Sigh. Oh boy was this not for me. I was pretty sure of this fact when the short introductory blurb about Agatha Christie called her something along the lines of "one bad bitch," which seems beyond problematic for a woman who was a raving racist and anti-semite (if you don't know the original name of "And Then There Were None," which was then replaced by another racist name, google it...). So it already suggested extreme white feminist, girlboss energy, but I figured I should give the book a chance. And, unsurprisingly, it did not work for me. I didn't like the characters, I didn't really like the writing...it's a pass from me.

A boyfriend whose girlfriends keep disappearing? A Sinister town? The perfect mystery for the Agathas. I absolutely loved this book. The fact that the people solving the crime are fans of Agatha Christie made me love it even more. This is a thrilling mystery that readers will love.

I absolutely loved The Agathas!
I have read almost all of Agatha Christie’s novels and Hercule Poirot is my favorite detective of all time, so I was thrilled that one of the main characters in this novel also loved Agatha Christie! In addition, the novel was very similar to shows like Gossip Girl in that it was set in a wealthy community in which some working class people lived and there is a huge divide in how the two groups interact with adults and each other.
I would enthusiastically recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys young adult novels and thrillers!

This was a fun book but I also felt that it tackled sensitive issues in a thoughtful way. There were also multi-tiered mysteries- the main mystery and then mysteries revolving around the main characters, I enjoyed the seaside setting. I didn't love love the main reveal, but it didn't totally detract from my overall feeling of the book. It had Good Girls Guide to Murder vibes, which I enjoy.

I am a huge Agatha Christie fan, so I knew I had to get this ARC and I loved every single thing about it! . From the endearing characters, to the mystery and most of all, the references to the Queen of Mystery herself, Dame Agatha Christie. This was such a fun book!

What would Agatha Christie do? That’s the refrain for the teens who set out to clear one of their own and find out who really killed Brooke Donovan. While a little repetitive (for me), the tension is skillfully drawn out and the answer not at all obvious. Great for fans of Karen McManus.

An unputdownable thriller for fans of One of Us is Lying and A Good Girl's Guide to Murder. Told by two different teenage girls: the loner and the popular girl. They set out to solve a classmate's disappearance. This one will keep you guessing until the very end.

Last summer, Alice ran away a la Agatha Christie when her boyfriend broke up with her. Ashe caused a bit mess in town upon her return so heading back to school is something she is not looking forward to. Especially since her ex best friend Brooke is now dating him. When Brooke disappears and the cops don’t seem to be doing much, Iris, Alice’s tutor and Alice decide to take matters into their own hands.

I love a good badass teenagers show cop corruption book! If you enjoy Holly Jacksons A Good Girls Guide To Murder series, this one will be right up your alley! I have adored everything I have read by Kathleen Glasgow so when I saw this book was coming out I did not hesitate to request it! Now I need to go read Liz Lawson’s other book! The unlikely friendship, the mystery, the murder, and the Agatha Christie tie in with quotes at each chapter was just perfection!

After being dumped by her boyfriend Steve, Alice Ogilvie disappeared for several days, leaving her family, friends and community fearing the worst. It's been a year since she has returned home, and another girl has gone missing: her ex best friend Brooke who just so happens to be her exe's current girlfriend. When Brooke ends up dead and Steve is arrested for her murder, Alice and her tutor Iris, begin to investigate hoping Alice's obsession with Agatha Christie's novels will help them prove Steve is innocent and lead them to the real killer.

*Spoilers ahead!*

I will be honest, I was hoping for so much more from this book. The title and plot description hooked me immediately, but the execution left me wanting. It took author Kathleen Glasgow a little bit to find her footing in terms of character and narration. The second half of this book is much more engaging than the first half, and really picks up it's pacing towards the end. I did find both Alice and Iris to be interesting characters, but I wish the secondary characters were a bit more developed. Especially the rag tag group of friends that help the girls investigate. I did enjoy that the book ends on a cliffhanger, promising to investigate another one of the town's cold cases.

I think the biggest weakness of this book is actually the promise of Agatha Christie. Alice believes she can solve this crime because she is obsessed with Agatha Christie and her novels. Yet every time it's brought up it feels extremely forced and inorganic to her character. It's also mentioned so infrequently (in my opinion) that it feels like an afterthought on the author's part. I also wish that it was both Alice and Iris who were obsessed with Christie novels, because it would've created a stronger connection between the two main characters. I mean the book is called The Agathas.

I also felt like the investigation itself needed some work. Every piece of evidence the girls come across is either obtained illegally or they come across it by coincidence. It didn't feel like much actual investigation was happening, or warranted bringing up compassions to Christie's novels.

Overall, this was a quick read that did keep me engaged, but it could take a few more tips from the queen of mystery, Agatha Christie.

5/5 stars. To be released May 2022.

The Agathas was awesome and easily one of my favorite reads of this year so far. It has total Veronica Mars vibes - a murder mystery set in a coastal California town with two girls doing not so legal things to obtain information. I loved it. I was hooked and had to tell myself to slow down reading because I was so intrigued to see what they had found out.

The book is told through alternating perspectives from the two main characters, Alice and Iris. Alice, obsessed with Agatha Christie novels, uses the inspiration of those books and it's characters to solve the mystery (hence the book title). Iris, motivated by the reward money for her own personal reasons, bands together with Alice to find out just what happened to one of their schoolmates. We also read the story through text message threads, website articles, transcripts from news reports, which is a fun added element to the story telling. Pick this up for sure if you are a fan of Karen McManus or Veronica Mars!

As someone who once was a teen obsessed with Agatha Christie novels, The Agathas was right up my alley. I loved the allusions to Agatha's books and the mystery kept me guessing until the end. I would have liked to know more about Alice's time away, but I suppose that's in keeping with the source material. The book wraps up nicely, but I wouldn't mind more crime solving from Alice and Iris!

Such a fun read. This gives me some serious Veronica Mars vibes--feels old-school even though it is contemporary, moves quickly, and has some real stakes as well as being very funny. I really liked this one!

The Agathas is such a cute and quick read. Hands down a 5 stars. I can’t wait for the next book!

Alice and Iris form an unlikely friendship. Alice is considered a “main” girl until last summer when she disappeared last summer. Iris loves to live in the shadows. She is smart but her end goal is to get out of Castle Cove to get away from “the thing”. On Halloween night Alice’s ex-best friend Brooke was murdered. Alice has exactly what they need to solve this mystery——Agatha Christie. This unlikely pair team up to figure out what happened to Brooke. In the meantime, Alice and Iris work work together to form a friendship.

In this murder mystery, Alice and Iris form an unlikely bond to solve the murder of their classmate. This novel explores economic disparities, domestic violence, and child abuse, but none overtly dominate the story. This was a thoroughly enjoyable YA novel.

In this book, Alice's ex-best friend goes missing after a party. When everyone assumes she ran away like Alice did the previous year, Alice teams up with her tutor Iris to figure out what happened to Brooke. The police suspect Alice's ex-boyfriend and Brooke's current boyfriend Steve, but Alice and Iris aren't so sure. Brooke's dad has been acting suspicious , and there are rumors that the two had been fighting about money. There's also Brooke's not-so-friendly friends. Although the mystery was fun, I personally didn't feel much draw to either main character. I felt like I struggled to get to know them, and none of the side characters felt flushed out or realistic to me. One thing I really did like though was Iris's struggles with her abusive father not honoring the restraining order and harassing the family. This is something many domestic violence victims struggle with, and police often don't take the threats seriously.

Alice disappeared for five days and hasn't been treated the same since her mysterious return. She now has to spend some of her time being tutored - not that she has anything better to do as none of her "friends" are claiming her anymore. When one of those old friends goes missing, all eyes turn to Alice. Alice, an avid Agatha Christie reader, decides to take up the investigation herself. With the assistance of her new tutor and some mysterious sources, Alice finds out what really happened to Brooke on Halloween night.

The mystery itself is very well done. Clues are released at a perfect pace with a first person narrative. Unfortunately, this story is told by two narrators. At first it is easy to keep the two narrators separated even though they are both teenage girls. As the story progresses, the two seem to blend together and things can get messy for fast readers.

I would still highly recommend this novel to those who enjoy mysteries and YA fiction.

This is a fun read if you can overlook a lot of details. Most of the story seems to drag on and repeats lots of unnecessary details. However, it did feel reminiscent of Riverdale/Nancy Drew.

I was a huge Lois Duncan fan growing up, and this wild ride of a mystery takes me back to those produced by Duncan so many years ago.. This story appealed to the Agatha Christie fangirl in me and makes me hope that it might inspire a new generation to explore the Queen of Mystery.

Glasgow and Lawson have created a slick, sassy, and cool collection of modern teens, mostly privileged kids living the high life on the wealth and influence of their parents. The plot cleverly adapts the infamous real-life mystery of Christie’s 10 day disappearance and weaves it into a throughly 21st century life of “It” girl gone wrong Alice Ogilvie.

While the mystery is solidly paced, I appreciated the fact that the authors tackled serious issues like domestic and dating abuse among teens, and provided information at the end on where to get help.

Teens and new adults will enjoy this.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's for the digital ARC of 'The Agathas' by Kathleen Glasgow and Liz Lawson.
I will admit that this book is one I didn't think I would normally pick up for myself - despite my love for crime and mystery reads. I had so many students over the past week tell me that they were looking forward to this book coming out, and asked if I was going to be getting it for the Mystery section in the classroom library. I decided to give it a shot, and was impressed. I really enjoyed diving into the worlds of Alice and Iris.The book definitely had twists I wasn't 100% expecting, and I definitely enjoyed the misdirection in the novel... the clues were all there waiting to be pieced together - just like with Miss Marple or Inspector Poirot!

Wow! I could not put down The Agathas by Kathleen Glasgow and Liz Lawson. This murder mystery-thriller is full of twists and turns supported by the old “haves and have nots” theme.

Alice, a rich girl from Castle Cove, trying to improve her reputation after disappearing for 5 days the summer before, befriends Iris, a poor girl–also from Castle Cove–because Iris has been hired to tutor Alice. Both girls have personal issues they keep secret from another but become partners in solving the mysterious death of another teenager from Castle Cove.

Alice is a big fan of mystery writer, Agatha Christie, and using methods and strategies from her books, Alice and Iris begin to try to untangle the insanity that is Castle Cove. I loved that Glasgow and Lawson used quotes from Christie novels at the beginning of that “Alice” chapters. It kept that tie-in front and center in the reader's mind.

The supporting cast of characters are a little zany, but also bring more humanity to the novel as they jump on board the mystery-solving train. And the adults that surround the teenagers may not always be what or who they seem.

Fans of A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder by Holly Jackson will absolutely love this book, as well! It is a must-read!

Thank you to Random House Children and NetGalley for this e-ARC. All of my opinions are honestly mine. Go read this book!