This book was a page turner from beginning to end. A sister is found dead. Yet her sister strongly believes she did not Jill herself and is adamant to find the truth about what happened. Her family however wants her to drop it - and believes that is what really happened. I couldn’t believe the twists and turns and what ends up being the truth. Crazy ride. Highly recommend. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This book pulled me in very quicky; It did slow down a bit in the middle but it was still paced well enough to keep me interested. I love a story that's told in multiple POV's that build the plot and this one did just that. Perfect vacation read as it's not too deep but fully engaging.

I really loved this book. I thought it would be slow, but it get the pace up really well. The writing was engaging and I felt myself identifying with the main character. Great, well drawn characters. When she cried, I cried. When she was scared, I was scared. There was a mystery inside a mystery which was really fun to try and unravel. Such a great family saga with a shocking ending. It will have you questioning how well you know your own family. This is a must read and will keep you guessing throughout the entire novel. Do yourself a favor and pick this up! You won’t be sorry.

In many ways, a standard psychological suspense. It ticked the boxes for me - sister conflict, the older sibling an apparent suicide, the younger naive girl refusing to accept the police finding and deciding to investigate whether her sister's death related to a cold case she was investigating of a long-lost child. I didn't feel the twist was that unique and Sawyer oftentimes seemed to ignore obvious clues or avoid conversations with relevant "suspects" but the writing was good, the plot kept me engaged, and for a debut novel, it stayed true to the genre. A solid four stars. Thanks to Crooked Lane and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced reader copy.

Page turning and having you guessing with each new chapter this is a perfect read for your vacation this year.

When Sawyer Stanarch finds out her sister willa was found in the tub deceased due to cutting her own risk Sawyer doesn’t believe it her sister was a perfectionist and cared about how others saw her it would never be found in the state she was found in sawyer hadn’t talked to her sister in over a year, this is why she asked those closest to her about the last time they saw her this will lead Sawyer on her own investigation of the last months of Willa‘s life she learns the last thing Willa was working on was a book about a missing baby named Melody she went missing 30 years ago but what does all this have to do with the death of Wella? Sawyer also find out that was DNA in dog hair found in Willis Apartment and Willow didn’t have a dog nor a boyfriend. Can Sawyer find out what happened to her sister without the same thing happening to her? This book was so good it was way better than any expectations I had I loved Sawyer and thought you made for a great main character with all her faults and flakiness she eventually saves the day and I love that. This is a great book and a five star mystery because if I just based my star rating on the ending then it is a definite 10 star book but as five is the most you can give five it is. What a great book, what a great title, what a great read! I want to think Net Galley and Crooked Lane books for my free Ark copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

I was mixed in my opinion of this book. I really liked the general storyline and thought some of the twists were quite clever. Yet, I believe that the characters could have seen a bit more in depth development. It would have enriched the storyline in my opinion. However, overall, I found it to be a solid read and I would recommend it.

Sawyer is convinced that her sister, Willa couldn't have committed suicide. She becomes obsessed with trying to prove her opinion. In her attempts to discover what was going on in Willa's life in her last days, Sawyer decides to follow a trail that leads her on a path she never expected. Now she just has to figure out how it all fits together and determine if what she discovers might have gotten her sister killed.

This book kept me pretty hooked from the get go and I was focused on figuring out what happened. Until I finished it, I barely wanted to put the book down. It was that good.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to read and review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

This one started out strong and then kind of fizzled out for me. Not sure what it was exactly but I felt like it started to drag on in parts and my interest then couldn't be reached again. I did like the dual POV's though and the premise did sound intriguing. It could have just been me and the day I read it too so don't let my review sway you.

After reading three print books off my bookshelf, I decided to go for an ebook in bed and read The Three Deaths of Willa Stannard as the first one I tried ended up being a DNF. The book starts with Willa Stannard who was once at the top of her field in journalism and had the world in her hands until she had a panic attack on air, and then her career came tumbling down. During this time away from work, she decided to work on a story about a baby who went missing twenty-six years ago from a small town called Melody Wynne. When Melody was 18 months old, she was kidnapped and vanished without a trace. Nobody knew where she had gone and who was responsible, though there were two suspects. In the present time Willa has just committed suicide and now Sawyer her younger sister, knows things aren't quite correct as her strong sister wouldn't just commit suicide. She is convinced foul play is the cause. Trying to discover the truth, Sawyer picks up Willa's story and heads to the small town and continues to find out the truth about what happened to Melody and Willa. As Sawyer does her research, she learns that her own family lived not that far from the Wynnes and disappeared shortly after the abduction of Melody. Was Claudia protecting her children from danger or is there a deeper reason? In doing so, will Sawyer also learn the truth about Willa's father and her birth and uncover a Pandora's box filled with dark and twisted secrets? Find out in this psychological family thriller - The Three Deaths of Willa Stannard by Kate Robards.

This one took me a while to get through. Sawyer's sister Willa commits suicide, and Sawyer is determined to prove it wasn't just that. In doing so, she follows Willa's footsteps in investigating the disappearance of a baby 26 years earlier, for a book she was writing.
The story jumps around between Sawyer's and Willa's point of view, along with chapters from Willa's book.
I might have missed what the 3 deaths were...hence the title doesn't make sense to me. I also figured out the big twist from the beginning, felt a bit predictable. 2.5.
Thank you Netgalley, publisher, and author for the ARC.

The Three Deaths of Willa Stannard is a debut novel from Kate Robards. In the book we are following Sawyer, who is told one day that her sister, Willa has committed suicide. Only that does not make sense to Sawyer, her sister would never do something like this, she was slightly depressed and struggling after losing her career due to a public panic attack. But she wouldn’t kill herself…..right?

Sawyer launches herself into figuring out what really happened to her sister, which leads her on a wild goose chase through multiple states. She figures out that everyone in her family had secrets to hide. How well does she really know her sister?

I had so much fun while reading this book, it felt very fast paced right from the start. We follow Sawyer most of the time, with little snippets from Willa before she died, as well as another little surprise element that we get throughout the book. I found that I really enjoyed all of the POV’s and it was very easy to follow along. It felt more like a mystery for about 75% of the book, and the last 25% really kicked into the thriller parts. Overall, I really enjoyed the book and the audio was also great. It had a couple of twists that I didn’t see coming, and I just found myself not wanting to put the book down, I needed to know what was going to happen. I really enjoyed the book, and would recommend it if you want a fast paced mystery/thriller.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for my early access copy!

Younger sister Sawyer is devastated after the death of her older sister Willa, and desperate to find out what her journalist sister was working on prior to her death, and how it might have contributed. Following the crumbs she's able to find, Sawyer discovers a web of secrets and lies. This book was progressively tenser as Sawyer learns what her sister found and knew. This is a really well done debut novel with detailed settings and great character development alongside a plot that kept me reading.

4.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley for the arc of this thrilling tale of deception and intrigue.

We start with the death of Willa. Her sister, Sawyer, feels like something isn’t right about it and takes it upon herself to delve into Willa’s last few weeks/months. What she discovers is a mystery that she must uncover to reveal what really happened.

I always enjoy a good crime/mystery story - especially if I can’t figure it out. I did have my suspicions, but I wasn’t 100% correct on it, which I love.

The use of shorter chapters in the crucial section near the end was great for building suspense, and I love the snippets from Willa’s book that gave us a deeper look into things.

Well written story that keeps your mind ticking.

This book was amazing!! It was such a great story!! I couldn’t put this book down!! I definitely need to get myself a copy for my library so I can read it again!

Willa Stannard is found dead in her bathtub; wrists slit, apartment cleared out, and a suicide note left for her sister. Willa was a perfectionist who worked as a news anchor, she always wore a smile on her face on and off the camera. Nothing terrible ever happened to her, until her panic attack on air that ruined her reputation.

Now Willa is gone, and it’s up to her sister, Sawyer, to pick up the pieces. Sawyer notices that before Willa’s death, she was investigating a twenty-six-year old missing person’s case about an abducted toddler that rocked a small town a few hours away. Was Willa’s death caused by her involvement in this cold case or was it, in fact, a suicide?

On Willa’s behalf, Sawyer decides to continue investigating the cold case, hoping that it’ll reveal answers about her sister’s suicide, but she soon realizes that the people in this small town do not like outsiders poking around in their business, and she might’ve put her own life in danger by digging up the past.

This was an extraordinary creepy, twisty, atmospheric thriller that kept me guessing until the very end. I loved the multiple POV’s from both Sawyer and Willa; Willa is present throughout the book reminiscing her memories with her sister and her findings leading up to her fateful end.

This was a quick read for me because the momentum of suspense never stopped. With Willa’s excerpts and police investigation transcripts, I felt like I was working alongside Sawyer to piece together this cold case mystery. I was on the edge of my seat near the end and was blown away by the conclusion. I can’t believe this was a debut novel! I can’t wait to see what other books Robards writes next.

From the moment I started reading "The Three Deaths of Willa Stannard" by Kate Robards, I was hooked on the action-packed narrative. Robards maintains a constant sense of momentum, ensuring there's never a dull moment. The plot twist, although not groundbreaking, adds an intriguing layer to the story, and left me eager to uncover more. The author masterfully weaves together layers of deceit and mystery, creating a suspenseful atmosphere that will keep you breathless around every corner.

While the book offers an engaging ride, a few aspects pulled me out of the story. At times, Sawyer's actions seemed disjointed and lacked motive, which affected my overall immersion in the narrative. Additionally, the character development felt somewhat limited, with missed opportunities to explore the intriguing psyche of Willa Stannard.

"The Three Deaths of Willa Stannard" is a fast-paced and entertaining read. Robards successfully keeps readers on their toes, with surprises and revelations that will leave you reeling. Although the character motivations and development could have been stronger, the engrossing plot and suspenseful atmosphere make this debut novel worth picking up. I eagerly anticipate what Kate Robards will deliver in her future works.

Did I want to find out what happened? Sure. Did I feel the need to get those answers immediately? No. It took me a while to finish reading this because I didn’t find myself invested in the characters or the mystery. It wasn’t bad, but it didn’t hold my attention.

Thank you to the author, Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was an interesting read and for a debut novel a good, at times suspenseful effort. I enjoyed the alternating POVs between the two sisters in the first half, and the different strands that developed from that, as well as what it revealed about the relationship between them. However, I did foresee the eventual twist at the end by the middle of the book, and thus found the second half rather more slow going and veering into stretching the bounds of credulity a bit further with each chapter. By the end, I felt as though the author was packing in every cliche she could find, but this decreased rather than increased the suspense.

Sawyer doesn't believe her sister Willa committed suicide. Willa had stepped back from her high profile position after a panic attack and began researching the unsolved disappearance of a young child from a small town decades ago. Sawyer doesn't understand why but she knows this is at the root of Willa's death and so sets out to get the answers. This is narrated by both Willa and Sawyer at first and then it becomes Sawyer's show. Interesting way to do it but I gotta admit that I liked Willa's more. There are small town secrets, lies to be sure but focus on the sisters. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

Story of the book-

An unsettlingly crafted debut book that will stay with readers long after they’ve finished reading it is inspired by a missing kid, a tiny town’s secrets, and a desperate killer. Ideal for Julia Heaberlin and Chevy Stevens lovers. The ups and downs of their existence with their erratic single mother have brought sisters Willa and Sawyer Stannard closer together than they have been in recent years. Sawyer simply knows it can’t be true when Willa is discovered dead in her flat from what appears to be a suicide. The renowned television journalist left a mysterious message that prompts investigators to rule out foul play. Sawyer embarks on a quest for the truth after being shattered by sorrow and being fixated on the notion that her sister’s death was not a suicide.

Sawyer is even more certain that Willa’s murder was suspicious after learning that she was working on a shocking true crime book about the decades-old toddler disappearance that shocked a little village hundreds of miles away. Sawyer starts following her sister’s footsteps, delving deeply into a culture she can’t begin to comprehend and into a truth that may easily ruin her as it did Willa, believing it is somehow related to the research Willa was conducting for the book. In her debut book, which is likely to have readers wondering and discussing, Robards never lets up as she expertly builds the tension.

My review-

I was interested in knowing where the plot was headed once it got underway. I liked how the early part of the book alternated from Willa and Sawyer’s points of view in telling the narrative. As a result, we were able to get a more complete picture of both characters than we would have if it had only been from one point of view. This effectively completed their personalities. Some of the turns I anticipated, while others caught me off guard. I would suggest it to everyone who likes a nice twist. A beautiful novel with a compelling story and wonderful characters who bring the narrative to life had me turning the pages at a rapid pace.

The idea of this book has promise: there is tension between the sisters, which provides room for character development, there is a long-standing mystery that hasn’t been solved, which moves the story forward, and there is a little amount of peril to provide room for suspense. Even if some of the puzzle pieces on that voyage are a little too simple to put together, the adventure itself is still enjoyable. The prose was passable, and I liked how Sawyer followed Willa’s lead by interrogating the victim’s relatives and prospective suspects as part of the procedural elements of the narrative.

All of the players in this thrilling tale are vividly brought to life by the excellent writing. The plot’s turns result in a startling yet unexpected ending. I adore heroes that don’t worry about anything but themselves. It is astonishing how they just go out there and risk their lives to solve problems. On the downside, it started slowly and I thought the author’s portrayal of suicide was inaccurate; it appears the author didn’t do much study on the subject. Overall though, I did appreciate this one and I’m looking forward to reading more from the author.