read this - perfect for quarantine! 😍😍

Thank you to NetGalley for sending me an advanced copy of this book! I Killed Zoe Spanos follows the tale of Anna as she nannies for a rich Hamptons family the summer before she starts college. Upon her arrival, however, she is told that she resembles missing teen Zoe Spanos-and that's not where the coincidences end. I went into this story expecting a slightly spooky summer read, and was pleasantly surprised at how I was enthralled at every twist and turn, and how this book constantly kept me guessing. I highly recommend it.

Impressive mystery!
Thanks to NetGalley and Margaret McElderry Books for the opportunity to read and review I Killed Zoe Spanos by Kit Frick!
The book begins in August as Anna is being questioned by the police about Zoe Spanos, a young woman who has been missing for two months and looks similar to Anna. Then, the story moves back to June when Anna starts her nanny job. Little by little, Anna meets members of the community and gets to know the neighborhood. The story of Anna alternates with the local podcast, Missing Zoe, created by a Spanos family friend. The podcast explores the investigation into Zoe and her disappearance. The story keeps moving between June when Anna started her job as a nanny in Herron Mills and August when she was arrested for the manslaughter of Zoe. People tend to act strangely around Anna and she starts to wonder why. She knows it’s not just from how she looks. The mystery and questions about Zoe’s disappearance build ominously until the very end of the book. Complicated and fascinating in each part and with all of the characters, I Killed Zoe Spanos weaves a complex, twisty mystery that’s worth a full 5 stars!

This was such a fun, wild ride! YA thrillers are super popular right now and this is the best I’ve read so far. Anna takes a summer job as a nanny for a wealthy family in the Hamptons, but she doesn’t know her life is about to be flipped upside down. Anna learns about a missing local girl, Zoe Spanos, and Anna struggles to figure out how her life is connected to Zoe’s. There is a podcast element to this book, which I really enjoyed. This would make a great audio book. I loved the writing in this book, every time I thought I had it figured out, I was completely wrong. I can’t wait to read a finished copy of this book. Thanks netgally for letting me read this ARC.