“The One That Got Away With Murder” is a gripping thriller that delves into the dark secrets of the wealthy and privileged Crestmont brothers. Suspicion hangs heavy in the air as Lauren O’Brian navigates a dangerous web of deceit and betrayal. With a compelling plot filled with twists and turns, author Trish Lindy keeps readers on the edge of their seats until the very end.

The characters are well-developed, and the tension between them crackles with intensity. As secrets unravel and suspicions mount, “The One That Got Away With Murder” is a page-turner that will leave readers guessing until the final, shocking revelation.

This was a great book. I loved every paragraph, every sentence and every word of this masterpiece! I read it in 12 hours, which is a lot for me to do! It had everything and more laid out in the novel! I sure hope There is more to come from this author! I am totally hooked!

A medium paced thriller with twists and turns that builds little by little, as the author takes the reader through the first person account of high school soccer player Lauren who is running from her past as she meets Robbie, the rich kid suspected of a crime he didn’t commit. Or did he?
The story will throw in a lot of red herrings, leaving you questioning what you believe and pulling you into an ending that doesn’t quite make sense. So don’t expect answered questions in the end. The author does a good job keeping the story moving. Go into this one 100% plot and zero character development; but if that’s how you prefer your young adult thrillers, this one may be for you. I do wish there had been a little bit more character development for the main characters, just to feel a little more connected to them; I’m still questioning how I feel about any of these characters as I don’t like them but I don’t dislike them either. If I could give half stars here, I would give 3.5 stars.

This was a good twisty mystery thriller. This story follows new girl Lauren who is harboring her own dark secrets as she navigates a new Highschool trying to fit in and make a new start. She ends up meeting brothers Robbie and Trevor who are handsome, privileged, and very wealthy. Both brothers have a body count. Their ex girlfriends both mysteriously died. Lauren doesn’t know who to trust and after a 3rd death rocks the town she must decide whether to end things with Robbie or risk becoming another possible victim.

I thought the beginning of the book started out a little slower but I found that it picked up pretty quickly. The writing style I enjoyed and I easily immersed myself in the story. This story also kept me guessing right up until the end. Each of characters had secrets and I found I was rooting for them as the mystery unfolded. Lauren’s character was my favorite and I loved how we slowly learned about her past and why she was so jaded. I did wish Robbie had been given a but more depth. I found myself finishing the book and not really remembering his character. The ending could had been a little slower but I was satisfied with the ending. There was a lot happening and it felt like every detail was held until the end to then be wrapped up fairly quickly.

Overall this was a fast paced twisty murder mystery thriller. I think fans of Holly Jackson and Diana Urban would enjoy this book. As a debut author I am looking forward to what Trish Lundy writes next!

I love it when books that are a debut do not read like one! This was a fast paced read that I really enjoyed! Things are not what they seemed, and I couldn't turn the pages quick enough! My only gripe is that I felt the ending was rushed. I wanted more background information on why the killer did what they did! It seems that they came out of nowhere, and then it was over.
I still highly recommend!

*Received an ARC for an honest review* I really enjoyed this thriller. It had a twist in it that I did not see coming. In fact much of the story did not go where I thought it was going. I did think it was a little more drawn out then it needed to be, to drawn out with not enough suspense to the final reveal. The cast of characters was good with enough questionable intentions to make you wonder about everyone so you don’t see the ending coming to the last minute and plenty of red herrings,

This book had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. The slow reveals and glimpses into Lauren's past had me questioning everyone and everything along the way. The story moved at a steady pace and I couldn't wait to see how everything came to a head.

This book had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. The slow reveals and glimpses into Lauren's past had me questioning everyone and everything along the way. The story moved at a steady pace and I couldn't wait to see how everything came to a head.

While I had some thoughts on how it was going to end, it didn't take away from the storyline at all, and I was still surprised at how everything came together.

A debut YA thriller that was interesting if not a bit all over the place.

Based on the blurb, I expected more of a sinister, cat and mouse type of read, but instead it was more of a small town whodunit.
I really had no idea where it was going. I found the plot and the characters to kind of be all over the place. In typical YA fashion, the kids do too much and the adults do too little and are just oblivious. The soccer girls were a bit full on whereas Lauren's mom was just ridiculous from start to finish.

I didn't expect the ending and appreciate all the red-herrings. Think this one will work for a younger audience and glad there's fun, quick thrilling reads for a younger demographic.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the electronic advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was such a fun read! There were so many details and clues to focus on that the story flies by without a single dull moment. I also appreciated how the author fully fills out her characters, exploring all the aspects of their psyche. That being said, the author discusses some difficult topics in this book, such as alcohol dependency, so anyone who finds this triggering should be cautious going in.

The only complaint I have is the ending-- I was hoping for a more in-depth explanation/justification for the murders, but the book seemed to brush past it. Maybe this was done on purpose, to emphasize how sometimes people do things with limited rationality, or maybe this was a lack of foresight on the author's part. Still, I don't think this detracted too much from the book as a whole.


Thank you to Net Galley and Henry Holt for this ARC!

This book is decent. I was very tuned in from the beginning and then my attention started to fade. I won't add any spoilers but the ending for me was kind of like WTF, why would you make that be the killer. It just didn't make sense and it took so long to get to that conclusion. For that reason I lowered my rating to 3/5.

This is a YA thriller that actually surprised me at the end, There are a lot of questions about Lauren’s past that really invested me in her storyline. It’s a good page turner that keeps you hooked.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Robbie and Trevor Cresmont have a body count, the killer kind. The brothers are privileged, and wealthy, and have never been found guilty of any wrongdoing despite the whole town thinking they’re guilty.

The Cresmont’s aren’t the only ones keeping secrets, and Lauren is all to familiar with them. She has a dark past and is desperate for a clean start. She starts a no-strings attached relationship with Robbie, and on a weekend getaway, ends up finding some evidence that might just implicate Robbie in the death of his ex-girlfriend.

With danger closing in, Lauren isn’t sure who to trust.

This was a wonderfully well-done and nicely written debut YA thriller. I really enjoyed that this book kept me guessing until the very end. I think that the main character, Lauren, was well written. She is so jaded and had a dark outlook on life for a young person, and that was difficult. It’s always hard to see young people who have lived such hard lives. Reading about the dynamics of the soccer team Lauren was on, was perfectly on par for how a group of young women can act. I think at times the character development was a little shallow and could have been more, but it did end up working overall. The pacing of this book was rather quick and kept me turning the pages until the last minute and I loved that about this book. While this wasn’t the story I expected going in, it was a good story and worth the read.

This was a YA thriller that did not disappoint. Multiple times during this book, I thought I had everything figured out. Each time, I was wrong, and every time I was the stakes for Lauren and Robbie increased. This ending was by far the most shocking and unexpected.

Loved that this books wasn’t predictable. I love when thrillers take you off guard and you gasp and say I did not see that coming. Super fast paced and a quick read! Overall great!

Thank you NetGalley!

I THOROUGHLY ENJOYED THIS NOVEL. A BOOK YOU CAN FINISH IN ONE SITTING AND NOT BECAUSE ITS SHORT! BUT BECAUSE YOU WONT BE ABLE TO PUT IT DOWN!!!

What’s it about?
Robbie and Trevor Cresmont have a body count—the killer kind. Handsome and privileged, the Crestmont brothers have enough wealth to ensure they’ll never be found guilty of any wrongdoing, even if all of Happy Valley believes they’re behind the deaths of their ex-girlfriends. First there was soccer star Victoria Moreno, Robbie’s ex, who mysteriously drowned at the family lake house. Then, a year later, Trevor’s girlfriend died of a suspicious overdose.
But the Crestmonts aren’t the only ones with secrets. Lauren O’Brian might be the new girl at school, but she’s never been a good girl. With a dark past of her own, she’s desperate for a fresh start. Except when she starts a no-strings-attached relationship with Robbie, her chance is put in jeopardy. During what’s meant to be their last weekend together, Lauren stumbles across shocking evidence that just might implicate Robbie.
With danger closing in, Lauren doesn’t know who to trust. And after a third death rocks the town, she must decide whether to end things with Robbie or risk becoming another cautionary tale.
Summary from Netgalley
Why I Started This Book
I was looking for a new mystery read, and this one caught my eye!! The description, name, and cover were all amazing!!
My First Thoughts
This book has pretty good start!!! It jumped right into the action!!
My Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
This book was good!! I enjoyed it a lot!! I only have a couple of things I didn’t like!!
What I loved
This is a well written mystery! I was guessing until the end!! It was very twisty and well-paced! Trish Lundy can definitely write a mystery!!!
I LOVE the characters!! They are so amazing!! They were so mysterious, I loved the way they were written!! Also, the development through the story was really well done!!
Building off of what I said earlier, the characters are super mysterious! This made it feel like all the characters knew something I didn’t. I loved how this was slowly revealed throughout the story!! Another example of Trish Lundy’s talented writing!!
What I Disliked
In the description, they mention how this book is perfect for fans of Karen M. McManus and Holly Jackson. This is super true, but sometimes a little too much. At some points it felt like it was a little too close to their books. While this wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, it was just kind of annoying.
Book vs. Movie
There’s no movie for this book!
Should You Read It?
Yeah!! This book is a great YA mystery!!! It really is perfect for fans of Karen M. McManus and Holly Jackson!!
Conclusion
The One That Got Away With Murder is a twisty murder mystery that constantly had me intrigued!! I loved the characters and the plot!! Also, the writing made the story super interesting!! This is perfect for fans of murder mysteries!!!

The premise of The One That Got Away with Murder is fairly standard - girl moves to new town to escape an incident in her past, meets a new group of friends with secrets of their own, and gets embroiled in the mystery that is haunting her new town. In this case, Lauren O'Brian is running to escape a fire in her past and hooking up with Robbie Crestmont to escape her own feelings. The problem is that Robbie has secrets of his own; his former girlfriend died under mysterious circumstances and he's never been able to shake the suspicion that he murdered her, ESPECIALLY since his brother's girlfriend died mysteriously the following year. The novel follows Lauren's journey to figure out what happened to Vic and Jess (the murdered girls) and carve out a place for herself without putting herself in more danger.

I want to say at the outset that I *did* enjoy this novel, despite my critiques. Some of the critiques may be simply because this is a debut and Lundy's writing isn't as strong as it will be a few books from now.
Things I liked:
1. The protagonist wasn't overly sympathetic. Given that she's running from a trauma in her past, it would have been really easy to make her overly sympathetic or saccharine sweet and I like that she had some bite to her. I think this is a protagonist who will appeal to a teen audience in a very realistic way.
2. Not too much romance! I like that there is a romantic interest, but it doesn't take over the novel
3. The teen characters seemed to be realistically teenagers. They made choices that felt realistic to teenagers (source - I teach high school) and the relationships and interactions between the different characters felt true to life

Critiques:
1. This may be very nitpicky, but as a person who went to Penn State and spent multiple years in Happy Valley, the setting fell very flat for me. There were a few references to Happy Valley-specific places and events, but they didn't feel particularly real (to me, at least). Fun nod to the creamery, and to the (delicious) stickies at the State Diner, but I didn't get the sense that there was a real connection to the setting. This could have been set in any small town and it would have been exactly the same.
2. Maybe this is a me thing, but I did find the twist to be somewhat predictable. I figured out who the killer was fairly early on and nothing changed my opinion, but I also don't know that the twist was particularly well foreshadowed. Plot points were shocking, but they didn't feel particularly grounded.
3. The ending felt somewhat rushed. There is a resolution between characters where everything is just...fine? Despite some pretty heavy trauma and history, everything is just wrapped up neatly. Not as satisfying as I wanted.

Overall, I enjoyed the read, but I don't know that it was particularly memorable for me. Definitely a library book, rather than something that I need to own.

This is a unique story that really draws the reader in. Lauren is the new girl in school who has her own dark history she is trying to escape, and Robbie seems like the perfect escape. Sadly she quickly learns that Robbie has his own dark history and is tied the to murder of his ex-girlfriend Victoria. Even his younger brother, Trevor, is tied to a death with his own girlfriend dying of an overdose. With so much death and murder occurring around Lauren, when Trevor commits suicide and claims he killed Victoria not his brother the past is stirred up again. Lauren and Robbie try to clear Trevor’s name and instead get tangled up in a mystery that seems to lead back close to home. Can they figure out who is behind all the murders before they become a victim themselves.
This is a fast-paced book, and I quite enjoyed watching Lauren come to terms with all that happened back home before moving to Pennsylvania. I love how the author slowly reveals Lauren’s history throughout the entire book. It just truly adds to the current mystery she is helping to solve and allows the reader to get to know her and her history on a deeper level. The final reveal is very well written and is not super predictable which I also enjoy. Teens will be swept away reading this book and I can’t wait to recommend it to them soon.

What an AH-mazing debut novel. This was a face paced thriller, keeping me in the edge of my seat the entire time. I flew through this , needing to know who the killer was. Just figured out who the killer is? Nope, you're wrong. I had a few theories on who the killer was, but I was wrong. I will be definitely reading more Trish Lundy.