I've read a lot of books with a similar premise: a troubled teenaged girl is found dead on the wealthy side of town, so the rich people close ranks to protect themselves. It's the usual blend of secrets and lies, plus some affairs and willfully oblivious parents being their worst selves. It's a premise that can work, but in this case the story was painfully long, overly wordy, and pokily meandered its way along to a too-obvious conclusion. If you like a glacially slow burn with the same story told repeatedly through different POVs, check this one out, but I did not enjoy reading it.

I've seen this one marked as a thriller, which I don't think is the right classification. This one is definitely a slow burn crime drama. I really liked the multiple POVs from people who didn't witness the actual crime and were trying to figure out what was going on, too. Watching each character unravel the mystery separately made for an intriguing read.

Thank you to the author, Celadon Books, and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book about the murder of a teen and the teens that could be responsible is told by the adults in their families and communities. The trick here is that all but one of them were unaware the kids were even there, so their points of view are all more or less speculative.

Most of the characters follow pretty obvious stereotypes. As the story unfolds, we learn more about the relationships between the adults, their marriages, their alliances, and the lengths they're each willing to go to prove their own kid is innocent.

Patrick was well written. Everyone else was forgettable or unlikeable, unfortunately. I think there were too many poorly fleshed out characters and since we only had the adult perspective there wasn't any way to know what the teens were capable of.

There are quite a few unresolved loose ends, and I was pretty unimpressed with the ending.

Thanks to Netgalley and Celadon Books for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

The plot of Locust Lane moves along at a slow pace, and told through a multiple cast of characters and I did struggle to finish. The ending was a little anticlimactic. I am not sorry I read this book, it just wasn’t a great book for me.

Eden Perry was a bit of a wild child. But she is found murdered late one night and 3 teenage friends of hers are the prime suspects: Hannah, a meek submissive girl, Jack, Hannah's aggressive, privileged boyfriend and their mutual friend, Christopher, a mild French Lebanese immigrant.

This is not really a thriller, but more of a domestic drama where the lives of the parents of these teens are the primary focus. Christopher's father, Michel is a local chef but also carrying on an affair with Hannah's stepmother, Alice. Jack's privileged parents, Celia and Oliver, have covered up for their son's behavior before. Danielle, Eden's mother, isn't convinced that Christopher is capable of murdering her daughter. And then there's the drunk Patrick, who is convinced that Christopher is innocent and befriends Danielle in a futile attempt at finding justice.

The story is a slow burn mystery. The beginning was intriguing, the middle was slow and the ending picked up. None of the characters are likeable and everyone is hiding something. And the ending left more questions than answers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon for this early review copy. The novel hits the shelves January 17, 2023.

Locust Lane by Stephen Amidon is a book that's generating a little buzz.

"A young woman is killed in a house in the affluent part of Emerson, Massachusetts. Three teenagers were with her that night and one is quickly arrested for her murder. A man driving through late that night thinks he saw something but he is hesitant to go to the police because of his history. Two of the families are quickly protect their sons and daughters while the other is left on his own to navigate the system. What really happened that night?"

This book is a slow burner. It's told through the POV of the moms of the teens as well as the mother of the victim. There are very few likable characters in this book and there are a lot of characters.

The beginning was slow - felt like a typical "affluent kids are protected by the system" story. The last half moves a little quicker but I did not like the direction it took. I wanted to see some justice, some redemption, some remorse. There is a twist - you'll eventually see it coming. There is not a pretty ending from Amidon. There is a hint there will be more but then you're left hanging to wonder what happens. I know they're only fictional characters, but I want to know.

This is not a thriller. Fans of slow-burn drama will enjoy this. (Books like Little Fires Everywhere or Big Little Lies)

Horrible start to a book, quite possibly the worst I’ve ever read (just read the first sentence to understand).
Not the worst ending, but far from great. No justice was served. Is Danielle ever going to read the letter? What’s going to happen to Hannah & Jack? I need answers.

Despite all that, I still enjoyed this book! It was a thrilling family drama and kept me interested throughout and clearly wanting more.

I honestly had to sit with this book for a minute to collect my thoughts. At it's core, this is a slow burn, character driven novel about the lengths people will go to support and protect the ones they love. From the synopsis, I was definitely pulled in by the murder mystery aspect and while that was the premise of the book, this was more of a character study I would’ve liked more character development early on as there were a lot of characters to keep track of.

When I got to the middle, especially the 2nd half, the pacing sped up and I was invested to know how this story would end. I listened to the audiobook thanks to @macmillan.audio, which I enjoyed, especially due to the multiple POVs. It was interesting that we see the story through the parents’ eyes and not the teens themselves.

Overall if you like a slow burn mystery this would be a good one to pick up!

3.5 stars rounded to 4.
A family drama/mystery very much akin to Little Fires Everywhere.
This book’s beginning is very haunting and left me wanting to read more to understand what had happened. I really enjoyed the writing! It felt smooth and pretty natural.
None of these characters are particularly likable. Some of them are fighting their own internal demons, whereas others just seem to love using their prestige to take advantage of those around them.
This is a fairly slow paced, character driven novel. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it’s good to know before you start reading.
I was pretty sure I knew who did it for most of the time. I kind of felt that the twist came out of nowhere (not that it wasn’t plausible or believable, it was).
In the end, I felt that it should have ended differently, but I still enjoyed myself overall.

LOCUST LANE
Stephen Amidon

I’m still on a reader high just having finished LOCUST LANE a few hours ago. It comes out in January, and I think you should add it to whatever list you’ve got started for 2023.

Locust Lane is about a group of families all affected by the death of Eden Perry which occurs on Locust Lane. A street located in a wealthy neighborhood in Emerson Massachusetts.

This book doesn’t read like your average thriller or mystery, it's rich and deeply layered, and feels very different from others I’ve read. It explores themes of class, racial stereotyping, power dynamics, small-town politics, and familial inheritances. It feels part literary, part mystery, I enjoyed my entire time listening, let’s talk about it…

The prose was the first thing that jumped out to me. I was listening to the audiobook edition of this title and the prose combined with the expert narration made me pay full attention. I knew from the beginning I was in for an experience.

The second thing I noticed was the details and features ascribed to each character. They were unique in what they focused on making the character formation feel, unlike other reading experiences. Their different point of view provided a confessional booth quality that voyeuristic readers will love and will make voyeurs out of the rest of us.

The third thing that I noticed which lasted throughout the book was the storytelling pattern of the novel. I loved this more than anything and I think this is what pushed it from a good book to a great book. There were several times I got lost in the book, wrapped up in the mystery, guessing wrong, and being surprised at the lengths people will go to if given the opportunity.

I’m so glad I picked this book up and suggest you do the same!

Coming January 17, 2022

Thanks to Netgalley, Macmillan Audio, and Celadon Books for the advanced copies in exchange for an honest review!

LOCUST LANE…⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A young girl, Eden Perry, is found dead in the posh neighborhood of Emerson Heights. Cause of death: Blunt force trauma to the head. From available evidence, she was murdered. The suspects are three teenagers — Jack Parrish, Hannah Holt, and Christopher Mahoun.

It didn’t seem possible that any of the suspected teenagers could commit such a horrendous crime, but someone did. And being in a wealthy neighborhood, each of them had everything to lose.

Locust Lane is a suspenseful whodunnit mystery that unfolds through multiple points of view. There are quite a number of characters, but the core group consists of the parents of the teens involved in the murder investigation.

Because of the posh locale where the murder took place, I got the sense that money and power played a pivotal role in how the investigation was conducted and how the authorities might have been unduly influenced.

There are a number of plot twists, but I still managed to determine who the murderer was. Not surprising as that person had the most to lose. Too bad that there wasn’t any real closure in the story as justice wasn’t served, and the rich literally got away with murder.

Locust Lane would have garnered five stars had it not been for the unfufilling finale. Four stars.

I received a digital ARC from Celedon Books through NetGalley. The review herein is completely my own and contains my honest thoughts and opinions.

Based on the description this should have been a book I really connected with, but it fell flat. Suspenseful books should be slower paced and I appreciate that the author didn't rush through the plot, however, the character development was rough. While there was definitely some diversity within the pages, everyone was written more as a caricature than authentic. The well to-do immigrant father who contemplates marrying someone for her divorce proceeds and despite being intelligent doesn't seem to understand how law enforcement works? The woman with a checkered past is a gold digger and adulterer.

Overall the story itself, on face value, was entertaining and the lack of red herrings used made guessing who did it hard even though it ended up being completely unoriginal and predictable. I also struggled to find anyone to root for, as everyone was pretty awful. Another aspect that I struggled with was the multiple parent POVs, at times, it made it hard to track where the story was because there was overlap.

I thought the narrator did a fabulous job!

Thank you for access to this ARC.

This is a psychological drama about 3 families that are intertwined by their teenage children. A murder occurs and the 3 teens were the last to see the victim though they all claim to be innocent.
This is a slow paced novel and I enjoyed the book but never got attached to any of the people involved.

This book sounded so good and I was so excited to read it. Especially after so many amazing reviews.
However, this turned out to be one of the most unthrilling thrillers I have read in a very long time.
From multiple POV throughout the story, there was just far too much going on with far too many people and was wholly underwhelming.
Although the night in question deals with the teenagers in the story, all the POV’s are from the parents perspectives. I feel like it was a missed opportunity not including the people actually involved. I’m sure it’s done purposefully but it just ended up annoying me to be completely honest.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for this eBook ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Hated this one. Way too many characters and the opening chapter was not fun to read. It felt like a chore to read. I do not recommend.

Thank you to Netgalley, Goodreads and the publishers for the ARC of this suspenseful drama. I was approved on Netgalley for Locust Lane and won it in a Goodreads giveaway at the same time. The story is dramatic and suspenseful. A young woman, Eden, who has had her ups and downs in her young adulthood, is found dead at the home of the elderly distance relatives where she lives. The opening of the book drew me in immediately - Peter clipping a dog with his car and finding someone watching him in the middle of the night from the nearby woods. Locust Lane has many story lines, all intertwined - Alice having an affair with a local restaurant owner, her friend Olivia who keeps a watchful eye on her son. Locust Lane kept me reading with no hesitation - it was hard to put the book down. I look forward to reading more from Stephen Amidon.

I struggled to read this one and unfortunately put it down halfway through. I found the story to bit a bit slow and there were too many characters to keep up with. I would have enjoyed it more if there were less characters and the author went more in-depth with those few. I like seeing character growth and change in a novel.

This is a slow burn domestic drama. Eden Perry is murder. Three teenagers are the prime suspects. Told from multiple points of you. You will discover many secrets and hidden agendas. Who really killed Eden. I loved the open ended ending. Everything doesn’t always have to wrap up perfectly.

I very much struggled with this one, the synopsis sounded amazing, but the actual read itself seemed too slow for my liking. I also felt the characters were flat, and wish there had of been less of them, making the ones that were in the story, deeper and more dimensional.
This one was not a hit for me sadly!

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for an advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Something happened on Locust Lane. This type of thing never happens in rich white neighborhoods, but it did, and this type of community won't settle for an unsolved mystery. A girl is dead, and fingers point to a few seventeen-year-olds who last saw her and are acting suspicious. Told from the perspectives of their parents, step parent, the victim's mother, and a seemingly uninvolved community member, there are lots of sides to this story, but which one is the truth?

I wished for this on NetGalley simply because of a familial attachment to a real-life "Locust Lane," but I love a good thriller, so I was excited to get this one! The multiple perspectives were a lot at first, but they got easier to process as we got closer to the halfway point in the story. There was some mention of race, mostly to note the white privilege that some characters had and others lacked. Most of the characters gave you something to dislike about them, so it was difficult to really determine the suspect. I did appreciate the twist, and I have some thoughts about the ending, but overall I will be recommending to those who enjoy a whodunnit story that asks "what even happened?"

CW: death, blood, sexual assault, drug use, alcohol abuse