Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Children's, Delacorte Press and the author for an ARC of Win Lose Kill Die for an honest review.

Rounded up to 3. This was not something I would read again. It was ok, but very YA. The beginning of the book I got into right away but it soon turned very slow to me. It is very cultish and predictable. I figured out who was behind the murders early in the book. I found myself skimming through a lot to get to the end.

A private school with a secret society where members are dropping like flies. This is a ya murder mystery book. No smut. While I found the twists predictable, it was still a pretty fun ya read.

Fast-paced suspense and thrilling twists from start to finish. This is the kind of psychological thriller you have to read twice. The first time is the jaw dropping shocker. The second read is connecting the dots. Excellent book.

Do you want a book that will keep you guessing, with hints throughout as to the final twist that you only see in hindsight? If so, this is the book for you. I don’t want to provide spoilers, so I won’t go into the plot. But from the first page this book drew me in and wouldn’t let go.

This was a really quick read with lots of action; I'm also a sucker for a campus based murder mystery. It centers on Liz, who attends a prestigious boarding school where people start dying in ways that become clear are not accidents. She and her friends start investigating what is going on, worried that they might be next.

The character development was ok for such a short and quick read. I had a little trouble buying into the “secret society” that was sanctioned by the headmistress of the school. I thought I had the ending figured out and was legitimately surprised by the twist, though once I found out it totally made sense.

Overall, this was a pretty fun YA read with a slasher vibe and a surprise ending; I’d recommend it. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

If you’re into YA thrillers that you can speed thru, Win Lose Kill Die is the book for you.
A quick read for me, the beginning half really grabbed me, but the second half started to just feel repetitive and I could anticipate who/what would happen next. Although I admit I did NOT correctly guess the suspect.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children’s for this ARC in return for my honest opinion.

⭐️⭐️⭐️
Pub date: 28 Nov 2023

Mysterious accidents are befalling the Head Girls at the exclusive Morton Academy. Everyone is a suspect, from the principal to the school's newest student. Who is targeting these girls, and who will be next?

I love books set at exclusive boarding schools, and this was no exception. The characters are driven, some of them with money, some of them from poverty, since Morton Academy cares more about academic brilliance than your ability to pay tuition. Liz's friends are falling like rocks, all dying in horrific accidents. But are they accidents? You can kind of judge who is behind the killings, but Murphy throws in enough plausible red herrings that you question what you think you know and thing "....mayyyyybe it is the principal. Or her brother. Or the new boyfriend. Or the groundskeeper. Or that guy. Or maybe it's her."

I loved all the twists and turns this book has, except when Liz and her friend Kat decide that, even though the entire school has been locked down because the principal has finally decided that these are actually murders and not horrible accidents, it's a FANTASTIC time for Liz to learn how to lift weights. Together. By themselves. In the out of the way weight room. It was just...not well thought out as a plot point. It really made me laugh, because this is something you would see in a b-grade movie, or a book lampooning bad horror movies, not a well plotted YA thriller.

At an exclusive boarding school, Head Girl is the true definition of power. But when the Head Girls start dying off, a group of friends must solve the mystery or find themselves the next victims.

The twist in this one was so good! I never saw it coming. This is a dark young adult read, with some gore and really intense moments. I enjoyed it, but definitely know going in this is not a light mystery. I would recommend this book.

I received a free ARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This was a roller coaster. I do not see how the students would not have been freaking out a bit more with that many deaths in that short of a period of time. I did not see the whodunit. I had an inkling but was unsure. I will say that the ending was wow but overall left me feeling meh.

I received this ebook from Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion and review. I felt like this book fell kind of flat. it wasn’t super exciting for me and I didn’t feel like the ending was surprising. I guessed who the perpetrator was pretty quickly in the beginning.

This book was a quick read, if a bit predictable at times. It got to a point where there were only a few viable suspects pretty quickly. The plot also really left the realm of having even the faintest chance of possibly occurring in the real world with all of the deaths happening as rapid fire as they were, and I feel like it would have benefited a bit from a little more realism. It was fun, though, and for someone who enjoys thrillers more, it might be more their cup of tea.

At an elite private school, being head girl is the ultimate girl, but when every head girl starts turning up dead, maybe the covered spot isn’t all it seems to be. In this YA thriller, the members of the elite top tier take it upon themselves to figure out what is happening at their beloved school.

I enjoyed the beginning half of this book so much that it was so hard to put down, but about half way through my opinion started to change. It was still an easy read and hard to put down, but the direction the story started going wasn’t the directions I was hoping for. I was totally blindsided by the ending, but I found it to be totally unbelievable and unsupported by anything else I saw in the book. Bravo to the author for keeping me guessing whodunnit and shocking me with the reveal, but the ending doesn’t sit well with me. Anyway, I did enjoy most of this book, but the ending ruined it for me. If you are into thrillers with one death after the other, this may be worth the read, just be warned that the ending may come as a surprise, or you may do better than me and guess it from the very beginning!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book!

YA suspense that kept me guessing. I thought I had figured out who the killer was early in the book but convinced myself I was wrong! Only to be wrong in the end! A very enjoyable read for sure

Morton academy is a school where intelligent students from a variety of background matriculate. This means that in order to be invited to attend the school you MUST be incredibly gifted. One of the largest perks to attending the school is to obtain the position of Head Girl. The title opens up a world of possibilities for that student including attending any University they with to attend.
Liz and her group of friends seem tight and when one head girl after another starts to die everyone becomes suspect. This book is an easy read a bit predictable but fun nonetheless.

The book starts off with a bang, as the perpetrator confesses to a drowning. From there, the pace keeps up as more students start dying and our core group of characters start investigating. In between chapters, the reader gets a glimpse into the bad guy’s mind, which I love because I always want to know what they’re thinking and feeling.

The setting was dark with an interesting history, which added to the mysteriousness, I liked all the characters, and nothing was too obvious, although, when the ending was revealed, it was something I kinda suspected, and I was happy that I was correct.

I have always enjoyed YA thrillers because I find them so easy to read. Cynthia Murphy DID NOT DISAPPOINT! This was my first book by this author and now I need to read her other works. The students at Morton Academy are high-achievers, selected based on academic excellence. So when a series of murders target the school's brightest and best, the pressure is on. Someone is determined to stop at nothing to clear their path to the top. But who is it? Everyone wants to be at the top, but there's only one minor problem, someone keeps killing everyone that gets in their way and fills that position. Win Lose Kill Die is a fast past thriller with all the 90's slasher vibes mixed with secret societies, scandal, and juicy murders! I couldn't put it down and I highly recommend picking this one up. You're in for a wild ride with a plot twist that will make your head spin, but then having you realize that the clues were there the ENTIRE TIME! Loved every minute of this story. Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book has all the elements of a really great YA thriller murder mystery but it just didn't quite work for me.

There were a lot of twists and turns throughout the book that did keep you guessing and the ending was unexpected but it really just didn't sit right with me so I couldn't fully enjoy the book because of that.

If you are at all a fan of YA murder mysteries and thrillers I recommend this book especially if you like the TV show Riverdale. It definitely gives off vibes similar to that show.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my e-ARC of Win Lose Kill Die!

𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔
🔪 are a fan of slashers
👀 want to be kept guessing
🌪️ enjoy a lot of twists
🤔 have ever second guessed yourself

• 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐈𝐓’𝐒 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓

An explosive new YA thriller, from the author of Last One To Die. The students at Morton Academy are high-achievers, selected based on academic excellence. So when a series of murders target the school's brightest and best, the pressure is on. Someone is determined to stop at nothing to clear their path to the top. But who is it? And can they be stopped? A high-school slasher with a lethal twist. Perfect for fans of Karen McManus, Holly Jackson and Gossip Girl.

• 𝐌𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒

Wow, that ending was something else! I honestly guessed the killer near the beginning but kept second guessing myself because, no way, right? Of course my original assumption was correct, but I definitely kept thinking it was others for a while there, which is always fun! I really enjoyed Liz’s character and POV, since she (and the killer) are the only two we ever get to see. I think this would make for a really fun movie. Definitely grab this one if you’re looking for a fun, short, slasher read!

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Children's, Delacorte Press for accepting my request to read and review Win Lose Kill Die.

Just okay. I am drawn in by some covers, synopses and genre YA. I've gotten better passing on YA, but occasionally I still ask how far from adult could the YA be? WLKD is really far.

The prologue had me hunkered down and I was good for a couple chapters before dread set in. I didn't have to check, I knew I was reading a NetGalley book and chances were low that I would DNF. I did ask to read and review the book after all. Stars 2.5.

This slasher was too long and predictable. There was one storyline and I liked the premise. However, without spoiling this went from a story to a book to grr will this ever end.

Note: Trope is antiquated, please retire it.

4⭐️

Morton Academy is a prestigious school open to the brightest students. Being a graduate of this school could open many doors in the future, especially for the students that are selected to participate in the secret society of Jewel and Bone. It’s from the society members that head girl and head boy are selected; a position that guarantees the board will pay for their further education.

The deaths, all thought to be tragic accidents, had started the previous spring; a drowning, an asthma attack, a fall in the dark woods. But each death has something in common: they were either a head student or deputy head student. And it’s possible the deaths can be tied to a cult that had been active on campus almost 25 years prior.

This was a lot of fun in a macabre sort of way. It wasn’t necessarily ha-ha fun, but fun like a season of Riverdale. I feel like that gave it the perfect amount of drama that a book featuring a secret society needs. Each of the characters felt well thought out and didn’t just fall on the teen drama stereotype. I also did not see the twist coming until almost the clear end which is a refreshing change.

There were a few aspects that felt a bit on the nose or just flat out made me feel old. Like the groundskeeper that was referred to as “Creepy Billy” was actually named Billy Loomis. And I don’t know if there’s just a whole generation that has never seen Scream, but that kind of took me out of things. Also that none of them had heard of Charles Manson before except the one true crime obsessed person seemed wild to me. But other than that I really enjoyed this!

Thanks Netgalley and Scholastic for providing this ARC to me!