I am always reluctant to read books about shootings because I am terrified of guns. Plus, in recent years, with the sheer amount of shootings around the world I do not like reading about them even if it's fictional. My anxiety is horrible and sometimes even reading about fake shootings will create massive anxiety for me to where I do not want to leave the house. Therefore, I try to stay clear of novels that involve gun violence.

However, Four Found Dead seemed interesting enough so I thought I would give it a try..... but just like in other novels about gun violence I had an incredibly hard time getting through this book. The novel ran incredibly slow and was gut-wrenching for me. It was just not for me and a topic that can be triggering to my own mental health. I should have realized this and stayed clear of a gun violence book but I wanted to give it a try.

First of all, you find out who the killer is from the first page of the book which I think almost became detrimental to the book. It made the story less interesting. The only thriller aspect the book truly held was you didn't know who would ultimately die in the end or if all the teens would make it out of the mall. Knowing the killer right away took from the excitement. The story is nothing short of predictable. I just did not jive with this story or the characters.

I don't know where to start. I usually like Natalie D. Richards books but I did not care for this one. First off, the amount of deaths expected is literally in the title, we just don't know who they will be. We start the book off with on the last night the local theatre is open, the creepy manager goes into a rage over work not getting done and then they are visited by his angry wife. The main character sees a gun tucked in the manager's shirt but doesn't tell anyone, yet she was traumatized by the death of her father at the hand of a gunman. Now kill the lights and queue a scream. A coworker has been strangled by the manager in front of another coworker but no harm comes to the second? So now we know who the killer is and he is now after everyone else, not exactly sure why except no one likes him. So they make their way into the adjoining skeleton of a mall that has three levels where the second person from our party meets their demise. The group of employees spend a good majority of the book moving around, hiding, listening for the killer, and getting some bumps and cuts but no real action. One of the party goes missing, the group finds some blood and assumes the worst. The party continues to search for a way out, and there are explanations (not really plausible ones) on why they can't find an exit. Then when the group finally figures out how to summon help, here comes the killer with the gun and the missing member of the party. We find out that this all happened because the manager/killer (a married man, so an adult) was having a fling with the 16 year old homeschooled girl (yuck and disgusting). The man's wife found out along with the two dead coworkers (who threatened to turn him into the authorities), and now he has to kill the others because they know he killed the coworkers. So instead of going to jail for paedophilia, he would just be going to jail for murder? To me, this book is not realistic. There is a lot of the group wandering around and listening for the killer, who runs up and down the stairwells a lot. Sorry to say, I got bored. And then when there was some suspense happening, it died quickly. Sorry, I just didn't care for this book.

Four Found Dead is strictly a thriller, and I think that the absence of mystery detracted from this story's allure.
There is certainly a heap of adrenaline intertwined with the plot yet by the end I found myself burnt out. Four Found Dead is one great big mouse chase. The aggressor is the same from the beginning until the end and every time tragedy strikes, there is no surprise. I feel like I just woke up from a nightmare, where I was stuck in an endless loop of unfortune that lacked any true creativity.
It's not a bad story, it just really isn't that great either. Like a dinner with alright food but served at room temperature. Where you walk away, not entirely pleased but no longer hungry.

This was a great book! Fast paced, quick, thrilling all in one! I will definitely be reading more of this author.

Six teenaged movie theater workers are trapped in an abandoned and boarded-up mall with a killer after one of their coworkers is found dead. Their keys and phones are locked in the safe at work by their potentially murderous manager, the fire exits are blocked to keep out vagrants, and construction remnants and gutted stores leave little to work with to find a way out.

For a premise that promises a lot of tension, this flatlined quite a bit through the book. Two high-tension events happened in the first 20% and then next 60% of the book was essentially the trapped teenagers running to different places in the mall to hide, getting found, and then doing it all over again.

The POV character Riley was very one note, her whole personality seemingly tied to a traumatic event from her childhood. Which, like, yeah of course that’s going to come up while she’s experiencing another trauma, but there wasn’t much else to her. Every single scene it seemed she made some reference to what happened when she was a kid. Everything she said, did, or even thought tied back to her memories. I wanted more complexity to her, something else to make her feel more real.

Overall I thought it was an okay thriller with an interesting setting and situation that could have been utilized better.

Did you ever think an abandoned mall could feel claustrophobic? I certainly didn’t before reading this book but now I’m a believer. I love creepy abandoned places so when I heard there was a ya slasher (although nobody was actually killed by stabbing) set in a movie theater and mall the last day it was ever open I knew I had to pick it up. It didn’t disappoint. The tension is high from the very beginning bc our main female mc is very cautious around guns (and with a huuuuuge hero complex) due to past trauma. But don’t worry, like any good teen slasher the action picks up pretty quickly.

What plays out next is a great combo of tension and claustrophobia waiting to see what happens next (which is definitely the scariest part of scary movies/stories imo) and action. The abandoned mall turns into a truly terrifying house of horrors as the MCs try to find a way out while avoiding a man who’s clearly had a mental break.

I enjoyed the formatting of the book too. Most of it is from Jo’s perspective but every now and then you get newspaper reports and letters from the aftermath and bits and pieces of a letter written by one of the MCs about that night.

If you take this book for what it is, a fun ya thriller, you will definitely enjoy the ride.

This book was interesting from the beginning to the end! I couldn’t put it down I needed to know what was going to happen in the end!

I received an ARC of this title from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and were not affected by the free copy.

It's Jo's last day at the theater, and she and her co-workers are finishing up their final shift before heading off for pancakes. But after the lights go out and Jo finds the body of her co-worker, all they can do is try to survive. And in an abandoned mall, with boarded up exists and hiding spots for all, survival looks less and less likely.

I loved the premise; the execution, not so much. We know from the beginning who the murderer is, and strongly suspect the motive, which leaves little to puzzle out. Unfortunately, I didn't make any super strong connections with any of the characters, though I did like the PTSD representation with Jo. The pacing was pretty well done, I didn't ever get so bored I struggled to finish the book.

All in all, it's fine, but not for me.

Natalie D. Richards has done it again, I’ve read every book she has brought out and I loved each and every one.

Four found dead starts off with Joe and her coworkers getting ready to close up the movie theatre for the final time, the manager Clayton is a hot headed bully and we witness him and his wife arguing before they each storm off then the lights go out and the suspense really kicks off.

This book has a very adrenaline feeling to it, you are rooting for the characters but you’re also wondering who is going to be the four who are killed. The premise and storyline were suspenseful and it was a fast paced read which keeps you engaged. The characters were well written and some I particularly rooted for especially Naomi and Joe.

Definitely a quick read but a well written thrill/suspense read that’ll keep you going to the end.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and Sourcebooks Fire for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

I feel mixed about Four Found Dead.
While it was a quick read and I finished it quickly.
I just couldn't stand the characters which made me struggle to finish the book.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really like Natalie D. Richards' writing style. It's quick and easy and pulls you in. Now, I'm all for a story that gets right to the point but in this case, I wish we'd gotten to know the characters a little bit more before the action started. Most of them were flat while the killer was over the top. I also struggled with visualizing the mall, despite the detail given to it. Overall, it was still an enjoyable, fast-paced read.

I had been a fan of Natalie Richards since she had first started writing these thriller young adult novels. Unfortunately, I feel like the quality of the plot, characters, and writing has gone down. I find myself unable to continue through with this novel. Richards used to be a must read author for myself, I would look forward to her new releases but I can't get into them anymore.

This book had a lot of potential to be a really good thriller and honestly , I thought this was going to go way better than it did.

I loved how we know from the start four people would end up dead. It made me wonder the whole time, guessing who the four will be, so that was a great premise because it makes you want to read to see what happens.

But the fact that we also knew who the killer was from the start took away all the excitement. And a couple of "surprises" we got were not at all surprising, you could spot them very easily, and they were pretty predictable after a while.

The writing was rather repetitive, which was kind of frustrating. At the half way point I kind of lost interest was honestly kind looking to finish it to just finish it.

Although I still did like it, the premise was good and the writing was good as well.

I have read every other book by Natalie D. Richards and they have all been fantastic. This book is no exception. It kept me on the edge of my seat the entire book and when I thought I knew what was going to happen.... something totally different happened. I absolutely love this book.

Do you like your book with lots of suspense, a storyline that makes you hold your breath, a who-done-it where you know mid-way through the book who the bad guy is but there’s nothing you can do to save the others?

This is that book. I was hooked from page one. This is the book that I literally started at 4 o’clock in the afternoon and continued to read until I was done. Yes, I was reading on my Kindle at 2:30 in the morning.

The main characters are every boy and every girl you’ve ever met. The bad guy is someone you knew, maybe even know now. It’s that guy that makes you a little uneasy, a little uncomfortable, the guy you know you don’t want to have anything to do with, but you don’t know why.

The setting is amazing, an old abandoned mall that’s been shut down and boarded up, and the author’s descriptions are so visual that you’re there, you’re actually there. This book would make an awesome movie!

There were parts of this book where I was holding my breath, waiting to see what was going to happen. If you like thrillers and suspenseful reads, I highly recommend Four Found Dead by Natalie D. Richards.

Thank you, NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.


This book was a bit of a letdown for me, sadly.
From the start, we know who is the murderer and that takes away a lot of the mystery and appeal. There are a couple of twists here and there but I was able to correctly guess some of them very early into the story, which made the reading experience not as exciting, since there was very little to unveil.
I had a personal problem with the situation of the MC. She wants to be a doctor and there is a lot of pressure from herself and others to be calm, collected and act in certain situations. I get that, but she is not even in a premed program! As a healthcare worker I wouldn’t expect most of the first-year students to understand how to act in situations like those. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great MC has the initiative and drive. The situation was critical and they had limited resources, I understand. But it was weird how much they focused on that.

Now, the bright side of the books: It’s a page turner! It keeps you hooked!
I think the plot is logical and the author does great work setting the events into motion, explaining the problems and patching up any plot holes. You feel trapped inside the mall with all the characters.
The setting is amazing. It gives great slasher vibes and I would like to see and adaptation in the form of a limited series or a streaming movie. It has a Fear Street movie kind of vibe.

I would recommend this book no anyone looking for a quick read.

A fast-paced thriller joining the already stellar lineup of Natalie Richards. A diverse cast of characters will have you rooting for survival even when you already know there will only be carnage! For fans of Stephanie Perkins, this will keep you on the edge of your seat.

It is the last night for the movie theater to be open and the last thing Joe and her coworkers want to do is watch her bully Manager Clayton argue with his wife but that’s exactly what happens. It isn’t bad enough that earlier he tried to intimidate Hudson and acted like he was going to fight him over something stupid. when he finally finishes arguing with his wife Joe decides since she has the least friction with Clayton she will go and asked to get their cell phones out of the safe but before she can do that the lights go out. After they realize they’re not coming back on Joe Here’s heavy footsteps coming from the hallway where the managers office and the staff locker rooms are.. She think it may be Clayton or one of the girls who went back there earlier but when the footsteps pass her up and despite her calling out their names no one answers she gets a kill down her spine. She remembers they have flashlights in the office and so her, Hudson, Naomi and Quincy make their way in the dark to the hallway. After finding the flashlights they go to check on the girls in the locker room but when they find one of them dead with summer crying saying Clayton did it I don’t know what to think and Joe hasn’t even told them she saw that Clayton had a gun in the back of his pants earlier. This is the beginning of a night of terror. You would think that knowing who the killer is would take away from the tension, but knowing who were stocking the kids to me only made it worse. I love horror and have been reading a lot of horror lately and this would have to be at the top of my list for my favorite horror books this year. I think Natalie D Richards really knows how to build up the tension I really enjoyed this book and highly recommended if you love tension filled horror as opposed to jump scares you love Four Found Dead I certainly did. I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

The cinema manager and employees are cleaning after the final showing. The cinema will join the rest of the boarded up mall and torn down.
All goes smooth until a Parton comes to the door, a quarrel breaks out with the manager.
Things get bad fast as the worker try and stay both safe and alive. But how do you stay alive when you don’t know who the killer is?
Oh, and the phones are all locked in a safe, most of the story takes place in darkness and one character has past trauma.

If your a fan of scary movies you’ll love this one.
Thank you Netgalley for the advanced copy in advance for an honest opinion.
This is a tense story from start to finish.

Firstly I do wanna thank net galley and the publishers for giving me an arc of good book it was quick moving very quick paced I was constantly on my toes throughout this entire book there was a lot of twists that didn't see coming The characters were wrote very well the plot lived moves steadily I finished it in one sitting I do how they recommend this to anyone who typically reads YA or new adult thrillers it was very good. I really enjoyed it and that is why I gave it 4 stars