Although the overall mystery in this novel was okay, I was unimpressed by the mindless sex, drugs, and alcohol used for coping with trauma. I know teens often use these mechanisms in today's day and age, however as a librarian and bookseller I'd be a bit hesitant to recommend this book due to the more adult themes. There were many plot twists and many moments of misdirection. However, I found the ending to be a bit lackluster as well. Even though we know who actually committed the murders the why was a bit muddled. Our FMC does grow and comes to finally confront her past which we see bits and pieces of throughout the book. There is LGBTQ+ representation. I do feel like this book could benefit from some trigger warnings.

Book Title: The One that got away with Murder
Author: Trish Lundy – Debut Author
Publisher: Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group/Henry Holt and Company
Genre: Mystery/Thriller Ya/Teen
Pub Date: April 16, 2024
My Rating: 3 Stars
Pages 384

Seventeen year old Lauren O’Brien and her mother Kat recently move from California to Pennsylvania one reason is Kat’s boyfriend Mark lives here; they met via a dating app, and are now engaged. BTW: Mark has a daughter Ainsley who is a HS Junior-and was good friends with Jess Ebenstin.
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Lauren has hooked up with Robbie Crestmont. However, we know that he and his younger brother Trevor are known as the girlfriend killers.
Robbie’s girlfriend Victoria Moreno drowns at her family’s lake house.
Jess Ebenstin was Trevor’s girlfriend and dies from an overdose.
The Crestmont’s are wealthy so everyone is sure the brothers will never be found of wrongdoing.

I do enjoy a good mystery so I was curious. However the characters were not that likeable; the storyline was okay but I was struggling keeping interesting.

I know I am not the target audience for this but as a High School Guidance Counselor I love to read YA stories. It pleases me that I can recommend a book as well as know what they are reading.
I did get somewhat discourage in reading so many books in this genre as they seem to be formula driven
Sex, profanity, drugs, underage drinking, and suicide.

I know many teens are going to tough situation and don’t have a safe place to go for help.
So I like when an author offers resources via help lines etc. However, since this is an early e-galley no resources were included. Perhaps in the final copy it will be added.

Want to thank NetGalley and Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group/Henry Holt and Company for this early eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for April 16, 2024.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Trish Lundy's "The One That Got Away with Murder" beckons readers into a world of mystery and suspense. The central mystery is intricately layered, revealing hidden secrets and veiled connections that leave you guessing until the final chapters. The pacing was not bad, for a book under 300 pages, it is bound to feel rushed unless dome extremely well.

However, some of the characters feel underdeveloped, leaving their motivations and actions inadequately explored. I feel as if this prevented me from connecting with the characters the full potential amount. I wasn't on the edge of my seat waiting to see what would happen. The resolution of the story, the mystery, seemed abrupt to me. The rush towards closure sacrificed the opportunity for a more satisfying and comprehensive conclusion. For the plot of the story, the ending was very unsatisfying and anti-climactic in my personal opinion, I saw it coming.

Overall, I did enjoy the story, and the plot was interesting. However, it is not a book I would be rushing to recommend to someone else. My more accurate rating would have been 3.5 stars, but we can't do half stars on here. I think if some characters and plot lines were fleshed out more, the book would have been a much more thrilling read. If you need a quick thriller read that is easy to understand and follow without getting overcomplicated, this is your book.

I am a huge fan of Karen McManus and Holly Jackson so I was instantly intrigued by this title. I was also struck by the title and the cover art, which immediately made me curious about who committed this crime. As I started this novel, I was surprised by how quickly I was drawn into this story. The main character's arc was so clear and I was rooting for her the entire time. There was also a sense of urgency due to her involvement with the suspects so I flew through this book at a lightning pace. I loved the twists and the ending was very unexpected!

Are you kidding me!!? This book deserves so much love & attention. I loved this authors writing style. The story was great and I cannot wait to read more in the future from this author.

I didn’t really have any expectations going into this book and was pleasantly surprised! It is a YA thriller/mystery book where main character Lauren is the new girl at school, escaping a mysterious past the summer before her senior year. After arriving in her new town, she starts hooking up with Robbie Crestmont, who’s family is very well known around because of their wealth. But Robbie and his younger brother Trevor are well known for other reasons as well, because both of their previous girlfriends died mysteriously, one from drowning and one from an overdose. So Lauren is warned by her soccer team right away to not get involved with the Crestmonts, but she isn’t so sure that all of the rumors are true.

I was honestly really surprised by the different twists and turns throughout this book. It reminded me a lot of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, which I really enjoyed. One of my favorite things about thrillers & mystery books is when you keep going back and forth on who you think is the villain and not knowing who you can trust, and this book had plenty of that!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a copy of this book. This book was amazing I loved every second. The twist and turns had me guessing who done it.

Wow. This was a page turner! It kept me on my toes and I did not guess the killer! I really enjoyed this book, especially for a debut novel!
Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to be an early reader in exchange for my honest review.

I absolutely love this plot and story concept. I stupidly didn’t read it was YA. I did attempt to read it but was unable to get into it. From what I did read though I loved it!

Phew! Such an excellent YA thriller debut, that had me hooked from the start and itching to find out whodunit until the very end! Every time I thought I had it all figured out.. BAM! Monkey wrench was thrown right at my idea 😂.

Not only was the mystery well written, I really loved the characters, which isn’t always the case for me when reading mysteries. I loved the friendships made, the characters that were already gone.. and the bookish guys of course 😂. It was also interesting to see the main character haunted by her past and how she ended up in a new situation without being totally unbelievable.

Overall, a very solid debut. I’m looking forward to reading more from Trish Lundy!

i was hooked from the very first page and i love when the story unfolds right before your very eyes even with all the frustrating maddening situations, this was such a well written debut novel!!!

This is a new author I’m adding to my autobuy shelf!! Absolutely loved the book! The twist was slightly predictable but you can only have so many ways to end a murder novel!

Thank you to Netgalley, the publishers and the author for an ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

Realistically, I would rate this a 4.5. I thoroughly enjoyed the way it was written. Every chapter left me wanting to read more. Lauren was easily one of the best female protagonists/teenage girl main characters out there. Not only was she easy to root for, but despite her messed-up past, I never once harbored any ill will toward her. She seemed pretty realistic for a teenage girl, and even without her dark past, she wasn't annoying or un-interesting.

The portrayal of teenagers in this was mostly spot-on. All the references were accurate, at least to the modern day, and I actually understood the majority of those references as a teen myself. Finally, a book where teenagers actually feel like real-life teenagers.

The only reason why I rated this 4 stars instead of 5 is simply because of the culprit. The big reveal. I honestly suspected the culprit for a while. I was torn between them and someone else, but I wasn't all that surprised when I was right.

Maybe if their motive was explained better, then I'd rate this higher. I didn't really understand what their motive was, other than them being a creep. Aside from that, this book was nearly perfect.

Omgoodness. What a ride! Everytime I thought I had it figured out, another twist came along. I never even considered who the real killer was. That was an unexpected twist. Thank you netgalley for the advanced copy to review.

I really enjoyed Trish’s writing style. The book was so easy to read. The first half of the book I was pulled in and was trying to pin the murderer. By the end I felt like most of the plot was too repetitive. I feel like we heard she was haunted by something that happened back in California a few too many times before we found out the truth.

The characters seem to be wayyy too mature for seniors in high school! Trips away to the lake with their boyfriends? Pregnancy scares? Smoking cigarettes like they aren’t $10 a pack. Maybe I’m just becoming an “old lady”😵‍💫

“Plenty of people do coke” Umm am I that old? Am I that naive that high school students are doing coke that frequently??!

I needed more character development. Robbie felt bland. I wanted more suspense from him

The author did a great job of adding suspense without making it too creepy for YA audience.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with an ARC copy.

Oh this book was fantastic. I was sad at times but really gripping and I was excited to see how it ended. I was totally surprised by the ending. I didn't expect the whodunnit to be WHOdunnit! I highly recommend this book!

This was the perfect book to read during spooky season! I love a good YA thriller - and this one delivered! There were so many suspects in this book, so it felt like a true "whodunnit" with an element of suspense and danger. I was fully convinced I knew who it was the whole time - and only to be shocked during the pivotal reveal scene. And I love an amateur sleuth who is determined to figure out what is going on in their world.

The book was fast-paced, realistic, and not too over the top. And all I can say, is I'm glad I didn't go to a high school like this.

Not one of my favorites. I did not like the flawed main character. Lauren needs a fresh start when she moves across country with her mother but is far into the book until we discover why. Lots of sex, alcohol use and teenage drama. Lauren discovers who the real killer is but there is no real foundation for her to establish his status as a killer. Things tie up in the end a bit too neatly. Pass on this one. I received this as an arc from NetGalley and am under no pressure for a positive review.

I really enjoyed this book more than I thought I would! Reason why I was skeptical? I was in for the twists and turns, so excited to read a book like this, but wasn't too keen on all the teen characters even though I knew it was YA-focused. But put all that aside because it was such a fun thrilling read. Definitely think of Gossip-Girl-style drama with a soccer team, but still dealing with a rich family. You come to care about the main character, Lauren, or even the brothers-in-question, Robbie and Trevor. You even come to care for the side characters at some points. The chapters are short and direct, and it kept me on my toes, wanting to know more of what would happen. Finally a quick read book with such a roller coaster ride.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

As English is not my first language, I was worried that I wouldn't understand the plot twists in this novel and, above all, that I wouldn't know who the killer was.
But I was pleasantly surprised to discover a captivating, spellbinding and gripping narrative! If you like thrillers, I highly recommend this novel!