Brenna Ehrlich's Killing Time follows a true-crime obsessed teenager who sets out to uncover a killer when her favorite teacher is murdered. With a dual POV that sends the reader back twenty years, this engrossing and twisty thriller is perfect for fans of Courtney Summers and Karen McManus. The story takes place in Ferry, Connecticut, and Evanston, Illinois. 18 year old Natalie Temple is a lover of anything true crime who just graduated from High School. Thanks to Mrs Halsey, Natalie and her best friend Katie joined her High School's the true crime club.

After her mother found out about the club, Natalie and Katie decided to create a podcast called Killing Time about true crime and murders. When her favorite teacher is murdered, Natalie races to find out what really happened and to feature it on her podcast. But when she finds a warning not telling her to stay out, the mystery grows even more. She won't let false information spread about someone she cared about. Natalie must hide her investigating ways from her mom as she doesn't approve of her daughter's fascination in true-crime.

When her teachers husband is found murdered as well, Natalie finds herself in a similiar situation to her own mother 20 year earlier. Helen Temple, Natalie's mother, was in her freshman year at college when a fellow student disappeared without a trace. Helen is told that if she wants to be involved, then she needs to start asking questions of the family.

The flashbacks give readers reasons why Helen is so protective of Natalie, and why she choose to return home and open up her own business in order to support Natalie when she goes off to college. Both Natalie and Helen make mistakes that could easily be avoided, but that also made them seem realistic. One of the biggest mistakes on both of their parts was lack of communication and respect. I think had Helen sat down and explained to Helen what happened 20 years ago, things might have been easier for Natalie. There are poor decisions and immature actions abound in this novel. Natalie’s best friend Katie Lugo is a brilliant character who is heading off to M.I.T. in the fall. Katie ends up coming up with a brilliant idea that wraps the book up nicely.

THank you to NetGalley, Branna Ehrlich and Inkyard Press for the free e-book in exchange for an honest review.

This one starts off with a bang and I love a book with podcast elements. It was fairly quick paced, but there was very little about the podcast in the midst of the book and it's more of a YA novel that anything else. I was a bit disappointed in the novel overall, but the twists were really well done!

In this YA mystery, Natalie is a true-crime obsessed 18 year old in the summer before college. Her favorite teacher, who nurtured her interest in true crime, is murdered. Somewhat implausible, Natalie takes it upon herself to investigate. We are supposed to believe a recently graduated high school student can do this because she has a true crime podcast. (Note, the podcast is barely a part of the plot, this is not "Only Murders in the Building" for the YA audience). The story alternates between Natalie's POV and that of her overprotective mother, Helen. When Helen was practically the same age, a freshman in college, she was on the college newspaper and investigated the disappearance of a fellow student.

I was interested enough in the present day and past mysteries to continue reading, but I didn't love this. The pacing was a bit slow, and I didn't really warm to either of the main characters -- Natalie is immature and abrasive, and Helen is unbearably overprotective and authoritarian, never explaining to Natalie WHY she is overprotective, instead just treating her like a 5 year old "BECAUSE IS SAID SO".

She won't let this story go untold...

Natalie can hardly believe the news that her favourite teacher, Mrs. Halsey, has been murdered. Mrs. Halsey has always encouraged Natalie's fascination with crime and murder. This means everything to Natalie, as her mom, Helen, is very strict and disapproving of her interests. As an aspiring journalist, Natalie decides to investigate Mrs. Halsey's murder and report the facts. Sifting through rumours, tips, and difficult emotions, Natalie leans on her best friend and a mysterious boy for help with her investigation. Can Natalie set the record straight, or is she in over her head?
As someone who loves to play detective, I really enjoyed this novel. I loved the alternation between Natalie's story and her mom's story. I loved that I was able to understand Helen better while reading her chapters. I was pleased that some of my theories ended up being correct. I read the eARC for this novel and listened to the audiobook. I was a little turned off by the unnecessary, negative comments that seem to be directed at the My Favorite Murder podcast. Everyone likes different things, but I found it inappropriate and off-putting. I enjoyed the narrator's portrayal of the characters but I was pulled out of the story at times when the mic made her breathing seem loud. Despite these minor setbacks, I loved this novel and would recommend it to YA thriller readers!

This was an interesting Young Adult mystery novel!

I received an e-ARC of this book from the publisher.

Killing Time is a slow burn YA mystery featuring 18 year old Natalie, a lover of anything true crime. When her favorite HS teacher is murdered, Natalie decides to find out what really happened to her and to feature it on her podcast. I really wanted to love this book. While I did like it, I didn't love it. I did like one of the twists, but I predicted the killer fairly early one.

What I didn't love was the pacing. The story takes a little too much time to get to the point. We get the present story of Natalie as she hunts down the truth. Then we get flashbacks to when Helen, Natalie's mother, is in her freshman year at college. She gets involved as a reporter investigating the disappearance of a fellow student. Those flashbacks do give us incite into why Helen is so protective of Natalie. But I found it frustrating that she refused to impart any of her learned wisdom to her daughter. Especially once she turned 18 and about to leave for college herself. Instead of giving a reason, it's more just do what I say..."because".

I think the best part about the book is the growth that Natalie experiences throughout the book. In the beginning, she is kind of selfish and only focused on the true crime part of her goal. But by the end, she is able to realize that behind every true crime story, there are real people who were victims and real people who are left behind to pick up the pieces. I also liked that she does see consequences for the multiple poor choices she makes in the book. Her mother is engaged and present. It's not a bad book, it's just wasn't what I was hoping for.

This is a good YA mystery that focuses on two crimes in two separate timelines which helps build suspense! The plot moves along quickly, keeping readers hooked. Most importantly, the loose threads are all tied up by the end of the story. Fans of true crime podcasts and YA thrillers will definitely enjoy this one!

Killing Time is such a great book! I love thrillers and Brenna does a great job making the story stand out. The Pacing is done very well and you are kept wondering what is going to happen next. I love the characters in the story because they are very well done and stand out.
I can't wait to read more books by Brenna!

Thank you to the publisher, Inkyard Press, and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Recent high school graduate Natalie is obsessed with true crime, much to her overprotective mother’s dismay, who does everything she can to discourage it. This is the last summer before everyone heads off to college and it should be a time to enjoy herself with her friends and party, but things take a turn when her favorite teacher and mentor, Mrs Halsey is murdered. Her teacher was the only one who understood her curiosity and interest in true crime, so Natalie is determined to find out who is responsible and begins her own investigation.

Between the true crime obsessed protagonist and her having a podcast, this premise brought to mind two of my favorite mystery/thriller novels: Truly Devious and A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder, so I knew I had to read this book. This was a fast paced and engaging thriller with plenty of twists and turns that held my attention from start to finish. The narration style is very good, and it drew me into the story easily. I did however think, that Natalie’s podcast would have played a more central role in the story, but it’s barely mentioned outside of being one of the reasons for her investigation. The mystery itself was quite interesting, but I found Natalie and friend Katie’s investigation to be rather lacklustre – it was the plot that had my interest rather than the girls’ sleuthing which was a bit disappointing.

The inclusion of Natalie’s mom, Helen’s past perspective, struck me as a strange choice initially, but it becomes clear that there was a second mystery in this past timeline, which added another layer of suspense to the story. The storylines didn’t really converge until the very end of the book, but it certainly allowed the reader to pick up hints of why Helen is so against Natalie’s interest in true crime and provides a better understanding of her character. Natalie herself was not a character I particularly enjoyed, and with the series of incredibly reckless and ill advised decisions she made, I did not find her to be very relatable or even sympathetic. What this book does highlight very well is the fine line true crime enthusiasts must walk as they balance their interest in such a morbid topic while also remembering that these are about real people and their family and friends affected by these crimes. It’s something that Natalie discovered very quickly that reading about, and obsessing over true crimes is very different from seeing it in real life, especially since it involved someone she knew and was close to.

As for the ending, I felt like things came together way too quickly in the final chapters to the extent that I couldn’t fully enjoy the reveal. There wasn’t enough indication in the past timeline to allow the reader to begin to come to this conclusion until the facts were stated in the present timeline to join the dots, so it felt a bit clunky. Overall, this was an interesting read and a solid YA novel that teens would likely enjoy.

I love YA Fiction and I love a good murder mystery and Killing Time by Brenda Ehrlich definitely has both. Right off the bat you get to jump in to the main character, Natalie. She seems interesting and a lot like myself, honestly. I instantly liked her for her love of true crime and overall personality. However, I instantly disliked her mother. Strong feelings about characters right off the bat means good writing. It takes a lot to make you feel strongly about someone and Ehrlich did it quickly.

The overall story flowed and gave away little tidbits of information that had you guessing around on what happened and who is guilty. I went back and forth between some of the characters being totally clear to thinking they obviously must have done it and back again. Ehrlich wrote a great mystery that wasn’t super easy to solve. I think the side characters added a lot to the story and built some layers so it wasn’t always the same person the whole time. I really enjoyed the pace of the story and didn’t feel like it was too slow or too fast.

If you are a fan of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson, then Killing Time is right up your alley. This gives that same YA Fiction, Who-Dunnit, teenager on the case vibe, but still stands as a uniquely I look forward to checking out more from Brenna Ehrlich in the future. I have faith she will stump me again.

Today I’m part of the Inkyard Press YA blog tour (a division of Harper-Collins) for Killing Time by Brenna Ehrlich. This was a suspenseful story of two murders, one now and one in the past, with a central protagonist of a girl in high school who loves true crime and has her own podcast, even though her mother hates her passion with a passion!

Here’s the overview:


Killing Time

Brenna Ehrlich

On Sale Date: March 8, 2022

9781335418678

Hardcover

$18.99 USD

336 pages

About the Book:

Killing Time follows a true-crime obsessed teenage girl who sets out to uncover a killer when her favorite teacher is murdered. With a dual POV that sends the reader back twenty years, this engrossing and twisty thriller is perfect for fans of Courtney Summers and Karen McManus.

Summer in Ferry, Connecticut has always meant long, lazy days at the beach and wild nights partying in the abandoned mansions on the edge of town. Until now, that is.

Natalie Temple’s favorite teacher has been murdered, and there’s no way this true-crime obsessed girl is going to sit back and let the rumor mill churn out lie after lie. Not if she has anything to say about it – even if she has to hide her investigation from her disapproving mom and team up with a new boy in town with a mysterious smile and a talent for making fake IDs.

But the more Natalie uncovers, the more she realizes some secrets were never meant to be told.

With two interwoven mysteries, Killing Time is a deathly warning to a generation of murderinos: what happens when the stories we’re chasing finally catch up with us?

About the Author:


Brenna Ehrlich is a journalist, YA author, and editor who has worked everywhere from MTV News to Rolling Stone. She resides in New Jersey with her husband Morgan and their two cats, Nimbus and Hazel. She enjoys horror movies and romcoms in equal measure.

Social Links:

Author website: https://www.brennaehrlich.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BrennaEhrlich

IG: https://www.instagram.com/brennaehrlich/

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I’ll be getting this one for my daughter for her birthday! Thank you for my copy and for making me part of the tour!

I really wanted to love this story as the description sounded right up my alley. A focus on true crime and solving a murder? Yes. While I did enjoy the story overall, there were definitely some things that detracted from my reading experience. I did not really enjoy the voice of the main character, to me she was a bit too harsh.

The overall mystery I felt was solid and fun to unravel as the story went on. While I didn't love the main character, the way her and her mother's perspectives wove together. So overall, the story was a positive for me. The writing style was also excellent and the pacing felt solid, so I would definitely read from this author again.

This was a fun YA mystery that has so many elements of a story that I love. Natalie was a strong character who is dealing with the pressures of starting college after the summer, an overprotective mother, and wanting to solve the murder of her favorite teacher and mentor. Along with following Natalie we also get flashbacks of her mom, Helen, and her first few months in college. I really loved how we got to see this different perspective of Helen and the intrigue of how she started out wanting to be a reporter to not wanting her daughter to have anything to do with true crime.

The podcast element was strong but there was no actually podcast being made other than a few interviews here and there. What this book really excelled at was forcing the reader to look at the humanity behind true crime. As a true crime lover myself, it is always important to remember that these are stories about real people and I appreciated that Ehrlich put such an emphasis on it.

The story started out clunky but eventually found its pacing and the ending surprised me by how clever it was. I’m usually someone who can pick up on The Who and The Why but I wasn’t fully convinced on who it would be and I had no idea wha the motive might have been. I want to say it had a Lifetime movie ending but it also wasn’t overly dramatic. Also, while I really enjoyed the ending, the more I think about it the more questions I have. So, while I think it was a good ending, I also think that it had the potential to be better. Overall, this was a solid YA mystery from an author that I look forward to reading more from.

KILLING TIME immediately sparked my interest - any time a mystery/thriller includes a true crime podcast element, I'm there. I'm also always excited to read books set in Connecticut. This one ticks both of those boxes. I didn't realize right away that there's a "past" and "present" back-and-forth throughout the story too, which was really intriguing. I kept wondering how the two timelines would connect.

I have to admit that I didn't love the main character, Natalie. She was kind of frustrating to read about because she dove headfirst into things without thinking. She definitely ignored red flags all over the place. Her mom was arguably even worse to read about. She was extremely strict. I assumed from the beginning that this connected to her past that we were reading about in alternating chapters, but it didn't make it any easier to read. It made it harder to stay focused on reading and it took me longer to read than I hoped.

The setting and references to Connecticut places were definitely some of my favorite parts of this. The ending of the story was pretty fast-paced after a major THING happens and I was intrigued to see what would happen. It was hard to put down - I was super tired and literally fell asleep with my Kindle in my hands because I didn't want to stop reading.

Killing Time by Brenna Ehrlich is a young adult mystery novel. The story in Killing Time is one that is told by alternating the point of view as it also alternates the timeline between a current time and from around twenty years before.

Being raised by a single mother in Ferry, Connecticut Natalie Temple feels that her mother, Helen, is overprotective. Natalie is a student that has always been obsessed with true crime much to the dismay of her mother running a podcast with her best friend.

Natalie knew her mother wouldn’t approve of the true crime club run by her teacher either but joined anyway and now that teacher has been murdered and Natalie wants answers. Helen’s past has shaped her life though and given her the reason to want her daughter as safe as she can be.

Killing Time by Brenna Ehrlich is the type of novel that almost feels as if reading two separate stories at once. There was two different mysteries going on at once too in the current and in the past so it did keep both sides moving along nicely wanting to see what would happen in each. I liked that the current had the podcast as it definitely stood out as something that would go on now making both distinct. Of course there’s some twists along the way too as the story unfolded and when finished I enjoyed this read.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Killing Time by was a really good read! I grew to really like Natalie, even though sometimes I was wondering what she was thinking. The way the intrigue with her mom played out was unique. This is considered a YA book but definitely read older to me. Natalie had a relationship but she was never only about the guy and never came off as immature. This story was easy to be drawn into and I finished it quickly.

Okay, this was a decent debut and written in the vein of A Good GIrl's Guide to Murder trilogy. This is a YA mystery/thriller and I don't know that I was the right target audience for this story. I enjoyed reading it and all, but it didn't engage or keep me as interested as A Good Girl's Guide to Murder did.
One reason why I think that I may not be the right audience for this is that it's about a true crime fanatic, Natalie, she runs a podcast with her friend, and then because of being a true-crime fanatic, she decides to investigate the murder of her favorite teacher. And well, I'm not a big fan of true crime personally. I like stories about investigating murder mysteries, but I don't like true crime as much.
There's also an interesting alternate timeline in the past while the present timeline is currently being told and some decent twists to it as well. With the aspect of the mystery and investigation of the favorite teacher's murder among other storylines, I did enjoy a lot of it and think there will be a lot of others who will enjoy this a lot so don't let my lack of enthusiasm dissuade you from checking this story out. Also, one thing to note is that there is a bit of profanity if you want to be aware of or try to avoid that kind of thing.
Thank you to NetGalley and Inkyard Press for letting me read and review this story. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I want to preface this by saying that I am clearly not the target audience for this story - so take this review with a grain of salt.

This is a story that seems to surround a lack of communication skills. This is something that annoys me, but I’ve also discovered that I can’t handle too much teenage nonsense in books anymore - and that’s what killed this book for me more than anything (hence - not the target audience).

This book surrounds a true crime enthusiast, Natalie, a high school student who finds out her teacher was murdered - and she’s determined to find out who did it regardless of what her overprotective mother has to say about that. Her mother, Helen, has her reasons for being so strict - she refuses to share those reasons with her daughter, instead using the old “because I said so” line that always works on every teenager in the world (sarcasm - that was sarcasm).

This book started SLOW. It got better, but still wasn’t for me. Again, I’m just not the target audience, but you might be! ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Killing Time

Author: Brenna Ehrlich

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 3/5

Recommended For...: young adult readers, mystery books, thriller reads, true crime like

Publication Date: March 8, 2022

Genre: YA MysteryThriller

Age Relevance: 17+ (death, animal death, language, sexism, gore, violence, stalking, sexual content, alcohol consumption, grief)

Explanation of Above: There is death and murder in this book and the book discusses a lot of it. There is one particular scene where an animal’s death is graphically described and it’s off-putting. There is some sexism and stalking shown in the book, as well as some briefly mentioned sexual content related to sex offenders and sexting. There is gore and violence in the book and some alcohol consumption. There is also grief shown in the book.

Publisher: Inkyard Press

Pages: 336

Synopsis: Summer in Ferry, Connecticut, has always meant long, lazy days at the beach and wild nights partying in the abandoned mansions on the edge of town. Until now, that is.

Natalie Temple, who’s never been one for beaches or parties in the first place, is reeling from the murder of her favorite teacher, and there’s no way this true-crime-obsessed girl is going to sit back and let the rumor mill churn out lie after lie—even if she has to hide her investigation from her disapproving mom and team up with the new boy in town…

But the more Natalie uncovers, the more she realizes some secrets were never meant to be told.

Review: For the most part this was an ok book. I really liked the premise and it seemed to be a good book at first. The book did good to show the two separate cases and present them well. The book also had me intrigued with the podcast angle.

However, I felt like the book was just bad. It had a lot of promise, which is why it’s a 3/5 and why I kept reading it instead of DNFing it, but I really did not like the book. The book has a back and forth between the past and the present and in a couple of chapters I noticed that sometimes we slipped into the past while we were in the present chapters, but overall the format was confusing and I didn’t really like having two separate stories going on at once. I felt like the characters, aside from the side characters, weren’t well developed and the world building was non-existent. I also felt like the pacing was just all over the place. I also very much disliked the animal gore that was shown in the book.

Verdict: It was not for me.

Killing Time is told in dual timelines, which can go either way for me It works well here, especially with the little touches by the author to make both past and present relevant. The story revolves around two amateur investigations, and Brenna Ehrlich weaves a suspenseful tale that kept me interested and invested. While I do appreciate the author's attention to detail, some parts are a little too descriptive and could've done with a bit of a less is more attitude. That said, the book isn't wordy as a whole, just a few places that stood out to me, so it wasn't enough to dim my enjoyment of the story. So, in a world of true crime buffs and podcasts, this young adult mystery fits right in, and it made for an entertaining weekend read.