I have to admit I was a little surprised to discover this book is a debut. Going for a well written locked room mystery for a debut is bold, but clearly a smart decision because this mystery was well done. I do have to say it is a bit of a slow burn mystery with more adolescent drama than action. I thought the twists were well done even if they weren’t so twisty I didn’t have a good idea what was coming. Izzy and her best friend Kassidy have always loved old movies. As a graduation present and a final hurrah Kassidy rents out a house about to become a museum that was featured in one of their favorite movies for a 1920’s themed week long party with her best friend Izzy, her boyfriend Blaine and several of their friends. Armed with authentic costumes and period activities and lacking cell phones the teens discover there are some unresolved issues between them but all of that stops mattering and matters more than ever when Blaine is discovered dead.

I am so glad I got the chance to read this book! I really enjoyed this thriller that included the bonus of a foreboding setting on an isolated island during a storm. A group of recently graduated HS seniors head this private island for a week of glamorous 1920's dress-up and end up embroiled in a murder when one them is brutally killed. The story is full of twists and turns right up until the end. I can often figure out mysteries before the end but with this book I did not have a clue!!

Thank you @penguinteen for sending me a #gifted copy of this book #PRHAInfluencer

I also had the pleasure of listening to the audiobook courtesy of @prhaudio thank you!

Title : Suddenly a Murder
Author: Lauren Muñoz
Narrator: Diana Bustelo

Book thoughts :

Suddenly a Murder is a YA murder mystery, where everyone is a suspect when one friend gets murdered at a 1920s themed party.
I love me a good locked room mystery.
This book was interesting to me. I knew immediately who the killer was BUT the motive is what had me dying. I was very vocal with my shock. When I think about it I’m still saying holy shit Ms. Muñoz! That’s a twist i didn’t see coming. I loved the ending. I know that some people might not like it but I found it very satisfying.

I loved the Latinx representation in this.
I’m always happy when I see myself represented in a book.

Overall I really enjoyed this debut and I plan to read more in the future.


Audiobook thoughts:

This audiobook was 9 hours and 17 minutes long.
The narrator Diana Bustelo did such an amazing job. I absolutely loved her as Izzy. She made the audiobook go by so quick.
I will be on the lookout for more audiobooks by her.

I enjoyed this! It's always interesting reading books written about teenagers when I'm technically old enough to be their parent, but I liked the premise- 7 teens celebrate graduation from private school but going to an old house and acting like it's the 1920s. It depends on the host family having gobs of money to supply the outfits and staff and food, but from the wealth that these families have, it's not out of the realm of possibility.

The main present-day narration is first person from Izzy, a young woman with a complicated family situation and she knows a secret about Blaine, the young man who is murdered. She's best friends with Blaine's friend Kassidy (the spelling of this bothered me but I've seen names spelled like this in truth). In between most of the present-day chapters are third person chapters from events that have happened in the past few months and allows us to get to know the other characters/suspects. The first time the switch in narration happened, it was quite jarring but I got used to it. I'm not sure how else it could have been done, because it's important to gain insight into why each "friend" had reasons to murder Blaine.

Because I guessed all but one of the twists, this book felt a little long but I still enjoyed it. I'd definitely read more of Munoz's books in the future. Thanks for the chance to read this!

This is one of those books where, even though I finished it a few months ago, I remember it so vividly because I was hooked from start to finish!

I mentioned in a previous post that this book is marketed as a YA version of Knives Out, and that was an incredibly accurate description! We had a big shot detective who showed up uninvited, a glamorous locked-room setting, and a suspicious cast of characters who all had motive and opportunity. The fabulous wealth of these teens is tempered by our main character Izzy, a Latina student who was only able to attend their fancy private school because her mom is a teacher there. Izzy had her own secrets to hide and ended up helping and hindering the official investigation whenever it fit her agenda. Some parts of this book were quite dark, which pleasantly surprised me; I wasn't expecting that level of intensity from a YA book.

I was immediately swept up in the glitz and glamour of the island manor setting while trying to keep track of all the secrets and motives. Not spoiling anything, but Muñoz had a clever way of keeping Izzy up-to-date on the investigation so that the reader doesn't feel limited by her 1st person POV. Rather, it felt like we were solving the mystery alongside her as the plot thickened and the lies were revealed one by one. The ending was a wild ride and there was one aspect of it that I would have done differently, but it didn't detract from my overall enjoyment. Again, I can't say much without revealing too much, so you'll have to experience this one for yourself! I can't wait to see what Muñoz writes next after this fun, twisty debut.

This murder mystery with Knives Out vibes was really good! The setting of an old manor used to film movies in the 1920s that's on a remote island really set the scene, and the characters were great too. I really liked how the novel was set in the present following Izzy but had flashbacks following different characters in the months leading up to the group's time on the island. There were some really good twists and turns, including a few that I didn't expect at all that made the ending and reveal surprising. This was a fun, twisty murder mystery and I really enjoyed it.

I love a good mystery/thriller! They break up my fantasy streaks and give me that shock factor I enjoy when the culprit comes to light. The blurb for this one sounded intriguing since it involved a manor with a 1920’s theme party. My kind of vibes! Unfortunately, I found myself not interested in the plot or the characters.

The book is told from different timelines but they all stem around Izzy Morales and her family. She is a gifted student who had an opportunity to go to a good school because of her mom who was a teacher there. This is the case for some kids in the real world and was definitely a good parallel. I liked that Izzy cared for her sister so much and would do anything to help her. Sisterly bonds are very important to me. I have probably said that a lot in other reviews, ha. It is obviously still true. For someone that would be considered smart she didn’t always think through the choices she made leading up to the trip to the manor and while there.

I wouldn’t say the characters had a lot of depth and this does tend to happen with mysteries. The book usually centers around the plot. That is fine because sometimes the plot carries the book but it didn’t for me here and so I was just missing a connection from both. The pacing was rather slow and I didn’t see myself caring for the plot until it got closer to the big reveal. Although, I felt like the ending was a bit anticlimactic and open-ended which is literally the worst combo for me!

Overall, this was just okay. I don’t have much to say about it since I didn’t connect with it.

Thank you Penguin for this arc
You put enough rich kids in a room with a scholarship kid, there's going to be a murder. It's a basic bookish fact at this point.
Suddenly a Murder follows the tried and true premise of a group of rich friends (and one not so rich) going on a getaway to celebrate graduation. Lies, betrayal, and infidelity threaten the group dynamic, but when one of them is murdered everything comes to light.
Diversity in books is always a treat to read, one of the reasons I was excited to read Suddenly a Murder is that BIPOC authors typically can be counted on to have a great cast of characters with BIPOC voices. Izzy's experience with race, her Father's deportation, and how she views herself is one aspect that I loved the most during reading.
The beginning is a bit clunky to get through, the writing at times just felt awkward. I did consider DNF-ing the book with how much I was struggling with it, but I am glad I stuck with it because it improved. The more I kept reading the more I enjoyed it, with the final chunk of the book having the strongest writing and most immersive reading experience.
There are a lot of different characters and at times they blend together with how similar they are in terms of "rich, privileged, spoiled". I do believe the plot would have been stronger with less voices.
I would have liked to have seen the whole book, or at least a pov or two from Pilar. She is easily the most interesting and engaging character, to the point where she was outshining the "main characters". I would sooner read and enjoy a book following her adventures, her character is just so much more fleshed out then others.
The flashbacks account for about half of the book, and felt jarring with the shifting of going from first person in the present to third in the past. I wish there were less flashbacks or less people.I don't think a book should rely so heavily on flashbacks to set the tension and reveals as much as it does in this one.
I have mixed feelings about the romance. I don't think there is enough chemistry between the characters for it to have felt real.
The reveal wasn't a surprise, though other secrets that are uncovered are a huge shock. The question I want to pose is as follows: Were there enough bread crumbs leading to the big secret, or was it so out of left field with no evidence to support it that it feels cheap and out of nowhere?
While I don't love this book, I did have a mostly enjoyable experience. I say if the premise intrigues you, give it a try and see what you think! This is Lauren Muñoz's debut novel, and I would read further books from her.
The cover is very poor, it feels very dated in terms of design and composition. I do not like it, nor would I pick it up if I saw it in a bookstore.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the Arc! When I requested this book I didn't realize that it was categorized as Young Adult (YA). I used to be all about YA in my younger days, but it just reads too juvenile for me. Overall, it is a decent book-I just am not a fan of writers having teenagers talk and behave like people in their 30s. My kids are going to love this one though!

You don't find a locked room mystery geared for the YA audience very often. Throw in a 1920s themed party for of privileged teenagers (with, of course, the one who isn't) in Maine and you have me hooked. There is a lot of teenage drama. But it wouldn't be a YA book if there wasn't.

There are a number of characters and it is told from different pov so it can be difficult to remember everyone and get a feeling for their personalities. As the book moved along it became clearer. Also, after you read the first chapter you are going to think that it is obvious who the killer is but don't let that put you off. Things aren't as they first appear.

This was very enjoyable. I definitely recommend it for people who enjoy locked room mysteries, deadly graduations, and good storytelling.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in return for an honest opinion.

Suddenly a Murder is a YA murder mystery novel where everyone is a suspect when one friend gets murdered at a 1920s themed party.

This story is full of glitz and glam, mystery and murder! The mystery aspect of the book was really interesting to me! The story kept hopping around and would tell you little bits here and there but always kept you guessing until the very end!

I think there was definitely a point where I thought each person could have been the murderer!

I'd recommend Suddenly a Murder to anyone who wants to read a twisty YA murder mystery novel!

I always love me a locked room mystery and a private island with no way off the boat works really well for those ! Add in a 1920s themed costume party and 7 high school students celebrating their recent graduation ! What could go wrong … oops one of them is dead and one of them is a killer!

This one stated off a bit slow for me but then picked up about 20% in . I enjoyed the story and the few twists that were thrown in - although I did figure out the “ who done it “ pretty early on . I loved the friendship between Izzy and Kass 🥰 i feel like we rarely read about good friendships in YA thrillers

Lauren Munoz has created a really interesting twist on a locked room period mystery. Izzy's mother teaches at the very expensive, prestigious school they attend, where she became best friends with Kassidy. Kassidy and Izzy are obsessed with Marla Nevercross, a film actress from the 1920s, regularly watching her films while wearing period clothing and speculating on how glamourous life was like in the jazz age.Kassidy is very wealthy so she convinces her parents to rent Ashwood Manor, a Nevercross' newly restored mansion on it's own private island, for a week long party for herself and six of her friends. When the friends arrive, Kassidy springs the final surprise: they are too spend the week living in the 1920s- period clothes provided, hairstyles and makeup tips provided, and all their modern items, including electronics, are confiscated. Although there are initial grumblings, all the young adults are pleased at being independent adults, with staff provided to see to their needs. So, seven friends on an island, their only outside contact a landline and a daily ferry. When Blaine, Kassidy's boyfriend is murdered, brutally stabbed in the shower, the friend's are shocked. However, it turns out everyone had a motive for wanting Blaine gone. Police are summoned and the staff are quickly dismissed as suspects, and the unravelling of whodunnit begins. The writing is fast paced, but some of the character's motivation for murder seemed a little thin and the conclusion a little too pat, Considering how traumatic the events would be, the character's seemed somewhat subdued and flimsy in their reactions. The detective seemed like a female Poirot, but perhaps that was intended as homage. It was a quick fun read. I received a eadvance copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book kept me guessing the entire time.

My brain was convinced it was one person but was also thoroughly confused because surely it could not be that simple. Of course, it wasn’t.

The characters were all interesting and, for an ensemble cast, decently fleshed out.

Essentially, this story had a little bit of everything. Friendship, romance, betrayal, mystery, and murder. It was a delightful cocktail, and I’d be interested in checking out any of the author’s future work.

This book was overall an average murder mystery in my opinion. It was enjoyable enough that I finished it rather quickly but I wasn't blown away by any of the reveals throughout the book. I did really love the 1920s classic murder mystery atmosphere though.
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The characters were mediocre and I didn't hate the MC Izzy but I wasn't really rooting for her either. She was actually kind of annoying at times. Also, I've noticed I don't really like reading about rich people 😆 so maybe that was part of the problem.
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I did enjoy learning everyone's secrets and seeing how everything fit together but the way it was delivered doesn't give the reader much of a chance to figure anything out for themselves.
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The ending wasn't necessarily shocking but was a bit emotional and not quite how I expected it to go.
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Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for honest review.

Lauren Muñoz' debut mystery novel hits me in all the right places - a manor house with secret passageways, a secluded island made even more inaccessible by a storm, young adult vibe, and adds in a 1920's party theme.

Why 1920s? The main BFFs are OB-sessed with movies from the era and host a week-long graduation party for their group of seven friends. Costuming, cocktails, location, and food are all luxuriously described.

One of them is murdered, using the knife prop from the movie that inspired the theme and one of the remaining six did it. Everyone has something to hide. The story unfolds through a series of flashbacks as the investigation proceeds, and we discover that the murdered friend was not a great person, but neither are the suspects. Who had the opportunity and the means? Who will do anything for a friend, even murder?

Definitely recommending for acquisition into high school library!

Thank you Netgalley for an ARC copy of this. I was super excited to read this book when i read the summary> It's a 1920's whodunnit kinda book. I had a hard time reading it with how the writing style kept changing from first person then third person. I had a hard time following where it was going and what time I was in. I also didn't connect with Izzy. I found her to be annoying after a while with how she went about things. I was really wanting to like this book, but in the end it wasn't for me.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
4/5 STARS

Genre: YA thriller/mystery

Similar Books:
One of Us is Lying
The Legacies

Synopsis:
To celebrate high school graduation, a group of kids rent out a mansion to have a 1920s theme party. One of the guests is found dead and everyone is a suspect.

This is a locked room murder mystery. I liked the concept of the 1920s party without technology. There were some red herrings to try and keep you guessing along with another smaller mystery. It has Latino representation as well with some of the characters. The ending was predictable for me, but might not be someone else.

Overall, a very YA fun murder mystery!

Thank you to Penguin Teen for the gifted copy! 🔪🖤

I was provided an ARC of this manuscript in exchange for my honest review.

SUDDENLY A MURDER is about a group of friends who go to Ashwood Manor to celebrate their graduation. However, a couple of days into their trip, one of them is murdered. When the detectives come to determine who did it, tensions are high and old conflicts are brought to light.. They all had a motive, the question is... who hated the victim enough to actually do it?

Overall, it was a really interesting read. You know from the beginning that the main character, Izzy is the one who brought the murder weapon. But is she the one who actually used it in the end? Everyone has a motive to kill the victim, Blaine whether that be because they're a spurned lover-- or best friend-- or a victim of his poor choices. And, of course, all these people end up alone together in a big mansion, with no cell phones. It's really interesting to watch those hostilities play out.

The ending is also pleasantly unpredictable. I thought I had it figured out by the 50% mark, and I was pretty much completely off the mark. Without getting too much into it, there's a lot of evidence pointing to one particular person as the murderer, but then a key piece of information is introduced at the end and the whole situation changes.

My one potential gripe is that because I was so sure I had it figured out, a lot of the stuff where we went back in time and saw other characters' interactions with Blaine-- aka, their motives-- felt superfluous. Once I reached the conclusion, I sort of realized why the author was doing it-- to make it more clear that it could be anyone's game, so to speak-- but because the evidence was all heavily leaning in one direction, it didn't totally come through.

Overall, I definitely enjoyed the novel though! If you love whodunnits with tense relationships and old, creepy mansions with secret mansions, I'd definitely recommend!

Young adult mysteries are the best. Truly, have you ever met a more chaotic group than hormonal teenagers without parental supervision?

Izzy Morales and her friend group are determined to have a memorable high school graduation trip. What could be more memorable than a 1920s themed week away on an island? Without any parental supervision, tensions start to run high between the seven friends, boiling over when one of them is murdered. Without a way off the island, the teenager’s lies and secrets are revealed one by one.

The YA mystery genre has let me down this year, but this book has restored my faith. Nothing quite beats reading about a crew of barely legal adults all drunk on illegal alcohol and hormones. Every character was very messy and complicated, with thought-out backstories. We have dual timelines, so we are reading about the teens lying to the detectives while also learning what actually happened.

I love the locked-room setting. They are all stuck in this old mansion on an island. No cellphones, only a landline which eventually gets knocked out when the storms come through. It was fun to try to price together who would have had the time to commit the murder, without managing to be caught in the small setting.

I had such a fun time reading this. Mystery, intrigue, dirty secrets, and complicated relationships, all complete with 1920 flapper dresses. What else could I want??

Go pick this one up, you won’t regret it. It’s a wild ride from start to finish.

Thank you NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP for the advance copy! All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.