Member Reviews

Film-maker wanna-be June wants to make a documentary tell her about a woman, Greer Larkin, a well known artist who has been missing for 20 years. She interviews everyone who knew her and of course, everyone has their own idea what happened to her. June is bound and determined to find out the truth! This is definitely a “whodunnit” and had me on the edge of my seat. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early release in exchange for my honest review.

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An excellent debut. Well thought out characters that are easy to relate to and you can’t help loving June aka pear blossom. She’s witty and her story telling hit the mark. Loved the sleuthing and documentary process. And the ending was everything. Good Job!

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Loved this one! This book was a fast-paced read that kept me guessing until the very end. Finding out what happened to Greer was a satisfying finish, but even more impressive was June's character development as she began to realize the people in her life who would show up for her and support her through her dangerous quest were not the ones she anticipated.

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An interesting start to a book on true crime movie maker. The characters were behaving like in real life, which was a plus to this story.. The pace slowed in the middle with some subplots. Otherwise it held my interest for the major part. A good debut.

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Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for this ARC in return for an honest review.

Her Dying Day by Mindy Carlson centers around the disappearance of a famous author Greer Larkin. June Masterton is a fan and decides her film project will uncover what really happens.

I found this book fairly slow to read but also entertaining. The characters were a bit odd, but also realistic (I know that sounds weird).

Although I enjoyed it, its not up there with other books I have read and didn't really stand out for me.

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A filmmaker a true mystery an auhtor? All in one story? Count me in!
June is working on her first documentary about the disappearance author Greer Larkin. This story is not new to her and now is the time to dig into it. There are plenty of trails to follow even up to suicide. June can get her hands on documents written by Greer in person but somebody is out to stop her from discovering what really happened.
It took me some time to get into this story but I am glad I held on!
Thanks #NetGalley #Crooked Lane Books for an ARC

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Commune…family…friends…writers…this book was sent to me by Netgalley for review…the story moves slowly but is intriguing…the characters are different in that they don’t always do what is expected…al ost like read nonfiction at times…

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Mindy Carlson delivers a gripping mystery in her debut, with plenty of twists to keep readers from putting it down until the final page.

June, an aspiring filmmaker raised on an isolated commune by her now estranged parents, is a delightfully flawed main character with a sarcastic narrative voice that adds a lot to the proceedings. Her final project is a documentary film on the disappearance of her favorite author, and it's a great way to get her smack in the middle of this cold case.

I don't want to spoil anything, so I won't go any more into the story. I'll just close with great plot, great twists, very fun read. This is a fantastic debut novel and I can't wait to see what Carlson has in store down the road.

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4.5/5 stars ⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to review this novel!

Can we just talk about the explosive introduction to our main character, June? Goodness gracious, I was immediately hooked! How could you not be?

I really enjoyed this book! I really loved the way the author pieced together the plot, with a realistic narrative. It was also really cool how Greer’s novels played a huge role in to what happened to her. Nothing was super outlandish and I believed that all of these things were happening within the storyline.

The pacing was also great, especially for a thriller like this! I couldn’t get enough!

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Oooo, this one started off with a bang—literally. And it was awkward…

I loved the sarcasm and witty prose. It flowed smoothly, almost like talking to a real person. The MC was an animated character and came to life with ease. But…she was also super annoying.

In some ways, this read like a rom-com-thriller, if that’s even a thing, and it was a bit slow-paced for my liking, with some unnecessary plot points that took away from the story. Not a bad debut and I’m sure others will love it…

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the gifted eARC!

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Unfortunately, I hardly made it halfway through the first chapter. I was rather looking forward to this book—the description seemed interesting, the cover was intriguing, the title held mystery.
But the book began with the main character hiding under her lovers’ bed while he and his wife had sex. And no remorse. Absolutely, no guilt that she was sleeping with another woman’s husband. That did it for me. I had zero desire to continue on with the book. Even if I attempted to forge on, my opinion of the main character had already hit rock bottom and there’s very little that would redeem it. Plus, if the author deems it necessary to put that in the book, who knows what other graphic scenes will be in there. So yup, that was it for me.

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June is making a documentary, her first, about the disappearance of Greer (an author). This is similar to the hot phenomena podcast stories. There is murder, scandals, odd vibes, it’s all here. This is so well written it’s amazing it is a debut, this is a quick read because you are gripped and need to know what is happening! Can June solve the crime and complete her documentary? You’ll have to have answers…. Absolutely excited to see where Mindy Carlson goes next in her writing career.

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Book: Her Dying Day
Author: Mindy Carlson
Thank you to Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.


A mystery author’s sudden disappearance takes an aspiring filmmaker down a perilous road of secrets and sins that were never meant to be uncovered.

A murderous premise with well-thrown scandalous twists, slow-burn start but picks up in the middle and then there is no looking back. A perfect popcorn-cozy-mystery read.

June Masterson is in her final year of film school and still indecisive about the theme of her documentary. She finally lands upon the disappearance of her favorite author Greer Larkin, a young mystery writer who vanished without a trace twenty years ago.
June has found the perfect topic, but little does she know what it has in store for her. As she interviews people who were close to Greer, June gets caught in a web of lies. Everyone has a different theory.
But, what really happened to Green Larkin? Was it murder or suicide? And who had the bigger motive to do such a thing?
In the meantime, June's personal life is unfolding from all corners, causing her to rethink her entire childhood and her relationship with her professor.

The author reveals just the right amount of clues in every chapter to keep the reader on their toes. It was high tension, whodunnit mystery with very good characterization. Keeps you guessing till the end! Definitely worth your time! I think I have another name to add to my list of favorite authors.

This releases on June 7th, 2022, so, mark your calendars.

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Interesting but not really my cup of tea. Well written I just personally couldn’t get into the story. A woman wants to find out the truth of her family’s past - they owned and operated a commune that cultivated some dark secrets. However someone will do whatever it takes to keep that secret buried. Including murder. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

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Her Dying Day was a gripping novel. I was surprised this was a debut!! I look forward to reading more from this author. Many thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane books for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

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This was a strange book, I loved the idea of the book, the missing author, Greer, and the film maker, June, who decided to make a film about it and looked into all the different sides of Greer’s disappearance. All the different theories made the book interesting and kept the book flowing.

Then there was the relationship that June had with her professor and I was over that very quickly, especially how it went on and on. I wish it had of just focused on the main plot line of the movie making and working out the mystery. It was the twists and turns of that part that kept the book flowing fast and enjoyable.

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5/5. This book was SO good I devoured it in a couple hours then immediately rushed to write this review even though it was already midnight. The main character is naive but relatable, and this whole story is just STELLAR.

Her dying day is a cold case murder mystery whodunnit seen through the lens of a film student making a documentary. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time, waiting to see how the story would end. There were amazing twists and turns and the final reveal tied through to the rest of the novel SO well.

I will be recommending this to all of my friends.

(Arc received in exchange for review)

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My thanks to @Crooked Lane Books, as well as to @NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review an early copy of Her Dying Day.

Aspiring filmmaker June Masterson has the perfect idea (after a few not-so-perfect ideas) for the documentary she needs to make in order to graduate from college. June has been fascinated by the disappearance of famed mystery author Greer Larkin for years. Now is the time for June to be THE ONE who solves the mystery! As she interviews people on camera (Greer's mom, her fiance, her agent, and her best friend) June's head starts spinning as they all point fingers at each other. And now one of the suspects is coming after HER.

There are a couple of interesting backstories, as well, but I don't want to write too much and spoil all of the surprises.

Her Dying Day was a great debut for Mindy Carlson! Yes, there was more than one hokey moment in the book but I still very much enjoyed it! I hope this becomes a series. I'll definitely read the next book if there is one!!

#HerDyingDay #NetGalley.

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Well-written with twists and turns aplenty, the ending brings a satisfying conclusion to the mystery as well as some nice character related closure.

While it does make the reader want to keep turning pages it is really more of a slow burn than a rocket ride. I happen to like such books, they often allow for so much more than just a rapid "this happened then this...." I found myself at times remembering something earlier in the book that I thought might be superfluous but helped, later, to understand June or Greer (or both). While tempting to tear through it quickly this is one that would reward a more moderate pace. Not necessarily a slow read but one where you pause sometimes to ponder things, both in the story and about human nature itself.

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When student documentary film maker June decided to make a project about the disappearance of her favorite mystery author the enigmatic Greer Larkin who vanished in thin air 20 years ago, she didn't know what she was getting herself into.
A gripping, finely written debut book that doesn't fail to make you laugh amidst the thrill.
I will definitely keep my eye on Mindy Carlson's next book.
I absolutely loved it

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