So, there is a British teenage girl, who is massively disconnected from her Indian heritage. She goes to a boarding school where she doesn't ever feel like she belongs - literally, people wouldn't even sit at the dining table with her. Other students at the boarding school come from a much greater amount of privilege, used to things just working for their sake because of the milieu they were born into. But, as one can guess, our heroine is going to grow to stand up against those privileged asses instead of sucking up to them, as they would have expected of her based on her background. And, oh, yeah, students tend to die in that boarding school, about which the responsible adults aren't really doing anything.

If that description sounds even mildly fascinating, go read Naomi Novik's <i>A Deadly Education</i>, which also, funnily, fits the short overview above, but, to my liking, is way better written (and also has a fine mystery that the heroine solves along the way, though the book is not marketed as an example of the detective genre).

Now, onto Ravena Guron's <i>This Book Kills</i>, for serious. Jess is one of very few scholarship students at an elite boarding school, where for most of the other students the levels of privilege are described as "old money" or "new money." One of those very privileged students is found dead on the school grounds. Here's the twist: some of the details around his murder are exactly the same as in a short story Jess wrote for a class, and all the school students are let know that the murderer thanks Jess for inspiration, which makes her own position extremely volatile. Not only does she receive death threats suggesting that she would be the next to be killed, but there's a great chance that her scholarship will be rescinded, since inspiring a murder doesn't fulfill the requirement of "exemplary behaviour" that the scholarship came with. (This will "get us killed... or worse, expelled!" - if you know what I mean)

I think I expected this to be more in the vein of the title, "this book kills" - more focused on writing as a life(-and-death-)changing practice, I guess. Instead, we are told that Jess is extremely good at writing but we never get to see any pieces (except for the very story that we are reading), so it all remains very conjectural. We get to learn a lot about many students at the boarding school, all the information about them we apparently need to know to be able to solve the mystery together with Jess, but it felt rather unnatural to me. There is great effort to create distinct and memorable characters, but I wouldn't say it's fully consistent. Literally, the same character is described as "too good of an actress" and "not enough of an actress" on separate occasions. Moreover, for us and for Jess to find some clues to the mystery, people keep telling her quite a lot, including those who would never talk to her previously. Why would they? And if there is no plausible reason for people to tell things to Jess, what does she do? She overhears stuff, randomly. On my shelf, this is not the best practice in detective stories.

But the denouement came as a surprise to me, which means it is a well-written enough mystery story, I guess?

Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Fire for an eARC. All opinions expressed above are my own. (Not sure why the publisher is sharing eARCs though, as the book seems to have been originally published a couple of years ago).

This Book Kills by Ravena Guron
Rating: 2.5 Stars ⭐️⭐️💫
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When Jess writes a short story involving a murder as part of a class assignment, she never expects someone to use it as inspiration to carry out a real murder… but that’s exactly what happens. Hugh, a popular classmate, is found dead in an eerily similar fashion as Jess’s short story victim. Now, she’s thrown into the middle of a murder investigation, with many questions that police can’t seem to get to the bottom of - Who did it? Why? Why was the short story used as inspiration? And most importantly, who’s next?
—
Overall, I didn’t love this one like I hoped. It was very slow and I found myself wanting to just get to the end to figure out who did it - which I ended up predicting way too early. Here’s a breakdown of my thoughts:

What I liked:
- The concept
- The main character, Jess
- The petty teen murder vibes
- The setting (preppy private boarding school)

What I didn’t like:
- The ending (predictable)
- How drawn out the story was - I felt it could have been much shorter
- Many of the characters
- The parents and how awful they all were
- How some parts of the story didn’t really tie in well together in the end - felt choppy and random at times
- The overuse of “Er…”

Thanks to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the press service!

4.5💫

This YA thriller was published in French a few weeks ago, I couldn't help but be curious about reading this. To my delight, it was excellent. I was unable to predict the killer, the clues and the investigation were perfectly thought out and the characters were extremely well written!

It's pretty close to a good girl's guide to murder and truly, devious, so to the people who loved these books.... You know what to do :)

Review: This was a fantastic YA Mystery novel! It had plenty of twists, and an ending that I didn't predict, which is always nice when a mystery is able to surprise me. Jess was a great main character, and I thought all the supporting characters were well written. I know this was meant to be a standalone, but I would love to have more books featuring Jess and her friends. I figure at that school there are probably a lot more mysteries to investigate! Overall, I would definitely recommend to anyone who enjoys a good mystery!

I received an e-ARC from the publisher.

In Ravena Kaur Guron’s debut book, This Book Kills, all protagonist Jess Choudhary wants is to make it through high school unscathed and with her scholarship intact. Instead, she finds herself unwittingly part of a murder investigation.

When Hugh Henry Van Boren is murdered, Jess receives a text thanking her for helping. This is unsettling, to say the least, especially given she had nothing to do with his death. Unfortunately, now Jess must take it upon herself to solve the mystery of who killed Hugh before she also winds up dead.

This Book Kills includes some of the most loved elements of a quality Young Adult Mystery: boarding school, secret societies, an outcast protagonist, and a shy romance on the side. For a first book, the author is successful, and it is an enjoyable read. The characters could have been a bit more developed, and they are a mix of likable and irritating (so true to high school). As for the plot, it’s entertaining, albeit a bit predictable.

This is a solid first book and it would be fun to see if it could be explored more as a series, as Jess and the friends she makes along the way are compelling characters.

I tried to get into this one but I just couldn't it was not for me, nothing worked for me or hooked me to continue. I had to DNF.

A good strong entry into thriller especially for young adults ! I really liked the concept of this book and was intrigued the entire time

Easy plot to follow
Great writing
Well developed characters
You can guess who the murderer is but not tooooo easy. Which still makes it very fun !

Prestigious boarding schools, murder mayhem, and secret societies, oh my! This high-stakes thriller has incredible pacing that will have you on the edge of your seat clamoring for more, plot twists you’ll never see coming, a ticking time clock, and believable characters you’ll either love to hate or hate to love, all wrapped up with a satisfying yet mind-blowing conclusion. Perfect for fans of Holly Jackson!

I enjoyed this one, first read by this author. Good thriller and decent writing. The plot will have you thinking. This one has you wanting to read more.

I read the book in one sitting. The many twists are entertaining, especially the last reveal about Hugh’s murder. Jess is a well-written character and is likable. Her struggles are relatable. The single point of view makes the story easy to follow and understand. The red herrings do a good job of diversion. I would recommend it to YA or mystery and thriller readers.

Characters: 3.75🌟
Writing: 4🌟
Plot: 4🌟
Pacing: 5🌟
Unputdownability: 5🌟
Enjoyment: 4.5🌟
Overall: 4.38🌟