I think this was... fine? It just really doesn't stand out to me within the slightly overcrowded genre of YA slasher. It's not even the only book I've read recently that is a YA slasher set at a summer camp where murders happened many years ago, and being compared to those others does this book no favours.

It's kind of generic, spends too much time on romance subplots that aren't that interesting, and the plot really drags in places. I'm not saying it's bad, or unenjoyable, it's just nothing special. If you're someone who can't get enough of this type of book, and you just want more of the things you enjoy, I think you'd have a good time with it.

Thank you to netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group | G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers for allowing me read this book. I overall enjoyed the book and the plot

16 years ago, Lori Knight murdered her husband, son, and another teen at Camp Lost Lake. Now, Lori and her daughter, Reagan, live on the run. Reagan knows her mother is innocent and decides to return to the camp grounds to find proof.

Meanwhile, Olivia is reeling from the discovery that the man who raised her is not her father. The only place she knows to look for answers is Camp Lost Lake, where her camp director mother gave birth to her 16 years ago.

As the camp prepares to reopen, Reagan and Olivia are determined to uncover the truth. But as they get closer to answers, they realize that someone will do anything to keep the past buried.

Danielle Valentine is a hit or miss author for me. This book was a hit though. The action starts almost immediately and it doesn’t let up until after the final page. I did not want to put it down. Was it predictable? Yeah, I had most of it figured out. Was it a fun time? Absolutely.

There’s one twist in particular that I saw coming, but I was still so excited when it happened. I won’t go into detail because I don’t want to spoil it, but I was so excited.

There were some parts that had me rolling my eyes. Running from a masked killer? Don’t worry, there’s still time to make out with the hot person you met approximately 1 hour ago. These scenes definitely brought me out of the book a bit, but it’s YA, so I’m not going to be too hard on it.

Overall, if you’re looking for a quick, entertaining read, this book might be for you. It’s a wild ride and it was exactly what I needed at the time. It's probably more of a 3.5, but I'm rounding up because it got me out of a reading slump.

First off, thank you to Penguin and NetGalley for allowing me to review this early.

At first, I thought I was going to have the ending figured out. But I was definitely wrong. I didn't see the very end coming. Was this my favorite YA thriller? No, it wasn't, BUT, it was a lot of fun and action packed. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this, and I will definitely be reading more from this author!

This was a very good book. I liked the sisters and how alike yet how different they were. Who really murdered the people at the camp and why. The book was suspenseful and had lots of surprises, it really left me guessing what was going on and who was killing people. It was 5 stars for me but I was going to take it down to 4 because I did not like what happened at the very end. After thinking about it, I decided when a book can have that kind of effect on you, it's because it's a good book and written well.

Two Sides to Every Murder is a fast-paced, cheesy thriller set in the woods. The story is primarily told through the eyes of two teenage girls, Reagan and Olivia. One has lived nearby her entire life. The other has been on the run with her mother, who is wanted for murders there at Camp Lost Lake sixteen years before. When they get close to finding the truth about the murders, they find that someone is hunting them with intent to kill.
The events of the book take place in a few hours, which is always a plus for suspense. Despite their differences, I kept losing track of whether I was reading Reagan or Olivia's point of view. And there were reveals which weren't used to their potential. The biggest reveal would have fit amazingly with the cheesy slasher theme if the girls had used it to their advantage. Instead, it's just used to muddle the romance and for cutesy moments.
Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin for this advance read.

Thank younto NetGalley and the publisher for this book.

This camp setting was perfect for this book. I lovedvthe cast of characters and the twists a turns.

The book kept me interested from start to finishe. Just when I was sure I had it figured out I would second guess myself.

Will be looking for more from this author.

Recommend.

As a woman who first saw “Friday the 13th” at a slumber party back in the ‘80s, I love a murder camp story.”Two sides to Every Murder” is a fun addition to the trope.

Everyone knows the story of Camp Lost Lake, where a killer clad in an old witch mask killed several people, forcing the camp to shut down. The suspected killer disappeared; the camp director gave birth in the parking lot— and now a podcast has raised interest in the mystery, just as a woman plans to open a business on the property.

Two teen girls, one the daughter of the accused killer, the other the baby born that murderous night, find their lives converging at the camp. Did police overlook evidence? And just who is the person seen skulking through the woods?

I read “Two Sides to Every Murder” in one sitting after planning to read a couple chapters before bedtime. A few hours later, I was rushing through the last pages. There were a couple twists I didn’t catch, and it was a worthwhile book to read in the dark in the faint light of my Kindle.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I don't even want to spend too much time reviewing this. It was utterly awful. Contrived, cliche, and completely unimpressive. I can't even recommend this as a good afternoon read sure to entertain. It was just not good.

Pretty good mystery! Some parts were predictable but still had lots of twists!
The characters were complex and this turned quickly from amateur sleuthing to thriller 😳
Think the movie Totally Killer minus the time travel & comedy lol
Olivia got on my nerves a bit. In fact, her whole family was pretty selfish but it didn't take away from me enjoying the plot and story.
We get snippets of the past while the girls investigate what happened and things were pretty twisted 😅
And that ENDING 💀
There's going to be a sequel, right? It can't end like THAT 😫 haha
Overall, really good and even a hint of romance among the chaos. For those who are into it, there's also LGBTQ rep too 👍

*Thank you to Penguin Teen and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review*

Okay, Danielle Valentine knows how to write a horror novel. There are so many red herrings, characters with questionable motivations, and a twin twist. A TWIN TWIST!! I guessed one of the big reveals, but was pleasantly surprised by the huge ending. I think she can't NOT do a cliffhanger ending. But honestly I love it, so no complaints. This book gives Friday the 13th vibes, only instead you're being stalked by an archer in a witch mask. The pure ridiculousness of it all makes it that much more thrilling. I wish we'd gotten a little bit of an epilogue, but c'est la vie.

This story felt very generic to me - it is about a camp where 16 years ago murders took place and we are now back at the camp where it is being turned into a different space where **gasp** murders start happening again.

This story has two povs (Olivia & Reagan) they are both at this camp for different reasons - Olivia to help her sister clean up and Reagan to find evidence proving her mother did not in fact commit the murders 16 years ago. We also get flashbacks of the events leading up to the murders in the past

There were a couple of twists that I felt weren't all that shocking and could be seen fairly early on. The one positive to this story is how quickly it moves - we get right into the action.

The characters aren't very likable and there are only about 2 victims during the story.

It's also very possible I am too old for this book as it is YA and I am 35 years old :)

I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. This book was kind of like The Parent Trap if the parents weren’t their parents and people got murdered. I liked how the author pulled in subtle hints at their other books that connected them. Thoroughly enjoyable and a quick little Sunday afternoon read.

This book was so fun! Even though it is a thriller I found the characters’ family secrets and relationships to be much more interesting. I loved learning about their pasts with the characters. As for the thriller part, it was also good and I didn’t guess many of the twists!

I finished this campy, mystery thriller in one day... The twist was slightly predictable, but it was fun theorizing the girls' true parentage and also the true killer. The pacing was a bit off, with things ramping up quickly, and I think I would've liked less background characters if it meant we could flesh out our main character's best friends and immediate family. This was a fun ride, Danielle's YA books always keeps my attention until the very end, and I love the fun references to her previous novel "How to Survive Your Murder."

I really wanted to love this book. I figured out who the bad guy/girl was about half way through. I definitely enjoyed the characters in this book and the relationship between Reagan and Olivia. Looking forward to her next boo. Thanks to net gallery and the publisher for this e-ARC.

4.5 stars

Thank you to Penguin Teen Canada for providing me with a gifted ARC to read. All thoughts and opinions are my own honest review.

CWs: blood, murder, injury, pregnancy

Wow this was a great take on the YA horror slasher. I’m loving that books like this are becoming more popular, and I think this one was done really well.
I liked that the chapters switched not only between Olivia and Reagan’s first-person POVs, but also a third-person POV of characters who were present in the lead-up to and the night of the original murders. This let me pick up on clues, and I successfully figured out the murderer, and some of the plot twists. This didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the story, and in fact I was excited that I’d gotten it right.
Olivia and Reagan are both looking for answers at Camp Lost Lake, and they found their answers. The story was twisty and engaging, and there was tension throughout because we didn’t know who to trust.
The pacing was really good, and the short chapters moved quickly. I flew through this one and didn’t want to put it down. The writing style was easy to follow.
I’d highly recommend this one to fans of horror and YA slasher-inspired reads.

I could not put this book down! I greatly enjoyed the characters of Olivia and Reagan and was rooting for them throughout. While I thought some of the twists were obvious it did not take away any of the enjoyment from the book.

There are always two sides to every story...and murder. This one is a dual timeline about murders that happened 16 years prior and present day where the same thing is happening again.

Reagan is on the run with her mom because she was accused of the murders 16 years prior at Camp Lost Lake and the camp is reopening so she is headed there to find some answers. She wants to prove that her mom is innocent in all of this.

This one has some super suspenseful moments and more deaths than you would expect. I was guessing up until the end but the ending left me wanting more! We can predict what happened in the final scene but I wish we could have gotten a little more from what all happened after one of the major events in the story!

4.5

Thriller readers take note: Danielle Valentine's TWO SIDES TO EVERY MURDER will be out on June 25, 2024! I read an advance copy of this young adult novel through NetGalley. This fast-paced mystery/thriller features two female protagonists: Olivia, who's searching for the identity of her biological dad and Reagan, whose mom was the only suspect in three murders that took place years ago at Camp Lost Lake. Now that Camp Lost Lake is reopening, both teens are drawn to the location in hopes of finding answers. Arrows fly and the chase is on as the killer will do anything to keep the truth from coming out. While I had an idea of the killer's identity as I read, there were many layers to unravel, which kept me hooked. The end includes a double twist (which I didn't guess at all) and an unusual wrap-up.