LOCUST LANE is a twisty “whodunit” thriller that kept me on my toes but not so much for the thrills.

For starters, the format was very different. There were only a handful of chapters and POV would switch mid chapter with all the heads we got inside. The paragraphs were broken up with character names to indicate said POV switch, so you weren’t completely lost by any means.

The more I think about this thriller, the more questions I have. Because again, I think this thriller was good, just not topping the charts for me.

My biggest question is, why only POVs for the adults? A teenager is murdered, yet we only have the POV of the parents, not the kids themselves who were at the scene of the crime / witnesses. Sure, the parents were all somewhat connected, but a few of those relationships were a stretch and it felt very forced. Not only that, one character who doesn’t know the parents or teenagers plays a pretty big role.

Without divulging too much to avoid spoilers, the murderer was pretty obvious and there were a lot of storylines thrown in that seemed kind of unnecessary.

Do I think this is something worth reading? Yes, because it definitely was a quick read. But if you consider yourself a thriller snob, it may not be for you.

Content warnings: alcoholism, death, sexual assault, addiction, bullying, racism

Big thanks to Celadon for the gifted ARC! You can get your copy January 17, 2023.

4 shining stars for this thriller that asks: how far will parents go to protect their children, guilty or innocent?

A wealthy neighborhood is rocked with trauma and drama after a young woman is found dead. With slow-burn pacing, the narrative takes us through multiple POVs, long-held secrets, and suspicions cast in multiple directions. It left me wondering who the true criminal was: the perpetrator, or those who would do near anything to cover it up.

Never was I asked to suspend my belief too far, and while I wish the ending had gone in a slightly different direction, the fact that it didn't is perhaps the most realistic part of the plot.

Locust Lane was a bit of a slow burn for me. I did not get sucked in quickly and found myself getting a little lost early on while I struggled to picture it all. A couple of chapters in, I started to picture it, and then I got heavily invested in the story.

A young girl is murdered and the immediate suspect is a kid named Christopher. Everyone who knows Christopher doesn't think he is a killer but he is definitely hiding something. I enjoyed learning about Christopher and what happened during the night in question.

Most of the characters were a little too unremarkable for me. When they would start to talk about a character it took me a little bit to remember who most of them were. There were not many that I immediately recognized.

With my issues with the characters and the slow start, I really did not think I was going to like Locust Lane but in the end, I really did love it. Personally, I really liked the ending but I can see it being a conversation to have with others who have read the book. I don’t know if that ending is for everyone but it was for me.

Outstanding! Kept me guessing until the end. Although the small town was described as Massachusetts, there were many, many references to upstate NY. Route 9, north of Albany and the most tell-tale sign was the Price Chopper reference! Great character development. Many the relationships between adults - parents, friends, etc. Yet things went terribly wrong with the teens in the story. Excellent thriller!

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this audio book.

Enjoyable read, although a bit of a slow burn. The ending wasn't very surprising but I liked it overall, and enjoyed the narrator!

The premise of the story sounded good, but the story did not live up to the hype. But there were so many things that I found wrong with this book

It’s marketed as a mystery and thriller, but there was nothing thrilling about it. The premise hinted towards the parents doing anything to protect their children, but nothing more than reviling a secret is the worst it gets basically until the very end.

Also, not one chapter is from the perspective of those that were apart of the crime, each one is from the parents pov. I can understand why you wouldn’t do that as it may ruin part of the who done it aspect, but the way that it was done did not work. One pov isn’t even a parent but of someone that saw something he shouldn’t have. But each of his chapters is just filled with his backstory (that isn’t relevant to the story at all) and him talking about his alcoholism until this thing that he saw needs to be brought up again.

But, when it comes to the other pov’s, quite a bit of it is also backstory, but the way it is done takes you out of the story and doesn’t relate to what’s going on currently. The only way I can think of it is watching the 3rd or 4th season of a show and only watching the ‘previously on’ bit of the first couple seasons while watching the current season. But also, and I don’t know if it would be better reading it vs the audio book, but there is no separation of the end of the backstory and when we go back into the current.

The main plot also feels like the secondary plot to the drama that is going on. It feels like the characters are saying “okay, this girl was murdered but what about ‘insert secret here’”

The writing in general is bazar as throughout the book similes are used without needing to be used, comparing wine to urine is one. But also, it is also weirdly descriptive. Going from basic description to overcomplicated description out of nowhere especially when those scenes that should be descriptive aren’t and those that should be aren’t.

Last but not least, the writing also seems racist and misogynistic. Throughout the story, comments like “Your son isn’t exactly white, people will think of the towers” are made about the only 2 POC characters in the book. While the rich white characters get away with anything due to being rich and white.

The premise of this book sounded promising but it’s just a big ball of unfair depression. Very well written but unsatisfying. A murder of a young woman is committed out on Locust Lane in the town of Emerson, MA, a highly affluent small town. 3 local teenagers were the last to see Eden Perry alive. They all get accused and you just know they’re all lying. When the real culprit is revealed, there’s no justice. It’s completely unfair and I’m not a fan of this kind of harsh social criticism. All the parents close ranks and someone definitely gets away with this accidental murder. There are more sad, pathetic characters in this novel than Les Miserables. I’m giving it 3 stars because it’s well-written and well-plotted. But the end is going to make you angry.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this audio e-arc.*

✰✰✰✰.5
This intense and juicy cat-and-mouse whodunnit will keep you puzzled! It’s a suspenseful and creative murder mystery that has intriguing characters that suck you in. Before you know it, you are immersed in the hunt for a killer and can’t put it down.

Eden, a troubled young woman, is found murdered. Her death shocks the town of Emerson, Massachusetts. Drawing attention to some of the upper class and their past indiscretions. The characters might be intriguing but they are ruthless and brutal. So when three teenagers become suspects, the gloves come off. Parents will do whatever it takes to protect their children and family.

This novel was so close to 5 stars! I was engrossed as I listened to the wonderful narrator of the audiobook. However, the ending is left too open for interpretation. I don’t need to have every loose end tied up to enjoy a book but I wanted a few more answers. Unless the author has something else in mind?

Sincere thanks to Macmillan Audio and Celadon Books for providing ARCs of this book through NetGalley and Edelweiss. All opinions are my own.

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Thank you to MacMillan audio for this ARC, and to author Stephen Amidon. I found this to be a definite interest catcher. The convoluted secrets, the sadness of death and incarceration of two very young people. It really made me want to pursue what really happened, and it was delivered with such class and feelings. People knew who did this, but would not come right out and say do to fear and loss of status. All the characters were deep and somewhat mysterious, The young ones floating in a sea of teen approval which led to their demise. And you know, money can’t buy everything. Great narration, Kudos to Stephen Amidon! A great book. highly recommended.

Locust Lane is the best kind of slow burn. The pieces are layered together, one by one, until it finally bursts into flame, exposing all the small-town secrets and lies. The characters are well developed and realistic, if a bit stereotypical. The setting of a typical New England small town works for Locust Lane, and the first chapter had me hooked. All in all, a solid, enjoyable read, and, although this is my first Stephen Amidon book, I will definitely be checking out not only his backlist, but his next release too!

Locust Lane by Stephen Amidon

A murder of a young woman turns a small town upside down. The story starts with an eerie Prologue. This sets the story up nicely. We then go into the perspectives of the parents, who's children know more about this murder than they let on. I kept wondering when this prologue was going to weave its way into the story.

I really liked the change of perspective. We get bits and pieces of the story as none of these parents really know what happened..they are trying to clear their child's name. I do wish we could have gotten the perspective of one or more of the teenagers, it would have given us a bit more clarity. I was always wondering how much of their story was true. It just kept unraveling.

As far as the audiobook- It was fantastic. Cassandra Campbell is one of the best. She can make any story come alive.

I really enjoyed this quiet slow burn murder mystery.

4.5 Stars.

This character-driven mystery focuses on privilege and secrecy in a small town when a local girl turns up murdered. How far will people go to protect their family? Who will they sacrifice to keep their loved ones above suspicion?

The mystery itself is intriguing, but is not the center of Locust Lane; the characters and are the focus of the book. The narrative shifts between multiple points of view, giving you perspectives and insights on characters and their motivations. The mystery is the backdrop for a study on human behaviors and relationships.

The narrator (Cassandra Campbell) is good, she handles the multiple PoV well as the chapters change perspectives.

Definitely pick Locust Lane up if you are interested in this type of character study; the mystery is good, but it's the look into these characters that make the book great.

3.5/5

This one sounded really good and exactly like the kind of domestic drama that usually works for me but unfortunately it was just ok for me in the end. The writing itself was strong but maybe a bit too verbose for my liking. It spent a lot of time diving deep into the characterization aspect and it just went too deep for me. But if you enjoy character driven suspense this may work for you. There were also a lot of characters too which is usually ok with me but the way things jumped around between them was odd for me. The plot was decent enough and several pieces were clever but in the end it just wasn’t enough to wow me.

Locust Lane is a domestic mystery about privilege and power surrounding the murder of a young woman in an affluent suburb. Throughout, the story touched on social status, parenthood/family drama, racism and more. I enjoyed the use of multiple POVs to show how truth means different things to these different characters. That being said, you definitely need to focus in order to keep track of everything. It seems everyone may be guilty of something.

3.5/5

Sandwiched in the middle with my review of this audiobook. At first I didn't think I'd be able to keep all the characters straight. I feel the audiobook would have benefited by having more than one narrator. For me the story was more about family and town drama than solving the crime of who committed the murder. Big thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to review the book.

I really enjoyed this book, it had a great plot. It was a story that I was able to lose myself in, although there were times when it did feel slightly meandering and slow. The overall story was quite compelling, however. It provided really great insight on the power and privilege of race and wealth in our society. I never suspected the person who killed Eden until it was revealed. I could truly envision this being made into a mini-series.

My only complaint is that it did have a feel to it that didn't seem quite modern. In my mind, this story probably took place in the early 2000's. Maybe I missed a date when listening, but I assumed that it was supposed to be taking place in modern society.

I would definitely recommend this book.

Locust Lane is the book for you if you like:
Multiple points of view
Literary mysteries
Ambiguous endings

I listened to it on audio, and it took me a minute to figure out who's who and what exactly happened. Possibly because I was also trying to wrap all the presents and figure out what were birthday gifts and what were Christmas gifts at the same time. I had to rewind several times because I missed a name or wasn't sure what was happening. But once I knew what was going on, I was invested.

Were the characters likable? Not particularly, but they all had moments were I sympathized with them. I enjoyed Alice the most, despite the poor decisions she made. But her commentary on the lives of others (and their online comments) was snarky and spot-on. Some of the characters seemed like stereotypes for the different socioeconomic classes though.

They were also all parents, and the book asks us what lengths we would go to protect our child. If you need all the answers, this is not for you. There are several things left unresolved. But I did like how the book ended.

I'm waffling between 3.5 and 4 stars. But we'll go ahead and round up to 4 anyways for Goodreads.

Location: a wealthy suburb of Boston. Crime: a teenage girl is found murdered. What happened? Who is involved? Is everyone hiding something? Why was she killed? This was a well-crafted, fun psychological thriller that had fingers pointing in every direction. Just about every character had moral issues and could have been involved in the murder. This was a slow-burn mystery with many characters. I did not guess correctly who killed the girl. I listened to the audiobook and really enjoyed the narrator.

I've seen this one marked as a thriller, which I don't think is the right classification. This one is definitely a slow burn crime drama. I really liked the multiple POVs from people who didn't witness the actual crime and were trying to figure out what was going on, too. Watching each character unravel the mystery separately made for an intriguing read.

Thank you to the author, Celadon Books, and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

A young woman, Eden is dead at a home on Locust Lane. Three others from the community were there the night she died along with Patrick, an alcoholic dealing with his own demons happens upon the crime scene spotting a man nearby.

I really enjoyed this suspenseful read. It has so many interconnected characters and it will keep your interest whether on audio or a physical book. It raises the question of how far will parents go to protect their children?

Pick this up if you enjoyed The Lifeguards or Such Good Mothers. I liked them both so this was a win for me.