I was beyond eager to get my hands on this book, and let me tell you, it did not disappoint. From the flip of the first page, to the turn of the last, I was transfixed by this haunting, disturbing story. Its dark. Its depressing. Its claustrophobic. Its heart-wrenching. But damn is it good. The writing is compelling, complex, and thought provoking, and keeps you guessing throughout the entirety of the novel.

Little Threats is a dark, slow burn, character driven novel about a wrongful murder conviction and how it has shaped the lives of everyone involved. Its about relationships and family, and the way in which the bonds of family can be frayed and torn and be difficult to mend and be woven back together after the darkest of times.

Kennedy, the main character, has just been released from prison, where she has been serving time since she was a mere teenager for the murder of her best friend. She’s certain that she didn’t do it, and stands by her innocence, and she wants to know who the true culprit is. Many are divided over whether or not she is guilty and her release from prison, further fracturing relationships and deepening the cracks in already broken foundations.

The story is told from multiple POVs, giving deeper insight into the characters involved in the story and how they feel about everything that has happened, making the story that much more compelling and adding even more drama and intensity into the mix.

This book is both a mystery and a character study and its as thrilling as it thought provoking. Although its a slow burner, its never dull, and I never found myself bored at any point throughout the story.

The twists kept coming throughout the story, and I was truly shocked by the ending.

So good! Highly recommend!

Thank you to Netgalley and Putnam Books for the ARC.

🌟🌟🌟 3/5 stars

Little Threats is a slow-burn mystery about twins, Kennedy and Carter. Kennedy, who went to jail for killing their best friend, is being released after 15 years. She has no memory of the crime and struggles to understand why she would kill her friend. Carter can never forgive her sister because she doubts her innocence. The other main character is Gerry, the twins’ dad, who has dedicated his life to saving his daughter.

Little Threats has a great storyline, but it was a little too slow-paced for me. I struggled to become invested in the story because of how leisurely paced it was. However, I loved the 90s references and the multiple POVs. It is more of a character study than a suspense novel, but it nails ending.

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

Many thanks to NetGalley and GP Putnam's Sons for gifting me a digital ARC of this fabulous book by Emily Schultz - 5 stars for a wonderfully-crafted mystery!

Kennedy and Carter were young teenagers growing up in Virginia with their best friend, Haley. They did all the typical young teenage girls do - falling in and out of love and like quickly, wanting to be older, even experimenting with drugs because the boys wanted them to. But after fateful July 4th evening, Kennedy discovers the body of Haley. Unfortunately, she can remember nothing about what happened to her. She quickly became the prime suspect since she found and disturbed the body, as well as evidence given by Berk, a would-be boyfriend of both Kennedy and Haley. Still proclaiming her innocence, she took an Alford plea to avoid a worse sentence. When she was released 14 years later, still not remembering anything, she emerges into a whole new life. Her mom passed away, Carter is cold and believes Kennedy responsible, and dad, Gerry, is just afraid to let her out of his sight. A crime show comes to town to explore the case and opens up old wounds on everyone.

This is a well-written, slow-burn of a mystery story with enough clues and red herrings that had me questioning just about every character at some point, and still left me shocked at the ending! We are privy to points of view from both sisters and their dad as they all try to adjust to the new normal of Kennedy being out of prison. This is also a coming-of-age story, with nods to the 1990s that will bring back memories. It's also about family, loyalty, and secrets. Enough said - this is a great book to snuggle up with on these late fall nights!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC of this book.

I almost didn’t finish this book.
I’m not gonna lie, I was bored through most of it.
I kept reading because I wanted to find out the big mystery. It didn’t get interesting until about 80% in.
I skimmed through most of this book yet I still figured out who did it.

This didn’t feel like a thriller to me. There wasn’t enough mystery in my opinion.
Also I didn’t like the multiple POV. Some of them felt very pointless. I felt like they only had their own POV to try and trick us but it just didn’t work for me.

This premise was so intriguing to me, I was immediately drawn to the book and wanted to read it. I loved so much about it before I even opened to the first page. It takes place in my city, Richmond, I love it here. It involved twins and was touted as mystery/thriller-YES. It also is told from several different points of view in several different time frames-ok I am getting drawn in. Perhaps it involved someone wrongfully accused-keep talking. Oh and throw in a true crime podcast and it is as if you have created murderino bait. I was all in. Unfortunately it fell a bit flat for me in the end. I was completely bummed that I figured it out about 30 minutes in. It was very predictable.

I read a lot of thrillers. This mystery was very underwhelming and the book also moved super slow. I didn't find many twists and the ending was predictable, in fact I called everything very quick. I didn't really love any of the characters. The twins were just too much. Everything was handed to them and they just pissed it away. Their privilege was showing. I did like Everett, he was my favorite. I really wanted to love this one but its a no for me. 2.5 stars for me but I am rounding down to 2 because I figured everything out way too quick.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the chance to read and review.

Unfortunately, I had to put this book down after a few pages. It wasn’t holding my attention. It may be because the book formatting was off on my kindle, but I couldn’t stay focused on the story and I couldn’t follow with what was happening in the story.

Slow burn that never quite reaches a climax. Kennedy Wynne has spent 15 years in prison and upon her release returns home to live with her father and twin sister. The homecoming is strained and the past is difficult to move on from; With a sister who doubts her innocence and an upcoming true crime story that creates more questions than answers. The pacing is slow in the first half of the book and never quite recovers. Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to review this book in exchange for my honest review

My Review:⭐️⭐⭐️.5/ 5 stars


This is a thriller/mystery novel about twin teen sisters, Kennedy and Carter in 1993 with their friend Haley, doing the standard teenage things like crushing on older boys, listening to grunge music, and annoying their parents. However, after meeting Berk Butler, an older college age man, who hangs out with them and introduces them to drugs and drinking… After one night in the woods on LSD, Kennedy wakes up to find her friend Haley dead. She ends up having to serve time in jail for the 2nd degree murder of her friend and after her release, she has to enter back into regular civilian life facing those challenges, the local town folk suspicious of her, and her own sister Carter not trusting her (with secrets of her own). I loved all the 90s nostalgia and the mystery aspect was interesting, but I felt the pace was so slow. The characters were all unlikeable in their own ways, but it kept me guessing until the last chapter. A lot of the things these girls/women did were incredibly stupid, it made me want to scream while reading. And don’t even get me started on the men in this story - all repulsive. The only character I thought was interesting was true crime detective Dee Nash, who comes to town to re-investigate the murder of Haley as more evidence might have come to light due to DNA technology advancement. Thank goodness for that or else the story would have been at a standstill. It’s a decent murder “who did it” thriller if you are looking for a slower paced story.

Thank you to G.P. Putnam books and Netgalley for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest review! This comes out today!

Twin stories are always fun and explore two sides of the same household which is a great springboard for drama. For me, this book moved too slow and had a lot of tropes that we've seen, including the strange addition of a ghost element late in the book that felt very thrown in. I would definitely not want to live in this world because creepy men seem to be everywhere. The characters were interesting, but not surprising. In fact, they often felt predictable as if tropes themselves.

Although I understand that I received an early proof copy, it was so riddled with spelling issues and formatting errors that I had a hard time following. Every other paragraph was broken up with strange symbols and numbers throughout the text that clearly seemed to be formatting references. I just hope the final eBook was fixed prior to release.

As for the story, there were no surprises for me which was a shame. I enjoyed the 90s references and the details of teenage life were spot-on, having been a teen then myself. That element of the book is what kept me engaged as well as the question of whether Kennedy actually did murder her best friend.

It's a sibling teenage drama rather than a thriller, and that bait-n-switch keeps happening with new books. It sours my excitement for opening a new "thriller". I struggled through the first 70% hoping for more. It could just be me and the world around us right now but even the ending was a little lackluster. My thought was, "that's a shame," and I could apply that to the plot resolution and the overall experience.

I would say if you love the premise and the era, go for it because I'm pickier than most. It definitely had me changing up my playlist this weekend and remembering a time that blurs even in my own memory.

Little Threats is a dark, character-driven tale of a wrongful murder conviction and how it has shaped the lives of everyone involved.

I really enjoyed how Emily Schultz developed these characters--Kennedy as she adapts to life outside of prison, Carter as she struggles with whether or not to believe Kennedy when she says she doesn’t remember what happened that night, and Everett as he tries to cope with the loss of his sister.

The middle of this book dragged a little bit for me, but I wanted to finish it before the publication date so I pushed through. You know from the description that new evidence comes to light as the crime TV show investigates the case, but you don’t find out until three quarters of the way through the book what the new evidence is and what it means. I believe the ending makes up for the slow parts, though.

In the eARC (and this could have just been because I was reading it on my cell phone), there weren’t many paragraph breaks, so at times it was a little hard to figure out who was speaking. I had to read some passages multiple times to figure it out. I hope this gets solved in the finished copies!

Little Threats will be available in the US tomorrow, November 10. Thank you to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam’s Sons for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

A slow burn whodunit thriller that ratchets up the pace a little too late.

After spending 15 years in prison for a crime she can’t fully remember but is almost certain she didn’t commit, Kennedy Wynn comes home to a life that is somehow stuck in the past and has also barreled ahead without her. How can she begin this new chapter of her life when her father seems to still see her as a helpless teenager, her twin sister doubts her innocence, and a true crime show is preparing to dive in to the murder that changed her life?

Little Threats has a good premise, but fails in execution. The number of narrators drags down the pace and adds unnecessary plot lines. I think it would have been more interesting to focus solely on Kennedy and Carter, her twin sister, as narrators. Although it eventually does become a bit of a page turner, the early meandering might not be intriguing enough to hook some readers.

What a ride! Little Threats is a wonderfully written story about family and the after effects of a murder. But it’s not what you’d think.
Kennedy is our main character and we meet her as she’s being released from prison, serving time for murdering her best friend. But she’s certain she didn’t do it, and she wants to know who did.
Told from multiple points of view and timelines, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I think I especially liked it because I could identify with teenaged Kennedy and enjoyed the 90’s alternative and grunge music discussed. It was definitely reminiscent of my own youth.
The twists kept coming and I never expected the ending. Those are really the best kind of stories

Not only is this book a mystery but its also a character study Kennedy has been in prison for murder. Convicted when she was a teenager, she’s served her time and now she along with others are searching for the truth of what happened that night. Much of the story is told via creative writing assignments Kennedy did while in prison. Kennedy’s twin sister is not convinced that Kennedy is innocent. The novel is builds slowly and the reader will think about giving up only to find out that they can’t, like Kennedy they will become obsessed with finding the truth

Kennedy doesn't know what exactly happened to Haley that night- she was tripping on LSD- but she served 15 years in prison for the murder. She can't imagine that she killed Haley. Now she's out on parole and living at home with her father Gerry and trying to reconnect with Carter, her twin. She's being stalked by Berk, the man who was with them that night and who served 2 years in prison. Carter is dating (really just sleeping with) Everett, Haley's much younger brother. A pod caster is poking around in the story- and lots of old secrets are about to tumble out. Some of the best parts of this are the essays written by Kennedy while she was in prison- it's a great vehicle to get the back story. This is story of privileged versus not, of past sins, of teenage angst. The characters, especially Kennedy but also Everett, who knows more than he realizes, are terrific. This has several surprising twists and you will feel much sympathy for Haley. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. This is a page turner not only because of the plot but also due to the accomplished storytelling.

Absolutely chilling. Little Threats is a murder mystery about Kennedy, a 16 year old twin who goes to jail in 1993 for the murder of her best friend. When she is released in 2008, a lot of questions are raised around this murder, and even Kennedy herself doesn't seem to know the truth. The story is told from the points of view of Kennedy, her identical twin Carter and many of their friends and family, as well as the producer of a true crime show that is covering their case. Most of the people surrounding this murder seem to have a distorted view of reality caused by drug, alcohol, memory lapses, personality disorders or their own personal ambitions, which adds to the surreal, murky feeling of the story. It's also a trip back to 90's grunge culture as well as the political landscape of 2008, which was a joy to revisit from our current unstable political and social atmosphere!

I finished this book in 1 day, and for the entire time my body had that feeling of being frozen in place because I was slightly terrified but really wanted to know what had just happened and what was going to happen next.. Despite my intense need to get to the end I kept rereading pages because I just couldn't believe what I had just read. This is a brilliant story with many twists and spooky occurrences to keep you on the edge of your seat!

Thank you very much to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy of this book through in exchange for an honest review. It was a journey I truly enjoyed even though it gave me a few heart palpitations

2.5 ⭐️‘s

After a bad acid trip, 16 year old Kennedy can’t remember much. The next morning, Kennedy awakes in her room but her best friend Haley is missing. Kennedy goes in search of her in the woods and finds her dead. Taking an Alford Plea Bargain (accepting the charges without contest, but asserting innocence), Kennedy went to prison for murder. Fifteen years later she’s coming home. Home to a house that’s no longer quite the same, home to a twin that’s not sure of her innocence. Home to a community that called her Dead Kennedy. This book was quite slow and didn’t ring true to me. Hard to believe that after being released Kennedy didn’t even try to figure out what really happened that night🤷‍♀️Things fall into place much too easily when a crime show comes to town and picks up the case and the ending twist ... don’t even get me started on that one🤦‍♀️

I wanted to like this book, but honestly, I couldn't connect to it at all. By the 50th page or so, I gave up and moved on to something else. The premise sounded really good. But it just wasn't for me.

I feel like I read a completely different novel from everyone else. Being a teenager in the '90s, I was very interested in the blurb and was impressed by all of the positive reviews. But I disliked pretty much everything about this. I would consider this a slow-burn character-driven novel, however, I didn't care for or about any of the characters. Kennedy and Carter literally made my head hurt. If I had discovered all of these "twists and turns" I have read about in other reviews, it may have improved my overall thoughts. However, I found things to be mostly predictable.

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this review copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

I received an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I was recently approved and release date is 11/10.

If you are a fan of 90s music and in general, as well as a murder mystery fan, you will absolutely love it. Kennedy and Carter are twins, living in a nice suburb of Richmond Virginia in the early 1990's. Their dad is a lawyer, their mom is dying of cancer, their best friend Haley is found dead by Kennedy who is recovering from a bad acid trip. Kennedy takes a plea deal despite circumstantial evidence, she found and moved the body, and took a lock of her hair. The 2nd timeline is late 2008, when Kennedy makes parole. The author gives us a few perspectives - Carter, their dad Gerry, Everett- Haley's younger brother, and Berk, the older guy The twins and Haley used to hang with when they were 16. (He was 21) The reader doesn't know who is telling the whole story. Just pieces of it. A tactic which both works for the author and doesn't at times, as I wanted more focus on the twins. All the 90s music references, including the mix tapes in Kennedy's room, descriptions of their fashion and jewelry choices were accurate. As you get near the end and pieces of the puzzle begin to take shape, the reader will be aghast at the betrayal. Excellent book.

Any book that starts with a Belly reference is good for me.

Kennedy Wynn is being released from prison. In 1994, she was convicted of the murder of her best friend Haley. She's not sure what happened that night, but she's pretty sure she didn't kill her. Carter, Kennedy's twin sister, is in recovery, and struggling with a relationship that she knows is basically forbidden.

This is a whodunit and a slow burn. The last....20% is rapid - weaving in the past and present in a frenzy and its.....fabulous.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.