Sadly this one was a DNF for me, DNF @ 28%

After seeing early hype for Locust Lane in 2022, I was hoping this one would be a winner. However, I think it is a victim of mismarketing. This is not a thriller, it's a mystery with a character study in family dynamics much like Miracle Creek.

While I loved a character study like Miracle Creek, Locust Lane fell short. I did not care to continue on in this one as the first 90 or so pages were all focused on the parents and some random man. All equally bad and annoying, their characters weren't worth carrying on studying.

I say pass!

This was a quick and compelling read. I downloaded it yesterday afternoon and stayed up until 2 AM finishing it. It’s filled with a dozen of flawed characters in an affluent Massachusetts suburb. The story is told in third person by multiple narrators, all parents that would do anything to protect their children and loved ones, a prevailing theme especially when their teenagers start acting squirrely after the death of a young woman in their midst.

The short chapters left me on the edge of my seat and screaming when they switched points of view right at opportune moments, not to mention all the screaming I did at characters for inane actions. I was quite surprised by the ending, though I really shouldn’t have been. Recommended for a quick enjoyable and rather straight-forward mystery.

Thank you to Netgalley and Celadon Books for a copy provided for an honest review.

I was beyond excited when I got a copy of this thriller. The summary sounded like a good thriller. I can stick with a slow, but this book had such a slow burn it felt like nothing was really happening. The story is told from five perspectives and included the perspectives of the three children at the center of the mystery. Most of them weren’t great people and were pretty unreliable narrators. I also didn’t feel the different voices as strongly as I would like, it felt like one narrator just switching main characters. I like multiple perspectives but this left things pretty murky. The mystery did pick up in the end, but the ending was so awful and unsatisfying I’m not sure it was much better. The writing itself was good and the author clearly had some great ideas. This slow burn with this ending is probably the right book for some people but I don’t think it was the right book for me. It was ok, but didn’t leave me an instant fan.

Eden Perry was many things: A dog-walker, a daughter, and a beautiful young woman suffering from growing pains. Now she's dead, and three other teenagers are being questioned about the who, what, why, and how. This is a murder mystery. Light spoilers ahead; be warned!

I really didn't like this. The prologue was so wonderfully creepy and uncanny, but it all went downhill from there. EIGHT perspectives in this book, so there's a lot of repeated information and conversations that become repetitive. I think there is an attempt at some feminist and race-based commentary here, but it falls so flat. Affluent white men get away with violence and hatred against women while their white wives help them cover everything up and sweep the evidence under the rug. The one person of color takes the fall and anyone with a slight moral conscience suffers dramatically with the perpetrators get along just fine. Just like the real world!

You never get the perspective of any of the teenagers, by the way. It's all of their enabling and scheming parents. I couldn't force myself to have empathy for any of them, and the author never really tries to give them much depth beyond various traumas in their pasts. Overall, they are rich white people protecting their rich white kids.

I think I gave up on this one after the author described a woman's skin tone (in what he thought was a complimentary way) as "the color of Earl Grey tea." There's no coming back from that.

This one started off with a bang with a great, fast-paced prologue and it kept my attention throughout. Lots of suspense and so many twists and unexpected turns, This is more than a mystery/suspense read though - it touches upon serious themes of mental health, privilege and wealth, poverty and powerlessness, social media, bullying and small-town politics. The story is told from various perspectives but is very easy to follow and is written in an accessible style. I thought the pacing was good and there was a realistic ending that tied the plot themes together. This has been my second excellent thriller read so far of 2023!

Thanks to Celadon Books and Netgalley for this advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own.

DNF @ 65%.

I really tried to power through this one. It’s a fascinating premise and usually the kind of “eat the rich” setting I go nuts for. But this takes a look at an affluent, privileged neighborhood where someone has committed murder without a drop of irony. Might just be because I’m not in a thriller mindset lately but I started this over the holidays and I’m still trying to power through. I was hoping for a faster, more thrilling pace that would keep me turning pages.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I thought it was an interesting concept to get the adult viewpoints of a murder mystery involving teenagers. But I did think it dragged a bit in the middle, and it had a frustrating conclusion for me.

*I'm vacillating between 3 and 4 stars on this one and did decide to round down.

In the wealthy suburb of Emerson, MA, three teens return home after a night out with friends. They aren't acting as they normally would and their parents become suspicious. (Go to bed, we'll talk about this later.) Then it is learned that a 20-year-old woman has been found dead in the home where she was employed and those three teens had been partying with her. All are questioned and claim she was alive when they left the party but one is kept for further questioning, the son of an immigrant chef.

What is really going on here? We remain as clueless as the parents because the story is told from their pov rather than the teens, who remain sullen and silent. How well do any of us know our children and what is going on in their lives? There are several other issues brought to the fore here including wealth and racial bias, bullying, and drug abuse.

The characterizations were well done but I did notice that the women's voices didn't always ring true. The twist ending disappointed me. As a lover of the suspense genre, I've read so many and I know I've read something similar before so the shocking twist fell flat for me.

I received an arc of this novel from the author and publisher via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.

It took me a while to get into this story and even longer to keep all the characters straight. I almost gave up on this because it was such a slow burn. Then I got into it, and could not put it down. Murder, scandal, drugs and more make up this suspenseful read. When the killer is revealed I was shocked, but it felt like there had to be more to the story, and we never get it.

The ending is left open for your interpretation, and I am not a fan of this at all. I have so many questions, and they will never be answered unless the author has something up their sleeve that nobody knows about. I wasn’t invested, then I was, and to end it all I was left annoyed. Please tell me there is more to come! There has to be!

Okay first and foremost, I’m obsessed with the cover of this book… it’s beautiful, even though I’m not sure it has literally anything to do with this book since the only driving scene occurs in the dead middle of the night and I don’t get the vibe from it that this is a mystery book. But it’s beautiful and intriguing nonetheless. The title of this book could have been more creative… but it makes sense. I feel it on a deeper level as if to say - welcome to Locust Lane in wealthy Emerson, Massachusetts where murderers lurk and lies are plentiful. It could have an eerie feel to it.

This book started sorta really slow and very confusing due to it being told from many multiple viewpoints, five to be exact, without giving separate distinct chapters each time it shifts back and forth between them. It was a little difficult to follow on audio for a while but I was buddy reading this one with a few other bookstagram friends, so I pushed on through some initial confusion and boredom. I really felt like I needed a flowchart for all of the characters, that’s how confused I was.

However, it did start to get more interesting and more coherent around 20-25% and eventually by the middle I was able to keep track of who was who, what all of their relationships were, and what was really going on in the story and I got into it. Couldn’t have done it without the audio version! I thought the narrator was fantastic, especially for being responsible for more than five voices of both genders, including two individuals with French accents.

The plot is actually very unique. It is a teenage murder mystery told through the eyes of the parents only - the mom of the victim, the father of the suspect, the stepmother and mother of two potential witnesses, and another random town drunk who was grieving from his own daughter’s unrelated death. They all weave together a suspenseful story of affluent suburbia full of lies and coverups where some people are trying to get away with murder. Overall, it was a fine read once you got beyond the confusing tangle of characters. Definitely more of a slow burn mystery than a thriller or domestic suspense like I was expecting based on the description. I thought the ending was pretty abrupt and slightly unsatisfying. I wasn’t a big fan of the epilogue.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Celadon Books, Macmillan Audio, and Stephen for an advance reader’s and listener’s copy of this title in exchange for an honest review!

There was a murder in the town of Emerson and murders do not happen in this rich suburb of Massachusetts.

The police begin looking into the last three people that had seen twenty year old Eden before her murder. The story is from multiple perspectives including the last three kids who saw Eden alive and their parents.

Every family in this exclusive town has secrets, none of them are perfect. They all have one thing in common, they will do whatever it takes to keep their family safe and to keep all of their secrets quiet.

This book is a gripping intense story that will have you second guessing every character involved and then shock you in the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 stars
A pretty good read.
I do love a good domestic thriller.
About 25% in is where I could really get into the book where it really began to evolve and grab my attention. Some characters' past stories and thoughts were in repetition and unneeded in my opinion. The second half of the book kept my attention, where it became an incredible page turner.
I was drawn to Danielle, Alice, Patrick and Michel’s characters. All of them had major heartache and I was cheering them on throughout the book.
The ending was a bit of a shock and I was a little bit disappointed.

Thank you to NetGalley the Publisher and Author for the amazing pleasure to read and review a really good book!

Thank you NetGalley, Celadon Books and Stephen Amidon for the opportunity to read this e-arc in exchange for my honest review. I was really excited to read this book, the premise sounded like it was right up my alley and I loved the cover! I normally love thrillers and mysteries but unfortunately this one fell a bit flat for me.. I really had a hard time getting into it after the scene in the very first paragraph, no spoilers but scenes like that just turn me off and it doesn't matter if its a book or a movie I just don't like it.. but I tried to push through and the rest of the book just kinda dragged too much for me and I didn't love how it ended. Overall this one was just not the right book for me.. I'm sure some will love it and if you do thats amazing!!

2.5 stars for me but rounding up to 3!

Initially I really enjoyed this book. I liked the mystery of it and all the unlikeable/damaged characters. I also love a good domestic thriller and this was shaping up to be a good one. The problem for me is it went round and round with the same conversations and issues. There was so much repetition and I do not think this book needed to be as long as it was. I also think there were entirely too many characters which initially were difficult to differentiate and keep track of. This book hooked me from the beginning and the ending was shocking and very interesting.

Thanks to NetGalley and Celadon for this digital ARC.

Thank you Celadon Books and NetGalley for an early copy of this book.

Honestly, I don't know how to review this book. I will start by saying that it's original and absolutely different from other books I've read with similar topics, unfortunately, it did not work for me personally.
This story has absolutely no redemption, it leaves you disappointed in life and people. If you read to escape real life this will not be for you. The writing was good, but I was not connected to any of the characters. They are all real, flawed people, and those are my absolute favorite. But their role in this story was not flashed out, I wanted more details and maybe an emotional connection.
I liked the originality and where the author took this story, I did not see it coming and I gasped at the end. I will absolutely recommend reading this knowing that it's a mystery mixed with community drama that will leave you on a cliffhanger at the end.

Thank you Celadon Books & Netgalley for an eARC of Locust Lane by Stephen Amidon!

What’s it about?
A 20 year old woman is found dead in a New England suburb, causing the neighbors to close ranks and keep their families safe - From danger, and from each other. The death kicks off an investigation of a teenage party that resulted in the death. There are three suspects, and each of them have parents with their own motivations to complicate the mystery.

The pacing for me was fast at times and then would slow down. I was so excited to get to the ending and felt like it ended rather abruptly given how much build-up there was. That being said, I’m a huge fan of small-town, suburban murders, and this one was twisty enough to keep me invested until the very end. I love how this is a truly thought-provoking read - Not your typical popcorn thriller. This one tackles topics like privilege, race, class, sexual assault, grief and addiction. The ending made me mad but that may be the author's point. You'll have to read it to see!

3.5 stars.

It is very difficult to review this book without giving away some spoilers. You really need to go into it with no notions so you can really feel it's intensity and experience the twists.

The first third of the book was a lot of character development. But, by the time I got past the start of the book it just took off and I could barely put it down. But also, I needed to put it down and step away at times, it was so intense.

This book was well written. After the first bit, it moved along at a fast pace. Locust Lane was more a mystery than a thriller. A mystery that explores the social ills of our society and the lengths people will go to protect themselves and their families and how wealth and power influence the search for true justice.

This book was definitely a wild ride, just when I thought I knew the direction things were going in there was a twist. The end didn't leave me satisfied, but, I need everything wrapped up nicely, that is just me. There were a few things thrown in which lead me to hope for a follow up book though.

Highly recommended for fans of a good mystery, with lots of twists, who can handle a lot of intensity.

Wow. I just put this down and I’m gonna need at least an hour by myself with the lights out and some ambient music to process what just happened.

This is a hell of a thriller. Dark and misanthropic. Really nasty piece of work. And I loved every bit of it. . Easy five stars.

A true compelling story of how wealth and privilege can even be used to ones advantage even in the most sickening ways possible but with the whole thought of it being ok because what would any parent not do for their kids! It reads as a trues savory out of a real community that could happen to anyone. Very captivating will have you wanting to read 1 more chapter then before your know it you are several more chapters in

Perfect for fans of William Lindley, Celeste ng, and Iiane Moriarty. Locust lane is the ideal suburban neighborhood-quiet and full of charm. A murder of a young girl found in locust lane sets off a chain of events for three interconnected families trying to protect their children. All of the families have secrets to hide and any of them-parents and children included-could have had a hand in what happened on Locust Lane. While it is certainly a suspenseful novel-it is more of a psychological drama with murder and suspense sort of secondary to the relationships unfolding as the primary focus. The secrets get revealed throughout the course of the book and the psychological motivations will keep readers guessing as to the “who-done-it” until the end. Well-written, very poetic and lyrical in certain sections, and the tone does shift based on who is narrating the events, as it shifts over multiple POV. The multiple narrators and interconnected relationships can be challenging to keep up with and track, especially early, but it all jives together. The novel is weighty in that it tackles-class, race, privilege, etc.-more than your run of the mill mystery, overall, a good, thought provoking, and ambitious read.

Arc provided by publisher in exchange for an unbiased review on NetGalley.