Five longtime friends get together for a Spring break vacation. They choose to go to Oregan where there is a winery. Everything goes well until Vanessa goes missing. Emily was the last person to see her, but each friend seems to be hiding something. They decide to return to the same location to try to retrace that day when their friend went missing, but can they trust what each of the friends seem to recall.
I could not identify with these characters. I try to imagine them like I was watching a movie, but unfortunately this book was not for me.
I do thank the author, publisher and Netgalley for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

What an absolute page-turner! Scenes of the Crime kept me up past my bedtime just waiting to see what would happen next! Though it was occasionally predictable and some of the characters were a bit less complex than I would’ve liked, it kept me engaged and wondering what would happen next!

A group of friend's friend disappeared 15 years ago and secrets come out through all the friends. This was just ok for me. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early release in exchange for my honest review.

This book is proof that you cannot judge a book by its cover, as the cover is what initially caught my eye. I kept thinking that if I stuck with the story, it would be worth it, but it was difficult to connect with any of the characters, which is how I usually most enjoy a story. They were mean girls, but not in the fun way.

Thank you, NetGalley,

It is a slow burn, with characters that are all mean girls. I don't like reading about groups of girls, who shouldn't be friends. If they hated each other that much why still hang out? I also found the movie script hard to read, I found myself skipping over those parts. I think it would be better as an audiobook. This book would be a good book to start reading thrillers/ mysteries but was someone who reads mostly thrillers this book didn't stand out to me.

It’s okay that the romance genre is formulaic. We read romance anticipating the witty banter, the frustrating miscommunication, and finally the happily ever after.

It’s not okay that the over saturated thriller market, is becoming formulaic and predictable too.

This time the locale is an Oregon Coast winery, instead of a ski chalet or an Island, (see epilogue) but that is about all that sets it apart.

We have a group of 5 friends (frenemies) who had gathered for a Spring break getaway where one disappears. The “friends” go their separate ways until one decides, after 15 years apart, that there should be a reunion for “closure” about what happened.

This time it’s Emily Fischer, now a screenwriter, who is inspired to tell their friend Vanessa’s story, when she spots her doppelgänger at a local café. Emily puts a plan into motion, suggesting that the reunion take place at the scene of the crime-the winery owned by Brittany and Vanessa’s grandparents.

Their back story is shared with us through the pages of her screenplay, (original) but it reads very YA.

The other friends who agree to attend are Brittany, Vanessa’s cousin who has inherited the winery, Paige, the former athlete of the group, and Lydia, the meekest of the five.

The characters are not well developed and those descriptors are about all we learn about them, Their toxic “friendships” didn’t feel authentic, since we never really got to know them.

Of course they each know something about that night which they haven’t shared with the others-and then we all learn the truth.

I was not at all invested in learning the outcome.

I probably wouldn’t have requested this book, but when I was invited to read it, I took a chance on it because I spent a year living in Oregon and I loved tasting at the wineries there and visiting the gorgeous Oregon Coast, but unfortunately the locale wasn’t enough to save this tired premise.

As always, if you haven’t yet read a lot of these stories, it might work better for you.

AVAILABLE September 5, 2023

Thank You to Bantam Dell who provided a gifted copy through NetGalley in exchange for an HONEST review.

This is an Agatha Christie “locked together on an island” type of mystery, only set mostly at a winery in coastal Oregon. The lead character is a screen writer in Los Angeles (hence the ‘Scenes’-plural-in the book’s title) haunted by the disappearance of her friend at the winery fifteen years earlier. She vows to bring together the others in the circle of friends who were present, in the desperate hope that she can piece together her own, almost nonexistent, memories.

It turns out the friends aren’t such good friends after all. They were held together the by the glue of the forceful personality of the woman who disappeared. This becomes evident when they arrive at the winery manor house and barbs start to fly. Pretty soon, it feels like you’re in a scene from Mean Girls.

There’s a little bit too much description for my taste (I don’t need to know what’s on the crackers, how high the ceiling is, or who’s got the most money), but this will appeal to some. For me, it’s a kind of literary voyeurism that distracts from the story.

(Note: if you’re bothered by the f—- word, this is not your book. By the middle of the story it is the most frequently used adjective.)

I’ll give the author this: I read through to the end to find out what happened. But my feeling about this book is that is overly dramatic, overly described, overly mean, and alcohol soaked. The device of a script writer trying to make her friends into a salable script really doesn’t work for me. Sadly, Scenes of the Crime does not make me want to pick up another of the author’s books.

Fifteen years ago, five college girlfriends spring break together at a remote winery on the Oregon coast. But at the end of it, only four of them emerged. Vanessa, the one holding them all together, disappears without a trace, and Emily is left with a hole in her memory, wondering if she had something to do with it. Fast-forward to present day and Emily is a screenwriter stuck in a dead-end job, and while writing in her favorite LA hangout she swears she spots Vanessa. So she calls up the other three and convinces them to go back to the winery together to get closure--but secretly hopes she can find the inspiration she needs to turn their story into the script that will make her career. But when mysterious things start happening at the winery, it seems that someone knows more than she's saying about what happened that dark, wine-soaked night, so long ago.

I loved the flashes between the narrative from Emily's POV and the text of the screenplay she's writing. We know she's weaving a story with some creative license in the screenplay, but it becomes harder and harder to tell what is truth and what is fiction. Can she trust any of her memory? Complicating that are the TOXIC relationships that all the "friends" seems to have with each other, both in the past and present. I found myself asking how they were even friends? Everyone seemed to be using each other and keeping secrets. And when the mysterious things start happening, everything gets so tense. It was the right amount of tension for me, and no gore. I don't want to ruin the end, but I love how the truth was used, abused, and how it all turned out. Such a great story and such a wonderful, unique structure in which to tell it!

Thanks to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for my advance electronic copy. Any opinions expressed are my own.

This is a suspensful thriler of 5 friends who reunite after one goes missing., Part of the story was told through one of the characters writing the story to the reader and the remainder of the story is told with the story. The characters did not resonate with me as the types who would be friends or bother to investigate a cold crime. If you like thrillers based around groups of friends, wineries and a missing person story you will like this book.

Thank you to the publisher and to Net Galley. My review opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book had a very promising premise. A group of girlfriends get together again on a girl’s trip to get some closure on the disappearance of their friend years ago. However I felt like this one didn’t hit the mark for me.

To start of with the good, I thought the incorporation of the script to help piece together the events of the night of the disappearance was clever. Though, as it went on, it got very confusing to distinguish what was actually truth vs fiction, which may be what the author intended, but as a reader, it was frustrating.

All of the character’s motivations were all over the place and didn’t make sense. I started to lose sense of the plot around 50% in, and from there the book became hard to finish even though it is fairly short.

I also didn’t understand how these girls became friends to begin with. None of them had anything in common, nor supported each other on anything, so it was unbelievable that they would get together in the current timeline to go on a trip together. The toxicity of the friendships is a theme throughout the book, but it was too much for me to enjoy.

Creepy thriller that fell a bit short. I thought the cover was beautiful and the synopsis quickly caught my eye. I did not like the screenplay chapters, it didn't flow well and was very distracting. It is worth finishing, as the ending was fantastic! While this wasn't my favorite thriller, I will happily read more books by this author as there seems to be good potential.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

This story is about a group of “friends” who reunite after a traumatic experience. Friends is I. The very loosest definition of the word. Each character is unpleasant enough that it is hard to champion any. The story that unfolds is full of drama.

Included in the main thread of the story is a fictional story being written by one of the characters. It muddies the original narrative of the main plot and makes truth difficult to distinguish. I really wish this had been left out.

I’d still recommend if you like psychological thrillers, stories with highly flawed characters, and lots of drama.

I found this to be a very interesting and suspenseful book. Everyone involved seem to be a little bit suspect to me. It was such an interesting premise, and kept me involved from start to finish. If I’m going to read a mystery thriller, I need to be captivated, from the beginning to the end of the book. In this case, I thoroughly enjoyed both the story, and a very interesting if not always relatable characters.

Fifteen years ago, five friends, Vanessa, Emily, Brittany, Paige, and Lydia, spent a weekend at Brittany’s family’s winery on the Oregon coast. After a wine infused evening, Vanessa disappeared. Emily always wondered if she had something to do with that disappearance. When she thinks she sees Vanessa at a local coffee shop, she calls together the other three women for a weekend reunion at the winery to try to figure out just what happened. Oh, and since she is a writer for television, she is also working on a screenplay about the incident.

If I had not made a commitment to never have a DNF, this may well have been one for me. I always like to give a book a chance and sometimes am pleasantly surprised. Unfortunately, this just didn’t capture my interest and I frequently found myself skimming. Weaving a script for a screenplay into the story is a clever device, but, somehow, it just didn’t work. It also made it difficult to distinguish between what really happened and what Emily was making up. It took about half the book for secrets to begin to be revealed. All of the women were quite unpleasant characters. I certainly wouldn’t want to spend a weekend with any of them and it was difficult to believe that they were supposed to be such good friends at one time.

There will be an audience for this book; I just wasn’t it.

Strange story about strange people. Switching back between 15 years ago when one of a group of women went missing and presumed dead at sea, and the present when the remaining women reunite at the same house by the sea.

fast paced thriller that i couldn't put down

thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the copy for review

What an interesting premise....a college student disappears and is presumed dead. Her friends say they know nothing. Now, 15 years later, they get together again at the scene. No spoilers here, but somewhat predictable after getting into it.

One of the characters writes for a TV show. I love the inclusion of scenes written like a movie. That was a fun addition.

Scenes of the Crime is closed door mystery about the disappearance of college student Vanessa 15 years ago. While on a trip to her family's winery with her cousin and three other friends Vanessa vanishes. The girls decide to go back to the winery together to try and get some kind of closure though one of them has an ulterior motive. Emily is writing a screenplay about what happened and wants to solve the mystery of their missing friend. I wanted to really like this book but to be honest was just ok for me. The story had an interesting premise but at times was hard to keep straight what was going on and if what we were being told was reliable. There are scenes from the screenplay at the end of the chapters and that didn't totally work for me. I was surprised by the twist at the end so that helped my rating. Would recommend this book 3 star. I want to thank NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Scenes of the Crime drew me in with the dark premise of a girl gone missing without a trace. What happened to Vanessa? After disappearing one night and an extensive search, Vanessa is presumed dead. Years later, writer Emily and her crew of friends from college reunite at the winery where Vanessa was last seen alive. But all of the women hold secrets about Vanessa and their last moments with her. When ominous things start happening, will Emily be able to discover what truly happened to Vanessa?

Scenes of the Crime was an interesting thriller that had a kaleidoscope of a mystery at its heart. The format of using a script felt like a good choice, though at times it was hard to tell what was fact and what was the script angle (as intended, I’m sure!). My favorite character was Emily; I liked learning about her job and what she remembers about her time with Vanessa. All of the women are morally gray and contain layers of secrets. Brittany was villainous in a fun way, while Paige and Lydia revealed their true natures over time. None of them felt particularly likable to me, but this worked in creating an atmosphere where no character is fully trustworthy (not even Emily). The setting was creepy and isolating, adding to a sense of urgency when clues about Vanessa start showing up. Overall I liked the resolution, though at first it took some time to process. Scenes of the Crime is a bingeable and enjoyable mystery featuring a missing girl, an isolated location, and morally gray characters.

Thank you to Jilly Gagnon, Bantam, and Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Full disclosure – I was provided a copy of this book by the author; however, I have voluntarily chosen to write a review. All opinions are my own.

Scenes of the Crime is scheduled for a September 5, 2023 release

Where’s Vanessa?

Five Friends take a trip to a remote winery in Oregon. It should have been the perfect chance to relax and wind down after a long semester of studies and exams. But when Vanessa Morales vanishes without a trace the remaining girls’ lives are turned upside down. Now, fifteen years later Paige Fischer is a writer in a long running sitcom. Tired of penning the same old formulaic, clichéd content she feels that if she can only complete that breakthrough script that she can finally break out of obscurity and into success. When she spies a dead ringer for her missing friend Vanessa, her writer’s brain kicks in. What exactly happened to Vanessa? She was the last person to possibly have seen her alive, but only a few cryptic text messages left behind. Could she tell Vanessa’s story (albeit with a little literary license) and bring closure to herself and her friends? With the once close-knit group of friends not even speaking after the events of that day would it even be possible to bring the group together to share their experiences? After pulling some strings with Vanessa’s cousin Brittany, the remaining women agree to meet for a weekend at the winery; if for no other reason than to reminisce and obtain closure. However, as the weekend wears on and increasingly more strange events occur it does not appear that closure is anywhere in sight. Everyone in the group has a different story of that night and everyone has their secrets. When the truth is revealed, it will affect all parties involved irrevocably.

Scenes Of The Crime is the upcoming novel by author Jilly Gagnon. Taking the premise of “escape room” to a new level Gagnon has crafted a tale that will keep the reader guessing. As the surviving friends return to the winery the atmosphere is tense but seems to loosen up once the wine begins to flow. As each person reveals their secrets about Vanessa it becomes clear that if foul play was involved, each of the friends had a reason to want her out of the picture if not dead. With the bulk of the story taking place over a weekend, the action was fairly fast paced and mostly centered around the winery. Gagnon’s description of remote cliff top locale with all it’s secret passages and prohibition era caves was very east to imagine. This was a story that sucked me in and had me binging into the wee hours, and while the was my first time reading this author it will not be my last.

If you like mysteries with grandiose setting and characters that are relatable in their unlikableness, Scenes of The Crime will be the perfect binge read for you.