"If you've never been stuck under the bed while your lover has s€x with his wife, I suggest you skip it." is the first line in Mindy Carlsons book Her Dying Day.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review this book!

June, or Pear Blossom which is her real name, is doing a documentary on the disappearance of the popular author Greer Larkin. As she begins to interview all the suspects and parts of Greers family and friends she is finding out more and more. Getting closer to the truth she starts receiving threats, but from who?

This book started out a bit slow in my opinion, but maybe that was important for the plot in its way. At first I was unsure if I was even going to finish it or DNF it... But As I got closer to the end it kinda grew on me. I couldn't put down the book, I stayed up half the night just to find out what happened.

I'd give this book 3 out of 5 stars, it was good, but not one of my favorites. I definitely recommend you to read it though. I thought it some Verity vibes actually and I loved that one!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this book.

June Masterson didn't grow up normally. Hidden away on her family's farm, she wasn't allowed off their land until she ran away at 18. Now, at 24, she's embroiled in an affair with her married film school advisor and working on her big project: a documentary on zeitgeist writer Greer Larson's disappearance 20 years ago. The deeper June digs into what happened, the more dangerous things become for her. Will she solve the mystery?

I liked how this one was paced. I liked the mystery and the build-up. For the most part, I liked the characters as well (not so much Paul. Definitely didn't like him). It was an engaging story that kept me on my toes and ready to find out what would happen.

I couldn't stop reading this and needed to know what happened next. It was one of those "one more chapter": books. However, that being said there were some things I really did NOT like. Yet, I kept reading. I am going to just list what I liked and what I didn't and let you decide for yourself.

What I liked...
I thought that the writing was really well done, and I could feel myself being drawn into the story
This was a mystery and a thriller all wrapped up in another mystery
I could easily see this being made into a movie
This was a fast, easy read that I could not put down
Loved the ending of the Greer story
This felt like something a little different, which is hard to find

What I didn't like
June, the main character, was sleeping with her married advisor. I had a hard time liking her because of this, and I think it could have been left out, as it didn't add much to the story
June had a competitive relationship with another student, Much was made of this and how much she hated him, and how she hated to ask him for help, and that was it. Like he wasnt mentioned again. What was the point of all of that then?
I though the family and friends of the missing woman (Greer) were too eager to help June - why would they all agree to this? And why are they looking to her to "solve" the mystery
I felt like it just left some unanswered questions - especially with June's family - what now?

Overall, if I had to go back in time - would I read it again? For sure!

I would like to thank the author #MindyCarlson the publisher #CrookedLanebooks and #netgalley for the ARC which did not impact my review.

Thank you very much Crooked Lane Books for Mindy's new upcoming release novel!

Her Dying Day by Mindy Carlson is a stunning, gripping, wild debut and I'm very grateful for the opportunity to have had the chance to read an eARC! 😘

This story was everything and then some!
This thriller|mystery was well written, with well-drawn characters!
In my opinion this was a fast paced, intriguing and very interesting story.
Money did an amazing job holding my attention throughout the book.
And that says alot coming from me.
I don't have one bad thing to say here.
A perfectly constructed thriller that kept me fully immersed in the fictive dream.
This was due largely to the superior writing craft of the author.
A gripping, thrilling story telling skills and absolutely satisfying conclusion earned well-deserved five stars

Thank you sharing Crooked Lane Book, NetGalley and Mindy for the opportunity to read this ebook!

After changing her mind a few times, June Masterson has finally decided on the topic of her film school thesis - the disappearance of Greer Larkin, a young mystery author who disappeared without a trace twenty years ago. June loved her books growing up and feels like a kindred spirit to Greer in many ways - each having a strict mother who keeps her daughter away from society. Of course, June lived with her mother and small family in a commune in upstate New York and Greer came from a moneyed family who wanted nothing more than for her to write for hours a day, devoting her entire life to being an author. It's no surprise then that Greer ran off with her first love, Jonathan, who eventually became the prime suspect in her disappearance. Now June has high hopes that she can not only make a documentary about her favorite author, but perhaps solve the mystery once and for all.

She and her project are received rather well from Greer's friends and family (unbelievably well, actually) and not only speaks to them but gets almost everyone to agree to appear on camera. Her mother blames Jonathan, he blames her best friend, Rachel, and Rachel thinks Greer committed suicide. So, not exactly much to work with at first. But soon (and again, quite unbelievably) Rachel provides June with a suitcase full of notebooks and journals that Greer gave her shortly before she vanished. Apparently deciding that June can accomplish what she never gave the police an opportunity to (???), Rachel believes that somewhere in the writings lies the key to what happened to Greer. I guess Rachel was too busy in the last twenty years to ever look for herself? So June dives in, hoping to stumble upon some tidbit that will blow the case wide open. Then someone starts threatening her to back off before she becomes the next one to vanish. Will she back off? Or will she put herself in greater danger to uncover the truth?

There are some great reveals towards the end of the story, and you may find yourself pleasantly surprised. I do wish I had liked June's character more, as you learn right from the start that she's sleeping with her married advisor. It's such a cliché and I wish it had been left out of the story. And having her character acknowledge and accept that's it's a cliché doesn't make it any better. She can't help it, readers - she's IN LOVE. So besides that and the unrealistic access to people and info that she receives, it's a fun book that'll have you turning the pages to see what happens next.

Another gripping, guessing whodunnit, riveting, devouring in one sit novel from brilliant debut author Mindy Carlson!

Pear Blossom Jubilee Masterson or let’s only call her June Masterson who prefers to be called with her birth month, finally attends to college to become an aspiring moviemaker, living her dysfunctional family and her secluded lifestyle at the set-up commune in the middle of Adirondack mountains behind.

At age fourteen, she was living the home-schooled, extra isolated life her parents dictated to her and thriller author Green Larkin’s books presented her the freedom she needed. She was obsessed with her favorite author’s sudden disappearance case.

Now she’s movie school student, adjusting her life in NY, in her mid twenties and she’s still wondering what the hell happened to Green Larkin. She chooses this mystery as her documentary project and convinces her mentor Paul she is secretly having affair with.

This case seems like every juicy and impactful element to create a dynamite movie: a prodigy young author who earns millions from her bestsellers vanishes into thin air, leaving a fiancée people detest, a controlling mother and feuding best friend behind.

What happened to Green Larkin? Was she killed? Did she change her identity to start a new life? Did she kill herself? If she’s death who is the culprit?

June contacts with both mother, friend, fiancée of Green and surprisingly all of them return back to her emails to tell the story from their POVs.

Both vindictive mother and best friend Rachel blames on Jonathan- the scumbag fiancée who argued with Green at the restaurant and hit her in front of the witnesses at the very same night before she’s disappeared. Jonathan thinks he is the savior of Green who runs away from her overprotective, domineering mother and obsessed friend .

For helping her search, Rachel provides June a suitcase filled with Green’s most personal writings in hopes of finding concrete proof to put Jonathan behind the bars but after this incident, somebody kills Rachel.

Is June’s life in danger? Will she find the ugly truth behind Green’s disappearance? Will she find what happened to her?

I liked the smart conclusion and how the author intercepted both June’s and Green’s storylines. She adroitly crafted those two vulnerable, confused characters’ resemblances and sad back stories.

It was good start as a debut novel! The sarcastic and entertaining narration tone of the author hooked me up from the beginning. I’m looking forward to read more future works of her.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.

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

In “Her Dying Day,” by Mindy Carlson, we follow an aspiring filmmaker, Pear Blossom “June” Masterson, as she goes about trying to solve a 20 year old mystery - what happened to mystery writer Greer Larkin? June is fortunate to have interviews with Greer’s mother (Blanche), fiance (Jonathan), former best friend (Rachel), and agent (Bethany). As each person tells their story, more details about Greer are discovered, but whose version of Greer tells the truth about who Greer really was … and what might’ve happened to her (and why).

The good points - once the story got rolling (and it got rolling pretty quickly), it was a very fast and interesting read. New characters are introduced pretty often, but for the most part they added to the story, opposed to detracting. I could easily see an edited version of this book becoming a “Movie of the Week,” to use a phrase from the 1980s; in fact this rather calls out to be played out visually (and more likely in the medium June herself would prefer). I found the overall plot interesting and at times this book read like a combination of Agatha Christie meets Nancy Drew (which isn’t a bad thing). The overall mystery is enjoyable to try to figure out, after all the people who June interviews all have their own agendas and are hiding information. The characters are memorable and some were rather well rounded. I liked how the ending wrapped everything up.

The not so great points - Ms. Carlson sometimes goes into great detail about June’s life that didn’t move the story along. For instance, instead of a minor throwaway line like “At [PersonX’s] insistence, I asked fellow student, Dave, to accompany me for the interview” the reader is told June doesn’t like Dave, Dave is her main competition in the program, and how she feels animosity toward Dave. Dave appears in one or two scenes - so why all the concentration on his/June’s relationship? June’s big family reveal I felt a bit awkward - and the part about the letters seemed like there might be a sequel in the works. Paul and June’s relationship I thought very inappropriate (teachers should not be dating current students they have in a class or are advising, in my biased opinion). I also found one part a bit difficult to believe that seemingly no one else had picked up on - or maybe that June hadn’t picked up on it earlier - as it was obvious to me (it’s not really a spoiler, but some might regard it as such). And the information Rachel leaves for June - I’m a bit surprised that June didn’t take photos after sorting it, but that’s a minor quibble.

All in all - for a debut novel, this was interesting. I like the title. For the most part I liked the pacing … and the main mystery I found a great subject for a documentary topic. A solid 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4. I hope that Ms. Carlson writes another book; I’ll be pretty likely to read that one too.

Good book! This book did have suspense, intrigue, and so many twists and turns! Although I did enjoy reading thus book I feel also that it was a light read? As in not blood and gore , there was murder and mystery it just wasn't A nail biter?! I guess? Lol I did enjoy reading this book but it is a light mystery thriller! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

I read this book in literally two hours. I loved it. I would say it’s 50% thriller 50% mystery and the story is riveting. I couldn’t wait to find out what happened and now I can’t wait to read it again.

#HerDyingDay #NetGalley
It was really really brilliant.
June Masterson has high hopes for her first documentary, the true story of the disappearance of famed mystery author Greer Larkin. June learned about the vanishing at age fourteen, locked down on her family’s isolated commune. Now, the deeper she digs into the project, the darker the story gets. Everyone has a theory. Greer’s mother, Blanche, and her best friend, Rachel, believe that Greer’s fiancé, Jonathan, is the culprit. Greer’s agent is convinced that Greer committed suicide after a debilitating bout of writer’s block. And Jonathan claims it was either Greer’s controlling mother or Rachel, whose attachment to Greer went way beyond friendship.In desperation, Rachel gives June a suitcase full of Greer’s most personal writings in hopes of finding proof against Jonathan. Then Rachel turns up dead. As June pores over Greer’s writings, she makes a devastating discovery that could finally reveal the truth about the author’s fate.
I loved it's starting and ending. It ended with so much tension and twists I couldn't see coming.
Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for giving me an advanced copy.