2.5 stars, rounded down.
This is somewhat a case of "it's not you, it's me." About 15% in I realized that I am not a fan of the "teenagers are smarter than the police" trope, which is this entire book. (Requested this because Glasgow's book "Girl in Pieces" is one of my all time faves.) There isn't really any side plot except Iris's abusive father, which is pretty much a non-factor for 95% of the book. There's no romance, and there isn't as much friendship as I expected. Even though Alice and Iris spend a lot of time together, I would describe their relationship as coworkers; they don't really seem to grow or learn anything about each other. On a similar note, Alice tells us frequently how good of friends she used to be with Brooke, but I didn't really feel like this was something we actually saw. It just felt like they would throw in "and remember, Brooke was my best friend!" to remind us. I don't think this was the intention but that shallow level of friendship feels very on brand for Alice, who is actually a very unlikable character, and I don't feel like this is ever really addressed or changed in a meaningful way. She's just spoiled and selfish, and the story of her disappearance further emphasizes those traits.
The mystery itself was alright. I didn't predict it, but it's also not anything mindblowing. I think that it's odd to title this book after Agatha Christie when it doesn't seem to have anything to do with her. Alice references her books a few times, and there are some lovely quotes of hers interspersed, but that's about it. Maybe I missed something.
Finally, two small issues that were annoying but not major factors in my rating. 1: Time stamps on each chapter should have a purpose, like to show suspicious gaps or a confusing timeline. The time stamps here did not seem to have any purpose, and if you're listening to the audiobook, they disrupt the flow. 2: The MC names are very similar when listening to the audio, and it gets confusing.

Think Nancy Drew, Scooby Doo and the Outer Banks with a darker feel.
Brooke Donovan is dead and It's the biggest mystery of the summer. The small town of Castle Cove does not have a shortage of suspects.
Alice and Iris put their Agatha Christie-like sleuthing skills to the test in this fun YA thriller. Thank you to Net Galley for the copy of this one in exchange for a review. #TheAgathas

Great collaboration between Glasgow and Lawson. Loved the Agatha Christie connection. This is one I will be nominating for 2025 Evergreen consideration.

A quick fun read for any fan of Agatha Christie. Sometimes the voices were a bit muddled when it switched POV but this YA murder mystery was a delight.

I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own

3.5, rounded up. Definitely not a typical Glasgow book, and I hope that she returns to her rich character building and emotionally driven writing. This murder mystery felt cliche, too bogged down with teen sleuthing, and the dialogue felt like fake teen dialogue. A lot of the plot twists either happened too easily or were too much of a leap. It had potential and I was curious enough to finish it, but I found it to be problematic.

This is a YA mystery with a Veronica Mars vibe. The haves (Alice Oglive) and the have-nots (Iris Adams) come together in a search for the murderer of Alice's ex-best friend Brooke. Love this duo together as they form a friendship while trying to track down the killer. I hope there are more adventures in store for these two sleuths!

Definitely a book full of twists and turns and I believe it is a solid YA read.

The writing style didn’t totally appeal to me, so I wasn’t able to rate this 5 stars, but I think it will definitely appeal to a large majority of people, especially in the YA realm.
While Agatha pulled me in, the secondary mysteries running throughout the storyline kept me invested.

What a set of bada** friends, and I loved that underlying storyline of two unlikely people coming together and really forming a bond. It shows the power of friendship at the end of the day!

Overall, this was a great read. I’m happy I was able to read the NetGalley ARC. Thank you for the approval!!

I was excited to read this book, because I had been hearing so much about it. But sadly, I could only get about 3 pages in before I had to stop. The writing seemed like it was trying too hard, the dialogue and "inner monologue" of Alice felt like the authors were trying (but failing) to create a "cool" stereotypical rich-girl character who the readers would love to hate, and none of it felt organic. Two pages in and I was thinking, "Who is this person she just mentioned? What is this about? Is this book a part 2 of a series and I completely missed it?" I was not interested enough in Alice or what was going on to keep reading to figure out the painfully obvious ways the authors were trying to hook the readers in. When you already don't like a character after 3 pages and are not engaged enough to keep reading to find out if the character will be redeemed, you should stop reading. This book felt like middle-schoolers should be reading it. I just could not.

When Alice's ex-best friend, Brooke, disappears, no one thinks anything about it. Brooke has done this before based on what Coach Donovan says, Brooke's step-dad. Police think that Brooke is copying what happened previously when Alice disappeared for five days. Alice does not believe this is the case. She states that step-dad has been causing problems for Brooke since her mom died. Grandma is offering a reward for any information regarding Brooke's disappearance. Alice is a big Agatha Christie fan and she remembered when Ms. Christie planned her disappearance to spite her husband. May Brooke was copying Alice and Agatha's disappearance; maybe not. In a book of twists, Alice and her friends work to solve the "who-dun-it" in a very interesting way. Thanks Ms. Glasgow and Ms. Lawson, NetGalley, and Delacorte press for the opportunity to read and review this book. All opinions are my own. I will be getting a copy for the classroom library.

Review being posted on my blog on June 24th, 2022

Alice Ogiville is basically a pariah after going missing last summer for a week in order to get her parent's attention. She came back on her own. But when one of Alice's ex-friends Brooke is now missing as well that's what the police think has happened. Those who saw Brooke that night think differently but don't know what to do. That is until Alice decides to start investigating and drags her tutor Iris into it as well. As Alice and Iris start piecing together what happened that night through talking to people at the party, and other items through sources they piece together what happens. Once Brooke's body is found by them, they are then rushing against the clock trying to figure out what happened and who harmed Brooke before one of their fellow students who they believe is innocent is charged with her murder.

Overall this was such a fun read. Obviously, serious things happened because someone was killed, and domestic abuse was mentioned throughout. But the relationships between Alice and Iris and how they are able to work together despite their differences and the secrets that they are both keeping. Iris's friends help out and make it so they can get into contact with their sources and occasionally provide good ideas. Little funny moments were thrown in here and there with Alice's love for Agatha Christy and Iri's friend's banter as well. There were several tense moments though because of what Alice and Iris were doing in order to find out information and do the police's job for them.

That ending wow was not expecting it to get as intense as it did but it was so good! If this does become a series I do think it will be an enjoyable one because of how well Alice and Iris worked together and how now they don't have any secrets between them that we know of.

(read a finished copy from the library)

When Alice's boyfriend Steve dumped her last summer, Alice just had to get away. The whole town searched for her, only to have Alice return unharmed five days later. So when Alice's former best friend Brooke goes missing, many think she's just a copycat. Surely it's not a coincidence that Brooke is now dating Steve, and now she's gone missing. But when Brooke's body is discovered, the town quickly realizes this is not like Alice's situation at all.

Alice pairs with an unlikely classmate, Iris, and the two of them embark on a journey to solve the mystery of Brooke's death. Chock full of twists and turns, The Agathas will appeal to fans of A Good Girl's Guide to Murder. I especially loved the quotes and details from Agatha Christie novels that were fully incorporated.

Glasgow and Lawson pull off a great high school murder mystery with The Agathas. Alice and Iris could not be more different in their socioeconomic standings but after being forced together (due to a tutoring arrangement, of course!) they find motivation to become a team. Nothing like the unsolved murder of one of their classmates and knowledge that a good guy is taking the fall for it. I appreciate the way Alice and Iris aren't bosom buddies and aren't completely trustworthy as their partnership forms. There are plenty of grey area characters and, of course, lots of bumbling adults (and absentee parents) to keep these kids in possible danger throughout.
If your teens enjoyed Jessica Goodman's They Wish They Were Us they are going to enjoy this one. Glasgow is a proven favorite in our high school library and I think this "fun" murder mystery will be welcomed by her fans just as much as her emotional struggle reads.
Thanks so much to Delacorte Press and Netgalley for providing the ARC!

Last summer, Alice Ogilvie disappeared only to return after a few days. It was the biggest mystery in Castle Cove until her former best friend, Brooke Donovan disappears after a Halloween party. Alice and her tutor, Iris Adams get sucked into the mystery in a twist-filled, modern YA take inspired by the works of Agatha Christie.

Thank you to the publisher for sending me an eARC via NetGalley for an honest review.

4.25/5

CWs: domestic abuse (off-page but injuries are seen and it’s referenced), people being drugged, drinking, grief, violence, murder

I really enjoyed this one! I liked the characters, the mystery, and the writing style. The mystery was so interesting, and the way the characters went about trying to unravel clues and figure out what happened was well written. It made sense, and I liked following along with Iris and Alice as they pieces things together. The twists in this book were really good. Some of them surprised me, and others I was able to figure out just before the characters did.
I thought both Alice and Iris were really good characters. Each girl has things that she’s struggling with, and I liked how they developed a friendship while solving the mystery. The book is told in dual first-person POVs between Alice and Iris. Their voices were distinct and I wasn’t confused by switching between them. I also liked that the authors would have text conversations between other characters, transcripts of interviews, social media posts and comments, and news reports. I thought this helped to round out the story.
The pacing was really good, and things felt like they were moving even when Iris and Alice didn’t know where to go next.
Overall this was a really good YA mystery with awesome characters.

Thank you for allowing me to preview this title. I absolutely loved this book and I have purchased it on audio and print for my library collection.

Two very different outcasts team up to solve the mystery of who killed Brooke. Was it her boyfriend, or someone else that no one would suspect? Are the Castle Cove police trying to cover up a crime or are they just incompetent? Two teens follow the clues and find the truth. I can't wait for the sequel!

Sometimes a book just catches your eye and the Agathas was one that caught mine! This adorable story was an absolute delight.

The Agathas is a young adult mystery novel that takes place in a high school. Alice disappeared last year after being dumped by Steve and returns after 5 days. More recently, another of Steve’s girlfriends is missing, Brooke. She also happens to be the ex bff of Alice. Alice wants to find out what happened to Brooke and finds her tutor, Iris is also interested in finding Brooke; mostly because of the giant reward Brooke’s grandmother is offering.

Everyone thinks the killer is obviously Steve, but Alice and Iris aren’t convinced. Alice uses her extensive knowledge of Agatha Christie novels to sharpen her detective skills into solving the mystery.

This was such a fun read. I discussed a lot while reading with @books_and_beabulls and it made for an excellent buddy read! The book reminded me a lot of the tv show Riverdale- it was soapy, but dramatic in that teen, HS way. I loved it!

Thank you so much to @delacortepress and @misskathleenglasgow for my gifted copy. The Agathas is on sale now!

The Agatha’s was a great mystery thriller with two lead characters that completely drew me in. It is at the top of my list of books I’m recommending this summer,

Perfect for fans of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder and Agatha Christie!
😵
Alice Oglive is back at school after faking her own disappearance when her best friend and ex-boyfriend start dating. Iris Adams is assigned to be Alice’s tutor considering how much school she missed and subsequent house arrest afterwards. On Halloween night both girls end up at a big party where Brooke Donovan, Alice’s ex-BFF, goes missing and then is found dead two days later. The police think the boyfriend did it and aren’t looking at any other suspects. Alice and Iris team up to find out what really happened that night only to discover the mystery goes deeper than either girl thought.
😵
This YA mystery has been on my radar for so long and I’m bummed it took me until now to read it. @misskathleenglasgow can do no wrong in my opinion and teaming up with @lzlwsn was absolute perfection for fans of thriller & suspense books. I actually think this would make an awesome series so I hope we see more of Alice and Iris!

CW: domestic abuse, death, blood, violence, attempted murder, stalking

Alice Ogilvie used to be popular. That was before she was dumped by her boyfriend Steve who began dating her bestfriend Brooke, and then disappeared for 5 days without a trace. When Alice returned, she refuses to talk to anyone about what happened. Iris, an unpopular girl, is asked to tutor Alice. She agrees in the hopes of earning a few extra bucks to escape Castle Cove and the Thing that is threatening her family. When Brooke goes missing and a reward is offered to bring her home, the two girls join up to try and discover what really happened to her.

This was fun and very east to read, although it did take a bit to get into the story. I liked the alternating POV between Alice and Iris, I think it was a great way to get inside both characters heads and see their motivations behind the investigation. I really enjoyed how different these two characters were, but how much they came to value each others friendships in the end. I loved the mixed media through the murder board, text and social media messages, transcripts and police interviews. My biggest disappointment was that I was able to guess the murderer pretty early on in the book, which kind of sucked, but I enjoyed this nonetheless!

I have been very picky about what young adult books I read for the last decade after experiencing teen angst and series burnout. I loved The Agathas! This was a great mystery with two great leads. I really enjoyable read!