This review is about to be much more emotional than professional, so be advised. I read the first Teen Killers Club book in 2020, when the world had basically stopped existing for me outside the four walls of my bedroom. I was a senior in high school, isolated from my friends, and finding solace in my books more than I ever had before, when I decided to read a book that I thought would be a standalone YA mystery. Instead, I found one of the best trilogies I’ve ever read, that really makes you fall in love with characters you never expected to find so perfect. A camp full of murderers, and criminals, and kids who are supposedly irredeemable. But they’re kids, and they’re flawed, and still manage to be good at their core. Teen Killers at Large was the perfect end to this series, and while not everything was tied up in a neat little bow, the end still felt right, and cautiously optimistic, leaving it feeling much more real-life, because in life, there are no true endings. And in the Teen Killers Club, you’ll always find a home.

Thank you to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The final book of this trilogy is here! Teen Killers At Large is where we say goodbye to Signal and the rest of Class A. In case you haven't read any books in this series before, this series revolves around the titular teen killers - teens without any sense of empathy, who brag about their kill counts, who are notorious psychopaths. Or does it? Our heroine, Signal, actually doesn't have any psychopathic tendencies. She was completely out of place in Class A, but now, they've become her closest friends. And the leader, Erik, may be more than that.

Here is an exciting excerpt from the opening chapter:

"It's embarrassing to accuse someone of murder. Not that anyone who accused me ever seemed too torn up about it. The officers who came to our trailer, put me in handcuffs, and charged me with the strangulation and beheading of my best friend Rose did so with neutral authority. The DA confidently told national news that I was a deranged killer. But by far the most passionate accusation came from the real killer..."

Overall, Teen Killers at Large is the final installment in a ground-breaking new series. You should definitely read the first ones first so you know who the characters are. Otherwise, the deluge of names might be overwhelming. One highlight of this book is the action-packed and bloody finale. I did take off 1 star because I couldn't really follow the plot. I wasn't sure if this was because I didn't feel anything for the characters or if it was because the scenes were disjointed. If you're intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you're a fan of YA thrillers in general, I recommend that you check out this book when it comes out in October!

Rating | All the stars forever and ever and ever AGAIN ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

NOTE: Sparks tweeted recently that, as a pre-order incentive, readers can snag a copy of the "best parts" of the story from Erik's point of view. This novella will not be for sale and once At Large comes out, it will be gone. You can get a copy for yourself by showing proof of preorder purchase or library hold/request. I DM-ed Sparks on Twitter to show a screenshot of my preorder and I am so excited for the novella because I love Erik in what is probably a pretty unhealthy way.

Before I dive into this review, if you have not read my reviews of the first two books, check them those out.. I fell in love with these characters in April of 2022 and have waited not-so-patiently for this gem to arrive. It has been a loooooong wait, but so worth it.

Now that that's out of the way...

WHAT A FUCKING ROLLER COASTER! I could not put this book down and binged it in maybe two and a half hours. I almost threw up from the stress or had a heart attack or sobbed - several times. Sparks had me questioning EVERYONE's loyalty. Even the most loyal of loyal, and if you have read the books you know who that is. If not, I don't want to say and be accused of spoiling the story. I know in the past I have gone into deep details and warned of spoilers, but there will be none here because this book deserves to be discovered in its entirety (the whole series does, actually).

In the final installment of the Teen Killers Club, book three picks up right where book two left off. Signal's conviction is now being called into question as authorities revisit her case. With the exception of Erik, who is still on the run, Signal and her fellow club members are under house arrest at the Desai compound, as Sonny and his son Aarush are working toward a future where the Wylie-Stanton Index no longer is used to classify felons. Or so we think.

You see, someone inside the house is sabotaging Signal's team and thwarting attempts to clear her name. The footage of Janeane confessing that was captured in book two has been erased, and the thumb drive containing the back-up goes missing. If the footage is not found, Signal is going back to prison - along with all of her friends.

In order to figure out what's going on, Signal needs Erik's help. The problem is, everyone wants a piece of him and Signal would definitely get lost in the shuffle if Erik was captured. When they were on the run together in book two, Signal and Erik became infamous as a modern day Bonnie and Clyde of sorts (without murders, though). Camp is desperate to get him back to finish the injections they started (to turn him into the ultimate assassin), and the police want to throw him in jail for life not only for the murders he supposedly committed, but more importantly for evading them for so long and making them look like fools.

Erik himself is desperate for two things - Signal, and his freedom. But his need to get and stay free dominates his focus and Signal tries repeatedly to get him to turn himself in and testify about camp. This makes complete sense, no matter how much he loves Signal, because he has never been free. He went from being homeschooled, to living in a psych facility, to being turned over to camp. More than once, he asks Signal to just run away with him, disappear and never be found. But her loyalty to their friends won't allow her to do this. Erik wants, just once, for someone to choose him first. Signal wants to, but can't abandon the rest of the club. They've been through too much together, love each other too much, for her to just leave them behind.

This whole series is addictive and Sparks is one of my must-read, favorite authors. It was such a wild ride and Sparks was not kidding when she tweeted about it being even bigger than the first two. The action was fast-paced and kept me on the edge of my seat because I truly could not figure out who the mole was inside the house - but it's someone who was working with Skye to keep Signal and Erik apart.

I have a deep love for all of the characters (especially Nobody), but I felt really connected to Jada. She really had her time to shine and held her own in the chaos. This was so important, given her history and the reason she was at camp in the first place. We also find out how Dennis the non-menace (called so by his fellow campers because he is the only one who has not actually killed anyone) ended up with a Class A verification. Even though Troy died in book one, his and Kurt reason for being at camp is explored thoroughly and is important to the overall story.

It took me quite a while be able to put this review together. I didn't want the story to be over and I think there is so much left to explore. The story was chaotic and all over the place in the very best way. I never knew what was going to happen next. Everyone was suspicious at one point or another, and I was so mad at Javier for a long time. I cheered for Jada constantly, was broken-hearted for Nobody when she and Amy broke up, could not figure out what the fuck Kurt was doing, and needed Signal and Erik to end up together. I also would not have minded one bit if Erik beat the living daylights out of Aarush. The way he spoke to Signal and treated her in this book was so terrible and I wanted to strangle him.

I don't want this to be the end and I know it is incredibly rude to demand more work from an author - especially when the current book is not even published yet. But this can't be the end and I refuse to say goodbye to these characters who I love SO much. It was such a beautiful nightmare of a ride and I loved every fucking minute of it.

Highly, highly, highly recommended.

Another brilliant book in this series, don't want it to end! As always its highly character driven but also has a great engaging plot

Lily Sparks really knows how to write an addictive kind of chaos and thrill. She wasn't lying when she said this would be much wilder than the past two books she wrote in this series. It's fast-paced and dense with emotion. I felt like holding my breath the entire time. The good parts are crazy good, and the bad parts are frustratingly heart-shattering. I've been following this series since I first read Teen Killers Club back in 2021, and I'm glad I stayed for the rest. The characters grew on me through the years, and I started to care a lot about their fate.

I'm still in my after-reading denial stage, so I wonder if it's truly over. I'm still unsatisfied. I could still read more. I've been fooled, I've been creeped out; but most of all, I've been madly entertained. I've truly become a fan.

I couldn’t have been more excited to see the third book in this series pop up on NetGalley. This is another intriguing installment in Signal’s battle for her relationship with Erik, her bond with Class A kids, and their freedoms. While I think there was more romantic angst in the first two books, the difficulty in this narrative was Signal battling against what she truly wants and whether it is, in fact, worth it to lose battles to win a war—despite her conscious. There’s also an interesting juxtaposition between the love she has for the remaining members of this group versus debating if one of them is not to be trusted as their case unravels. This is an underrated series that deserves more attention.

I loved the other books in this series and thought this was a great ending. I’ll really miss these characters but I can’t wait to see what this author writes next.