Suddenly a Murder is in some ways a totally ridiculous premise, and getting this set of characters - ultra-rich high school seniors, plus one considerably less wealthy friend - into the scenario required for its Agatha Christie-lite plot to play out takes a lot of handwaving and suspension of disbelief. I was happy to suspend plenty of disbelief - I'm a sucker for closed circle mysteries with a motley crew trapped on an island with an unknown murderer, and I get enough of what the author was going for with the 1920s glamor to forgive the clumsiness of getting these modern teens into such an aesthetic. The mystery itself was pretty decent for a debut author, but the ways in which Izzy, the protagonist, collects information and clues was clumsily handled, and the resolution is... a lot, and not necessarily in a good way. Still, it was an entertaining read, and a promising start from a new writer.

Thanks to the publisher for the advance review copy.

This was a super fun read that I absolutely flew through. We are following a group of mostly friends who are attending a themed party for their graduation when one of them is murdered. I had no idea who the killer would be, everyone had a motive, and I enjoyed trying to put the pieces together as the story progressed. There were plenty of twists and turns and a big reveal that I definitely didn't see coming. I loved the setting, a famous house turned museum set on an island only accessible by ferry, and the movie stuff was entertaining as well.

I was invested in this from the first page, and would definitely read more books by this author in the future.

I enjoyed this book! It's a YA mystery and I wasn't sure how it would compare with others but it was really good and kept me guessing the entire time, I had NO idea who was going to end up the murderer. Everyone had a motive so it was hard to guess it. The setting was really cool as well with the movie theme they had set up for the trip! Not my favorite but would recommend!

This was a fun, quick read. I'm keeping my review short though so I don't give anything away.

I knew there would be a twist in this one and I admit that I didn't see the one coming. After it was revealed, I could look back and see a bit of a clue. But for the most part, I had no idea the story would go that way. The story is told by Izzy and we know early on that she brought a knife to the 1920's theme party thrown by her best friend. Everyone there is rich except for Izzy. The kids all just graduated from their private high school. This party is a week long and is on a private island. No cell phone are allowed and they must wear 1920's clothing the whole time. Everything is kept authentic and it seems fun at first. But then the drama starts. Everyone seems to have secrets and many of them start fighting. When one of them ends up dead, they know it has to be one of the kids there that did it. Two investigators show up and they slowly unravel everything that happened that day. The book also goes back in time to different important moments from that year.

I gave this book 4 1/2 stars rounded up to 5 on Goodreads.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my earc.

The blurb for this book compares it to One of Us is Lying and Knives Out… and while I can see the parallels, honestly, I think Suddenly a Murder is far more entertaining. I was engaged in the story from the very beginning.

Izzy is a student at a high school for rich kids, and the only reason she’s able to go there is because her mother is a teacher at the school. She and her bestie, Kassidy, are both obsessed with the 1920s and for a graduation gift, Kassidy rents out a beautiful historic house on a private island for Izzy, Kassidy, Kassidy’s boyfriend Blaine, and a group of their fellow graduates to celebrate their freedom from high school—bonus, this house was where one of their favorite 1920s movies was filmed!

Kassidy, being the dramatic young woman that she is, insists that in order for the week to be authentic, nothing modern is to be allowed on the island. That means no cellphones, no modern clothing, nothing! She’s stocked each room with period clothing for each guest and after instructing them to change, has everything modern shipped back to the main land. The week is going to be epic.

But not everything is champagne and glitter when one of them ends up dead. And we know from almost page one that Izzy brought the murder weapon to the island.

Enter the detectives who work to read between all of the lies and piece together the real story of what happened to Blaine, Kassidy’s boyfriend-of-four-years-turned-murder-victim. Everyone loved Blaine, who could do such a thing? But as the friends tell their stories, we quickly learn that more than one person has motive for murder.

To be honest, a lot of the characters blurred together. I don’t think this was poor writing, more just a me problem. I read this book in small pieces over a longer period of time than it would’ve taken me if I only read one book at a time, and when there are as many characters as this book has, and they’re all introduced relatively quickly, I sometimes struggle to keep them straight. I was able to keep up well enough and it didn’t affect my enjoyment of the story at all.

All of the characters in this book were enjoyable but my favorite was Pilar de León, the detective merely consulting on the investigation. She was a woman seemingly full of secrets, who could easily act like your best friend one moment only to arrest you the next. She was wonderful. I’d love to read more books based on her investigating crimes and mysteries.

As for the books ending…I didn’t call it. At all. I love when a book is able to literally keep me guessing until the very last pages and Lauren Muñoz succeeded in doing so. This is an author I will keep on my radar. I can’t wait to read what she comes up with next!

The only thing I didn’t like about this book was the cover (sorry!)

5 glorious stars for Suddenly a Murder and, hands down, one of my top reads for 2023.

I was drawn in by the premise of this book unfortunately, however, it just wasn't for me. I am not a fan of YA fiction but thought I would give it a try. That being said I think many of my YA patrons will really enjoy this and I will recommend. A huge thank you to the publisher for this ARC and to Netgalley.

I liked the setting of this book and the premise, but something just felt like it was missing for me. I am not sure if it was the ages of the characters that made the book feel a bit young to me, but I just couldn’t connect into them.

However, I thought the pacing was well done, the story well written and the murder mystery element was engaging and entertaining.

A big thank you to Netgalley, the author, and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

WOW what a ride! I finished this book in one setting because I was so intrigued by the myriad of characters and wanted to know who did it. The mystery on the whodunit is incredibly interesting and I had an idea of what the true motive might've been but the real reveal blew my mind. Although, I think only half the justice was served and that the more responsible person should also have gotten consequences. The story does require some suspense of reality in my opinion. It was hard for me to believe that these 18 year olds had parents who were so rich (especially Kass's parents) that they would give their kids so much freedom without supervision. Or maybe it's more common than I think and those are just circles that I don't run in to have witnessed. The reveal of one of the detectives' connection to Izzy was also a wild one.

Izzy and her best friend Kass had such a loyal and devout relationship - never once thinking the worst of each other, protecting each other, and letting each other go when needed. Marlowe was a favorite character of mine along with Izzy and Kass. Each character has flaws but realistic ones and their characters, mannerisms, and behaviors were just as how I would expect a group of rich teenagers to behave in the face of serious situations. Izzy is also a likeable character which is important since we're in her head most of the time. I love books with multiple characters in them and when we can get into their heads so we can play detectives ourselves.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the novel for a fun, intriguing mystery read!

This was done amazing! I will definitely pick up more from this author. The mystery will have you invested and when you think you have solved it, you haven't. The characters are so enjoyable and the setting is fun and beautiful. Though the storyline isn't extremely original, you feel like you've never read a book like it before which is amazing. I loved it!

If you love a traditional murder mystery on the younger side of YA, definitely pick up Suddenly a Murder! I pretty much finished the book in two days (thanks to having a cold) and I can’t lie, my curiosity was intrigued!

Although, this felt very much like your average young adult murder mystery, the setting is what sold me as soon as I read the synopsis! Suddenly a murder takes place on a island with a private mansion where the main characters decide to dress up in the 1920’s style of the home and live that lifestyle for the week they’re there… until one of them ends up dead. The setting was glitzy, glamours and very easy to vividly picture. By far my favorite part of the book, although I will say, I didn’t see the twists coming. So I was pleasantly surprised there.

Overall, if you like picking up just easy and fun murder mysteries, this is a good one to read!

I found the premise of the book really interesting. I thought aspects were really well done but some fell flat. I liked that the mystery mirrored the movie Izzy and Kassidy are obsessed with. I enjoyed the jazz age theme, though I expected it to come into play a little more. The cast of characters were interesting though most of their perceived motives seemed like poor motives. Towards the middle of the book it started to get very interesting. Izzy's story was sad but engaging. The ending was a little predictable but aspects still shocked me. The thing that threw me the most about this book was how calm and unbothered they all seemed being stuck on an island with a murderer. Overall I found the book mostly enjoyable.

3.5 stars

Interesting premise- not your typical secluded- island-locked-room murder mystery. A group of new high school graduates attend a weeklong 1920s party, and of course, a murder occurs. The story is told in both the present time and in flashbacks to show how the characters had reasons to kill the victim. I had a hard time getting through the first half; the characters are rather unlikeable overall. However, there is a good twist toward the end that engaged me until the conclusion. Thank you to NetGalley for the ebook ARC.

Thank you to PenguinTeen for the earc in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoy murder mysteries I always find them entertaining. A group of friends in a mansion someone gets stabbed and now it's turned into a whodunit investigation. It's young adult so I wasn't expecting any suspense or thrilling action. But it was good kept me entertained and it was a quick read.

Nothing wildly original, but very fun nonetheless. I liked the atmosphere and the premise of a murderous party. I'd recommend it to young adults especially.

Suddenly a Murder follows a group of teens who are celebrating their high school graduation with a 1920's themed party at Ashwood Manor. Everyone is super excited to have a party at the fancy place. Everything is going well and then someone winds up dead. Soon the police show up and investigate. Everyone has to go through a grueling investigation all while locked in the estate with a killer on the loose.

This was your very typical murder mystery read. I didn't really think that anything stood out. But I did like this one. I do not think the conclusion was very satisfying. I do not think I would suggest this one just due to the fact that it is a very basic murder mystery read. But it was a very fast-paced book and kept my attention.

This was great! I love that it was compared to One of Us is Lying. It also reminded me of Kill Joy by Holly Jackson since that book focused on a murder mystery party too. I liked it a lot!

I will admit that I didn't go into this book expecting it to be great, but I thought it would be entertaining at least. It's been a while since I've read a murder mystery and I figured why not! And at first, it was somewhat intriguing although I didn't love the writing (too much telling, not enough showing).

Obviously I will not go into spoilers but the premise of this book is soooo flimsy. Most of what we know are from Izzy eavesdropping on her friends' interviews with the detectives while she sits in a secret passage. She does this the entire second half! You're telling me that no one was wondering where she was this entire time???

The ending was also so...idk what to say. I wasn't expecting that, for sure, but it felt like something so random just for shock value. I know that we were intentionally led to believe something else, but this was just genuinely so random to me.

I stayed up late to finish this book just because I wanted to get it over with, and I regret that honestly. I had a lot to say once I finished it but now that a day has passed, most of it has faded from my memory because the majority of this book is forgettable. My opinions, you may like it more, etc.

Suddenly a Murder follows Izzy and her group of friends during different time periods during their final year at Marian Academy, a prestigious school on the east coast. Following their high school graduation, Izzy's best friend, Kassidy, invites some of her classmates to spend the week at Sparrow Island, requiring them to go sans cell phones and dress in 1920s era clothing. On the third day, one of the group is found stabbed to death in his bedroom. Detectives are brought in. Suddenly a Murder was a very poorly written book. It was fragmented, with poor character development, and almost all of the "gotcha!" moments were because someone found a very convenient hiding space to spy and not necessarily due to anything that would drive the plot forward. The various twists came from so far out of left field that it was obvious they were just done for the shock factor. I imagine my library will order this book but I won't be recommending it.

This was such a fun mystery, even if it was pretty run of the mill. The idea of rich teens (except one) going to a private island to celebrate graduation with a 1920's flare, was definitely intriguing, but didn't feel ground breaking. The plotline was twisty, with big reveals, misdirection, and unreliable narrators, yet was rather easy to solve. What really made this book for me though, was the writing and the characters. Munoz put a lot of thought into her characters and they all had such great depth and feeling. I really liked reading snippets from each characters lives and learning just a little bit more with each passing chapter. the style of writing was quite mature without being over the heads of most teens. It took out a feeling of being dumbed down and was rather intriguing with its descriptions and melodic settings. In the end, though I was not surprised by the killer, I was surprised by how much I wanted to know how the author was going to spin their tale. I will definitely be looking for more from this author in the future.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What happens when a bunch of teenagers gather at an isolated manor for a graduation celebration from hell?

This book read like a soap opera but featured 18 year olds instead of adults. It kind of turned me off, since there was a ton of drinking and drug references and mentions of hookups and cheating. These things don't scream "I just graduated from high school" but here we are. If the characters had just graduated from college and were older, this book would have been more believable.
Narrator and FMC Izzy is very unreliable. Every character is. I didn't mind that, but at the same time, it made the story flat. The characters weren't discernable enough for me.
Obviously, a murder takes place during this week long graduation party. Detectives are dragged onto the scene, and honestly their investigation was a snooze fest. They weren't really digging up dirt on anyone or being tough enough with these kids. Also, they didn't reprimand them for the underage drinking (which they were aware of) or try to take away the booze, which I found odd??? Again, it took away any believability of this book.
And that ending! I wanted to scream. What kind of ending was that?! Waaaaay too much happened in the last 15% of this book. And one of the detectives just happens to know Izzy's estranged father? I don't buy it. It's not THAT small of a world. And don't even get me started with the Blaine and Ms. Morales thing. That came out of left field and it was UNWELCOME.

Despite all of that, there were some juicy bits in here and it was a quick read. It's very soap opera-y though, so beware before you pick this up.