This was a haunting and spooky story that had me hooked. I really liked how Ripley broke the story into parts by each character affected by The Rule of Three. He did an excellent job tying everyone together by slowly reveling facts. The ending was great - I love when a book goes out with a bang.

The Rule of Three by Sam Ripley was a definite page turner that I blew through because I just couldn’t put it down.
A gripping book of suspense that had me gripping my Kindle.
The characters sucked me in and I was immediately invested in them.
I was immediately drawn in by the characters in the setting.
The plot had some twists and turns that made the book exciting to read.
A great book that had me up all night!

I am shocked by how much I loved this book. The format was unlike anything I have read, and without giving anything away, I just have to say- WOW! What a way to write a book!

I was on the edge of my seat trying to figure out what was going to happen next! I have always loved this Urban Legend, and this was such a realistic, brilliant take on “The Rule of Three.”

I won’t lie this one kept me up at night. It’s so creepy, but I loved every minute of it. Can it be a movie? Great characters and a fun concept. Exactly what I needed!

Thank you, Atria and NetGalley, for my free book and audio for review.
I almost gave up on this book, but my curiosity ultimately prevailed, compelling me to uncover the unfolding mystery. Amy, one of the protagonists, is not particularly likable at first, while Isla and Eve present stronger, more relatable characters who resonate better with their situations. All three young women have tragically lost their entire families and believe they are cursed by the "rule of three." Is it merely a coincidence that each of these women experienced family deaths three years apart?

The narrative delves into dark themes of loss, grief, suicide, and substance abuse, creating a heavy yet thought-provoking atmosphere. The twists throughout the story are surprising, culminating in a truly shocking ending. The connections between the women and the events become clear only after the final pages, prompting readers to reflect on the intricacies of their intertwined fates.

While the pace starts off slow, pairing it with the audiobook enhances the tension and deepens the emotional experience of the characters. Each young woman is always on the move, racing against time, and the audiobook elevates the eerie vibes of the story, making it an engaging and haunting read.

Note: This book is a little bit ambiguous, but it works for me.

Ugh this book. I honestly wanted to throw my iPad just so I could be done with it. Do bad things happen in threes or is it just that our senses are more aware once one happens?
The author tried to take the theory and present it from the various POV but it got lost in the shuffle. There was too many irrelevant details. Characters that were interchangeable and uninteresting. It was long and boring and by the end I just wanted it to end. Had I not been buddy reading it I would have DNF. There was nothing to drive the plot. There was nothing compelling about the story. It was drivel. Plain and simple. Pointless.
Thanks to Atria and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for my review.

I got 40% into this one and had to DNF. I think it was something with the writing style, it just felt all over the place. I couldn’t connect with any of the MCs and I didn’t like how the POV switched. This book wasn’t for me, unfortunately.

The Rule of Three by Sam Ripley ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

I appreciated the dedication to “three” in this one. So it’s no surprise that there were three main narrators, three time shifts, and as the story progressed lots of other “three” themes.

This book explored unreliable narrators, and I didn’t trust a single one. I also did not like a single character in this one. I found them all to be a bit YA even though the ages and topics were quite a bit heavier than YA. (Check the trigger warnings!) I also felt like each narrator sounded the same albeit with different main traits (drug addict vs diabetic vs mma fighter).

The pace for this one felt a bit too slow for me, and it was too long. I felt like more things happened off page and the story picked up after these main off-page events. The things that happened on page were descriptions - so many descriptions. As for the mystery itself, I figured it out pretty early on, but I wanted to continue reading to see if I was right.

All in all, fans of who-dun-its, books that make you question your sanity, and books that explore urban legends will enjoy this one.

I read A LOT! And this is DEFINITELY ONE OF MY TOP 10 OF ALL TIME!

THE RULE OF THREE by Sam Ripley gripped my by the throat from the very beginning and had me gasping for air to the final shattering conclusion. This was a thrill ride from start to finish.

Amy, Ila and Eve all have a devastating connection, in losing a sibling and parents to untimely deaths. Years apart, the girls are all researching and investigating the rule of three. We’ve all heard it, that bad luck happens in threes and the girls are each convinced that they will be the last to fall in their respective families. Apophenia is the term used in looking for patterns to bring some order to chaos, and each of the girls does so in an attempt to save themselves. As two of them also succumb to the rule of three, the last girl standing spends years painstakingly putting the pieces together and takes all of her information to the police, who seem to blow her off. There is nothing left for her to do but save herself.

I absolutely LOVED this book. Once I picked it up, the world might have fallen down around me and I would never have noticed. I was instantly connected to Amy as she searched for answers and could feel the tension rising as Ila and Eve did the same. I am almost afraid to say too much about this one for I don’t want to give too much away. Suffice it to say that you should clear your calendar before picking this up because you will get nothing accomplished until you reach the stunning conclusion. I loved the author’s writing style, as some of it was written as journal entries and I could picture the crime wall with the pushpins and red yarn connecting the dots. DO NOT MISS THIS BOOK! I will certainly be watching to see where Sam Ripley has been (pseudonym) and where he will take me next.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for this ARC opportunity. All opinions are my own and given voluntarily.

I’m sorry, but this one was so incredibly boring. Repetitive for no reason. DNF at 40%. This book continued to repeat itself over and over again and I didn’t care for any of the characters that were presented.

Twisted and confusing, this novel weaves the stories of several characters experiencing a harrowing descent into madness that seems to be connected. Ultimately, it may be even more connected than we imagined, but we’ll never know because we’re so muddled.

The themes of grief and loss are powerful and the commentary on their potential to drive you to the brink is important. But had I realized it was only an allegory, I wouldn’t have tried so hard to make it make sense. You may still like it if you enjoy more questions than answers.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy. These opinions are my own.

I have a lot to say about this book so bear with me. First off - this is an INTENSE book with pretty insane trigger warnings including suicide, drug use, murder and pretty heavy gore as well (honestly I bet I’m missing some too). There is no trigger warning included so be aware of that.

Second - I have no idea how this ended. NONE. I think I must have missed something. There is a code they talk about in the book that I tried to go back and follow to see if it helped me put it together - but it didn’t. So I’m not sure if I’m just stupid or missing the point.

Third - I’m reading all the other reviews for help to figure out the ending and they all keep mentioning what a great ending but they don’t want to spoil it. PLEASE SPOIL IT. I feel like I’m missing something that could be great and a 5 star book but too dense to put it together.

Fourth - I did like the mix between urban legend with thriller/horror mixed in, but again I feel like I read a thriller where they never concluded the answer.

Overall (based on what I put together which isn’t much) 3/5

I’d recommend this for selfish reasons just to see if you can explain to me WTF I’m missing.

This one had so much potential but ultimately fell shorts the characters were boring and this was just entirely too slow for me.

This is a strange one. Ripley uses Amy, Ila and Eve to play with the old urban legend that death comes in threes. Except it's not these three. Each young woman has lost members of their family and is convinced that she's next. Except..is she? This moves between them and over a period of years. It's a tad confusing in spots and in others you'll want to shout at the protagonist. While it didn't pull me in the way I'd hoped, it did keep me turning the pages out of curiousity. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. No spoilers from me.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Atria/Emily Bestler Books for providing me with an advance e-galley of this book in exchange for an honest review. Look for it in your local and online bookstores and libraries on August 6, 2024.

The rule of three by Sam Ripley is a great horror story that begins with Amy who recently lost her sister Maya in a car accident only to come home from her first night out to find her parents dead in the garage due to suicide. It seems Amy is on a path of destruction authored by herself but finds the will to live only when she learns some thing is out to give her a helping hand with that. Unfortunately she isn’t the last there is Elie and of course a third possible victim in Eve. I don’t want to give too much away but just know this is a great read I absolutely loved it stayed up late last night so I could finish and totally didn’t see the perpetrator being the perpetrator but found the ending to be absolutely satisfying. This was an awesome idea for a boat with the perfect execution. I found each girl to be very likable and there’s even lol moments that break up the tension I do think Amy and Eve are tide is my favorite character but then again Elli was also a very sympathetic character and I could definitely see myself rooting for her if there was a reason to lol! I love this book and anyone who loves great horror I think would enjoy it as well. If bad things come in threes you will not be counting this book as one of those.#NetGalley, #AtriaBooks, #SamRipley, #TheRuleOf3,

Thank you Netgalley & Atria/Emily Bestler Books for an eARC ♥️

I'm a total sucker for a good scare, and I devour horror books like they're candy. But, sadly, this one just didn't do it for me. The concept of the Rule of Three is pretty intriguing - an urban legend that says bad things always happen in threes, and once the cycle starts, it won't stop until it claims its next victim.

The story starts with a tragic accident, followed by a double suicide. And then, the countdown begins. The next person on the list is already marked, and they're running out of time. As they dig deeper into the mystery, they realize that the curse is real - and it's coming for them next.

I love a good creepy atmosphere and suspenseful plot, but this book just didn't grab me. Maybe it was the writing style, or maybe it was the characters, but something just didn't click. I was expecting a thrilling ride, but it felt more like a slow crawl.

If you're a horror fan like me, you might want to give it a try - but for me, this one was a miss. Maybe I'm just too picky, or maybe I've just read too many amazing horror books lately. Either way, I'd love to hear from you if you've read it - did you love it, or was it not your cup of tea either?

"I didn’t believe in the Rule of Three. Not at first. It was just one of those urban myths you hear about all the time. A story my boyfriend told me about a girl cursed by the number three. A girl whose parents had killed themselves after her sibling had died in an accident. Which meant that she was doomed to die too because that’s the Rule of Three.
Bad things always happen in threes, they say, and they are right. Because it’s happening again.
But this time the curse is coming for me. And worst of all?
It’s coming for you, too."

I really wanted to like this book. The premise sounded really good, and I was in the mood for something really creepy, but this just didn't live up to my expectations. It started out a really slow burn, and stayed that way for over half of the book. It was told in the viewpoints of several of the "victims" of the Rule of Three, as well as two other people, and it was hard to get invested in their characters when they spent most of their time in a drugged state. Personally, I didn't enjoy reading about all of the ways they did drugs, I get that they did it to mask the pain from the losses they had suffered, but the book was beginning to remind of a book I had read in my teens..."Go Ask Alice". At times this felt like it should be more geared towards a New Adult audience, and other times it seemed more like your typical adult mystery/suspense, but I never felt the horror vibe that I was expecting. Maybe this is just a "It's not you, it's me" scenario, and you will like this book. Me..... not so much.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.

“The Rule of Three” by Sam Ripley is a chilling suspense thriller that defies expectations. Imagine an urban legend coming to life—a curse tied to the number three.

The story revolves around a girl who’s destined to die, following the Rule of Three. Bad things always happen in threes, and this time, the curse is relentless.

Ripley blends innovative storytelling with surprising characters. As readers, we’re racing to keep up with the narrative that threatens their lives.

Think “The Whisper Man” meets the eerie tension of “The Blair Witch Project.” Prepare for spine-tingling moments.

“The Rule of Three” achieves the near impossible—delivering both suspense and originality. Dive in, but beware: the curse might come for you next. 🕯️🔍

“The Rule of Three” has been one of my most anticipated reads of the summer - the premise just sounded like everything I love in a book! Told from multiple points of view over several years’ times, each perspective unraveled the rule of three a tiny bit more. With a bit of a slow burn pace, the vague, unnerving feeling that something bad was coming carried through the entire book. Part mystery, part psychological thriller, I was very impressed with the way this story came together in the end. The twists Sam Ripley pulled off in the last section of this book made the slow burn pace more than worth it!

*3.5 stars.

Urban myth:
DON'T FORGET THE RULE OF THREE
IT'S COMING FOR YOU
LIKE IT CAME FOR ME

I almost dropped this book at 20%. It seemed like it was meant for a different, younger audience. I didn't care for Amy, the first victim, whose journal is presented. She admits she's not quite sane, has been suicidal and is often whacked out on drugs. Her family has died and she's scared to death the rule of three is coming for her. But then her journal ends abruptly (Wait!? What happened to Amy?!) and I arrived at Part Two and started reading another victim's journal, that of Ila, an older college student who hears about the curse from friends and decides to learn more. Again her journal ends abruptly and we move on to Eve who is convinced there is a serial killer at work...

The farther I got into the novel, the more I realized the many threads were tying together and I began to appreciate how cleverly the author was plotting this creepy, suspenseful thriller. So do give it a chance and see if it draws you in like it did me.

Many thanks to the author and publisher for providing me with an arc of this new thriller via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.