I’m not sure how I feel about this one still. I liked it while I was reading it but I found it very forgettable. I did really like the characters and the story line.

This one has such a clever premise: a crime and a screen writer writing her script based upon the crime as it unfolds for the reader. the premise is fresh, but sadly this one felt like it had potential to be great but was just OK. A twisty read.

#ScenesOfTheCrime #NetGalley
It should have been the perfect spring break: Five girlfriends. A remote winery on the Oregon coast. An infinite supply of delicious wine at their manicured fingertips. But then their center—beautiful, magnetic Vanessa Morales—vanished without a trace.
Emily Fischer was perhaps the last person to see her alive. But now, years later, Emily spots Vanessa’s doppelganger at a local café. At the end of her rope working a lucrative yet mind-numbing gig on a network sitcom, Emily is inspired to finally tell the story that’s been percolating inside her for so long: Vanessa’s story. But first, she needs to know what really happened on that fateful night. So she puts a brilliant scheme into motion. She gets the girls together for a reunion weekend at the scene of the crime under the guise of reconnecting. There’s Brittany, Vanessa’s cousin and the inheritor of the winery; Paige, a former athlete, bullish yet easily manipulated; and Lydia, the wallflower of the group. One of them knows the truth. But what have they each been hiding? And how much can Emily trust anything she learns from them or even her own memories of Vanessa’s last days?
Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine for giving me an advance copy.

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.

The book was a slower burn. Overall the writing was good, but I had problems getting into the actual plot. It took me months to actually read the book as I kept picking it up and putting it back down.

This book was tense and heartpounding. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. I really enjoyed it and recommend it to anyone looking for an addictive psychological thriller!

I didnt really enjoy this. It was slower and just not for me at all. I thought the description sounded great but it just missed the mark

When Emily, a stuck-in-a-rut screenwriter from LA, decides to get the "girls" back together for a weekend to rehash the day one of their posse, Vanessa, disappeared fifteen years ago, she doesn't bank on getting way more than she bargained for. All four of the women have drifted apart over the years, and all have very strong and distinct personalities. So, when items that only Vanessa would know about start appearing in the house, everyone is instantly on edge. Already toeing a razor thin line, the appearance of the items sends the women into a tailspin.

It took me absolutely FOREVER to get into this book (as can be evidenced by how late I'm submitting this review - it was published in September and it is currently March). I stopped and started countless times over the six months that I had the advance copy, and I was convinced it was a "it's not the book it's me" situation. But even after trying several times, it was just HARD to get through. The only reason I finished, if I'm being honest, is I'm WAY too stubborn to DNF something I've already sank considerable time into. The story plods along with a lot of exposition, rambling description, and a lot of one-dimensional characters - two if I'm being generous. Adding to that one-or-two-dimension situation, none of the characters were particularly likable. I can get behind having unlikable characters, but there needs to be at least one that you can spark some sort of connection with - even if it is to root for their demise or downfall. I didn't have that here.

The interspersing of the screenplay was jarring. I understood why it was there, but I never quite knew if I could believe what was being written by Emily - there was never any indication if it was true or if it was all coming from her head. I guess that was maybe the point?

What can go wrong when a bunch of women decide to re-enact the weekend that led to the disappearance of one of their friends years ago? It turns out the answer is a lot. Set up as a locked room mystery that aims to use the present to solve the past, Scenes of the Crime focuses on the secrets a group of friends has been hiding surrounding the disappearance of their friend Vanessa.

I really wanted to love this, but unfortunately this proved to be both formulaic and predictable. I called every single "twist" and was left bored and uninspired. The characters feel very flat, and their relationships are not hashed out enough to create the tension the story really needed. Ultimately, this fell very flat for me and could have vastly improved from having more focus on characters and their interactions.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for this ARC. I am leaving this review voluntarily and all views expressed are my own.

i had a very hard time getting into this book. i struggled with the multiple POVs and just wasn’t overly interested. DNFed at 35%.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Bantam for providing me with an advance e-galley of this book in exchange for an honest review. Look for it now in your local and online bookstores and libraries.

I would give this 3.5 stars.
It’s an interesting read about a writer who wants to go back to the scene of a crime of her friends disappearance. Reuniting her old friend group from college she is hoping to find out what happened to Vanessa while also writing her screenplay.

When Emily gets her friends together after 15 years for a weekend at the winery where her friend Vanessa died, she gets way more than she bargained for. Lydia, Brittany, and Paige are all wary of each other and not wanting to play nice, even after all this time. When items start showing up that only Vanessa knows about, the women are really on edge. It doesn’t help that they are in a very remote location, on the ocean, with caves and cliffs surrounding the winery. Through a series of events and some twists and turns, they finally get to the bottom of what happened to Vanessa all those years ago. Although none of the characters are too likable in this book, it made each character seem guilty and helped the story not be too predictable.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I had a hard time really getting into the story- usually suspense/thriller like this catches me pretty early on, but I just couldn't find a character I could like or relate to. I did push through to finish the book, 2.25 stars for me. Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book!

DNF @ 10%

After reading some mediocre reviews I made the decision to set this one aside. If a thriller does not pull me in right away I am working on getting better at DNFing it so I do not get into a slump.

Ooo this one definitely threw me for a loop. I felt that I thought I knew what was going to happen but then completely did not. The ending was great and I am a big fan of the writing and how Jilly Gagnon brought this storyline to life.

Scenes of the Crime by Jilly Gagnon reminded me quite a bit of similar books, such as One of the Girls and The Wild Girls, but that doesn't keep me from having enjoyed all of these books. We are made aware pretty quickly that Emily, our MC, is an unreliable narrator as she narrates the ersatz reunion weekend at a winery that is the "scene of the crime" while also writing a screenplay that she hopes to revive her career.
I liked this book a good bit more than "All Dressed Up". The author does seem to be improving but it's still pretty typical thriller formula with under-developed supporting characters, which was one of my biggest problems with Gagnon's previous offering.
Four stars because I liked the setting, the embedded screenplay, and the ending. Suggested for fans of Ruth Ware, Gillian Flynn, and the other usual suspects.

Scenes of the crime by Jilly Gagnon, is about friends reuniting to figure out how one of them died years before. The way it was written alternated between normal chapters and then the script of a screenplay. It was a little hard to follow at times. Overall, the story was good, but the pacing was off and the writing style was a little difficult for me. Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Scenes of the Crime is written by Jilly Gagnon. This is the first book by this author that I have read. This book is written as a split between real life and one of the characters' intended screenplay. I found it a little hard to follow. The setting is a winery in Oregon and friends reunited 15 years after a traumatic event. The 5 friends, who are a bit toxic, and you will like some over the other. During this reunion can they get to the bottom of it? Which one of the friends knows the actual truth.

Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for allowing me to read a copy of this book - all thoughts are my own.

I actually started this one back in August and tried multiple times to come back to it after long breaks. I was purposefully trying to reset and to see if maybe I was just in the wrong headspace at the time. Apparently not. It wasn't for me. The two biggest reasons I abandoned ship were the redundancy--all show no tell with a lot of plodding along--and the unlikable characters. I don't give any thought or time to women like this in my own life, so it's hard to do so for fictional characters. Between the pacing and characters it made no sense for me to continue. I appreciate the opportunity to read it but unfortunately it wasn't a good fit for me.