A classic whodunit read, but I wish there were a little more twists because I felt like I was able to guess who the culprit was decently early on. Not the worst book but not my favorite either.

Predictable twist, but good writing and character development overall!

I really enjoyed the setting—Pacific Northwest-ish, in a secluded forest, in an older vacation mansion, in the middle of an epic storm. I loved all of the scenic detail, and the characters who claimed to be experts in one piece of outdoor living or another…and then just weren’t when they needed to come through.

The book started off with a LOT of characters. Obviously not all survive this old house in the forest, and once they started getting killed off, it was much easier to keep the survivors straight. There were a few who seemed inconsequential all the way through, however.

Overall, a quick read that kept me on my toes!

Poisoned Pen Press essentially means "this work will be great" at this point and She Left does more than just deliver, it sings with emotion and intensity.

A modern take on the classic locked room mystery. I liked the atmospheric setting that enhanced the tension in the tale. . Some of the plot twists were telegraphed early. which reduced the overall suspense and impact of the story.
Many thanks to Poisoned Pen Press and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

What even was that? I think it will be the first book to take me 3 months! to reach 37% mark and finally dnf it. At this point I don’t know if I want to laugh or cry for waisting my time.
I think it just tried too much to be like Agatha Christie story, but the main character in no way can’t be compared to Mrs Marple or Hercule Poirot. Therese was way too boring, had no charisma that Poirot has, and definitely wasn’t so charming as Mrs Marple.
The plot it self was so childish, that I couldn’t think about this book seriously. Was it meant to be a parody of a mystery thriller? Or was it supposed to be a cozy mystery? Author only knows…
I can’t get the time I lost trying to read this book, but I can at least try to save some of yours.
I think you guessed it… I do not recommend this book.

First I want to thank NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press and Stacie Grey for my ARC of She Left.

This was a fun read! Definitely more of a mystery than a thriller but it was still really good! It was a quick read and kept my attention till the end. I really enjoyed the setting of the book and I liked how we got to know the characters but the book kept moving. If you enjoy a good locked room mystery I would definitely recommend reading She Left!

I thought this book was ok. I really liked the premise but thought it could have been executed better. There was multiple times where in conversations I struggled to follow who was talking. It was such a slow build to a rushed ending. Would consider reading more books by the author.

this was just okay as a whoddunit book. Too many characters to keep up with it. I liked the premise though, of Therese’s guilt on leaving her friends, then making up for it by not leaving the mansion in the present when she had many chances to save herself.

This book was the perfect read, suspense with twists.
Characters worked well and could perfectly envision the words coming to life!

I was initially drawn in by the concept of this book and thought the opening chapter was particularly strong. However, as I continued reading, I found the rest of the story fell short of its potential.

There were too many characters to keep track of, and most of them felt one-dimensional, including the main character, who I found particularly uninspiring. This made it hard to connect with any of them or care about their journeys.

The plot also felt a bit forced at times, with certain twists and turns that didn't seem entirely believable. And while the final reveal did tie everything together, I had already figured out who the killer was early on, which took away any element of surprise.

SHE LEFT by Stacie Grey tries its best to be the kind of mainstream thriller/mystery that you'd find on the shelves along Riley Sager, Alice Feeney, and Shari Lapena, but it falls like TWO inches short of the finish line. Stacie Grey knows the formula and she knows how to write, but without something special to push her books over the edge, I'm unsure if we'll ever see one of her novels sitting among the greats. The was just perfectly okay.

This is a perfect example of a thriller/mystery that I ate up while reading it. Read it in like a day and a half, loved it. I can’t remember anything about this. And you know what that may be on me. But if you love locked door mysteries this was honestly a really fun, interesting addition to the genre. It follows Amy, the lone survivor of a high school massacre that claimed the lives of five teens. As the title suggests, she left before the carnage had begun. Now a group of people are reuniting at a mountain cabin, all related in some way to the victims and now FBI agent Amy has to try and solve the crime she survived all those years ago. If you want an easy thriller, with a solid mystery and great atmosphere that you can totally finish in a weekend- this is a perfect pick for you.

This review is posted on my instagram @boozehoundbookclub

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. She Left by Stacie Grey released on May 14th, 2024.


Honestly? I wasn't a huge fan of this one, but I didn't hate it either. The story was fine and I can't really pinpoint exactly what I didn't enjoy about it, it just wasn't a book I couldn't put down. I do enjoy the locked-room vibe of it though!

A few friends, a rented cabin, cheap alcohol, some ill-advised decisions, many some regrets. A house party with your friends in high school is a dumb idea, but it’s hardly unheard of. But when Amy agrees to go a Memorial Day party, she has no idea she will somehow escape the unexpected fate of her classmates.

Insulted by their bullying of her, she decides to walk out of the first and hitch a ride home. Shortly after she leaves, the cabin explodes. She is the only survivor of the incident, making her a suspect among the parents and friends of her classmates. Even the ones who don’t think she planted the bomb think she must know much more than she has shared with authorities.

Now it’s twenty years later. Amy is an FBI agent, and someone has invited her and family members connected to that night to a reunion that will be covered by journalist. Amy has no interest in reliving that night, but as a grown woman and a law enforcement agent, she decides to set aside her sentiment and see if she can discover any clues to the still-unsolved murder.

No sooner does the group assemble than a massive storm causes mudslides that washout the road and endanger the structure of the cabin. Then guests start disappearing. Like Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, everyone begins to wonder if the murderer has returned? Or perhaps someone is out for revenge from that night twenty years ago.

…the building she had arrived at, a huge, wood-shingled structure sprawling across a ledge that looked to be carved in the mountain. It reminded her of the kind of national park lodges they built in the 1900s, when no one visited the wilderness without a butler. ~Loc 197

It’s a better than average thriller, with a smart protagonist and a cracking mystery. There are psychological complications, a dusting of clues, well-drawn characters and a quickly moving plot.

My thanks to Poisoned Pen Press for the review copy. Read via NetGalley.

Book loses the intensity after the first chapter of the book. It doesn’t offer the smallest explanation of what is happening inside the cabin. The walk through the park was good, but there was so much hit and miss on suspense and thrills. I tried hanging with the story. I wanted a connection with the kids in the cabin a background story with Amy, but there really wasn’t one. For me the book fell flat.

Amy was the sole survivor of a beach party massacre. Twenty years on, secrets will be revealed as a journalist tries to find out what really happened that night.

I enjoy locked room mysteries and this one was set up well. I ended up enjoying it but also felt it needed a little more oomph to get it over the line as come parts did tend to drag on a bit. There were quite a few characters, which at times I did get confused about. The narration was fantastic though!

My first novel by Stacie Grey, and won't be my last! A slow-burn, closed-door thriller recounting a decades-old cold case (the brutal murder of a group of teens). The premise: a group of people related to the original murder case are brought together in a mansion...and start getting killed off. Who among them is a murderer? Who (and what) will survive? This one kept me guessing until the end.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press 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 thoroughly enjoyed the plot of this story, as it adheres to the classic “isolated closed circle” mystery premise that I find so captivating. The narrative expertly draws the characters to a remote and secluded location, where the suspense builds as they are picked off one by one. This setup creates an engaging atmosphere of tension and intrigue.

However, I felt that the execution of character development and descriptive detail fell a bit short. The characters seemed somewhat one-dimensional, lacking the depth and nuance that could have made them more compelling. Additionally, the descriptions, while adequate, did not fully immerse me in the setting or evoke a strong sense of place. As a result, the story felt more like a novelization of a movie script rather than a fully realized narrative in its own right. With richer character development and more vivid descriptions, this could have been a truly memorable tale.

This was such a great murder mystery! A tragic accident happens that ends up being determined to be a murder of students, but our FMC was the only one who got away. Years later, as an FBI Agent she’s invited to a getaway with other people who end up having some connection to the deceased. Who will make it out alive, your guess is a good as mine because I could not figure it out! Great twists, great pacing, highly recommend this psychological locked room thriller!