I wanted to love this one. Because I was drawn in because of the 1920s themed graduation party. However I couldn't stand any of the characters. I know they were teenagers 17 and 18 because they had graduated high school but they read so much younger. Even though this is debut author the writing shows that she will indeed write some great books. The storyline and mystery in this one was good however the characters were not.

Izzy Morales has survived being the poor kid at the exclusive academy she attends in Maine. To celebrate, she joins her best friend Kassidy, and 5 of their friends on a week long getaway at the place where her favorite murder mystery was filmed in the 40s. When Kassidy's boyfriend ends up dead in the bathroom on day 2, secrets rise to the surface, and everyone needs to watch their back. I really enjoyed this YA mystery, as I love a locked room mystery. This did not go where I was expecting, and I love a good surprise. Thanks to Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

So, "Suddenly a Murder" by Lauren Munoz—let's talk. It's like a rollercoaster, but one of those with a couple of bumps that make you question if it's safe. Munoz tries to throw twists at you, but some are like, "Wait, seriously?" The characters? They're relatable, but also kind of predictable, like you've seen them in a dozen other mysteries.

Furthermore, Munoz tries to paint these vivid scenes, but it's almost too much. You're like, "Alright, we get it, there's a lot going on." Plus, you can practically predict the dialogue and subplot conflicts between characters before it happens. It's like you've read it in every other thriller out there.

Now, the ending—it's not exactly a grand finale. More like a sudden stop, leaving you thinking, "Wait, that's it?" To me, it was a bit of a letdown. It's a page-turner, sure, but more like a guilty-pleasure read when you're desperate for a mystery fix.

Loved the Knives Out comp title here! Such a good one. Wealthy teens decide to rent Ashwood Manor, where a favorite movie was set. This is to celebrate their high school graduation. But when Kassidy's boyfriend is murdered, everyone is a suspect. The book is set on an island, so it MUST be someone there. A fun, twisty quick read of a book!

This book hooked me with the Knives Out comp title. That’s all I needed to know.

With the exception of Izzy, these teens are seriously wealthy. One even received a yacht as a birthday present. Izzy’s best friend Kassidy rents Ashwood Manor, the island setting of Izzy’s favorite movie, for a week to celebrate their high school graduation. Just a group of friends and a few employees will be on the island. I loved the 1920s theme from the vintage clothes to the food and activities. Everything is meant to be authentic, so all the teens turn in their phones, which are then transported off the island.

When Kassidy’s boyfriend is murdered, there is no shortage of suspects. No one else could have reached the island, so the murderer is someone in the circle of friends. Through alternating chapters showing events from weeks or months ago, every person has motive. Emotions run high, and old hurts are uncovered, accusations are hurled, and excuses made.

When detectives arrive on the island, each suspect is questioned and secrets come tumbling out. Some revelations were completely unexpected, but I’d guessed the culprit before the end. Still, that didn’t detract from my enjoyment of this novel. It’s an outstanding debut that kept me engaged from the first page. I’m anxious to see what this author does next. If you’re a fan of locked-room murder mysteries, this is a fun one.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

RATING: 4🌟
Review: I have to confess, I felt like the beginning was a bit slow. But as a YA murder mystery lover, this one did not disappoint.
Maye for my past history with this genre, I guessed the plot twist right in the beginning, but the book itself was really entertaining. I loved the whole 1920s vibe, it added a lot to the book. Overall, an enjoyable rad!

Thank you to the author, publisher and @NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

For a YA murder-mystery, this was surprisingly good! I loved the secluded setting, the ‘rich kid throws extravagant themed party gone wrong’ storyline and just enjoyed myself trying to figure this one out. Worth the read!

This was a pretty good book. It was written very well and I truly did not know who to suspect and who to believe!

This was a very interesting mystery. There were many flashbacks that sometimes made sense of the plot but at other times just made the story confusing. There were many relationships that were convoluted and you were left guessing how each of the characters felt about the others.
The second half of the book made things a bit more straightforward and helped the reader understand all the motives and relationships that were going on. The ending brought everything to a reasonable conclusion - even if it was a bit out there.
This would probably be a great beach read or a great weekend snowy day read.
Enjoy!

Wow the twists in this book were SHOCKING! I loved every moment of it. The writing style is so well done and I think the fact that the story skipped from the present timeline to weeks or months in the past really kept the reader on the edge of their seat and made the thrill of trying to figure out who did it more thrilling. I couldn’t believe the ending and it made it even better that I wasn’t even close to guessing the murder and all the tiny details that built up the motive and made each character look like a suspect. In all, I really enjoyed reading this book and can’t wait for it to be released!

First of all, the fact that rich kids spent most likely and un-Godly amount of money to totally recreate and live in another decade made me love this book. I just thought that premise was so unique and interesting. Also, I loved the different twists and turns of diving into each character’s life and relationship with each other. Per usual, nothing is as it seems. I also absolutely did not see the big twist coming so I loved that!

Good concept but the execution just wasn’t there. The story was slow and barely kept my interest. I love the concept of a locked room mystery but this required a lot of suspension of disbelief to work, particularly in the actions of the detectives and the main character. None of the characters were likeable. There’s a bunch of plot “twists” that don’t do anything for the story. There’s nothing relatable in this one.

I was so excited to read this one, I mean 20s themed party sign me up! But unfortunately the writing style was what I had the biggest issue with. I always love a book with multiple POV but in this case, with the changing from first person to third person, it really threw me out of the story. Some of the twists were really well done and that I didn’t see coming but overall I was bored for most of the book

I loved every single thing about this book! Firstly, locked room mysteries are my all time favorite and this one was done so well!! Next, the 1920’s themed party at a mansion in Maine was the setting and it was so much fun and atmospheric. Lastly, this is a YA mystery that is great for this time of year!

A group of friends throw a 1920s themed party and one ends up dead. In this locked room mystery friends turn against each other and divulge secrets. I had high hopes
for Suddenly A Murder, but it fell flat for me. Izzy and her friends were annoying and selfish, I was rooting for no one. The mystery held no surprises and I was not invested in the ending.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 4.5/5 stars

This was a great mystery! With its spooky setting of a Mansion and a 1920s themed party, count me in!

I give it a 4.5 stars only because it started slow at first and it took me awhile to grasp all the many different characters. Further into the read I couldn't put it down and had to know what happened next. The cast of characters were unique and Muñoz did a great job of giving us bits and pieces of them as the book went on. I loved being able to sit on all the interrogations of each character for us to build a full view of what was going on. The twist was great and I was unable to guess the ending. This was a great read and I highly recommend anyone who loves a good whodunnit.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Young Readers Group for the ARC.

I received a free eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a fun one; very teenaged Agatha Christie (there’s even a scene at the very end where the detective explains how the crime went down and how she figured it all out). Our protagonist is Izzy - her mom is a teacher at a super fancy prep school, but thanks to her friendship with Kassidy, one of the most popular girls in school, Izzy has never really felt left out or ostracized by her classmates. She hangs out and parties with them, but she always turns down Kassidy’s offers to join her family on fabulous vacations. I really liked Izzy and Kassidy’s friendship - there’s no mean girl/queen bee energy. Kassidy is super rich, but she’s also kind and generous and considerate (Izzy eventually realizes that Kassidy is a little offended Izzy never takes her up on her vacation offers - she’s not doing it out of pity, she just wants to spend time with her bestie). Kassidy’s boyfriend Blaine, however, is a bit of a tool. It’s interesting that he’s super popular and also a theater kid (usually those two things don’t go together, but I guess having lots of money and access to drugs will elevate one’s social standing). I feel like it’s not *too* much of a spoiler to say that he winds up being the murder victim, and literally everyone has a decent motive.

The bulk of the story takes place at Ashwood Manor, an old house (soon to be a museum to the classic films that were set there) on an isolated island. Kassidy has invited an “exclusive” guest list to celebrate their high school graduation in style. She’s packed authentic 1920s clothing and accessories for everyone, and to keep things truly authentic, she makes them send all of their baggage and technology back to the mainland. I liked this twist, as it’s completely in keeping with Kassidy’s character (she and Izzy love to dress up and act out their favorite old movies), but it also keeps technology from becoming a factor in the plot. No one is recording or taking pictures or sending secret messages. Old school. I dig it.

The guest list is sort of a ragtag crew, in spite of Kassidy’s insistence that it’s exclusive. There’s Izzy and Blaine, of course, as the bestie and the boyfriend. There’s also Ellison, the star athlete sure to be an Olympic rower. He’s sort of Blaine’s man crush, I guess? Blaine’s been hanging out with him a lot, much to the dismay of his best friend Fergus, a fellow theater kid with a huge (not entirely unrequited…) crush on Ellison. There’s also Marlow, another super rich kid who’s a bit antisocial, but Kassidy knows Izzy has a thing for him, so she invites him so they can *finally* get together. It’s real wing woman work. Then finally there’s Chloe, the class valedictorian who had a fling with Blaine that Kassidy almost certainly knows about. No one in the group is friends with Chloe, so it’s not entirely clear why she’s here, other than to widen the pool of suspects. She of course believes Blaine is going to break up with Kassidy for her, because she’s a teenager and teenagers aren’t that bright.

So they’re on the island mostly alone - Kassidy has hired a staff to take care of them for the week, but they’re essentially unsupervised (I was tempted to call BS on the fact that these people are mixing cocktails for 18-year-olds, but I assume they’re being paid quite well to look the other way). I kind of wished the staff had factored more into the plot. Kassidy tells her friends to just ignore them, as guests would in the 1920s, but there’s a moment when Izzy is confronted by one of the maids when it’s clear they know everything that’s been going on. I guess since Izzy’s the narrator and Blaine’s murder is the focus, and eventually a couple of investigators show up, there’s no need to muddy the waters with another handful of side characters.

Anyway, on the first night, everyone drinks too much and starts telling uncomfortable truths, so the following day, they’re all nursing various degrees of hangovers. By the time dinner rolls around, Kassidy has already almost died getting caught in a riptide (Blaine tries to save her and nearly drowns himself), and everyone’s sort of over it already. But Blaine doesn’t come down to dinner because he’s…dead.

Eventually a couple of investigators show up. Well, one actual detective and a consultant named Pilar de Leon (who for some reason is always referred to by her full name). They have a pretty typical good cop/bad cop routine going. Pilar is sure everyone is lying (because they are), and it’s sort of funny that in the end she tells them that they're not quite as clever as they imagine themselves to be. But everyone is stuck together at the house as a giant storm rolls in, the kids are all stuck in their 1920s costumes, having sent their real clothes back to the mainland. It’s a real trip, and I would love to see this get the miniseries treatment (provided it can stick to a single season).

The one thing that bugged me (other than the rant under the spoiler cut) is the way the flashbacks are presented. So everyone has a pretty decent motive for murder, and the flashbacks lay that out more clearly. But while the present day stuff is narrated in first person by Izzy, the flashbacks are all in 3rd person. I get that since Izzy isn’t present for all of this stuff, it wouldn’t make sense for it to be in first person, and it might be *more* jarring to switch POVs to the other characters solely for flashbacks. I’m not sure if there is a better way to do this, but it was definitely an odd choice, and something I think would play much better on screen than on the page. So often I find myself wishing that stories with excessive flashbacks were just told chronologically, as I think they can be a crutch to avoid giving away too much detail too soon in a story with a thin plot. I think the flashbacks here are definitely necessary, and it also makes sense to present them *as flashbacks*, rather than trying to tell the story in order (that would have been boring - so much build up before getting to the fireworks factory!).

But overall this is enormously fun, and I’m excited to see what Lauren Munoz writes next (what a great debut!). This reminded me a lot of Nine Liars, and is in fact sort of what I wished that story would have been instead - just focusing on the friends and the murder, rather than bringing in the investigators.

I was so frustrated throughout this book because I knew the main character was purposefully misleading us with her knife and all the implied meaning, but I didn't know what was actually happening!! And by the time I found out, I wasn't all that interested anymore. I did, however, really like the (not) detective who has come in to help the investigation. Her entire character was nicely fleshed out and really drew me in. The overall resolution for all of the teens left me sad, and not much liking any of them. It reminds me of Donna Tartt.

It takes a lot for me to read a mystery these days. I really only read like 3 a year and I'm glad Suddenly a Murder is on this list. Pilar de Leon is going to give Benoit Blanc and Hercule Poirot a run for their money in the murder solving business. This book blended the vibes of Knives Out and Truly Devious in a fun and fresh take on the whodunnit. While I had a feeling who did it probably a third of the way through the book I still enjoyed seeing the secrets unravel. A riveting and exciting debut that'll firmly put Lauren on the YA murder mystery scene.

(cw: mentions of student/teacher (adult/minor) relationship, off page murder with on page dead body, mentions of deportation, off page parent death)

3/5 stars! This story kind of works as a YA mystery story, but I couldn't find myself pulled into the story. I read it and it was fine, but nothing stuck out as special to me. I would probably try another book by this author to see if it's a one-off. I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.