This was a twisty, unpredictable, interesting and quick read.

I enjoyed that the story felt fresh, but I struggled with the ending. Overall this was a great read and one that was new without being TOO over the top in trying to blow your mind.

The premise was unique and overall - a job well done.

The frustration I felt for and because of the parents in this book was the most memorable part of it for me. What do you do when your children are involved in something terrible and life-changing, and you suspect that they're not telling you the full truth? What do you do when communication with your loved ones fails and you just can't make it work again? What would you be willing to do to protect your family, even if it comes at the expense of others? What can you do when the people keeping you from justice are rich and influential? Locust Lane is a fantastic mystery and an intriguing exploration of the decisions people can make when lives are at stake.

Thank you to Celadon Books and NetGalley for providing a digital copy of Locust Lane in exchange for an honest review. Locust Lane will hit shelves January 17, 2023.

💫 𝗟𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗲 💫 ⁣
By Stephen Amidon⁣
Publisher: Caledon Books (Jan 17.2023)⁣
Genre: thriller ⁣
⁣
𝘈 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘴. 𝘓𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘸𝘦𝘣 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘧 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘵, 𝘢𝘧𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘴 𝘮𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘯. ⁣
⁣
〰️Debt and grief stricken Michel with his culinary skills and desires.⁣
⁣
〰️Alice with her perfect life in the big mansion and stepdaughter. Running from the early years of her life straight into the ease of a life of luxury… who cares if she finds some fun on the side?! ⁣
⁣
〰️Celia, wife and mother. For me, the hardest character to connect to as I wanted to pull her hands from her eyes. ⁣
⁣
And mostly, the trio of teens: Hannah, Jack and Christopher who are the last to see Eden alive. What happened that night is the mystery to be solved and the lies keep piling up. ⁣
⁣
𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸….. ⁣
⁣
𝘉𝘪𝘨 𝘓𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘓𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘒𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘔𝘺 𝘕𝘢𝘮𝘦 (𝘺𝘦𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘪𝘳) 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘔𝘊 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘣𝘯𝘰𝘹𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 (𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘑𝘢𝘤𝘬)… 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘠𝘌𝘛 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦. 𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦….I hate ambiguous endings.

A tiny New England town is rocked when a women is found murdered.

How can a women be found in this affluent town! As the details start to come forward everyone is in protective mode.

Eden was partying with teens the night before, so of course there are suspects. Hannah, Jack and Christopher and their parents all have a motive. Will they do anything to protect themselves and their children or turn on each other?

This story is complicated and woven that there are so many possibilities and will keep you turning the page to find out what’s next.

I really enjoyed this novel and look forward to more.


Due out January 17, 2023. Thank you Celadon, NetGalley, Macmillan audio and author Stephen Amidon for this advanced copy.

Stephen Amidon, in Locust Lane, introduces readers to what we know of the world as it is now. Where the truth is not always the truth, reality is now the best story that the media, the Internet, and the police puzzle together (from real evidence or “circumstantial”), the truth now what those in power agree it is. Where parents think they know their children, who they are, what they are capable of and when they commit atrocious acts, cover up for them rather than have them ruin their image, no matter who they make the victim, who is now considered, “the criminal”.

The story is narrated by four different parents, each a parent of a child who was on Locust Lane the night of a young girl, Eden’s murder. The first story that is told to the police, however, is a lie, a tale spun to protect and reality, compounded by power and the parents taking sides. Unbeknownst to some of the group (other than the those involved) is a secret romantic relationship which binds two of the characters in a way that is not known by the whole group. And, while they may be able to uncover the truth, readers worry that who controls the narrative of what happened, not the truth, may put the wrong killer behind bars.

Along with the four parents who narrate the book there are two other parents who narrate, both still a part of what happened on Locust Lane but in different ways. One, while not one of the teenagers present at the murder, has his own demons, in regards to his late daughter, that he is dealing with. He now drowns all his days, his feelings, everything, in alcohol. But, he was there on Locus Lane the night of the murder present for something but what, he doesnt yet know. He hasn't even realized what he has really seen, yet. All he knows is that he knows something and because of this that he needs to be involved. The one thing he does not trust is the police as they have never handled things well, in the past, whenever he or his loved ones had run-ins.

The second is the mother of the dead girl. And, of all the characters present, that she is going through the worst turmoil at the time where the story takes place, in the end, leaves me with the most questions. Because, of all the parents who share what they go through, this parent, while ending up losing her daughter, loses the least of all, in my humble opinion. But, you will have to read it to disagree with my call here.

The unfortunate points in the book, for me, were that a young teen, a good teen, dominated by his best friend Jack, had the finger pointed directly at him. With Jack’s past, with Jack’s rich and prominent family, there little question he is the murderer (but, is he) especially because of previous situations with Jack that were swept under the rung, never discovered or known to many. There are a few who know the truth of Jack and it keeps readers hoping that this might be enough to save the accused from arrest? Maybe the police catch the real killer?

Then there is Hannah, Jack's girlfriend. As much as Jack dominates his friend, her, he dominates even more. Both of their stories of what happened on Locust Lane that night match up, the finger points directly at the accused, Christopher a man who, before this, no one would ever think of committing murder. The fact the family of the accused and the accused himself, is not American, that they immigrated after the death of his mother does not help the situation as they are racially harassed by the public and Internet who have deemed him quilty on face alone (literally, because of the way he looks, where he comes from).

About halfway through the book (as I had a hard time putting it down, once it got started) I was forced to put down the book. I get very emotional reading about injustice, well, really, everything about it, whether watching a television show, and I need to take a step back. But, I couldn't stay away from the book for a day, wanting to prevent further spoilers after this, I will only say that the injustice mounts and that readers only find themselves in a situation (within the book) we are very familiar with today. One where the truth is lost because of the media and the people who want to control it, who can produce the best truth.

And, Stephen’s Amidon’s Locust Lane only further illustrates with the narratives of the parents many issues we deal with when it comes to raising children such as what we can and cannot control for our children. Here though, when we look at the personalities of the parents, the way in which they were raised and the things that they do for their children in the book we wonder why some parents go further, in what they will do, then others might? What makes some parents do anything for their child, get away with anything and is it really for the child that they do these things, of themselves? It makes me curious, for these characters, parents and children, what their lives would be like in the future, after all that has happened?

For instance, the entire issue of the book, the murder, I believe stems for one that happened in the past. Out of the parents of a child, and the way in which he was able to get away with something he was not punished, in any way for. That a prior past incident was swept under the rug. At the close of the book, when the killer is unmasked and speaks of their crime sympathy, empathy is sought in their speech. As if they had no other choice then to do what they had done. In not seeing how their past actions got them there I do not think any lesson was won, in this sad murder mystery full of suspense and emotional. For me, this book was like climbing Everest and not being able to breathe.

There are so many things I could give readers to think about when reading Locust Lane. Stephen Amidon is now an author, to me, that will rival books by Wally Lamb and Jodi Picoult for the way in which he has been able to produce an emotive story through the use of characters that makes us think and feel. And, as this is my first book read by Stephen Amidon, I will forever wait for his new tales. This is a book readers don't want to miss and one you will want on your shelf, definitely a great gift for the holidays if you have one to buy for a book lover as this book would be loved by any type of reader. I just hope readers can learn better lessons from the book than the characters who, unfortunately, are so realistic of society today.

I have been provided with a review copy of Locust Lane from NetGalley for an impartial review. Oh my gosh this story was just epic. I just couldn’t put this story down and I was just captivated by everything that was taking place. The author truly outdid herself with this story. This story just had my emotions all over the place and I am so sad to see this book end. I just can’t wait to see what’s next from this author.

This was a good read - with a great twist at the end that is totally believable. The story is one that embraces sadness, and references the lack of consequences for those children who have wealthy and powerful parents. This is a book I definitely recommend for a weekend read

Stephen Amidon leads readers into a propulsive murder mystery about power, influence and the lengths parents will go to protect their children in his book “Locust Lane.” In the idyllic town of Emerson, Massachusetts Eden Perry is murdered. Three teenagers find themselves the prime suspects and what ensues is a tangled web of lies and corruption as the families involved seek justice for their children. Amidon weaves a tight, calculating plot in this addictive slow burn mystery. The book leaves a mark on you. I can’t decide what affected me most—the events surrounding the murder, the quick moral fall of so many of the characters, or the biting exposure of power and privilege. Told from multiple points of view, "Locust Lane" is a suspenseful, thought-provoking and unsettling read that grabs you from the start and doesn’t let go. 4.5 stars.

Book: Locust Lane
Author: Stephen Amidon
Publisher: Celadon Books
Pub Date: January 17, 2023

This was a solid read with a great plot. There are several characters but I found it easy to follow. (We all know I usually don’t like multiple characters to chase around.) I wasn’t able to read this as quickly as I normally read but it was a very intriguing story that held my attention. I did have to read the last chapter several times and I honestly still don’t know what it means.

Thank you Celadon Books and NetGalley for this sneak peak! Publication date is January 17, 2023.

This one is definitely a slow burn, but still keeps you engaged throughout.

A young woman is murdered in the upper middle class town of Emerson. Three teens - Christopher, Jack and Hannah - were with her that night prior to her death. Each family quick to deny their child was involved and wanting to get out of being connected to this as quickly as possible.

This book definitely shows how money, power and influence allows the truth to be manipulated.
It is wrong and sad. And also happens in the real world.

This is a new to me author but I definitely will check out more by him. There were quite a few characters, but I felt it was easy to follow them and learn each of their stories. And it was difficult to know who to believe. I changed my mind several times and still wasn't correct on what happened.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Celadon Books and Macmillan audio for both an ARC and ALC copy. I was engrossed and able to switch between the two and finish in a day!

Surrounding a small group of friends and their families, we follow the investigation into the murder of a local girl named Eden Perry. This novel is told from different points of view: from the parents trying to keep their kids safe to the teens that were with Eden the night when someone killed her. To what lengths will they all go to protect each other and their town?

A very well-written book, but sometimes a bit confusing while trying to keep all the characters and their children straight. While a slow burn, I felt that the plot flowed smoothly and kept me interested enough to keep reading. I usually like a book that’s to the point and not one that keeps you guessing, but each character's story felt unique and lent authenticity to the narrative.

Overall, an enjoyable read. It wasn’t my usual quick read, but it captured my attention nonetheless.

The publisher provided ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Billed as "...a taut and utterly propulsive story about the search for justice and the fault lines of power and influence in a seemingly idyllic town ... 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.... With a brilliantly woven, intricately crafted plot that gathers momentum on every page, this is superb storytelling told in terse prose—a dynamic read that is both intensely gripping and deeply affecting."

I beg to differ. SO DISAPPOINTED.

Told from different points of view; it did take me a while to sort out all the characters--and then they stuck in my head although at times I thought this book was all over the place. And, I probably only liked two of the characters--Danielle and Patrick--each with her/his problems--especially the latter--as an alcoholic.

A story of families, dysfunction, and damaged characters. Secrets and lies. Prejudice.

The worm turned more than halfway through and I suspected that there would be another twist; I was correct. But, it didnt do enough to win me over.

Mediocre at best. Written well enough, but. A 2.5 not rounding up because that--to me--means read.

And the end--no spoiler from me but--UGH.

A girl has been found dead in a wealthy town. No one seems to know what happened, yet all the rich parents are rallying behind their kids just in case. This book had a lot to say about social class and the differences between lives and behaviors within the classes. It was so good, I read it in a day and I've been recommending it to everyone!

This story started with an intense scene--a man out driving hits a dog and in search of the four legged victim sees a dark figure watching in the distance--that sent shivers through me. Things only turn more gloomy.

This was more of a mystery than a thriller. So many red herrings popped up. There was a lot of emotional turmoil too. A pretty good read, however, the chapters were jumbled and there were a lot of characters to keep straight.

Our neighbors are some of our close’s friends, pun not intended. We are always helping each other out and we’ve grown close since we’ve lived here.

In affluent suburbs you would never think that bad things can happen. But that’s exactly what happens when a young woman ends up dead and several local kids are thrown under the microscope of suspicion. When one of them is held and arrested secrets start to come to light. Hannah was a sweat girl, but she has an unstable history. Jack is a popular kid, but he has a mean streak. Christopher seems fine, but he’s an outsider struggling to fit in. Could one of them killed the girl? What lengths will their families go to protect their children?

Per the publishers if you love Mystic River by Dennis Lehane and Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng you will enjoy this one. I agree with that as I did enjoy both those books and then this one. This was a fast-paced read leaving you wondering if you can trust anyone. This story was both gripping and really made you think – I loved it! This one kept me guessing and sitting on the edge of my seat trying to unravel the secrets. The struggle I had with this one was that there were so many POV’s expressed that it was hard to keep track. I do with that instead of the POV’s of the kid’s parents, it was from the kids themselves.

This one is coming out before you know it on January 17th, 2023. Thank you so much to @netgalley and the publisher @celadonbook, Celadon Books, for my advanced e-arc in exchange for this honest review. This is a great read.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of Locust Lane by Stephen Amidon.

When Eden, a young woman in a quiet, affluent town, turns up dead, the residents are shocked. Nothing like this happens in Emerson, MA, it's known for being so quiet and safe. But the town takes a double hit when Christopher, a quiet kid with powerful friends, is arrested for Eden's murder. But there are several people in the town that are determined to prove his innocence, even if it means exposing people who will stop at nothing to stay hidden.

Oh wow, this is a slow burn with coals that are HOT HOT HOT. As always, I love a cold, atmospheric, small town murder. The cast in this was most of what made this book so compelling. Even though the story centers around three teens, it is mostly told through the perspective of the parents, which, for me, was so relatable. All of it! I can't imagine losing a child, and I also can't imagine losing my child to life in prison. There was so much underlying tension and grief that you can't help but get pulled in also.

This one was pretty good to be honest! It exceeded my expectations and it was a good reading experience.

Comparisons from the publisher to MYSTIC RIVER and LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE are pretty bold, considering how well done both of those books are. While this didn't quite hit that high water mark for me, I found the novel well-written, engrossing, and painful in the best of ways. Painful in that you feel a palpable sense of dread at how badly this will end for a number of the characters. Pitch black dread. This slow burn thriller starts out with a man in a luxury vehicle hitting a dog, then stopping to discover a mysterious figure lurking in the tree line nearby. Later, we discover that a young girl has been murdered in the area and suspicion and blame immediately fall upon a local teen. Told from multiple perspectives, which early on was difficult to manage until the author really got into a groove. This book has lots to say, and says it poetically, heartrendingly, and with earnest grit. Highly recommended.

I wasn’t a huge fan of this book. It took me awhile to get into it. The chapters ran together and I found it confusing to follow.

Locust Lane is a mystery thriller that had me turning the pages fast! I was so eager to know where it was headed and who was responsible for the murder. I couldn’t put it down!

The book starts with a man hitting a dog while out on an early morning drive. When he gets out of the car, he’s sure he sees someone standing in the wooded area. Soon we find out that a girl, named Eden Perry, was murdered in a house nearby. The story is told by the points of view of a few different characters who all have some relationship to the murder.

I like this book because I was constantly thinking a different person was responsible. It made the story very exciting.

Locust Lane is expected to be published in January 2023. I recommend it to mystery thriller lovers. Stephen Amidon is an excellent storyteller and I definitely look forward to reading more of his books.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for providing this book to me for an honest review. All opinions are my own.