Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

The Tempest Theaters, a part of a declined mall, this was bound to happen at some point, but what happened on this closing night, no one would have ever expected. A locked room mystery thriller that was quite enjoyable and hard to put down.

This wasn’t my favorite Richards’ book but it was definitely a wild ride like all her books usually are. It jumps right into it and starts the one night thriller. You do know who the killer is from the start, which if done correctly I don’t mind, but this one was a little eh for me. I did like the mixed media that was sprinkled throughout that added a little more to the story and the mystery of why. The ending was kinda meh for my liking and I did guess it early on. Overall, not my favorite but definitely not going to stop me from reading more of Richards’ books!

Initial reaction: I'll have to think on this one a little bit. I don't think it's the author's strongest work but once it found its element, managed to take off and provide a compelling story of a group of teens trapped their last day on the job in a mall with a killer. There were parts of this I liked, but it definitely started a bit rough. Glad I stuck with it to the end, though.

Full review:

"Four Found Dead" is one of several books by Natalie D. Richards I've had the opportunity to pick up, but unfortunately I found it was one of the more disappointing reads in comparison to the author's other work. It does have its moments of being compelling when it sticks the landing, so I found it worth the overarching journey, but it took seeing through a lot of flaws getting there.

The story is told primarily from the perspective of Jo, a teen who is working alongside her friends in her last shift at a movie theater located in a mall. Things become tense when Jo realizes that one of the people that are in the theater with her is carrying a gun, which she doesn't tell anyone that he's carrying. It isn't until the group hears a girl screaming that the first body is found - and the desperation to survive among the teens is afoot.

I found Jo's very clinical narration in the book, while representative of past trauma she suffered because of the death of a family member she witnessed, to be almost too static for the character during the overarching narration of things throughout the book. And this isn't necessarily representative of her reflected PTSD, which is understandable, it's more that it feels like the way it's written feels detached for the overarching narration of the book. (I don't think the audiobook did much better with conveying this, which I listened to in addition to reading my galley copy.) Threadbare details of the space they're occupying, not enough character development of the side characters to get to truly know them, though the attention to the way the characters are killed off and uncovering of trauma is detailed and harrowing. Meandering moments while they're trying to escape sometimes feel repetitive and off.

One other problem is I didn't understand why Jo didn't reveal that the main person who nobody liked in this had a gun. She saw it and told no one for a good portion of time that made it hard for me to understand why she didn't at least tell someone that it was suspicious. I understand she's a teen that's been through significant trauma, but...that felt like the main sticking point, and I couldn't suspend my disbelief for that.

I thought that the representation of a seizure disorder was well done in this book for the most part, that felt realistic (especially since one of the characters trying to survive in the group with them needs assistance). And the desperation of the teens trying to escape closed off sections of the abandoned mall with respect to avoiding the killer to be realistic in some of the heavier hitting moments. I found that it became more compelling as the narrative marched to its conclusion, but there were several moments where the pacing felt sluggish just getting to the more intense spaces.

In the end, I think it could have been a lot stronger with more character and environment development, tighter pacing, and answering questions that feel like were unanswered by the narrative's end. It was one of the more disappointing reads I had for this year. Hopefully the next one from the author lands better for me.

Overall score: 2.5/5 stars.

Note: I received this as an ARC from NetGalley from the publisher, but I also listened to the audiobook from my local library.

A pulse-pounding thriller set during a movie theater's final night, where seven employees become trapped in an abandoned mall with a killer. With mounting suspense, clever cat-and-mouse games, and a perfectly creepy setting, this atmospheric thriller will keep you guessing until the final frame.

Four Found Dead was one of those books that took me a while to read – mostly because it was a case of “right book, wrong time”. I tried several times to read this book and just couldn’t stay interested. Last night, I decided I’d give it one more try before giving up and I’m glad I did. I started it at 10PM and finished at 3:45AM the next morning.

Once I was able to properly get into the book, I could not put the book down. I had to know what was going to happen next. While we didn’t get to know all of the characters well, I have to say that my favorites were Naomi, Hudson, and Jo. However, I would like to have gotten Jo’s name a bit earlier in the book than we did3, but it is what it is. And I would like to say that I hated Clayton from his first entrance into the story. So there’s that.

Four Found Dead is quite fast paced – it would have to be, considering that the events take place over the course of about 9 hours. Once it pulls you in, you’re hooked. You need to know how these people are getting out of this mess they’re in.

I found the little “intermission” notes interesting. They left me wondering exactly who it was who was telling this story, or at least, who was giving their two-cents between some of the chapters. You will find out at the end, and trust me, it wasn’t anyone I was expecting.

The ending is great and quite interesting. There are some things that are foreshadowed earlier, but then you kind of decide that can’t be the case later… only to have it thrown in your face that it was true all along.

I gave this one 4.5 stars – it was a great book and now I’m planning to find other books by Ms. Richards as well.

This was fine! I think its def geared more toward teens. It just didnt really do anything for me personally

Natalie D. Richards always brings the suspense and thrills with her novels and Four Found Dead was no different. I was not expecting an active shooter story like this, but it had me on the edge of my seat the entire time!

The story follows Jo and her coworkers at a theater in a defunct mall that is closing down for the final time when chaos ensues! Locked in and no where to go, her and her friends have to outwit and outlive the killer. I cannot image being locked into a mall and running from someone with a gun, but that is exactly what we got and the suspense level was high. It gave me chest pains!

What I really love is the different characters. There was a personality and a type for everyone. You have the quiet ones, the outspoken ones, popular, unpopular, etc. We got to see a little bit from each of them and how they handled different parts of this crisis. It's always interesting how you think people will react and who is going to become the leader. Richards, as usual, wrote characters I loved and was rooting for the entire time. I was breathing heavily and biting my nails until the very end,

Richards is the queen of Teen Thrillers and Suspense in my book and I am never disappointed in her stories. If you want a nail-biting, heart-pumping suspense thriller, Richards is the one to look to. I'll be waiting anxiously for her next book as usual!

I thought I would like this more than I did. The main character's inner monologue was a bit redundant and annoying. And if it was every explained why this dude was killing everyone, I must've missed it.

I was riveted. It was like watching two freight trains destined for a head-on collision, but riveted I was and only took a few hours to read this 350+ page novel. Yes, I will continue to read Natalie D. Richards' novels.

When I started this, I'll be honest, I thought this was going to be a lot better than it ended up being. After reading the description, the story had a great premise, and I loved how we know from the start that four of the people would end up dead. It made me wonder the whole time, guessing who the four will be. My mind was going back and forth the entire time trying to figure it out. However, the killer being revealed right from the start took away a lot of excitement and suspense for me. I think this would have had a better outcome if that was a mystery to the reader. There were also a few "twists" that didn't feel surprising at all. I also took issue with how repetitive the writing was. Many of the lines were repeated many times and quickly lost their impact. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was just okay, it was a quick YA thriller read that I think teens would enjoy. I feel like it got really repetitive, dragged on, and used a lot of the same phrases too many times (the FMC reiterated that she had been in the same room as a dead body before what felt like 50+ times). I thought the twist was a little too predictable and was waiting for a bigger twist that never happened. I liked the idea of the book but I don’t feel like there was enough set up for me to really care about the characters, so when the characters died, I wasn’t really invested enough to care. I would recommend this for a teenager wanting to get into reading thrillers but not a well-read adult.

Oh, I had a really fantastic time reading this book! The synopsis had me hooked, and once I started reading, I couldn't put it down I needed to know how things were going to progress and how they were going to be dealt with! It was amazing to read!

I really enjoy reading Natalie D. Richard books, I have from the beginning, and this latest mystery was so thrilling! The idea of being trapped in this shut down mall with someone who has killed, and just try to survive, yeah, I loved it!

The way that the story wove between the present and events in Jo's past was really great, and helped inform why she was doing what she was doing, as well as added a bit more context which I really enjoyed, and made that ending even better!

Really enjoyed seeing how this book came to a close, there had been so many tense moments, and I liked the resolution, and where we were leaving these characters. It came together really well, and was just so much fun to read!

This was a wonderful read, and I can't wait to read more by Natalie D. Richards!

This was such a great book! The characters, the pace, the suspense all had me gripping my kindle till the end. I was really loving this book. Highly recommend if looking for a quick thriller that you can easily escape into that will have you breathless.

An engaging read that I thoroughly enjoyed! Highly recommend and will purchase several physical and digital copies for library collections. Thank you!!

I loved the idea of this one but the execution was lacking. The idea of creepy closed down mall was such a great setting. Unfortunately you know the outcome (four found dead) and that makes the book a cat and mouse game but it just didn’t hold my attention.

This was an edge of your seat thriller that I loved from beginning to end.

I love the twists and turns and cannot recommend this one enough.

Natalie D, Richards writes great YA thrillers, and I would definitely recommend to fans of her other books!

I received an e-ARC from the publisher

This was a scary book, which is so interesting because you know right away who the killer is, but that doesn’t matter when you don’t know who is going to die or who is going to survive and how they’re going to get out, and the setting of an abandoned mall was a perfect backdrop to the thrills.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this review copy in exchange for an honest opinion. Review has been posted on Amazon.

Murder in a locked theater? All about it. I did like that we find out who the killer is right away. The book was entertaining, but something was missing for me. I did however like this authors writing style, and I will definitely read more of her books in the future.