Killing Time by Brenna Ehrlich is an engaging young adult mystery novel featuring eighteen year-old Natalie Temple and her mother Helen Temple, and alternates settings between current times in Ferry, Connecticut and about 19 years ago in Evanston, Illinois. Natalie is a true crime enthusiast. Therefore, when her favorite teacher is murdered, Natalie is determined to investigate even though she will have to hide that investigation from her mom. The other timeline gives us a look at Helen when she first went to college and how the events there have shaped her life and attitudes.

Although Natalie has a lot of typical teen emotions, actions, and feelings, she’s doesn’t tend to go to parties or date. She views her mother as overprotective, strict, and controlling. In her summer before college, she is purging stuff from her room, shopping for college, interning at the local newspaper, working in her mom’s diner, co-hosting a true crime podcast, and now investigating a murder.

Readers get some insight into Helen’s college personality, but her current emotions are mainly seen through Natalie’s eyes. Both Natalie and Helen make mistakes that could easily be avoided, but that also made them seem realistic. Despite their flaws, I cared enough to want to find out what happened. Natalie’s best friend Katie Lugo and childhood friend Jonathan Pressman are actually the most likeable characters and provide some humor and stability. The main and supporting characters are described well and I could easily visualize them.

The writing flows reasonably well and was descriptive enough to allow readers to easily visualize Ferry and the relevant characters, houses, and businesses. The plot is somewhat twisty, but the pacing seemed a little slow to me. Part of this may have been due to the somewhat overly long descriptions. One quibble that I have is that a little communication could have significantly reduced the angst. However, that added to the suspense. The pop culture references made the novel feel relevant and appropriate to the times. The highlight for me was the character interactions. However, there was one scene dealing with consent that seemed to be glossed over. Poor decisions and immature actions abound in this novel. The ending was a little predictable and fast, but tied up the loose threads with a beautiful bow. Themes include murder, grief, regrets, teen mistakes, friendship, parenting, and more.

Overall, this was an enjoyable book. Readers of young adult mysteries may want to check this one out.

Inkyard Press and Brenna Ehrlich provided a digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. This is my honest review. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way. Publication date is currently set for March 08, 2022. This review was originally posted at Mystery and Suspense Magazine.

Natalie is a bit of a loner and is totally obsessed with true crime. When her favorite teacher dies her obsession gets the best of her and she decides to investigate the murder. Natalie ends up surrounded by secrets and in way over her head. Killing Time is being promoted as smart, new age thriller but it's lacking anything new or smart. There's not much to love here. It's slow and boring. The podcast parts are slightly interesting but not enough to keep your attention.

In this debut novel, when her favorite teacher is murdered, true crime fanatic Natalie Temple is driven to uncover the story of what really happened so she can broadcast on her podcast, KILLING TIME. But the more she discovers, the more secrets she finds that should never have been revealed, including ones about her mother, Helen, who is dead-set against Natalie digging where she shouldn't. With alternating chapters set in the past from Helen's POV, this mystery story unravels secrets about the little town of Ferry, Connecticut as it meanders toward its conclusion.

Readers should be aware this book is considered YA, not an adult or New Adult thriller, so if the themes feel like they're directed toward a younger audience, that's by intention. Both Natalie and Helen make some bonehead mistakes, and it may be difficult to cheer for them when they're both driven by the desire for a good true crime story, even at the expense of disrespecting people they claim to admire. I found myself not liking Helen much even in the past, but Natalie has other qualities that make her likable enough to look past those tragic flaws and care enough to find out what happens to her. The best character is Natalie's friend, Katie, who is both funny and loyal, and one of the few who is true to her internal moral code.

Colorful imagery fleshes out the scenes in this book. At times, the descriptions run long, but they can easily be skipped past. The scenes with Natalie are more compelling than those with Helen, mainly because the scenes in the past are more about showing her mother's mistakes, while Natalie's focus a bit more on solving the mystery of what happened to the teacher (though the answer to the mystery may feel predictable to diehard thriller fans, but teens, the target audience, will likely enjoy it, and the final chapter is heartwarming). There are tons of pop culture references that teens will enjoy. At times it feels like an episode of Buffy, which is referenced multiple times in the book, and well-worth a read.

Thoroughly enjoyable addition to the teenage murder investigator genre, even if some of the twists are a bit far-fetched. Fun read!

I did enjoy the multiple timelines, but that was about it. So many books lately have a podcast angle. It's something I've never truly understood the appeal of, but the book still sounded interesting, as I like true-crime stories. However, the writing was a bit lackluster, and the characters weren't as developed as I'd expected. I couldn't connect with them, and the overdetailing kept pulling me out of the story.

#KillingTime#NetGalley
An interesting story about how the layers of personalities living in a small town influence one another. This is a time-slip book where the mother's life and her daughter's life at the same age are told. The murder of a favorite teacher sends the daughter and her Murder Club friend on a hunt for the killer. The overprotective mother is against her daughter's macabre interest which is making podcasts of true murder cases. I found the mother's parallel story intrusive and didn't add much to the main narrative. Other than that, the craft is solid, the characters believable and a good YA read.
I received a copy of this book from #NetGalley# and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you #NetGalley# and publisher.

Life is short, and this book is not very good.

More and more books feature the podcast angle, and this book is very referential for the true-crime fan. Unfortunately, the writing is middling, the characters are not very dynamic, and the plot not propulsive.

I love it when I stumble upon an author I haven’t read before and I fall in love with the way they tell a story. This book was definitely one of those where I was gripped from the beginning. I loved everything about it and will be reading more from this author very soon!

I read the first chapter but could not make myself read any further. I usually do not connect with third person unless it is written a specific way so I struggled to connect with Natalie. The premises sounded like something I would like since I adored A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, but there were so many tangents and info dumping that it jolted me out of the story. This happened in the middle of dialogue so when the talking eventually picks back up, it is very confusing since I couldn't recall what the discussion was referencing. Thank you for giving me the chance to read this.

The cover and premise was really interesting but as I started reading through it, something was definitely missing.

I think this book is perfect for anyone who enjoyed A Good Girl's Guide to Murder. To be completely honest: I didn't finish this book and don't plan to. I read a good chunk and was distracted by a book someone recommended. I did like this book - I liked the way the story was told, the characters, the plot - but I wasn't quite in the mood for it. I read a few like it recently and wanted something different but I will definitely be on the lookout for this one because my customers are going to love it! Perfect for anyone who loves books that involve podcasts being used to solve mysteries.

The writing style of this book made what could have been an enjoyable mystery novel hard to get through and enjoy in any way. It was really tedious and overly detailed in a way that really slowed down the plot of the story. I wanted to like this but ultimately DNF'd it at 20%

Natalie is grieving the loss of her favorite teacher. This isnt just any loss but a murder. Natalie cant take a backseat and just watch the rumors fly, she needs to start her own investigation.

But what happens when Natalie starts discovering the secrets that were never meant to come to light?

This is a tough book to review as I do not want to say too much and spoil the ending. I do want to say this. This was a fast paced, nail biting thriller that will keep your attention from the first chapter. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel from start to finish.

I will say that as much as its a thriller I would also consider it to be a bit Young Adult as well. . This is a book you do not want to miss. Due out March 8, 2022, make sure you pre-order this one!

Killing Time by Brenna Ehrlich is a heavily detailed mystery novel set in two alternate timelines. Throughout the course of the story, readers come to learn how the questionable death of Natalie's teacher is related to the disappearance of a student her mom attended college with nineteen years earlier. Although the ending was highly predictable, it was interesting to watch the murder investigation play out.

The main character in the story was an eighteen year old girl named Natalie. Natalie is an aspiring journalist who runs a true crime podcast with her best friend, Katie. Natalie has an egocentric belief that nobody can do the mystery of her teacher's death justice except for herself and Katie, and she continuously makes dumb decisions that put her in harms way. I mean, what kind of a person gets in a car with a volatile, strange guy they don't know to stalk a rapist who might have killed someone? These, and other poor decisions, necessitated a suspension of belief for the majority of the story. Natalie was also a horrible friend to Katie and incredibly disrespectful to her mother. Her mother may have been unrealistically overprotective, but that doesn't excuse Natalie's immature actions. For a girl who hypocritically rants about other journalists being immoral, Natalie seemed to have no problems with her own unscrupulous actions to chase down a story.

The way the novel was written was also very tedious and tough to slog through. There are so many unnecessary details and descriptions thrown in that getting through a single page was a victory. While I appreciate the author's attempts to add in extra information, it just dragged out the story and made it a chore to read.

The actual murder mystery aspect of the book was extremely lackluster. The rational behind the killer's motive didn't really make sense, and I had a hard time believing they acted the way they did because of the half-baked reason provided by the author. I've read a lot of good mysteries, and this book wasn't one of them. I did think the connection between the two timelines was cool, although I wish we would have gotten a chance to see the ending play out in the mother's story rather than hearing about it later.

There were several toxic tropes that also stood out as red flags. The idea that all girls take sexy photos in bikinis and college only exists for students to drink and party at sends the wrong message to young readers. Natalie also talked about how one of the characters stole her first kiss and she felt weird about it. Consent is important and I was horrified to discover it was written off in this book.

The setting was unique, and I thought the town of Ferry was very charming. Unfortunately, I can't think of any other redeeming qualities about this story. I don't like giving a book a low rating because I know how much love and time an author puts into it, but I can't on good conscious recommend a book that glorifies nonconsensual kissing, teen pregnancy, and underage drinking/drugs.

I received an ARC curtesy of Netgalley and Inkyard Press, all opinions are my own.

Natalie speaks harsh words to her favorite teacher who leads the true crime club at her high school. And sometimes true crimes do happen. A story of revenge, a story of youth, and a story of the past catching up with us.

Natalie regrets her words and struggles to solve a real “true crime.” With twists and turns and past and present story-telling, we find that sometimes secrets come true, crimes can be solved, and love and good intentions can make life hard.

I liked the broad outlines of the story, the 2 timelines - Helen's and Natalies - and the fact that both stories mirrored each other. I liked that clearly Helen and Natalie had a talent for journalism and it was inherited, but the stories were farfetched. It just didn't seem likely that Helen would be able to convince the killer to turn himself in. Plus, that all happened "offscreen", so to speak.

And Kurt's character changed on a dime. Plus, his motivations didn't make any sense.

The crime from the past was at least believable, but Mrs. Halsey's murder made no sense.

This book started out strong, but deteriorated as the book went on.

What happens when your favorite teacher is found murdered? When you are a hopeful investigative reporter and podcaster...you investigate. If you are into true crime podcasts (as I am), then this is a story for you. The story of Natalie and her mother, Helen, is told through alternating chapters and both stories were full of suspense. While the ending was a total surprise, it was satisfying, with a spark of hope. Recommened.

Inkyard Press Thank You for Killing Time by Brenna Ehrlich.

I was lucky enough to this page turning story! It's a gritty, realistic YA novel!
Killing Time is a thriller/mystery, with deeply drawn, unique characters.
Add stellar writing to that combo and you've got one hell of a gripping story. And that ending!
It kept me engaged and guessing till the very end.
Very well done here!
And I can't y'all enough for this eARC!

I love a good true crime podcast, so I was pulled in to request this title for that reason. Natalie's interest in true crime and feeling a bit like an outsider resonated with me as I felt like an outsider in high school too. I loved her connection to her English teacher, Mrs. Halsey. When Mrs. Halsey is murdered, Natalie is determined to figure out who did it and podcast her investigation on Killing Time-- her pod with her BFF that really hasn't taken off just yet. The one person determined to stand in Natalie's way-- her mother.

The plot rolls along well, but I found the flashbacks to Natalie's mother's early college experiences were a bit clunky. I know they were intended to give background as to why she is so against Natalie's love of journalism and true crime, but they just didn't quite work for me. I also felt the ending wrapped up too quickly which contributed to the 4 star rating. I'd say it's more of a 3.5? Older middle schoolers and teens will enjoy this book a lot!

For me, this is about as middle of the road as they come. The story was fine. The flashback/backstory was slightly better. The characters were neither insipid nor super well-developed. So. That happened.