I really enjoyed this novel. It was clever, entertaining, and fun. I would definitely recommend it to every young adult who is looking for an engaging, unputdownable read

I think this was a really great YA a mystery. There is a lot of suspension that I think is really fitting for the YA reading group. I think that it’s a great court room drama for teens to get hooked on. I liked the beginning of the book that tells you from the start the mc is not the murderer.

Deadly Set-up was SUCH a good book! It's the story of Samantha/Sam, her boyfriend, Noah and her mother, Meryl. Meryl's boyfriend, Adam, was a cad. He had been previously married to a wealthy woman who was killed in a boating accident. She'd been deathly afraid of the water. Her son believed Adam, who was named something else, killed her. After the accident he took his fortune and gambled it away. They lived in Canada. After he lost all of his money, he moved to Portland, Maine, changed his name and went to work with his long time friend. He had an ongoing affair with his friend's wife.

Adam met Meryl and before long proposed marriage, which she accepted. Meryl was an author and an heiress. Sam never liked Adam; she didn't trust him. She believed he was after her mother's money, which, of course, he was. She suggested to her mother that she have him checked out. Meryl refused, so Sam had Noah's father, an ex-cop and very well known investigator, to check him out. She learned about his previous marriage, the death of his wife, and his gambling addiction. She also found out about a bookie that he owed an enormous sum to. When she told her mother about the previous marriage and the addiction, Meryl told her that she knew about it and that Adam had turned his life around.

Meryl had given Adam a key to her house. On the night of her bachelorette party, Sam went home and found Adam was there. She hoped to find him snooping in her mother's financial papers, since she had overheard him trying to convince Meryl to turn her finances over to him. What she found was Adam on the phone to his employer. It seems that Adam had embezzled $100,000 from him and he was promising to pay him back after he was married. He also owed his bookie more than $100,000 and she heard him making the same promise to him. When he was done on the phone, She stormed into the study and ordered him out of the house. This created an argument. Adam knew she'd heard him on the phone. He refused to leave. He slapped her and punched her I'm the stomach. When she slumped, she reached in the drawer to retrieve the gun her deceased father kept there. She fired a warning shot, backed out of the door and ran from the house, throwing the gun in the bushes.

She got in her Jeep and fled, driving too fast. She was going to her mother's party to tell her what she'd heard. She was pulled over by the police and was escorted to the police department. There she was charged with murder. Adam was dead. Of course she had no idea; when she left he was very much alive.

Her mother's attorney found her an extremely good criminal attorney, and the case proceeded. The prosecution had several incriminating witnesses, including Gary, who was the stage manager at school. He was obsessed with Sam but she couldn't stand him. He said that they were friends and she confessed that she didn't like Adam, and that she said she had a plan to take care of him. This couldn't be further from the truth. Also, her best friend testified that she had asked her if she knew any hitmen. This was a joke.

As the trial went on, the defense called their witnesses, including Sam. She got on the witness stand and told exactly what happened. One of the witnesses, Meryl's best friend, said that she was in the bathroom at Meryl's party and overheard Meryl and Adam's boss's wife talking. She told Meryl that Adam was in love with her. Meryl disappeared; her best friend never saw her again that night.

When the verdict was read Sam was found not guilty. All along, her mother threw her under the bus. She made sure everyone knew that she thought Sam was guilty, so they avoided each other as much as possible. But Sam believed her mother was guilty. So, after the verdict Sam did two things. First, she phoned Gary and recorded the conversation. She got him to admit that he made the anonymous call to tip off the police about the murder. The second thing she did was, she made fake amends with her mother. She cooked dinner for her and plied her with wine. She turned on her phone recorder and got her mother to confess to the murder. It seems Meryl was infuriated with the conversation she'd had at the party and left to confront Adam. When she arrived home, she saw Sam flee from the house and throw the gun in the bushes. She put on her gloves, retrieved it and went inside and killed him. And she was going to let Sam take the blame.

Sam took her phone and put it in an envelope. She then went to school to talk to Ms. Williams, a teacher she trusted, and told her what she'd done. She was on a quandary as to what she should do. After that conversation her decision was made. She went to the store and bought a burner phone. She then went to the police department and dropped off her cell. Then she went to Noah's house and told him and his father what she'd done and said that she could not go back home. His father told her she could stay with Noah's aunt. This was agreeable.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I'll read it again. Definitely a book club book.

Sam made a promise to her dying father that she would protect her mother and look out for her. But that is harder and harder to do when Sam’s mother continues to make bad choices—like Adam, the younger man she met and quickly (too quickly for Sam’s liking) became engaged to. Adam’s last wife died unexpectedly and suspiciously, and Sam knows that Adam is just out for her mother’s money- even though her mother won’t hear it. When Adam is shot and killed in the house, Sam is quickly charged with his murder and everyone, including her own mother, believes Sam is guilty. But Sam is convinced someone else is behind the murder and she is determined to uncover the culprit- and save herself.
Lynn Slaughter’s newest YA suspense novel, “Deadly Setup”, is smart and entertaining, pulling readers in from the very first page. Sam is a likable character, grieving the death of her father and suffering from the responsibility of caring for a narcissistic mother. Not only must a teenaged Sam deal with an impending murder trial where her whole future is on the line, but she is faced with the challenge of a new romance, and the taught relationship of an uncaring and unsupportive single parent. Sam instantly garners empathy and support from the reader, generating the whole gamut of emotions with every page.
The novel is told from Sam’s perspective, although there is a snippet at the front of the novel where we hear from the unidentified killer, making it obvious that Sam is innocent from the get-go.
Slaughter has the ability to add just enough shady characters in her novel that when the actual murderer is revealed, it is completely surprising. From Sam’s angry and hostile classmate, to the bitter adult children of Adam’s former wife, there are enough possibilities to leave a reader guessing.
“Setup” has a little bit of everything; police investigation, legal drama, teen romance and parent-child conflict. Even with all of this, the novel is well-formed, easy-to-read and easily flows from one chapter to the next. The multitude of characters complement each other, instead of confusing the plot, and I attribute that completely to Slaughter’s writing talent.
Although Slaughter has a few YA novels under her belt, “Deadly Setup” was my first experience with this author. I loved the fast pace, page-turning, emotional thrill ride of this novel, and it is obvious that Slaughter has found her writing niche in YA suspense. “Deadly Setup” is a novel that you won’t be able to put down until its over- and you’ll be left wanting more!

Being a huge fan of Agatha Christie I have a hard time reading mysteries and being surprised. Many times authors use gore and surprise to get a reaction from the reader. But that is not the case here. The author did an amazing job to keep the red herrings coming and the suspense building. What a great book! I was really surprised at the end and I keep thinking about how it all played out.
This book is well worth your time.
Enjoy!

2.5 ⭐️ rounded

Thank you, Netgalley, for the ARC!

I was intrigued by the plot of the book and wanted to see how everything played out at the end.

The court proceedings were probably the best part since I’m a fan of legal processes and trials in books. I think more of that and some in-between investigating would’ve been better than the loads of filler in the beginning. Instead, a lot of important information was spoon-fed during witness testimonies. Not to mention that I felt like a lot of emotion and depth were lacking. I felt bad for Sam and her situation, but I wish I knew her more.

When Sam learns about her mother’s engagement, she questions the legitimacy of it. Her mom is an heiress and usually the men want the money. The man claiming to love her mom, has a troubled past. His last heiress wife died in a boating accident. Sam does everything in her power to dissuade her mom from marrying him, but believes to have found her “happily ever after,” until he winds up dead. Sam is the #1 suspect. Will Sam be able to convince a jury that she’s innocent and bring the killer to justice?
•••
This YA thriller was a different read for me. Sam’s character was very relatable as a seventeen year old in high school along with her boyfriend, Noah. I really enjoyed the aspect of brining Noah’s family, especially Joey, in to show how disjointed Sam family really was. I enjoyed the back and forth of the court case. I feel we don’t always get to see inside a court room for many thrillers. The ending was just meh. I feel we had a lot of build up and then it was just over. I didn’t think the book was overall scary or had to many thrilling points. It was pretty laid back, which I would have loved some more action. This would be a book I would recommend for a younger adult just getting into mystery and thrillers.

I'm always on the lookout for new YA mysteries so I happily agreed to read and review this story about a teen falsely accused of murder.

Sam's a bit concerned when her mother, a successful yet impractical romance novelist, meets a guy and gets very serious very fast. Sam is sure that he's just after her mom's money. When she digs deeper into his past, she doesn't like what she finds and starts joking with her friends that she needs to hire a hitman. Then things take a turn!

I feel like YA mysteries often make better reads for teens than for adults, because of the suspension of disbelief factor that's involved with having a teen character investigate a crime.

Deadly Setup definitely required some of that. But it was still a fun and enjoyable read. Sam was a great advocate for herself and, although some of the adults in her life were absolutely terrible, did find support elsewhere.

For teens looking for an engaging read with a courtroom drama aspect, Deadly Setup would make a great choice!

This is a fast paced thriller that does not disappoint. Sam is a multidimensional character that the reader wants to be innocent. There were a couple of plot twists that left you guessing who was behind it all. Great YA novel

Deadly Setup is an amazing YA thriller. There were some twists that I did not see coming. This book was really good and I highly recommend reading it.

Oh this was a great coming of age thriller! I don't read many YA books, but I did enjoy this one. It had some great twists that I did not seeing coming. I also felt like the overall pace of this book was well done. I liked Sam she was so strong willed. I will have to check out other books by this author!

Mystery, tension, emotions, and an even pacing make this an intriguing coming-of-age tale.

Sam is a young woman, who does everything she should. She's an enjoyable character, who could be the girl next door, and is, in general, a nice person. It is sad to watch her relationship with her mother as Sam deals with her the best she can. When she is pulled into the murder accusation despite her disapproval of her mother's plans, the frustration and fear is palpable.

This tale flows smoothly, while building tension with steady steps. Sam comes across as a realistic individual, and it's hard not to feel for her as she finds herself accused of something she definitely didn't do. As she faces the court and isn't sure how to get out of the situation, the direness hits well and had me hoping that everything works out. While tension builds, the twists and turns are sometimes more predictable than others. There are supportive characters on her side, which add the needed cushion of hope.

Deadly Setup by Lynn Slaughter was a good book. What was scary to read was that the main character, Sam, had to stand trial. What was even more disturbing was the real culprit. It was sad to read about Sam's relationship with her mother and enduring her mother's moods. Deadly Setup had a good storyline.

I would read more by this author.

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