This is a thriller/mystery set in 2 timelines. Five girlfriends in college, even then it's hard to tell why they were so close. Then one of them disappears. 15 years later, they return to the winery where she disappeared to get some closure or solve the mystery. This was a quick read, and enjoyable, but I had a hard time getting really into the characters or understanding their friendships or ties.

This was a book that I did not want to end, I enjoyed it so much. Fifteen years ago, five college girls, Brittany, Paige, Vanessa, Emily, and Lydia got together for a girls' weekend at a remote winery that belonged to one of the girl's family. But then Vanessa disappeared, later assumed dead and now each girl has a secret and no one is talking. Since that time, they have gone their separate ways and most have lost touch. Brittany is the rich bossy one, Vanessa's cousin, who is married with two children. Lydia has always been odd, hoping to go into medical research but now writes code for gamers. Paige remains Brittany's sidekick but is now married to a woman. Emily is the peacemaker and great friend of Vanessa, and has been a screenwriter in Hollywood, looking for a new story. Now they have decided to gather together to pay tribute to Vanessa and Emily is hopeful to discover the truth as she could never really remember what happened. Together, they seem to fall back into the roles they played in college yet discover, buoyed by alcohol, how toxic their friendships are when real feelings come forward and past grudges are put out there. Suspenseful and surprising, there are many red herrings that will throw you for loop and keep you reading. What really happened to Vanessa and just who is responsible? The author weaves a story that has you questioning what you think you know and second guessing yourself. Lots of twists and turns, it's a bit of a psychological thriller. I thought it quite clever that the author incorporated Emily's profession as a screenwriter to present part of the story as if it was a script being written for a movie, which is as it was. Additionally, the author, through the voice of the character Emily, sets the scenes and describes in details to make the story come alive.
Many thanks to #netgalley #scenesfothecrime #jillygagnon for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Reads form the POV of a screen writer who writes a screenplay of her and her dysfunctional friends friendships families and disappearance of one of the friends. Through writing this she tries to solve the mystery surrounding the friends disappearance. Once I got the gist of the way this book read, it was very interesting. A Cat and mouse type suspense thriller. Small bonus of a character named "Christine Silva"
Thank you to Netgalley, Random House Ballantine Bantam and the Author for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

An excellent locked room style mystery with a great twist! I really enjoyed the mix of narrative with the screenplay as the story is revealed. Would definitely recommend!

This was good, but I felt it could have been better. Now mind you, I read a LOT of these type thrillers so that could have something to do with it. The premise is good. Emily is a screenwriter for a mediocre sitcom and not very happy with her job. She decides to write a screenplay based on the disappearance of her friend Vanessa. Vanessa was part of a group of five friends, including Emily. All 5 girls took a trip to one of the girls' family's winery and Vanessa was never heard from again. Emily is certain one of the girls knows what happened, so she invites everyone back to the same location to try and get some answers. The story is told in current time and also through Emily's screenplay set in the past 15 years ago. I enjoyed the way the story was told and the setting of a winery off the Oregon coast was atmospheric. I just could not like any of the girls and didn't find them very realistic. They seemed like most of the other women in these types of books. I also had a pretty good idea of what was going on pretty early on. I was mostly right. I did see a lot of potential however, and would read something else from this author.

Thank you to #NetGalley, Jilly Gagnon and Random House for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

Scenes Of The Crime is an unexpected whirlwind thriller with layers of shocking twists and secrets which will have you reading non-stop until its jaw-dropping conclusion.

A group of friends who met in college years ago meet at the winery where one of them disappeared years ago on the anniversary of the mysterious death (disappearance) of their friend Vanessa Morales who was the bond that kept them together.

Emily Fischer knew Vanessa as her best friend. Her hazy memory of what happened the night she disappeared is the reason she convinces the women to revisit the place where something obviously occurred. But what? That night has haunted her for years.

But she also has another motive. She is a writer on a sitcom, and she knows she has more in her than writing for a silly show. She wants to attempt a screenplay about the weekend Vanessa went missing. She is sure if she can pull this off, she will have a hit on her hands.

The cast of characters at the winery this weekend, as well as the weekend of the disappearance are:

Brittany, Vanessa’s cousin. They both came from a very wealthy family, but when Vanessa’s parents die in a car crash, instead of embracing her the family treats her as an outsider. Britany got everything she wanted, including the winery when her grandparents died. Vanessa had to beg just to get tuition money. Spoiled and narcissistic, she enjoys taunting the others with what she has and looks down on them for what they don’t.

Paige, who is still friends with Brittany to this day is her puppy dog. She follows Brittany around and agrees with everything Brittany says, no matter what. She has no opinions of her own and waits for her friend to lead her.

Finally, there is Lydia who has had a difficult and challenging life. In college she was trying to pay for school and help her sick mother with her medical bills which were adding up due to all her treatments. As she looked for research jobs at school, Brittany somehow was always able to make it, so Lydia lost the job. Now, she barely participates in any conversations they have during this weekend.

Without Vanessa, these women hardly really know each other. Vanessa was truly the glue which held them all together and now without her things don’t seem to be going very smoothly. And then on the first night, items of Vanessa suddenly appear in the rooms of the women. Items she had on or saved before her disappearance.

What is going on?

Fear begins to take over the group. Why? Because they all seem to have secrets from back in the day. As we learn the history of each woman, it becomes clear Vanessa was not really who they thought she was, but neither were the other women.

And Emily’s screenplay which is dispersed throughout the story becomes invaluable to the reader. What is clear is that something terrible happened the night Vanessa disappeared. Was it one of them? Now if Emily could only find out what happened, she would have the ending she knows would be spectacular. Although it could cost her life.

What really happened to Vanessa?

Scenes of the Crime is filled with suspense, mystery and psychological torture. It immediately grabs you and its ending, a perfect ten.

Thank you #NetGalley #Bantam #ScenesOfTheCrime #JillyGagnon for the advanced copy.

Written as a split between real life and one of the characters' intended screenplay, the title of this book is dead clever. The story, a bit less so. The one thing that kept popping into my head when anyone referred to these women as "friends" was the classic line from The Princess Bride - "You keep using this word, I do not think it means what you think it means". There wasn't a likeable one in the bunch of them, and I admit to a little bit of hope for a wiping clean of the slate before the end. The story was ok, but not for me.

My thanks to Random House/Ballantine, the author, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Scenes of the Crime by Jilly Gagnon

Published: September 5, 2023
Bantam
Genre: Women’s Crime Fiction
Pages: 384
KKECReads Rating: 5/5
I received a copy of this book for free, and I leave my review voluntarily.

Jilly Gagnon lives in Salem, Massachusetts, but is originally from Minnesota, a fact she'll likely inform you of within minutes of meeting you. In the past, Jilly has written humor, news, essays, and op-ed pieces for Newsweek, Elle, Vanity Fair, The Huffington Post, McSweeney's Internet Tendency, The Onion, and The Toast, among others. Jilly loves terrible TV and excellent Manhattans. She often carries on far-too-involved conversations with her cats.

“This time I was going to find out how the story ended.”

Holy toxic friendships. The build-up for this book is so twisted, devious, and calculated that I could not put this book down.

The way this story is told is clever; it’s a mix between past and present, with a twist of creative storytelling. I was shocked at the twists throughout this book. This was such a house of cards!

The characters were not likable, but that was the point. It drives the point that it’s difficult to truly know what someone is capable of. Secrets can divide, and secrets can bind.

This was an engaging story with an interesting plot. It’s a quick read and will suck you into a dangerous world of secrets, lies, and greed.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this ARC. I love locked room mysteries, especially if done right like this one!! This one was full of secrets and juicy gossip! Check it out!

This one had all the elements of a must-read: location - CHECK, thriller - CHECK, old estranged friends gathering again after years apart - CHECK. But it just didn't work for me. I found the pacing way too slow, the characters were absolute cardboard, and I really had to fight to finish each chapter. There was enough promise to want to see what else Jilly Gagnon has up her sleeve, but unfortunately, this one was a miss.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

The set up of traditional novel interspersed with scenes from the protagonists based-on-real-life draft script was interesting, but could have been put to better use (wouldn't that make a delicious unreliable narrator device?!?!) This would be a good option for someone who likes frenemy drama (and ancient history), but I was looking for more tension and twists, and found it rather predicable.

I love a thriller set amongst a group of backstabbing frenemies as much as the next girl, but Scenes of the Crime ultimately fell flat for me.

It’s all just a bit too familiar - the “friends” who actually hate each other, the missing girl who held their clique together, the cliched secret affair, the secluded location. Even the big reveal at the end wasn’t much of a reveal, considering it was actually advertised at the beginning of the novel.

The screenplay elements in between chapters were creative, but the way they were written came off like a Pretty Little Liars rip-off, which diluted some of that creativity.

If you don’t mind a formulaic thriller, by all means go for it, but don’t expect your mind to be blown.
Fun at places, cringey in others. 2.5 stars rounded to 3.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House - Ballantine for the ARC.

For closure, four friends gather at the winery where the fifth member of their group died years earlier. They have long since grown apart, but agree to meet and secrets start coming out. With places to hide and escape to, the winery on a cliff sets the scene for sneaking around, hiding secrets, and bringing the past into the present.

I enjoyed the book and the setup of a screenplay vs what is actually happening in the girls' lives. However, I found myself getting the characters confused at points, which was odd because they really leaned into their college stereotypes when they returned to the winery. Overall, I will keep reading more from this author because I do like the twists and mystery.

What makes this locked room/isolated subjects mystery different is the POVs we are taken through.

Vanessa, one of a five-some of college friends/frenemies, disappears, and 15 years later, the remaining ladies meet at the scene of the disappearance to gain closure. Each has something to hide. Each is guilty in part for Vanessa's disappearance and presumed death

Brittany, Vanessa's cousin is now sole owner of their grandparents' luxe coastal winery atop a cliff riddled with caves.

Emily is trapped in a dead end job in LA, as a scriptwriter. She's determined to use the story as the basis for a movie, and won't stop until she's written the perfect script.

Paige and Lydia are each hiding additional secrets about the weekend Vanessa disappeared.

The novel weaves flashbacks to their college days with each suspect's version of what happened and to the scripted version Emily is writing, along with editing notes and changes. But, not everything is edited,
So the reader doesn't ever know what is true and what was "inspirational."

Jealousy, spite, unreliable narrators, juicy gossip. Did these friends have Vanessa's back or were they literal back-stabbers?

A bit twisty, this one. Some things a bit imaginative but still plausible, I suppose. Snotty, catty friends are called back to the scene of their crime 15 years after their friend Vanessa disappeared. Emily is the one who calls them together, mostly so she can finish the screenplay that has been haunting her and could potentially break her out of her monotonous job as a wealthy writer of a mundane but very popular tv series. As (I think) the author expected, I didn't like any of the characters. That helps with the twisty part where you're not really sure who did what in the disappearance of Vanessa. They all sort of had something to lose, but there are so many stories, plus the screenplay version, you're not really sure who did what and why. Including the screenplay part was a bit confusing, as I get distracted when things don't match up. Emily is trying to change details for the screen (I think), so you're getting the screenplay version and then the real version. For example, in the screenplay, she breaks a shadowbox of memorabilia to get a knife. But in the real version, she grabs a corkscrew? The inconsistencies are on purpose, but they trip me up when I'm that deep in a book.
I sort of want to reread this one so I can connect the dots. But then I don't because there's a lot of repetitive introspection that gets tiresome. "but why, but who, but when, or did I, I'm guilty, she's guilty, etc etc etc." 3.5 stars from me. Thanks for a copy of the book!

DNF! I always finish books but I’ve been trying to trudge through this one forever. I didn’t make it far, but I found the flipping back and forth to be very confusing and I was just overall not intrigued with the overall storyline or the way it was written.

Watch out! Nothing is as it seems here! This truly twisty locked room mystery keeps you guessing with its innovative POV switches and format changes. Part narrative, part screenplay, it reads like a work in progress. This did contribute to some confusion, but more than kept me on my toes.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for my free copies. These opinions are my own

Four friends meet at a family owned winery for a reunion and to remember the friend they lost there 15 years earlier. Secrets held tight for years are slowly revealed and what happened years ago come to light.

Mean girls grow into mean women, as this book proves. Characters all held onto their own secrets and grudges, which usually leads for interesting reading, but these women were all unlikable, immature, rude. I found it very hard to keep them straight, initial introductions weren’t well defined. Sentences were long, chapters were even longer. Story was told alternating with a screenplay being written, which totally thru me off. The story line was choppy, slow moving until 3/4 of the way in. I appreciated the author trying something new, but the editing didn’t work. New to me author, would give her another try to see her writing in a different setting.

Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for this ARC. This is my honest opinion.

***will only post to Goodreads and Instagram.so as not to deter others from buying.

This one reads very YA the friend group is so irritating, I could find a single character that I enjoyed or thought was well rounded

Scenes of the Crime follows main character Emily and her closest friends from college as they return back to the scene of the crime for a reunion, a vineyard in Oregon laced with the mystery of Vanessa's death. Written between a screenplay and present day, the cast of morally grey characters each holding a key secret to unraveling what happened years prior.

The premise of the story seemed very promising, but sadly fell very formulaic and average- the twists ultimately letting me down. There was little suspense or red herrings, and no stakes. I also continually found myself confused, mixing the girls up, and lost. Each of the girls are characterized by one or two traits, and all are unlikable in some way. Being in the mind of a middle-ground character did not help elevate the story either.

The relationships and drama between the girls needed to be heightened, seeming shallow and not authentically toxic or problematic. Besides that, the toxic group of friends does feel relatable to the reader, reminiscent of real-life experiences, at its own fault of being very generic.

Thank You to Bantam Dell for an advanced copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.