Heart pounding thriller that left me on the edge of my seat. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one. Definitely one of the best books this year.

Lauren is using Robbie as a distraction in this new town. But when she discovers that both Robbie's last girlfriend and his brother's girlfriend died suspiciously, she starts to wonder what more there is to his story.

This mystery thriller raised plenty of questions and the plot was fairly good. However the characters were really flat and it didn't particularly hold my attention. Such a shame, because the twists were interesting.

Thank you to the publisher for providing a review copy

️*Title: The One That Got Away with Murder- a standalone

*Release date: 4/16/24 read: 9/1 /23

*Author: Trish Lundy, debut author

*Book cover: ok, but it's awhile before you learn its significance

*Format: e-book

*Page Count: 384

*POV: 1st person Lauren our heroine

*Setting: Happy Valley, PA

*Genre: YA, Mystery/Suspense

*Tropes:

✅ single mom
✅ troubled teens
✅ forbidden romance
✅ family drama
✅ LGBTQIA+

Look out for:
⚠️ serial killer, drug use/overdose, suicide, arson, eating disorders

*Synopsis: Lauren and her mom Kat move to start over. Lauren meets mysterious Robbie and has a " no feelings attached" relationship. Robbie and younger brother Trevor are known as the girlfriend killers. Lauren finds something that makes her start investigate on her own.


Characters:

Lauren O'Brian-(17) new girl in town, "dates" Robbie, discovers his secrets.

Kat-Lauren's mother, moved from CA to be with new beau Mark.

Mark-met Kat on dating app, they get engaged and want to start IVF.

Ainsley-Mark's daughter, a junior in high school, was Jess's bff.

Robbie-meets Lauren volunteering at Valley Hospice. Accused of killing his ex-Victoria.

Trevor-Robbie's little brother acts suspicious towards Lauren.

Lionel-Robbie and Trevor's father, an attorney,

Victoria Moreno- soccer star, Robbie's ex who drowned at their family lake house.

Jess Ebenstein- dated Trevor, died a year after Victoria at a party by a drug overdose.

Mara-was bff w/ Victoria, on soccer team, and dated Robbie.

Lex-on soccer team, dating Mara.

*Review: There was plenty of intrigue and I did a lot of guessing(wrong) who the killer was. Lauren stumbles through her own investigation, while reconciling her past in CA. It's a definite whodunit with crazy teenager motivations. I loved not knowing and being guided by Lauren and her friends. A great YA mystery/suspense!

*Rating: 4/5

*Spice level- 1/5- no sex scenes

Thanks to NetGalley and Henry Holt and Company for this ARC🖤! I voluntarily give my honest review and all opinions are my own.

Lauren just moved into a small town for her senior year for 2 reasons. 1 her mom's boyfriend live here and 2 she's running away from tragedies. She meets a boy who helps her take her mind off of her past. However, she finds out his last girlfriend drowned with mysterious circumstances. Not only that his brother's girlfriend also died of an overdose. We're these deaths just accidental tragedies or are there more nefarious reasons? Is Lauren next?

Fast paced thriller that will keep your toes on until the very end. Every character is well developed and has a meaningful purpose to the story. If you are looking for a great thriller/murder mystery this is for you.

What are the chances of becoming involved with not one--but two-- suspected murderers when you've transferred to a new school to run away from your own checkered past and all its demons? Lauren and her mother move to the idyllic-seeming town of Happy Valley, Pennsylvania, after a fiery incident that leaves her a mentally and emotionally scarred social pariah. Things aren't looking so great in her new school, either, when Lauren's classmates and soccer teammates begin avoiding her and harassing her when they realize she's hooked up with local-rich-boy-with-a-bad-reputation Robbie Crestmont. Folks in the town blame Robbie for the death of his girlfriend, and funny enough, Robbie's brother Trevor also has a relatively recently deceased girlfriend himself. In desperately trying to unravel the mystery of the murders and the family at the heart of them, Lauren is also tangled in the guilt and grief from her own past--which may be blinding her to dangers that are much closer to her than she can even conceive. I read this propulsive thriller pulsing with secrets and twists over the course of a single evening, and it was a great time all the way through.

First, thank you to Macmillan and NetGalley for the chance to read an early version of this book in exchange for an honest review. The One That Got Away With Murder releases on April 16th, 2024.

Wow, this was a fun book. That opening line? The twists and turns? THE ENDING. It is young adult and you can see it in the story, but that doesn’t take away from the mystery at all. In fact, I would say that it is even on the higher end of young adult.

The One That Got Away With Murder follows Lauren after she is forced to move across the country because of an incident at her former school. She quickly finds herself wrapped up in more bad news at her new school, beginning to fall for a boy who many claim murdered his ex girlfriend. Throughout the book you follow Lauren and her friends as they try to solve the mystery.

Overall, the plot was enjoyable. It was easy to read and easy to follow. The characters felt fleshed out and I grew to love the side characters. My biggest complaint about the book is how they tease the incident at Lauren’s old school throughout the book, only to reveal everything in the last 5% of the book. Honestly, it was hard to care about the storyline that late into the book.

I was trying to figure out who the real murderer was all the way up to the reveal, so that was a fun time.

If you liked A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder, you should pick this book up when it releases - it will be right up your alley.

A huge thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review.
I give it 3.75 stars!
I was hooked in the beginning, but then I felt that the story was kind of dragging on a little bit. I personally did not care for drug and alcohol use, however that is typical for most high schoolers. This is a good YA thriller because there is a high school romance, dangerous and mysterious boyfriend that the new girl ends up liking despite what rumors she hears and of course, high school drama. Some characters were a little unlikable. There were some twists and turns that I would not have guessed. If you like murder mysteries this is an enjoyable one. Lundy also has a nice writing style which made it a great read.

3.5 stars — I feel like it took me a long time to get a grasp on these character motivations, and not in a mystery building way.

Lauren and her mom have just moved across the country at the start of her senior year after the events of a fire at her old school left her ostracized. She’s hoping for a fresh start on her soccer team at her new school, but her choice in hookup buddy happens to be the older brother of the most hated brother duo at school. Both Robbie and Trevor’s girlfriends died in suspicious ways and everyone thinks they are responsible.

Everyone’s moods & actions were kind of all over the place throughout this book, including our narrator, which made it hard to really sink in to the plot. About 2/3rds of the way in I had to resist the urge to start flipping to the end to get to the finish.

Okay but could have used some stronger editing.

We all know the thrillers about someone having a dark past. Love them, theyre spine chilling.
Now jump into a thriller where our girl Lauren has a dark past but so does Robbie and his brother. Plenty of questions where you want ro hear the answer.

Right from the start you're thrown into Laurens world but in a good way. I found her really relatable as she copes with her new home and new life.

I also really liked the pacing in this book from the beginning. It doesnt drag the start out too much.
The only complaint I have about this book is that Lauren comes off easily influenced and its hard to get a read on her personality. It is explained by what shes been through but at times it did bug me. However overall I definately enjoyed this book.

Thank you to net galley and the author for letting me read this arc!

content/Trigger Warning: depictions of underage drug use, drinking, and smoking/vaping; one scene depicting sex, mentions of sex; depiction of coerced nude photographs; depictions of anxiety and grief; mentions of murder; mentions of suicide.

If you liked Pretty Little Liars (TV show) then you will like this book.

This book was filled with drama and mysteries and I ate it up, My guess on who was behind ...... was spot on but i got it completely wrong on who got away with murder.

Welcome to the unhappiest of valleys!
Two girls mysteriously died in a small town both dating the cressmont brothers. This story follows Lauren as she begins he second chance in happy valley after starting a fire that nearly killed her ex boyfriend. When the town begins to shun Lauren for her connection with Robbie creasmont the mystery begins, is Robbie a killer? How well do you know someone?! I got the killer wrong multiple times and was shocked! I loved Lauren as the narrator and this book overall was so good!

This book was as if Veronica Mars and Pretty Little Liars had a baby. It was a great teen thriller. It did read a little long so wrapping it up quicker would have been nice. Also no matter how it ended, the coach was sus!

Thank you so much Netgalley for allowing me to have an ARC of The One That Got Away with Murder by Trish Lundy. And I must say this was a very interesting suspenseful young adult thriller. When you thought it would go one way, it went the other and pretty much the characters were all interesting. I did have my own suspensions running through my head, but that ending was very nice and did not feel rushed at all. If you enjoy murder mysteries, do read this one. I was able to read it in a day because I was really wanted to know how it would end.

Perfect thriller book for teens/young adults! Lauren and her mom move across country to where her mothers new boyfriend lives and to get away from Lauren’s past. Lauren gets involved with a boy that has a past of his own. Characters are seniors in high school with some high school drama. It had a great plot and some good twists!

The perfect thriller for the teens/young adults! Wonderfully written, quick, fast-paced, engaging. an enjoyable YA mystery/thriller that checks many of the boxes necessary to engage readers: death, dark histories, half truth, romance, teen drama, social media, etc.

The Crestmont Brothers are in trouble, all the girls they are involved with end up dead. Lauren moved across the US to escape her past and found herself involved with one of the Crestmont brothers. After another murder of a teen Lauren, Robbie, and a few others work to figure out who is doing this to the high school students before someone else is hurt.

I enjoyed reading this and it kept me guessing. I thought I knew who was behind the murders but I was wrong. I only wish there was more information on the motive to why. If you like A Good Girls Guide to Murder then you will likely love this book as well.

Thank you to Net Galley and MacMillan Children's Publishing Group and Trish Laundry for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

While this book wasn't exactly what I was expecting, it did keep me interested in the outcome. I thought I had pegged who the killer was early on and it turned out I was wrong. However, I wanted a little bit more information on our killer's motives, as that seemed pretty thin.

This was a solid debut thriller and I'll be interested to see what else this author writes.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, MacMillan Children's Publishing Group and Trish Laundry for providing me with this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The beginning of this book did suck me in. It's not as mysterious as I thought it would be given the synopsis and title. I can say her writing is beautiful. She writes like someone would think, and for me that makes it more personal. Towards the middle of the book, it just fell off for me. I struggled but pushed myself to get to the end. I did guess the ending, but I'm ok with that. That doesn't ruin a book for me. It has a Gossip Girl with a splash of Mean Girls, but with murder feel to it. I'm glad there was closure in the end, BUT we never really understand the motive. It just feels a little thrown in there. I needed more information on the who and the why.

⭐️ could have been a DNF 10/10 don't recommend
⭐️⭐️ It was meh
⭐️⭐️⭐️ it was good
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ really liked it. Doesn't live rent free but comes to visit every now and then.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Obsessed! It will live rent free in my head forever and always

I finished this book in a day! I was hooked and flew through the book.!The ending I did not see coming at all.The plot is two brother and two ex girlfriends.

This is Trish Lundy's debut YA Thriller and it did not disappoint! I tend to gravitate towards Mysteries & Thrillers and Romance and The One That Got Away With Murder checks all of those boxes. While there is romance in the book, it is appropriate for teens and young adults.

Follow Lauren as she's the new girl in town who has a dark past as she finds herself entangled with the Crestmont brothers who have quite the haunting history of their own. Are they responsible for the deaths of their ex-girlfriends and is Lauren next? Lauren moved from California to Pennsylvania for a fresh start, but the past always has its way of finding you. Will she get the fresh start she so desperately needs?

Lundy is great with leaving the reader guessing. I thought I had the ending figured out around halfway through the book, but after reading for another half hour, I realized I was wrong. Then I thought I had it figured out again. Wrong! One of the things I loved about this book was it really picked up the pace around halfway through and I wasn't waiting to get to the climax. I finished the last half of the book in about 4 hours.