Another destination wedding ending in death. This time it’s the groom, who goes into anaphylactic shock from an allergy or was it? Should of known there I was going to think this was corny.
Trevor is a total dirt bag- he proposes to Fiona, but for the wrong reasons. He wants in with her political father and he’s a security cop so he really needs more help than even possible.
He black mails his TB wife’s friends group by investigating them all and finding out their over there top secrets.
Fiona, Allie, Dev, Dutch, Emma, and Ethan. Currently in their thirties, have been close since college and ALL have damning secrets. However, despite their misdeeds, I ended up being kind of lulled into wanting to discover more about them and being concerned for their outcomes. I know, call me crazy.
I was entertained by the story, but felt that the ending could have had more punch! Finding Tessa, also by Hendricks, definitely has a more interesting conclusion! This one existed with an underdeveloped character and would have amped up the drama had that option been explored. A basic pretty neutral un-thrilling thriller here- a beach read- nothing out of the ordinary. We need to find out who kills Trevor—- and we will do just that

Thank you to NetGalley, Jaime Lynn Hendricks, and Scarlet Publishing for my advance reader’s copy. Due to publish on May 10, 2022

Another destination wedding that ends in murder. Does this one set itself apart?

5 friends of the bride, Fiona, travel from New York to Miami for her wedding. She’s marrying Trevor, and the 5 of them are all a part of the wedding party. The only thing is…none of them can stand Trevor. So why were they rooting for him and convincing Fiona to marry him?

Because Trevor is a snake. He’s been blackmailing each of them, using shameful secrets he’s learned about them. They had to convince Fiona to marry him if they didn’t want their secrets revealed.

No wonder he ended up dead at the wedding. Question is: which one killed him?

This is a fun and fast-paced “thriller”, but may be a bit light on the thrills. I was intrigued by the backstories of everyone and the multiple POVs leading up to, and after, the wedding. It held my interest the entire time.

However, I didn’t find anything to be particularly memorable. The ending could’ve had much more oomph. Those expecting a brilliant twist, like the one in the author’s debut Finding Tessa, won’t find that here. The dialogue was a bit bothersome too…almost robotic. I could imagine Siri or Alexa speaking the words. I’ll be very curious how it comes across on audio.

Overall, I didn’t absolutely love it like I’d hoped…but I definitely enjoyed this entertaining read. I’m looking forward to the next book from Hendricks.

3.5 stars

Thank you to Scarlet and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Expected Publication Date: 5/10/22.

Review also posted at: https://bonkersforthebooks.wordpress.com

Could have…

Would have…

Should have…

We know from the first page that a groom has been murdered on his wedding day. At his reception no less.

Married a mere few hours, Trevor wasn’t able to enjoy much of the celebration before he went down. Then again, Trevor didn’t enjoy much of anything beyond antagonizing those around him.

So, the list of suspects was rather large and all could have, and would have - but who actually did?

In addition to the mystery, the book presented a character study of wedding party best friends Fiona, Allie, Dev, Dutch, Emma, and Ethan. Currently in their thirties, they’ve been close since college and ALL have damning secrets. However, they were empathetic despite their misdeeds, so I was lulled into wanting to discover more about them and being concerned for their outcomes.

I was happily entertained by the story, but felt that the ending could have had more punch. A more interesting conclusion existed with an underdeveloped character and would have amped up the drama had that option been explored. So, a middle of the road ending.

Thank you to NetGalley, Jaime Lynn Hendricks, and Scarlet Publishing for my advance reader’s copy. Due to publish on May 10, 2022

Loved this domestic thriller. Very well written and executed. And a great cast of characters that kept me invested in the story.
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book

WOWZA! What a WILD ride! In the first few pages of It Could Be Anyone, we are at a wedding where a groom tragically dies, with his killer happily watching. That is just the beginning of this roller coaster of a read. We follow a group of five close friends in this who done it style murder mystery, with a little blackmail mixed in. Each character has deep secrets, and bring us multiple points of view with each chapter. I loved hearing from each character, even though they were certifiable, and one in particular will make your skin crawl. I found myself picking my jaw up many times throughout this read , and I found it really hard to put down.
Hendricks writing style is addictive! I enjoyed Finding Tessa, but I LOVED It Could Be Anyone. This is a fast-paced, mind blowing murder mystery. I give it two thumbs up and five bright stars!

Thank you to NetGalley, Jamie Lynn Hendricks, and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Another fast-paced read by Jaime Lyn Hendricks! This author knows how to write characters, and if you enjoy characters you love to hate, then this book is for you. Right from the first chapter, the reader knows WHAT happens, but we're not exactly sure WHY or WHO was directly involved. The rest of the story sets us up for that. Because I'm keenly aware of an issue in the book (but I don't want to say what, for fear of spoiling the story), I knew who it WASN'T and was pretty sure of who it WAS, but the book was still fun. Great sophomore effort by Hendricks!

Full review to come on Goodreads and Amazon. Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for a review copy.

It Could Be Anyone is a fast-paced mystery novel that follows a group of friends who head to Miami for a wedding where the groom, Trevor, is murdered. All of the friends have their own reasons for wanting Trevor dead. The characters are not overly likable, especially after their secrets are revealed. One of the biggest issues I had with the book were these secrets. They were all over-the-top and not plausible. Some of the secrets really made me dislike certain characters, which I then found myself not having anyone to "root" for. The ending wasn't overly satisfying either; it felt quite rushed. Overall, I give the book 3 stars.

Oh, my…this is the kind of delicious beach read that is just so much fun.

I was seriously having my own homicidal thoughts about dear Trevor. I would not be surprised if someone heard me muttering “kill him” under my breath as I read.

As for our other characters, I loved most of them, though their secrets made me cringe. These were not…simple secrets.

This is a fast paced, enjoyable and extremely satisfying read. I loved this!

*ARC via Publisher

If you have never read a Jaime Lynn Hendricks book this is the one to get your hands on. Some books get to me i the first few chapters and grab me in - this one had me at page one.. The story starts out the day of Fiona and Trevor's wedding, when the groom has an allergic reaction to something and collapses on the dance floor and dies. The murdered looking on. From there, we learn the story of the friends of the bride, their backgrounds and secrets. Everyone in the wedding party had a secret and the groom was using that to his advantage. Who would want the groom dead? Well....everyone. The story is told from each bridesmaid (Emma and Allie) and groomsmen (Ethan, Dutch and Vee) point of view and as you read their version all you think is "he/she's the one who killed the groom". I thoroughly enjoyed this book, it was one you did not want to put down for a moment. Get your hands on this one.

After FINDING TESSA, I had to wonder how Jaime Lynn Hendricks would raise the bar again, it was so good--but IT COULD BE ANYONE absolutely KILLS it.

Hah. Literally.

The opening scene is Trevor Vaughn dying on his wedding day, his friends and new wife all around him. We quickly learn they ALL had a reason to want him dead--they all had their own secrets. The question is, which one actually did it?

The story twists and turns, and one second I was SURE I knew who killed him, only to realize by the next chapter surely THIS character was the one who wanted him dead instead. Was it Ethan and Emma, the married couple. The playboy, Dutch? Or maybe it was Veejay the good guy, or Allie, who definitely had some serious secrets...

My head was SPINNING by the end, and yours will be, too! Can't wait for the next one by Jaime Lynn Hendricks!

WOW! JUST WOW! MY MIND IS BLOWN!

FINDING TESSA was one of my favorite books in 2021 and the author’s latest novel, IT COULD BE ANYONE is absolute perfection. I love this author’s writing style and her wicked, clever imagination. Jaime knows how to tell a story!

The story starts out a wedding where the groom, Trevor dies from an allergic reaction surrounded by his new bride, Fiona, and the wedding party, all of whom are Fiona’s best friends. The allergic reaction was no accident. What Fiona doesn’t know is that her new groom has been blackmailing all the wedding party. He knows all their deepest secrets and they all have a lot to lose if they don’t do what he says and convince Fiona to marry him. I loved how all the secrets were finally revealed throughout the book! My mouth jaw dropped each time. All of them have a reason to want Trevor dead. Trevor is probably the most hated male character I have ever come across! He made my skin crawl!

I normally shy away from books with multiple characters, sometimes having a hard time keeping track of all of them. I did NOT have a problem with this book at all. Each character is laid out so perfectly and the story flows perfectly from chapter to chapter.

Please hurry up Jaime and write another book!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for my e-ARC.

3.5 stars

A pretty fun whodunit following a group of 5 friends attending the wedding of a 6th friend, where the groom gets murdered. All 5 of them have a motive and this is a classic story of blackmail, juicy secrets, and betrayals. It was pretty fast paced and not too long of a book, although i wish the ending was a bit more satisfying

This has an interesting premise, but I think the plot could have been tightened up. As other reviewers have noted, there are a LOT of POVs. So many that it's hard to keep track of who did what and who they're lying to. I think the story would have been more successful with fewer characters and more complex backstories.

While I love suspending reality in thrillers, the author took a lot of liberties with the characters' secrets. Again, with fewer characters, more detailed backstories could have helped this. Unfortunately, the characters also felt one-dimensional and none of them are particularly interesting.

I had a strong idea of how the plot was going to play out early on. I'd hoped the author would implement a bigger twist, but the way the ending wrapped was okay.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of It Could Be Anyone.

I really wanted to like this, I love revenge tales, but this was hard to like.

First, there were too many POVs; I understand the reasoning behind it, why the author chose to tell the narrative this way but it was confusing and distracting. I soon forgot who was whom and who did what and how they related to the bride and groom.

Second, the story screams cliche; almost everyone is gorgeous and stunning; Trevor, the blackmailer; Emma and Allie, Veejay, except for Emma, the chubby, frumpy, dumpy lump.

Third, the writing was sloppy; we get each character's personal face off with Trevor, what their shameful secret is and Trevor's threat to blackmail him or her if they don't encourage and support his marriage to their friend, Emma.

The constant switching up between characters is frustrating; it's hard to keep up with each person's background, how they know Emma, what idiot thing they did to put them on Trevor's radar.

Four, the secrets are ridiculous; completely over the top and a few of them based much on coincidence, like how one of them was involved in the accident that killed a friend's mother. What are the odds?

Fifth, due to the multiple POV and the author's intent on explaining to the reader what Trevor has on each character, the narrative lacks cohesiveness.

All the characters are unlikable, and though I don't need to like a character to enjoy the story, I didn't enjoy either.

The title is suspenseful but the story and the writing lacks suspense and urgency; since you don't like anyone you're not really invested in whodunit.

A fun fast read. There are many twists, some not very plausible. The ending is a little dill snd disappointing, but its an entertaining ride to get there.

A groom collapses and dies at his own wedding. Everyone in the bridal party has a reason to want him dead. Was it an accident or murder? The twists and turns never stop as secrets are revealed and relationships tested.

This is such a good suspense novel! I like the continuous theme that no one is perfect and everyone is secrets, some big and some small. This is a quick easy read that will constantly have you questioning who did it.

Jaime Lynn Hendricks, you did it again! It Could Be Anyone absolutely knocked it out of the park! This book is filled with twists and turns that I certainly did not expect. I devoured this book in just two days. This book kept me on the edge of my seat trying to figure out "whodunnit". It's so well written and I had a lot of fun guessing (and I was wrong!).

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was difficult to put down from the first page. A group of friends flying to Florida for another friend's wedding. Sounds like a lovely weekend...not so much. Murder and intrigue...blackmail...the past haunts the present...who is innocent? Who is guilty? Why would their friend choose this man? Answers come eventually...but this author has woven a tale that reads like nonfiction...Truly though...could this ever happen? Could one person (the groom) know so much and be so horrible? The others are frightened of him and the secrets he has on them. As the weekend unfolds, more and more unpleasant moments occur...that being said, the friends bond together to come to a conclusion that is....wait...read the book and discover that on your own. I can't wait to read other books by this author....enjoy...This book was sent to me electronically for review by Netgalley.

Thank you Netgalley and Penzler Publishers, Scarlet for the copy of It Could Be Anyone. I’m sorry to say this book was not for me. The way it was written, Trevor going to blackmail each person, made the start of the book seem like short vignettes instead of a cohesive story. The characters were all unlikeable and the dialogue was not very well-written. When they all pretended to support the engagement they all came off as fake. The story could have been great but really fell short for me. I think people new to mysteries or thrillers would still enjoy this book, especially if they don’t need to connect to the characters.