I read this as being a part of buddy read, and am excited to discuss it tonight. In 2001, we moved from Singapore to Boston, and it was the first time I was exposed to the New England culture. I finished reading it last week, but needed time to process it. To be honest, the story is so provocative that I am still thinking about how to articulate my feelings about the story.

Set in Emerson, Massachusetts in an affluent community, this immersive page turner is a story of social justice, power, and influence. At the heart of it, the question asked is how far would you go to protect your child? But, the answer is not as simple as what the meets eye. A young girl, Eden Perry, has been found murdered, which leads an investigation into the lives of three teenagers: Hannah, Jack, and Christopher. Each parent manages their own complicated and secretive lives.

What I perhaps did not expect, which I considered powerful moments in the novel: the subplot of Patrick and the loss of his daughter, Gabbi, and the immigrant othered narrative of Christopher and his father, Michel - an immigrant family of French Catholics. Throughout the novel, the mention of the Lebanese Civil War added an additional dimension to the tension of the novel. Then, there were the mothers - Alice, Danielle, and Cece who had their own complex relationships. Another novel, which I highly recommend and has been popular among students about the Lebanese Civil War is Rawi Hage’s De Niro’s Game - which if you haven’t read will add another layer to this propulsive novel.

The novel therefore explores the following themes: power, social justice, sexual violence, addiction. And, it is one that you should read. It’s such a moving story about such pivotal subjects that I honestly don’t feel comfortable rating it! If I would, it is a definite five stars ⭐️! The ending left me shocked and uneasy, but it was perhaps a reality about how systematic injustice continues to be an ongoing issue, and one that we need to discuss more about.

Do you like domestic thrillers with a darky and edgy slowburn? This book is for you. Set in a wealthy Boston suburb, the story starts with a bang - the murder of a young woman (this is not a spoiler!). She was last hanging out with three friends - a popular school bully, his girlfriend, and an outsider boy - so the suspect pool is small. Of course, two of the suspects come from prominent, wealthy families - they can't be the killers, right? And what about the possible eye witness, a local drunk who is running from the pain of his daughter's death years before - surely his account can't be trusted, can it?

This was a quick read, despite the slow burn. I will note there are *many* points of view in this story, and each chapter is told from a different perspective, so if that isn't your jam, be forewarned. But the author  makes the different characters work well together - the story isn't jumpy - and actually, the different POVs serve to keep you guessing and to illustrate the underlying ulterior motives of each character (the parents of the teens, the teens themselves). And while the book is definitely a "whodunit," it is also an exploration of privilege, race, and power vis-a-vis the different characters. Plus a surprise ending that I did not see coming - I love that!

This is my first novel by Stephen Amidon and I really enjoyed it! It is said to be for fans of Mystic River and Little Fires Everywhere and that is very accurate. It has some mixed reviews, but I feel most of them stem from the amount of characters and POVs within the novel. I didn’t find that to be bothersome at all. I enjoyed getting to know the different families and they were all so different, I didn’t find it hard to keep them straight. That being said, even getting to see into all of these character’s mindsets, I still could not figure this book out! I thought for sure I had it early on, but I was wrong! I felt like it was well thought out, I enjoyed the way the author divided the book into days and getting to see what each character is doing at different times. I really connected with the parents as they are trying to figure out what happened, while hoping to prove their child’s innocence. I just loved reading how all of the stories and characters came together!

Synopsis: When a young girl is found dead in an affluent New England suburb, the powerful families close ranks to keep their children safe. Eden Perry’s death forces police to investigate three high school seniors who were partying with her hours before she was found. Hannah, is a sweet girl with a troubled past. Jack, is a popular kid in school, wealthy and not kind to his classmates. Christopher, son of a restaurant owner is just trying to fit in. The parents will do anything to protect their children and in doing so, only end up complicating things.

This one is out today! Grab your copy now! Thank you to celadon and Macmillan Audio for my advanced copies of this book! I mostly read the hard copy, but listened to some of the audio here and there and the narrator does a great job of keeping your interest!

💻Book Review💻
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Summary; On the surface, Emerson, Massachusetts, is just like any other affluent New England suburb. But when a young woman is found dead in the nicest part of town, the powerful neighbors close ranks to keep their families safe. In this searing novel, Eden Perry’s death kicks off an investigation into the three teenagers who were partying with her that night, each a suspect. Hannah, a sweet girl with an unstable history. Jack, the popular kid with a mean streak. Christopher, an outsider desperate to fit in. Their parents, each with motivations of their own, only complicate the picture: they will do anything to protect their children, even at the others’ expense.
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Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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My Thoughts: Happy pub day, thank you so much @celadonbooks for sending me an advanced copy, I really liked this book! I think it was a pretty perfect read until the last 50 pages, I’m unhappy with the ending. But this one was SO fun and well written! It reminded me of little fires everywhere where the parents are trying to figure out what their teenagers are up to! Overall a fun and unique story with the most gorgeous cover ever 😍
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QOTD: what new book release are you looking forward to this month ?!
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#locustlane #stephenamidon #celadonreads #celadonbooks #bookstagram #booksofinstagram #booksofig #bibliophile #booknerd #bookworm #bookwormsunite #bookish #bookobsessed #booklover #bookaddict #bookaesthetic

A gripping tale that starts off slow but builds to a surprising crescendo and an ending I didn't see coming.
In a wealthy neighborhood in Massachusetts a young woman is found dead. The night before she had been partying with three of her friends, a popular school bully and his girlfriend and a boy who is an outsider seeking attention and to be noticed. The question is, since they were the last to see her, which one murdered her?

Told from the POV's of the parents of the children and a man who was drunk and on the street where the girl died, who might have seen someone lurking in the shadows. There's lots of suspicion to go around and the author does a great job of deflecting the blame from one child to another keeping you guessing. The parents all have agendas of their own as well and that only heightens the drama in this compelling mystery. Lives will be heartbroken, lives will be shattered and lives will be taken, but can you guess whose? I thoroughly enjoyed this one and was a bit surprised by whodunnit in the end.

Thank you to Celedon Books and NetGalley for granting me an arc to read, review and enjoy.

The book Locust Lane is a murder mystery in a close-knit, wealthy neighborhood in a New England suburb, which gives dramatic points of view from the neighbors, friends and family involved. I really became immersed in the drama, much like enjoying a soap opera, and enjoyed the twists that were presented. This book really would have elevated my rating had it made us care more for the victim of the crime, whose life is only presented in conflicting accounts of what others think of her. Readers would have greatly benefited from getting to know her just as well as those who were involved in the mystery surrounding her death (and their stories were greatly detailed). The ending feels a bit unsatisfactory as nothing seems to be really resolved for either the family dramas or for criminal truth and justice. Even a brave soul who has weathered much tragedy doesn't escape more. I really would have preferred for the ending to given the readers a more hopeful future outlook.

A young woman, Eden Perry, is murdered in Emerson, an affluent Massachusetts suburb. An investigation is launched, and it is discovered that three local teenagers were with her the night of her death, all claiming to have left when she was alive. The story alternates between multiple points of view which really enhanced plot development and built tension. The skillfully woven plot made for a book that was gripping and impossible to put down. The characters were realistic, well-developed and in some cases highly sympathetic. Prejudices are revealed, hidden motives and dark secrets come to light. The themes explored were of privilege, wealth, influence, racism, social media, grief, addiction and misogyny. This fast-paced thriller is well written and has a lot of depth and insight. I absolutely devoured it but felt that the ending was abrupt and needed more elaboration. Thank you to Celadon Books for a copy to review. @CeladonBooks #CeladonReads #LocustLaneBook #partner

In an affluent New England suburb in Emerson, Massachusetts, a young woman is found dead after a night of partying. The parents of the three teenagers involved close ranks to keep their families safe, while all three are suspects in Eden's murder. Hannah, a sweet girl with an unstable history. Jack, the popular kid with a mean streak. and Christopher, an outsider desperate to fit in. Their parents, each with motivations of their own, only complicate the picture: they will do anything to protect their children, even at the others’ expense.

This story is told in alternating parts from the POV's of the different parents involved, along with Patrick who was out on a drunken ride the night in question and may have seen something he shouldn't. You get snippets of what happened that night spoon-fed to you from the various parties, but you don't know who is telling the truth, or what secrets people are hiding. In this book, everyone is an unreliable narrator. Therefore, you will make it all the way to the end before you discover the full truth about that night, and who really killed Eden Perry. Parts of the book read like a juicy gossip column or Nextdoor app, with all of the drama, and then there was the mystery element. This book was excellent, and perfect for anyone who loves a good mystery. I highly recommend it!

A young woman found dead in the wealthy suburb of Emerson is shocking enough, but Eden was an outsider. However, three local teens were with her the evening before she died--Hannah, Jack, and Christopher. Couple Hannah and Jack left early and alibi each other, but Christopher, who had a huge crush on Eden and is the son of a recent immigrant, is held for questioning.

Hannah's stepmother, Alice, had her doubts about Jack even before Eden's death, but now she suspects he's hiding something and encouraging vulnerable Hannah to do the same. *Nobody* thinks Christopher is capable of murder, but he's a convenient scapegoat. As the parents try to shield their children, their own secrets come to light, and an unlikely romance begins to form between Eden's mother and Patrick, the town drunk, who understands all too well what it's like to lose a child.

LOCUST LANE is an enthralling suspense novel, with some uncomfortable truths about power and influence. Readers will find themselves caring deeply about unexpected characters. #LocustLane #NetGalley

Read this if you like: Multiple POVs, slow burn, purposely unlikeable characters,

A young woman has been murdered in Emerson, Massachusetts. It seems like just a fancy New England suburb but there are powerful neighbors willing to do anything to protect their families.

Eden Perry’s death kicks off an investigation into the three teenagers who were partying with her that night, each a suspect. Hannah, a sweet girl with an unstable history. Jack, the popular kid with a mean streak. Christopher, an outsider desperate to fit in. Their parents, each with motivations of their own, only complicate the picture. They will do anything to protect their children, even at the other's expense.

We see multiple POVs in this book including teens, Eden's mom, and more. It's easy to follow even with so many people. This premise sounded very interesting and thrilling but didn't meet my expectations. The first half of the book was painfully slow. I struggled. The characters were unlikable. None pulled me in. You may love this. I didn't.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and Celadon Books for the gifted e-book ❤️

Locust Lane by Stephen Amidon. What an intriguing story. It is a slow burn complicated story. Told in multiple point of views, Mr. Amidon puts a lot of thought into this one! It is filled with family drama, secrets, lies, indiscretions, cover-ups and scandals. This author keeps you engaged from the start and he will have you second guessing yourself with everything. He messes with you mind a little bit with this one. It is challenging and thought provoking, but also a little heartbreaking. A small affluent town with a murder on their hands and then having kids involved……just what would a parent do to protect their own?!?! Pick this one up and find out, You won’t be disappointed.

Thank you NetGalley, Celadon Books and Stephen Amidon for this intense story to read and review. The opinions expressed are my own.
#netgalley #locustlane #stephenamidon #celadonbooks #celadonbooksreader/influencer
#arc

The premise of Locust Lane sounded so good to me: a neighborhood drama set in a wealthy suburb of Boson where a woman is found dead. As the story unfolds, elite families from the community piece together out what really happened, all while attempting to protect their status, reputation and children. Compared to "Little Fires Everywhere" and "Ask Again, Yes," I was so excited. However, I prefer those books over this one by a landslide.

Told in various POVs (from the parents of the teenagers who were with the woman the night she died), this is a story about family dynamics, dysfunction, secrets, lies, race, prejudice, addiction, etc. I felt like it was a story I've seen before but in this case it was a bit boring. For me, it was like watching the longest episode of Law & Order ever. While the book was a little over 300 pages, it read like it was 500 pages long. The pacing was beyond slow, the characters were so unlikable. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind unlikeable characters but in this book there was nothing relatable or redeeming about them. I think the biggest problem was the author went wide with the characters instead of deep. There were too many characters with too many backstories and it was hard to keep track of them/feel anything for them. I didn't want to root for anyone. I would have much rather liked this story from the POVs of the teens involved. The ending was so unsatisfying, too.

Unfortunately this was not for me. I have seen some strong reviews out there so if a slow burn mystery with any POVs in a small town is your thing - give this a try.

**Thanks to Stephen Amidon, Celadon, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion**

Thanks Netgalley for an ARC of this novel. I was expecting a thriller/murder mystery based on the description. A girl is found dead in a wealthy town & the parents “close ranks to keep their families safe.” This was more like a domestic novel, there was not much suspense whatsoever and every character was varying degrees of awful. It was impossible to root for anyone, the kids were awful and the adults were doubly awful. Interwoven for some strange reason there’s another story of a local man who’s drinking himself to death and may have witnessed something on the night of the murder. It added nothing to the story except it was super depressing to read about an alcoholic whose life is falling apart. This one was not for me.

Thank you for the advanced copy but Locust Lane will be a DNF for me. The prologue left me intrigued and then I had immediate whiplash as multiple characters and POV's are introduced. It was hard to remember who was who. I made it to around the 20% mark and decided not to go any further. The author used every cliche possible and for the most part, several of the story lines were just disturbing and disgusting for my taste. Also, you find out that a girl has been murdered but you only seem to be getting adult POV's when it seems it's the other kids who were the suspects. I realized that I was put off by the characters and that I didn't care enough to see how it ends.

2.5 ⭐️

Locust Lane had an intriguing synopsis and gorgeous cover so I was so excited to get to this thriller, but unfortunately it did not live up to my expectations. It is definitely a slow burn, character driven story with little action, but that wasn't exactly where my problems were. It jumps from multiple character POVs, but not too many to be confusing, however they were SO repetitive. When it jumped between characters, it would often go back a couple hours to recount the new person's POV on the exact same time frame we just read about from someone else. I found this super frustrating because it wasn't always necessary. We also only ever got POVs of the parents or adults involved, which was clearly on purpose, but did not allow me to get fully attached to the story since it was often adult drama/revenge driven storylines. I thought this was going to be a 3/3.5 star read throughout the book but the ending honestly infuriated me and dropped it down to a generous 2.5. I am completely find with thrillers having ambiguous or untraditional endings, but this one was just not necessary to get the same point across in my opinion. So many characters deserved better and it makes me think this author's writing just won't be for me. I would hesitate to recommend this book to anyone.

What you can expect:
🕵️‍♀️ murder mystery
🏡 small town
💰 dialogue about status/money/power

It's been a few days since I finished this book, but not a day goes by without me thinking about it, retelling it to someone or recommending it. This novel was GOOD and so different from any thriller I've read so far.

In this book, a girl is murdered in one of New England's affluent neighborhoods. As a result, several families close ranks to do everything to protect their teenage children who were at the house the night the murder occurred from facing responsibility.

There are some great psychological thrillers out there, but a social thriller? This is a fantastic example of one! In the book every main character is a parent dealing with their child in crisis. How far would each one of them go to protect their child?

This was at times a very heartbreaking read. Some parts made me really angry for the injustices those who don't fit the perfect cookie-cutter neighbor image endure. The novel brings to the surface the ugly realities of today's society where money rules and if you're a part of the "boy's club" you could get away with murder while a child of the member of ethnic minority in the community gets wrongfully accused.

I think everyone should read this book. The plot, the writing style, the character development - everything was right on point. This novel really makes you think and evokes all kinds of emotions.

This story struck me as more of a neighborhood drama rather than a thriller mystery.

The writing style describing the settings and the characters is very well done, and made reading this book very easy for me. The pace was steady, and kept me turning the pages.

The different POVs was jarring and difficult to keep with at the beginning of the book, but ended up being manageable. This allowed for more character study, but most of the characters were unlikeable, which made it hard for me to become emotionally vested.

The twist was interesting, but I was ultimately unsatisfied with the end/epilogue, but that's because I prefer very concrete endings.

Overall, this was a fast and entertaining read, but wasn't much of a thriller.

This was a very well done thriller that I find myself still thinking about long after I have read it. It is on the slow burn side for sure but it kept my attention throughout as we slowly began to learn more and more about what happened to the young woman found dead and who might be behind it. This is told from several POV’s, which I enjoyed, however none are from the teenagers and I wished we would have gotten theirs even if brief a brief chapter or so.

I enjoy neighborhood settings with its residents behaving badly and this one definitely fit the bill. Each character had something going on either in their past or current day that they preferred to stay hidden, but as we know, nothing really does as each parent scrambled to protect their child. I figured this one out but it did not take away from anything, and I really enjoyed the buildup to the suspenseful ending.

I recommend this one overall and cannot wait to see what Amidon does next.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for the ARC to review. Pub date is 1/17/2023!

LOCUST LANE by Stephen Amidon

Thank you to Celadeon Books and NetGalley for the gifted e-arc!

SUMMARY:

Eden Perry's death rocks a small town in Massachusetts, and suspicion turns to the three local kids were with her that night. During the investigation, all bets are off and the families of the kids will do anything to protect their own children. You can't trust anyone because they all have their own interests at heart and everyone's secrets become public.


MY THOUGHTS:
I wanted to read this one because of the publicity behind it! It was all over and I just loved the cover.

First off- there is a scene with a dog in the first chapter and I considered stopping reading right then- but it was short and the dog lives, so it wasn't all that heartbreaking.

I thought the tone of the how the "adults" spoke about high schoolers disturbing. There were just a few remarks that rubbed me the wrong way, and I don't think that was character intentional by the author- but just the way he wrote.

I thought the characters were well written in a way that you didn't like any of them- everyone was flawed and selfish.

This book felt a bit long at times, but once I got to the end, I liked the twist. However, I think we could've gone without the epilogue.

Anyways, the bookstagram fomo was real on this book! Are you feeling it?

The murder of a young woman is the common thread in "Locust Lane," but it's so much more than a murder mystery. It's the story of how one death can affect so many whether through a direct connection or one far removed. It's a tale about where fault lies and how far some will go to bury it.

When Eden Perry is found dead, affluent families in a New England suburb aren't too concerned. She was an outsider, a nobody in their social circles. When three friends become suspects, powerful families close ranks to protect their own, even if it means pointing fingers at the other families.

Author Stephen Amidon does a great job building characters that you can't help but hate, feel sorry for, and applaud at the same time. His storytelling has been compared to Dennis Lehane and Celeste Ng. And there's good reason for that. The plot and character development are multi-layered with much to think about. You'll be left questioning what you'd if you had money and power. How far would you go to protect your family -- and reputation?

"Locust Lane" is available as a novel or an audiobook.