“His handsome face looked wretched as he gasped for air, his eyes bloodshot as the oxygen stopped flowing in his veins. No more gasping. He stopped moving altogether...Trevor was dead, on his wedding day, and how epic that he was already dressed for his funeral.”

It Could Be Anyone is a whodunit suspense novel. The first chapter is narrated by the killer and tells us the story of Trevor Vaughn’s death. We quickly learn that the groom, Trevor, has been killed and the killer is one of five best friends that made up the wedding party. The remainder of the book is then narrated by each of the five friends: Ethan, Dutch, Veejay, Allie, and Emma. There are two parts to the book. Part One focuses on each of the five friends and helps us learn a little bit about each one of them, how they all became friends, and that each one has a motive for wanting Trevor dead. Part Two flashes forward to the weekend of the wedding where the wedding party is pushed to their limits and being turned against one another by the groom’s manipulative ways. It is here that you really start to question who the killer is.

I had a lot of fun with this novel. I initially had to create a cheat sheet to keep track of the five friends. My thoughts on who the killer was changed A LOT and it wasn’t until I was almost finished with the book that I figured out, with certainty, who it was. Breaking up the book into two parts ensured there was good character development and a sense of mystery surrounding who the killer could be. I felt that each of the characters for the five friends was developed well; each given their own personality and depth that made you either like them or love them. I found myself empathizing with them but also annoyed at times by the choices they made. The only thing I wish was different about this book was Trevor’s character. There were no secrets when it came to his character. Through the synopsis and the first few chapters, we learn what his true personality is like. I guess I would have liked a little more mystery behind who was blackmailing each of the friends. Either way, I still had a lot of fun trying to figure out who the killer was and ultimately enjoyed the book as a whole and highly recommend reading it once it is released.

It Could Be Anyone is scheduled to be released on May 31, 2022. You can pre-order the ebook for $12.99 now via Amazon. The book will also be available to purchase in other formats including hardcover and audiobook.

This is an honest review of It Could Be Anyone by Jaime Lynn Hendricks. I would like to thank Scarlet Publishing of Penzler Publishers, Jaime Lynn Hendricks, and NetGalley for a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

Another destination wedding mystery (but is Florida really a destination?). All the members of the bridal party have secrets they are being blackmailed over by the groom. It seems like a very basic premise for a mystery. I didn't care so much about who murdered Trevor, the groom. I figured he deserved it. I had hopes for how it was done but the truth was a tad more boring than I expected. However, I was more interested in the fall out of all those secrets. Because they were still going to come out somehow and they were still going to impact people. But by the end of the story I didn't even much care about that. I think my big struggle was that we never got to know any of the characters very well. Everything was in relation to their own particular secret. And we never got to know the victim or Fiona, his fiancée. It is incredibly difficult to get vested in a story where you don't really know enough about the characters to care. For a thriller, this book never had the high suspense points that I expected it should have and again I think it was because the characters were never developed enough for the reader.

Five of the bride's best friends gather for her destination wedding. The book opens at the reception, with the death of the groom. Then it moves back to two days before the wedding...and five months before the wedding, closing in on how exactly Trevor died and who it was who killed him. There were a brief few moments where I got caught up wondering who was responsible, but other than that I couldn't work up much interest in the characters or their secrets. (If you want to vicariously experience a wedding and all of the last minute preparations, including detailed descriptions of hair and makeup, this is for you!)

Overall standard thriller that was fast paced with minimal story lulls..
There were many POV's and sometimes I just wanted to flip ahead and continue reading the same persons POV. This may have been a little bit of anxiety from trying to figure out what was going on! I sometimes felt that the POV dragged the story along but felt that it served its function throughout the book.
I enjoyed that we do get some pieces of the puzzle early on in the book and that helps drive the story. The writing over all was not very flowery or descriptive but went straight to the point. I do not mind this because its not something that I expect out of this genre but I know some people really enjoy that. The characters stayed true to their original descriptions and the way that they acted throughout the book. I liked that there was consistency because sometimes I find that similar books will have twist that do not reflect the characters true character.
This book is great for somebody who is looking for a relatively fast read. The book is action packed and you are always one step ahead of the characters knowing what is going on due to the POV.

I absolutely love when a thriller opens with a bang and this one delivered. It starts at Trevor and Fiona’s wedding reception where the groom dies!! That definitely got my attention and then it flashes back to a few different timelines which slowly gives you the details about what led to his murder. Literally everyone was a suspect, Trevor was an asshole to all of them and it was fun to try and figure out who actually got fed up enough to off him. This group was a total train wreck that I couldn’t stop watching, if you like super messy people, who honestly are pretty despicable and are behaving horribly this was entertaining and fun. Things go off the rails from time to time and you may have to suspended some disbelief but as a popcorn thriller I really liked it! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⁣
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Synopsis: To anyone on their flight out of New York, they appear to be five best friends excited for a destination wedding in Miami. No one would guess that each of them has a reason to want the groom dead. ⁣
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Trevor Vaughn, the groom in question, wooed his bride-to-be by first becoming close with her friends—which is to say that he learned all of the five’s darkest, most dangerous secrets and blackmailed them into convincing Fiona to say “I do.” The friends were forced to convince a doubting Fiona to go through with the wedding, no matter what, and now the charade is set to continue all the way to the altar.⁣
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Trevor has his own reasons for wanting to marry into Fiona’s family, and he’ll stop at nothing to make his plan a reality. But when he dies of an apparent allergic reaction at the wedding, surrounded by such close enemies, the possibility of murder isn’t far behind. And for the authorities investigating the case, anyone present could be a suspect...⁣
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Thanks to the tagged partners for my copy.

Love Jaime Lynn Hendricks so much! This book was so fun - and having so many suspects for the murder made this book intriguing! I can't wait to read her next book!

This book is a lot of fun.

A tight-knit group of friends attend the destination wedding of one of their members. They all love Fiona but her future spouse is another matter. None of them like Trevor--with good reason--he forced them to support his relationship by blackmailing them with their most carefully guarded secrets.

None of them want Fiona to marry Trevor but the wedding is imminent. How can they save her from making this terrible mistake?

The reader learns early in the book that Trevor is not going to survive the wedding reception. The fun is figuring out who caused the death and why.

This book would appeal to anyone who likes thrillers with twists and turns.

Fiona is getting married and her five best friends are in the wedding party. However, it turns out they all hate the groom and were blackmailed into convincing Fiona to marry Trevor. When Trevor does under mysterious circumstances; it is clear everyone had motive. Great concept, but execution was poor. The writing felt haphazard. Thx to NetGalley & W. W. Norton & Company for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Sadly, I was disappointed with this one! I was a huge fan of Finding Tessa (5 stars), so I’m sorry to not have the same type of review for “It Could Be Anyone”. Although the premise was promising and the amount of suspense really built up throughout the story, it all came to an end rather abruptly. I was a little surprised with some of the execution choices that still left a lot of questions and confusing places the plot went. I should mention, I absolutely had no warmth towards any of the characters, although they were thoroughly described and distinctive between the group to remove confusion. .
Unfortunately this is not going to be one of my favourites this year.
Thank you NetGalley and Penzler Publishers for the chance to read and review this ARC!
Sad to say this was a 2.5 read for me!

This book came highly recommended to me, but unfortunately for me it kind of fell flat. It wasn’t necessarily a fast paced thriller, and I feel like the author could have gotten more into the “bad guy” and his motives and how he went about gathering dirt on everyone. Unfortunately, I think this book doesn’t exactly set itself apart from all the other destination wedding reads

Sadly had a hard time getting into this one. Characters just didn't thrill me and found myself having a hard time finishing it.

Thanks to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for an early release of this book.

The groom dies at the wedding and it seems there's an entire friend group that wanted him dead (and had motive). A fun read to learn everyone's secret and ultimately who did it!

3.5 stars. I really enjoyed the book even though I hated all of the characters. Towards the end I didn’t want to stop reading. But I felt some parts of it drug on too long. Also the narrative about Emma no longer being the prize that Ethan had claimed? Gag. That droop it a full star for me. Fiona deserves better friends. I also want to know how the secrets will change the group dynamic

I really really wanted to love this book but it took me forever to really get into it. And I hated the ending, it just really fell flat.

Thank you to #Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC of this book!

2/5 stars

It Could Be Anyone is a deadly tale of death written by Jamie Lynn Hendricks. Trevor and Fiona’s wedding was held in Miami FL and Ethan, Emma, Dutch, VeeJay and Allie were invited from New York. The friends were forced to convince Fiona into marrying Trevor. During the wedding, Trevor dies of an allergic reaction. He was allergic to tree nuts and he had an EpiPen not too close by. Was he killed by a guest? He was not too liked by Trevor. Ethan has bought a bootle of Tree Nut Oil but left it in his room. Someone else had killed Trevor. He has five POV’s and after a few twists and turns, the murderer was told in the end. Thanks to NetGalley and Penzler Publishers, Scarlett for a copy for an honest review.

From the get go I was intrigued. Why would anyone want to see this groom dead? Oh my! …….so many reasons and it could’ve been anyone who did it. This group of longtime friends has more skeletons in the closet than “Planters got peanuts”
This is a fast paced read that you won’t want to put down.
Thank You to Penzler Publishers, NetGalley and Jaime Lynn Hendricks for the opportunity to devour this ARC.

This book is not for me, I personally cannot get into this one to even finish, and the multiple POVs just in any keeping my interest or able to keep up with. This may be a better fit for another reader.

This one had me hooked from the start! It kicks off with the first chapter being from the perspective of the killer and we get to spend the book figuring out which character it was. I wasn’t able to guess it! 🤯

Quick takes:
• multiple perspectives but easy to follow
• short chapters
• everyone’s a suspect 🕵🏼
• lots of secrets 🤫🫢

Overall this was a quick and fast faced read that had me guessing until the end!
It really COULD BE ANYONE 🫣

Thank you to NetGalley and W. W. Norton & Company for the ARC
Going into the story we know the WHAT. we just dont know any of the other questions and as the story unfolds you find out why the WHAT happened and let me tell you I was not even phased by it. We have the story from different POV and I loved it. Then end was a shock and it was soooo good.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy of this book! This was a suspenseful read, and the setting was thrilling and immersive!