Locust Lane revolves around the murder of a young woman in a wealthy New England town, with suspicion falling on three local teenagers. As the investigation unfolds, secrets emerge, and the parents become deeply involved in the case, raising questions about guilt, privilege, and morality. While the premise is promising and the story explores complex dynamics, it didn’t quite land for me. The pacing felt uneven at times, and it lacked the gripping suspense I was hoping for. Overall, it’s an interesting read, but not my favorite.

I appreciate having the chance to read this book as an advanced listener. I really enjoyed the narrator experience, and I was surprised by this story overall. It was dark, emotional, and twisted beyond my expectations. I enjoyed the depth to the characters and the emotional pain they experienced that motivated their plotlines. Even though a few of the main characters were teenagers, it didn't feel too unrelatable or out of touch age-wise. The ending was kind of a gut-punch in its closeness to reality, but I admire that the author went in that direction. This was a solid story.

I listened to the audiobook version and I found it was a slow burn. I was really interested in the beginning when a certain event happens and then gets a bit slow.

I'm rounding up by giving this 4 stars, more of a 3.5 for me. I really enjoyed this thriller! It was a whodunit mystery and I was engaged through the whole book. There were many characters and points of view which I liked. However there were a couple points where the point of view showed scene A from one character and then moved on to other scenes and days. Then later a different character would relive their experience from scene A even though days had passed between those stories. It was a bit jumbled to jump around in time like that.

I also hated the ending! I felt like there was no resolution which really angered me considering there was a murder case involved. I don't want to spoil anything though. I really enjoyed the book while reading up until the ending. It was left up in the air and only alluded to what possibly happened. I just wanted a more concrete punishment and ending.

I must admit that I was a little wary of Locust Lane and put off reading it for a while. Total surprise for me when I enjoyed it so much! I am tough on thrillers, but Locust Lane kept me interested, engaged and guessing right from the start. Audiobook version was great too. Recommend!

A well written and interesting thriller that captures rich people behaving badly in a very enjoyable way. It wan be difficult to work social commentary into a triller/crime drama without it coming off too heavy handed but Amidon managed to walk that line effectively. The cast of characters allowed information to unfold at just the right pace to allow for confusion and revelations throughout the investigation. A great weekend read.

It’s a no for me.

I DNF this about 20% in.

I had to keep rewinding and rewinding the audio to see if I missed something because I definitely spaced out several times listening to this one. I was bored and it did not grab my attention at all.

I felt like the author was trying to hard to be different and unique that it he needed to steer back in the correct lane. It just was not it for me but I’m sure other would love a rich type thriller. I wanted Mystic River, I got a hard miss sadly.

“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.”

Thanks Macmillan for the gifted copy.

The narrator of this book had a soothing voice and was perfect for this book. Enjoyed this quick read, sucks you in from start to finish!

Im surprised I even kept reading this honestly. 5 NARRATORS or POV. It was somewhat needed to get all sides and discover the truth piece by piece but…with that ending? What was the point? It wasn’t satisfying at all, no one learned anything or got justice. We’re just left wondering how things turned out with the crumb’s leftover…the more I think about this book the less stars I want to give it but it wasn’t BAD but it wasn’t amazing. The writing was good and the real villain wasn’t who you were led to believe it was. The ending is really what ruined this for me.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

Teen girl found dead in rich small town, but who could have killed her?! My absolute favorite. I really enjoyed this book. The intertwined relationships are written well. There are some holes, but it’s not a big deal, it’s not that deep. Great weekend mystery read. Narration was great.

I really wanted to like this one but it left me a bit disappointed. I only liked a couple of the characters and one of those characters ended up being killed off. And I guess I just don’t understand why the author went in that direction. It felt like a lot of great effort went into fully developing this person but then by killing them off, it made that characters’ existence pointless. Why include them in the story if you are just going to get rid of them. Maybe I’m missing something and that is just my perspective. Others may strongly disagree.
I do think the book was very well written and I will definitely check out something else by this author. I think my disappointment is probably more about the ending. I guess I’m one of those people who needs justice to be served in a crime thriller and I like a happy ending. The character in the story who committed the crime was a terrible person and he literally got away with murder. That was just difficult for me to stomach. So no matter how well written the book was and no matter how well it held my interest, unfortunately it’s the ending that will stick with me when I think of this book.

interesting plot, intriguing after initially slow burn. reminded me to be afraid of psychotic men. i enjoyed the commentary on socioeconomic and racial subjects in criminal investigation but i do wish it wrapped up with more detail.

Honestly I read this book and can't really remember many highlights other than the overall vibe I felt. I'm not sure why that is. It could be because the plot, premise and characters, though well executed in a technical sense, were too similar to many other books I've read in the same genre. I don't know. take that for what it is, I guess. I just was kind of blase happy when I finished so I'm giving it 4 stars. It did what it was supposed to do and I remember enjoying reading it... As always, thank you to Netgalley for this advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review

Couldn't get into this one so I'm shelving it for the time being. May be a case of wrong book/wrong time!

I tried to get into this book but unfortunately was unable too, I’m sure many other will. That is the beauty of books and readers. Thank you for allowing me the advanced copy :)

A good slow burn small town mystery. It's told in different points of view, all characters involved in some way of the mysterious death of Eden. I thought it was pretty good, not my favorite, but it kept my interest throughout. I figured out what had happened early on, but it was interesting to unfurl the drama that occurred.

*Thank you @celadonbooks for the early copy and audiobook in exchange for an honest review. Review not posted to Amazon/Goodreads because less than 4 stars or DNF.*

3.5 stars rounded up.

I was very excited to read Locust Lane by Stephen Amidon because I love books set in Massachusetts which is where I live. I chose this book for my local book club to read in April. There are some heavy topics discussed in this book like murder, rape, and infidelity which always make for a great discussion.

Locust Lane tells the story of high school student, Eden Perry’s murder and the viewpoints of the parents whose children were with her the night she died. Told from multiple points of view, I had a hard time keeping track of all the characters. The book is entirely told from the adults’ perspectives and does not include the children’s points of view at all, which I think would have made the story more impactful for me. I listened to the audiobook, and this would have been the perfect book for a full cast narration to differentiate who was narrating which chapter.

Social media plays a big role in this story. I like how the author focused on the negative impact it can have when people use it to spread rumors and lies to hurt others. In this case, the character was trying to protect someone else, but at what cost?

Another topic that played a major part in this book was the elite class versus the working class and how having it all can protect people even when they do something wrong like rape someone or hurt others. I thought the author handled this topic well, and it worked perfectly for a suburban town in Massachusetts. I was picturing which town he might have based the story on while reading it.

I wasn’t overly shocked by the ending. I had a feeling that the person who murdered Eden was the killer. There is another part of the ending that really bothered me, but I understand why the author ended it the way he did. I can’t say more without giving anything away, so you’ll just have to read it to see what I’m talking about.

Thank you Celadon Books, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for advanced copies in exchange for my honest review.

I was so/so on this book. It had some turns I didn't expect which was fun, but i found it really hard to get past the opening scene.

Locust Lane by Stephen Amidon absolutely KILLED me and it is so hard for me to write a review for something I feel so conflicted about. I found the way this book was written to be a little outside of my tastes as it ended up feeling somewhat repetitive the way we would hear about something from one perspective and then go to another and live it all over again. There are also a lot of viewpoints in the book but for some reason, none of the kids got one and it was all the parents even though they really don't have anything to do with what is happening. I didn't totally hate this approach, but I would have liked to have at least one of the leading kid's perspectives be it Hannah, Jack, or Christopher. Heck, I would even have taken a few chapters with Eden's POV!

Another issue I had was that the audiobook only has one narrator. While I do love Cassandra Campbell and think she did a great job, she was just not enough to make this audio what it could have been. When you have this many POVs and no other voices, it makes it a lot harder to follow along with whose viewpoint you are in, even with them being named before you go into them. Locust Lane does have one of the most realistic endings it could have had, but unfortunately for me, that means it was completely unsatisfying and it made me want to throw my book against a wall. If you enjoy realistic storylines, character deep dives, and slow-burn neighborhood suspense, I would still check this out because I am in the minority. There were just too many despicable characters and the lack of satisfaction I got from the end made it not work as well for me as it could have.

"Locust Lane" is a thrilling and emotionally poignant book that is incredibly well-written. The author does a fantastic job of weaving together a complex story with characters that are both relatable and deeply flawed. The book takes readers on an emotional rollercoaster, as they follow the characters through their struggles and triumphs. It is a heart-wrenching read at times, but the moments of hope and redemption make it all the more satisfying. Overall, "Locust Lane" is a captivating and expertly crafted book that I highly recommend to anyone looking for a powerful and impactful read.