I'm so torn on this one! On one hand, I thought this was going to be a unputdownable thriller that would keep me on the edge of my seat. Instead, this is definitely more of a character study. And there are a lot of characters! Sure, it surrounds a crime and all the players connected to it in someway, but the mystery of who done it seemed lost in the character drama.

A few kids have a small party at a house in a small town (I assume it's small, the characers were so intertwined) and something happens. The next day, accusations are flying and in comes the adults. You have the POV of one wife, another wife, a witness, a mother. And these stories overlap in ways that aren't obvious at first. Slowly, you learn how they all interact and the different ways they will seek the truth. It was heartbreaking, at times, as you learned what each of them is hiding - because no one is telling the truth.

I think my favorite character was the attorney. He gave it straight and felt so realistic. And his fees!? WOW! Otherwise, I did like how this all played out but I wasn't prepared for it to feel as slow as it did.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

When Eden Perry is found murdered in an affluent area of Emerson, Massachusetts, the three teens that were partying with her the night before are soon seen as suspects. Told in multiple POV’s, this slow burn of a thriller takes us on a journey into the lives of five completely different families, covering addiction, privilege, domestic abuse and bullying. When one of the three teens is arrested for the crime, fingers are pointed in other directions and families are willing to tear friends lives apart to protect their own. Amidon keeps us turning pages as we get closer and closer to the truth and with an ending I both hated and loved in equal parts, this book left me pondering even days later. Cassandra Campbell does a good job on the audio version although there are a lot of characters to voice. It might have been a bit better to have other voices join her, but still enjoyable. Thank you to Celadon Books, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for an ARC and ALC of this book.

This story centers around a murder but it isn't really about the murder or who did it. It's about how people interact with each other, what happens when accusations start being thrown against their children, and how a town comes to terms with what happened. It's also very much about privilege and how it impacts justice.

Overall, this story had a lot of potential. It skipped around from viewpoint to viewpoint a lot, which resulted in more superficial character development than I would have preferred. I also would have loved to know more about the victim because she was lost in all the drama. I think that was rather the point of the story, but it also made it harder to feel invested in the subplot of who actually was guilty of the murder.

If you're very into family and town dynamics, you may enjoy this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for the opportunity to review this book ahead of publication. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

2.5 stars

The premise really grabbed my attention. Sadly, the book didn't live up to that potential. I did like the multiple POVs, but it did lead to a lot of redundancy, as well as confusion, at times. Some characters just weren't likeable, such as Alice. The pace was much slower than expected for this genre. It picked up close to the end, which was a little too late. The ending was quite lackluster. It felt unfinished for each characters, and the epilogue was a bit pointless.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Celadon Books and Macmillan Audio for gifting me both a digital and audio ARC of this mystery by Stephen Amidon and wonderfully narrated by Cassandra Campbell - 4.5 stars rounded up!

Eden is found dead in a wealthy neighborhood where that kind of thing never happens. The three teenagers that were the last to see her are all questioned for her murder, and their parents quickly close ranks. We also hear from Patrick, an alcoholic struggling since his own daughter's death, and Danielle, Eden's mother.

This was a fabulous mystery - the author was skillful in setting up an atmosphere of wealth and privilege where opinions are more important than facts, and parents will do anything to protect their children. But besides the murder mystery, I loved that we got to delve into the background of the characters, including the parents, to learn more about why they behaved the way they did. Everyone is keeping secrets that they are desperate to keep hidden. I also liked that the ending was somewhat left open, leaving you lots to think about. Cassandra Campbell did a great job at voicing all these different characters and I found myself listening to the audiobook more than reading the digital copy. Highly recommended!

The slow burn mystery and building high tension pick your interest, hooking you up. the Tending was unconventional, thought provoking and also heart wrenching! It was the most realistic and honest wrapping up I could ever imagine.

Thank you to Netgalley and Celadon books for the EArc of this book! The cover really grabbed my attention and I'm a sucker for small town mystery's so I was excited to read this one!

This is a multi pov book where we follow a large number of characters, but I didn't find that to be confusing at all. I was able to keep the characters all separate in my mind as they're all very distinct and unique. I ended up really liking that we got to see this story told through so many different people.

This book had me hooked from the beginning, Stephen Amidon's writing was really captivating and engaging and I didn't want to put this one down until I figured out who was responsible for Eden's death.

I would say the first 3/4 of this book was outstanding, but then the last 1/4 wasn't my favorite, I felt it dragged on a bit and while the twist was clever it wasn't mind-blowing or unique. I still really enjoyed this book though and am glad that I read it!

Imagine finding out a young woman has been killed in your neighborhood, and as a parent (or multiple parents on the block) you know someone’s hands were in this mess after all? How far would you go to protect your family? And in the process of protecting your family, you’d be questioning if you can make it out dead or alive!

This book was absolutely superb! I can’t even begin to rave about the different parents and what they will do to protect their children. The various plot twists and dark and twisty trauma is excellent. I love how the author intertwined these parents and their stories, it was multilayered and so deep. I just couldn’t put this book down!

If you are looking for a dark and twisty book, said to be a mix of Little Fires Everywhere and Mystic River, PICK THIS ONE!

Locust Lane — Stephen Amidon
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Pub Date: 1/17/2023

Initially there were a lot of characters to keep up with, but once you got the hang of them/their stories it all came together well.

This book had an intricately woven plot, with many characters lives/outcomes at stake. This was a no holds barred style where no one’s secrets were safe.

Well written and executed well.

I enjoy books set in small New England towns so I was eager to read this one. It did not disappoint as it has well-developed characters of different ages. There are a lot of peripheral characters that I didn't get a good sense of and I would have liked more description of the town itself, but the story moved along quickly and keeps the reader guessing since you see the obvious culprit but wonder if it can really be so easy as all that... The ending was a little contrived, but all in all it is an enjoyable read.

First of all: that opening scene? Wow. Talk about about an eye-catcher. Think the opening line of Verity if you've read it.
Next, the characters in this were really well done: Alice, the unconventional rebel out-of-towner married into the community, stepmom to meek and weak Hannah. Celia, the stereotypical suburban mom who pretends to be nice, mother to something-is-seriously-off Jack. Michel, the heartbroken widower and restauranteur making a name for himself in America, father to scared and accused Christopher. Patrick, the town drunk whose daughter overdosed two years before Eden's death. And Danielle, mother to Eden and amateur mom-detective.
The twist, while not the most shocking I've ever read, was also really well done. Sort of a really subtle gotcha moment. What was more shocking was the aftermath of the twist and what was done/not done and said/not said. Would have loved like maybe one more chapter? For my closure-needing mind.
This was a quick enough read that keeps you hanging on, but the prose was done as choppy short sentences which has your brain starting and stopping sentences like hitting the brakes in heavy traffic. And there were a lot of sentences that were kind of "I'm not racist but..." type of things that left me feeling really uncomfortable. It felt like the author wanted to include non-white characters but in a really showy way. Include ALL characters, but for me personally I think just leave out the comments that were there clearly to identify someone as white or not when they don't actually have anything to do with the story.

I enjoyed this one, but felt like there was just too much at times. There are a lot of characters to keep track of (the kids who were with the girl that was murdered, along with each of their parents and a few extras) and then the story switches from the POV of Alice, Celia, Michel, Patrick, and Danielle. The "chapters" for each person seemed kind of long and it was easy to miss when it switched to a new one or forget who's POV being read, leading me to have to go back and read sections.

Overall the plot was good and the mystery kept me intrigued. I wouldn't necessarily classify it as a thriller, more of a domestic suspense maybe? I'd still be interested in other work from this author!

Read if you like:
- multiple POV
- affluent suburb drama
- Little Fires Everywhere

LOCUST LANE revolves around the murder of a young woman and the three teenagers who had been partying with her that night. Told through the multiple points of views, secrets start to be revealed and we discover how far everyone will go to uncover, or hide, the truth.
I thought the story telling was well done and engaging from start to finish. I didn’t find the ending to be a surprise, but the journey was interesting and I still thoroughly enjoyed this book. The writing style was easy to follow and I appreciated that it didn’t feel over the top, and all plot points served a purpose. It was complicated and there were layers, but it didn’t feel unnecessarily messy as some of these types of books can be.
Thank you Celadon Books for the digital ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Locust Lane is a standard domestic suspense read.

I did enjoy it! If you like a slow burn with some neighborhood drama this book is for you!

Several povs keep it interesting for sure!

In a wealthy New England neighborhood, the death of Eden Perry puts the residents under the spotlight. Quickly, suspicions fall upon the three teenagers Eden was partying with - sweet but unstable Hannah, popular bully Jack, and outsider Christopher. When Christoper is arrested, the parents turn on each other, willing to risk anything for their kids.

Amidon's domestic thriller is more of a family drama than thriller, feeling like a less-satisfying version of Liane Moriarty's popular books. Locust Lane focuses solely on the parents, each desperately trying to protect their own, causing the truth to get tangled up and lost. However, the fractured storytelling with so many point-of-views resulted in a lot of backtracking, slowing the pace too much.

Locust Lane is a neighbourhood thriller set in Massachusetts.

A young woman turns up dead in the wealthy suburb of Emerson, Massachusetts. Three teens, suspects in the investigation, were partying with Eden Perry the night she died, but all claim to have left before she passed. The parents of these teenagers will do anything to protect them, including throwing the easiest target under the bus.

This slow-burn thriller has multiple POVs, all from the parents’ perspectives.

I was not into this at first, but eventually, I became more interested in the tangled web of lies.

The character development could have been better. I kept getting two of the female characters mixed up. Their names were anagrams of each other, which did not help me keep them straight. Also, some of them made silly choices thinking they were being super clever.

There are tons of more positive reviews for this title, so you may have better luck with it than I did.

Thank you to Celadon Books for providing me with an arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

https://booksandwheels.com

I had such high hopes for this book but unfortunately I had a hard time to get through this book. I had to put as DNF.

There is no doubt that Eden Perry is dead. However the circumstances and who was involved seems to change like a kaleidoscope. Eden was with three friends, Hannah and Jack, both from affluent families, and Christopher, an outsider in every way. Christopher‘s father is an immigrant, a widower, and a successful restaurateur and Christopher seems to be accepted into this affluent community in Emerson, Massachusetts, that is,until someone has to be blamed for this shocking murder.
While it seems that Hannah, Jack, and Christopher know quite a bit more than what they are sharing, only one of them is arrested. There are no chapters narrated solely by any of the teens but we learn what happened by chapters by Michel, Christopher‘s father, Jack’s mother Celia, and Hannah‘s stepmother,Alice. All three adults will do what they can to save their children, even if it means one of them will shoulder the blame.
Eden‘s mother Danielle is also trying to come to terms with her daughter’s death. Patrick, a man who tragically lost his own daughter maybe able to shed some light on this murder too. I think Patrick’s story tore my heart apart the most. No spoilers but the way this ended,it made me mad and sad at times. Trying to figure out what each character was hiding and how far they would go to protect their children,was an ever changing puzzle.
Did I like how it ended? Not really mostly because it was so sad and I wished it had a different conclusion for four of the characters. It did keep me guessing but seriously you couldn’t pay me to live on the fictitious Locust Lane. It’s a slow burn that I’m still thinking about days after finishing it. A story that provided me with a lot to think about.

Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Pub date: January 17, 2023

After a night of partying in their affluent New England suburb, three high school friends become murder suspects when they are the last people to see a young woman alive. The investigation threatens to uncover secrets about each of their families and everyone has something to hide. How far will they go to protect themselves? Not everyone is who they appear to be.

This book is told in alternating POVs of the parents in the story. I didn’t really connect with any of them, which seemed to be the point as they are not likable characters. There are a lot of characters and different POVs to keep track of, but telling the story through the parent’s point of view added to the mystery for me.

This was a slow burn with subtle tension. The chapters seemed really long and took me quite a while to get through, but I was still wrapped up in the mystery and had to know what happened.

I did enjoy the major neighborhood and family drama. It all wove together nicely and the cliffhangers at the end of the chapters kept me on the edge of my seat. The ending surprised me, but I was definitely left wanting more. The open ending left me with SO many questions.

Some pretty heavy topics are included in this book. It also dives deep into race, class, and privilege. I didn’t mind this at all, but I felt like there were a lot of unnecessary lines that didn’t add to the story. This really took away from the book to me.

Honestly, I have major mixed feelings about this one. It was very well written and so gripping. I really enjoyed the mystery of it all, but I couldn’t seem to move past all the unneeded comments throughout.

Although there were several things that took away from the story and weren’t for me, I still recommend it and think many people will enjoy this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for the eARC!

*Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced e-book and audiobook*

This is a slow-burning thriller that races to devastating conclusions. When a fourth youngster is killed, three teenagers are present. all disturbed adolescents. Their parents are acquainted and involved in a number of relationships. The mother of the deceased girl and the witness, who is battling alcoholism and his own grief, are also included in this narrative. Will justice be served, or will the most defenseless suffer punishment? Moving, disturbing, and painful.