Superficially, "Locust Lane" is like a lot of contemporary mysteries -- multiple characters sharing multiple points of view on a crime, all colored by their self-motives. But Stephen Amidon's characters are sharply drawn, and they evolve over the course of the book so that a reader's opinion of them continuously shifts. The crime here is the murder of a young woman, found dead after partying eith some teens. The parents get involved, and soon seem as culpable as the actual killer. Along the way, "Locust Lane" also proves to be a poignant exploration of parental grief. Only the ending is unsatisfying, leaving important threads dangling -- purposely, but frustratingly.

Locust Lane is a murder mystery set in the small, affluent Boston suburb of Emerson, Massachusetts. After a young woman dies, three teens are connected to the murder and their parents deal with the fallout.

Despite being marketed as a mystery/thriller, this book has little suspense. The story really focuses on the aftermath of the murder and reads more like a domestic drama. Essentially, what I expected and what I read were two different things that I will not hold against the author. (But publishers, do better by your authors and market a book accurately!)

Locust Lane is told through multiple points of view: the parents of three teens who are suspects in the murder, the victim’s mother, and an unrelated witness. In all, there are about seven narrators, although they do not receive equal time. Because their mundane names, I would sometimes forget which name belonged to whom. However, once I started reading the chapter, it was clear. I do think that the number of narrators (as well as the writing) limited the characters’ development. The characters largely felt like silhouettes and cliches, rather than fully-formed people.

While the drama that constituted the plot was entertaining, I kept waiting for something actually compelling to occur, particularly after the strong prologue. (Please note that the book starts with the repeated injury of a dog that was very difficult to read.) Alas, nothing ever transpired. In addition, Locust Lane just petered out. There was no real conclusion, no ending, and no clarity about the final events. It almost seemed unfinished, although I am sure Amidon intended to leave it up to readers’ interpretations.

My largest disappointment with Locust Lane was the missed opportunity to say something substantial about suburban culture. The story includes themes of race, privilege, and addiction, but nothing is really said about them. In all honesty, looking back, it kind of made for a pointless book since there was no suspense to make it truly a mystery, no originality to make it a compelling narrative, and no social commentary to make it a worthwhile piece of contemporary fiction.

Overall, Locust Lane is a very readable book but left me wanting more. I recommend it if you are looking for a parents-acting-badly-in-the-name-of-protecting-their-kids book. Otherwise, I think there are more worthwhile books that have either better mysteries or something meaningful to say.

Rating: 2.5 stars

Such a great book. I really enjoyed this one.
A quiet suburban neighborhood, a dead young woman, and a group of kids. People will do anything to save their families, and in this neighborhood that is quite the case.

So I won't lie I was a little intimated by this book when I saw it was written from multiple POVs. I can handle one or two characters POVs but once it hits four, I usually can't follow along, but in Locust Lane, I was able too. There is a LOT going on in this book. A lot, but somehow, it doesn't seem overwhelming as some books tend to do.

Its a character book as well and although there are a lot of characters, its easy to keep track of and each of them are extremely well written. I would have liked to hear more from the kids about everything going on, but the focus was on the parents. It still was a really good read!

Thank you so much to #Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC

A well-executed murder mystery with intricate plotting and told from multiple POVs. The ending isn’t your typical ending in fiction, but it makes perfect sense when you consider the real world and how life plays out in ways that aren’t fair.

This was a slow burn book about a murdered teenage girl and the three friends who had been partying with her the night before. There was great character development throughout the book as we get to know the teenagers and their families. The book was a little long, but overall I enjoyed it. Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publish for an advanced copy of this book in return for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book! I was lucky enough to do the LFL drop off, so it was really cool to share it with friends. It made for an AMAZING book club read!! There was so much to talk about and pick apart.

This book really just took me for a ride. I loved the build up, the character development, and the writing. I would definitely read more from this author!

I had some trouble getting into this one as on the very first page a man hits a dog with his car (the dog is fine) but harm to animals on page 1 is enough to make me want to DNF. Then there were the POVs- 5 right out of the gate, flipping back and forth within chapters, which was at least 1 too many POVs for me. Then there were the sheer number of characters- each POV had a spouse/child or multiple children/coworker/friend. The base storyline was interesting but it was just hard to follow and I had to crowdsource to confirm the dog was OK before I read forward.

Wonderfully written but be prepared this is depressing. I am looking forward to what the author continues to write because this was really well done.
.
Thank you Celadon and Netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
.

Emerson seems like any other suburb in Massachusetts, but when the body of a young woman is found the peace and tranquility of this idyllic town is shattered. Four people were hanging out that night, leaving three suspects in the detective’s sights. There is Jack, the popular boy with a bit of a history; Christopher, the son of an immigrant on the bottom of the social ladder; and Hannah, a sweet girl with a history of her own. Each has their own motivations to keep suspicion off them, motivations driven by their parents…parents that have a lot to lose as well.

I found Locust Lane to be really good, right up until the very end, which I found to be incredibly disappointing. The characters were realistic; they had real flaws and problems with real reactions and motivations, and they were well developed. I especially liked Patrick. I felt he was a tragic individual with a giant heart. All of the characters have a voice as well, each sharing in the narration of the events surrounding Eden’s death. Unfortunately I found the murderer to be a little bit of a cliche, making it too obvious of a choice. Without spoilers, I found other aspects of the ending unsatisfying.

I wanted to like this book more than I did. I was super into the synopsis and thought the book started well, but it just was not for me. I thought all of the drama and intrigue surrounding the “who-dunnit” was a little too detailed and a little too much. I would say this is more domestic drama than edge of my seat thriller, though I can see why other readers loved it so much.
Thank you to Netgalley and Celadon for the opportunity to read this in exchange for my honest opinion.

I struggle with domestic thrillers, and I’ve determined they aren’t really my thing. I couldn’t find purchase to relate to the characters and their lives in the story outside of the main plot of the murder. I would have loved less of the drama of the parents, and more around what happened with the murder. The audiobook narrator did a great job though!

After reading the synopsis, I really wanted to like this book, but it far from expectations. I struggled to finish it. Many aspects seemed unreasonable. Twitter and the internet are through around all the time. It's like they only exist in the small town of Emerson, not the world. This novel does bring light to how social media can be easily used to destroy a person, whether the comments are true or not. The characters are superficial at best, with little development. There is not happy ending, no package with a cute little bow. This was a nice change to what is the current trend in the mystery/thriller genre.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Cassandra Campbell, too. Cassandra's narration was great, even though the novel fell short. I would read and recommend Cassandra as a narrator.

I want to thank Netgalley and Celadon Books for an ARC, and Macmillan Audio for an advanced audiobook.

I was hearing lots of buzz about Locust Lane, so I was beyond excited about receiving an ARC! Having never read any of Stephen Amidon’s novels, I didn’t really know what to expect. The book started out pretty interesting and as the story surrounding the murder of a young woman in a small town unfolds, that’s where the interest stopped for me. I wanted to love this book so badly, but it just never clicked for me. It was difficult for me to finish and I found myself not really caring about who committed the murder. I formed no attachment to any of the characters and felt it jumped around more than a lot of books with alternating POV’s that I’ve read. I really dislike giving negative reviews, as I respect the amount of blood, sweat and tears it must take to write a book. Even though Locust Lane wasn’t my cup of tea, doesn’t mean that it wasn’t well written or a good story. I appreciate the opportunity to have read this book. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

Locust Lane was a very character driven, slow burn mystery. I found there were a lot of characters introduced right away and it was a little hard to keep them straight at first, but once the story gets going, you will be staying up all night to find out whodunnit.

Good thriller. Wish I loved the ending as much as I did the rest of the book, would have given 5 stars if I did. Thank you to Netgalley for the early read.

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.

Locust Lane is filled with secrets and a heck of a lot of drama. There are several POV as the story is told from the parent’s perspective. Parents who are trying to protect their children, or their own secrets? I found almost all of the characters to be unlikeable. After finishing the story, I wonder if that was done on purpose?

I think this one would have benefited from multiple narrators. With only one I had some trouble keeping up with who was currently speaking.

I liked how everything wrapped up. The ending could be taken different ways. I’m still debating on it, and I think would be an interesting book club discussion!

This was my first book of Amidon’s.

I love domestic and “neighborhood’” thrillers but this one missed the mark for me. Told in many POV’s it got a little confusing and redundant. I also hate when there is an animal killed or injured so that wasn’t fun right off the bat.

Thank you for the arc.

This was just okay for me. The first chapter definitely hooked me in, but then I was left confused. There are a lot of POVs, all of which are the parents of the kids involved in the murder. I would have proffered the kids POVs I think. The ending was surprising but left me annoyed and wanting more.

Thank you netgalley for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.