Member Reviews
3.5 stars rounded up. This was a sometimes funny, sometimes serious, twisty mystery. It kept me guessing up until the end, though I will say the last twist made me shake my head and not in a good way.
The main character was messy in a mostly sympathetic way and I'm glad there wasn't really much romance. It just wouldn't have worked well with this story. I liked the social media aspect and found it alternately fun/frustrating that I was never really sure who to trust.
I read an ARC of this book from NetGalley. All comments are my own.
Molly Monroe is one of heck of a lady. Thanks to NetGalley and Harper 360 for this eARC. Molly Monroe wakes up after a night out with zero memory with a strange man next to her in bed. She has become a viral sensation (in the worst way) and if her day could not be any worse she finds her best friend and roommate dead in the bathtub. Molly must piece together the mystery of her best friend's death which is definitely not accidental, deal with the assault she was a victim of, and grieve her best friend. While this book was laugh out loud funny it was also full of heartbreak and tense moments! I loved Katy Brent's writing and would highly recommend this.
I thought The Murder After the Night Before was a quick and fun read, perfect for summer! It was fast paced, and the characters were endearing (except when they shouldn’t be!) and easy to connect with. I liked that there were 2 mysteries happening at once, and Katy Brent kept me guessing as to whether or not they were related and who should be suspected. The humor made me laugh out loud a couple of time, which is a good plus!
"The Murder After the Night Before" was a story I originally saw a YouTuber I follow read. The cover caught my eye and I quickly added it to my "want to read" list. Lucky for me, the next time I got onto NetgGalley I saw they were offering up ARCs and I was able to get one!
This story was a unique read following several different areas of our world: sexual assault, social media, the difference of men and women expectations and experiences, journalist, and law enforcement. With all these topics came a lot of characters. To be honest, I struggled to keep up with who was who and who knew what. It was also hard to understand which message was the most important to the other.
Personally, I thought Molly was quite unlikeable. She was whiny (I mean after the video, fair) but mostly she just complained about everything and anyone- it got annoying. Actually, most of the characters were annoying. In a weird way, I wonder if they were all supposed be unlikeable?
Overall, "The Murder After the Night Before" was a quick and entertaining read. I would pick up another book by this author if the premise sounded good.
Thank you Harper 360 for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
Molly Monroe had a heck of a time at her Christmas party. Unfortunately, she doesn't remember much of it--especially not the video of her that went viral. She wakes up the next morning with a fully-dressed man in her bed, barfing, head hurting with NO idea of what happened. On the way to work (yes, she made it to work) she feels like everyone is giggling at her, pointing fingers. The rest of the day just gets worse. She finds her friend dead. The police think it was accidental but Molly is sure it is murder. This is a book that I recommend for the younger adults. It was a little juvenile for me but I did LOVE the twists at the end! Thank you to NetGalley and HQ Digital for the digital ARC. This review is in my own words.
Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this book.
What a great sweet book! This was such a good mystery/ thriller! I need to read more by this author!
4.5⭐️! This is my first time reading a book by Katy Brent and I’m so glad I was offered the chance to read an advanced copy because it did NOT disappoint! I was hooked from the beginning of this one, drawn in by the contemporary and relatable setting, the undertone of suspense, and the comedic relief of the narrator’s POV. Brent formed a web of characters with personalities and backstories that granted them both suspicion and trust. This was a fun, easily digestible mystery with twists coming until the very end. Definitely recommend!
This was a really cute thriller/murder mystery. I adored Molly and I don’t usually go for the unreliable narrator act but she was just so darn likeable. I found myself rooting for her the whole book. I liked that the twists kept coming even after the mystery was solved. They really helped explain why Molly was the way that she was. And, as a feminist, I appreciated the commentary on how women are treated by society and on social media. That is something that everyone needs to see and reflect on. I will definitely look for more of Katy Brent’s books.
NetGalley Reviews Template
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this book for free in exchange for my review! All opinions are my own.
I was lucky enough to be approved to read this book after I had discovered the audiobook on the Libby library book app. So it was super amazing to be able to read and listen to this book at the same time. I thought this story was funny, yet twisty. I wasn't familar with Katy Brent, but now I am definitely planning on reading more books by her in the future. This a fun and cozy mystery and I think it would also make a great beach read.
Many Thanks again to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest review.
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This book hooked me from the first chapter. I really enjoyed the writing and how everything tired together at the end. It was easy to follow and I read it in 2 days, I couldn't put it down. I am looking forward to reading more from this author and recommending this book when it comes out next month.
Thank you to HQ Digital for the advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
After Molly's wild staff Christmas party, something bad happens. This leads Molly to find her best friend and roommate, Posey, dead. The police think it was a tragic accident, but she is convinced Posey has been murdered.
I would give this book 2 stars. I was really excited to read this book, and I just don't think it was my cup of tea. I wasn't very connected or interested in any of the characters, including Molly. The plot was like a rollercoaster and kind of hard to follow. At some points, I had no idea what was going on, or why some of the details shared mattered. Some of the plot lines felt forced together and there wasn't a natural connection like in many thrillers. It seemed like a stretch.
However, I did really like how this book was not afraid to talk about taboo topics like slutshaming and sexual assault. I also like how realistic it was in regards to grief and the process of losing a loved one, as that can truly look different for everyone. I would recommend this thriller if you are someone who loves a messy main character, and enjoys a novel that will keep you guessing.
The Murder After the Night Before by Katy Brent comes out on June 11.
I enjoyed this book so much. As I read many thrillers and suspense novels, this one felt so different. Still a “who-dun-it”, but with some humor and lightness to it. You just had to feel bad for Molly, the main character and POV, about her past emotional traumas and now the murder of her best friend…but OMG, she is funny(laughed out loud a few times). She just can’t not put her “ foot in her mouth.”
The author is a clever storyteller and I enjoyed the many plot twists throughout and at the end. I could see myself reading another of her books for sure.
Thanks again to #NetGalley for the #ARC of this book and allowing me to review it. It was a fun read.
I'd been so looking forward to this one, but sadly it's a miss for me! By the 20% mark, when I would expect the plot to definitely be moving in a direction, all we'd gotten was the extreme drama of our mc going viral online for being blackout drunk and acting (extremely) inappropriately in public. Also so much discussion (and detail!) of vomiting in the first few pages--and onward--did not help with my interest. I just couldn't do it.
Hoping it's a case of the wrong book for me, and that the author's debut is different--I've been excited to check it out for a while. Still, very grateful to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc--from the summary, I really thought I would love this one!
This book goes beyond being just a binge-worthy thriller. It's an unputdownable mystery that also poignantly explores the roles women play in life and the injustices they face because of their sex. The novel adeptly navigates themes of grief and mental health. Our protagonist, Molly, is relatable and reminds us that everyone has flaws. What defines us is how we respond when life breaks us down. Instead of letting her life fall apart, she perseveres and changes her story.
Molly knows something terrible happened last night, but she woke up with a massive hangover next to a stranger in her bed. After discovering she went viral on the internet for something humiliating, she learns that her best friend and roommate is dead. Although the police believe it was an accident, Molly is convinced there's more to her friend's death. With the police unwilling to listen, she has only one option: to find the killer herself.
The Murder The Night Before is an easy, one day, digestible read. I will give it that.
We follow Molly Monroe who wakes up after a night out at a work Christmas party with what feels like an endless amount of trouble. Firstly, in bed with an unknown man, secondly she cannot remember a single moment of the previous night, thirdly she is trending on Twitter for performing a sexual act in public and it was reordered and posted for the whole world to see. And oh yeah, her best friend and roommate is dead in their apartment. Yikes 😬
The early stages of the book drew me in initially just due to the pure chaos Molly found herself in. Once Molly had found her roommate/best friend had been killed the story easily takes a turn to a murder mystery thriller from what felt more like a contemporary fiction.
Although I kept reading this book to the very end, it struggled to keep my interest due to a lot of the lingo and almost teenage talk. At some points it felt more of a YA book. Majority of the characters were unlikeable. Their reactions/motives to the crime didn’t fully make sense. Don’t even get me STARTED on the lack of police involvement.
The whole story seemed so far fetched and unrealistic, which I know some people really enjoy in books, I do sometimes too but just found it too much in this instance.
I do have to praise the author because although I didn’t love this book, her writing style made me continue to read it and keep guessing who the true murderer was. It was slightly underwhelming, but it got to the point.
All in all I would rate this a 3/5 solely based on the fact I did finish it and it kept me interested enough to continue.
Thank you NetGalley and Harper 360 for the ARC of this book
This was fine. I was really into it in the beginning but it was a struggle to remain interested. I don’t get the charm of Posey, so it was difficult to care about what happened to her. I don’t care if books are believable, but many others seem to, and this book is not. I think if this one didn’t lean so far into the satire and was a little grittier I would have personally enjoyed it more
THE MURDER AFTER THE NIGHT BEFORE ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5. On Mollys work holiday party, she over indulges and blacks out, waking up in her apartment with a stranger in her bed. When she discovers her roommate/best friend has been murdered and she has no recollection of the night before she starts to question everything. This was an okay thriller with twists and a bigger story. I couldn’t tell if I felt the twists were revealed at the right time or not. If you like a quick read, with some twists and an unreliable narrator this will fit the bill. This is a book I will look back at in a year and forget what I read. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC
After a wild night out, Molly wakes up to find herself in bed with a stranger, that she has gone viral and her best friend is dead. A fast paced who dunnit interspersed with dark humor and unexpected twists.
3.5 stars rounded up! It definitely is a quick read & I thought it was clever take on a murder mystery story. I found some parts predictable, but for the most part, it kept me interested. I finished within two days, but I found the middle (25-75%) to be a lot stronger than beginning / end.
The Murder After the Night Before by Katy Brent follows Molly after she wakes up from a wild night with a rough hangover, only to find her best friend Posey dead. The story has lots of fun twists and turns, there are parts that are absolutely hilarious and it was overall a joy to read! This is a really easy, fun read and I finished this book in a day! I hope Katy Brent does a sequel to delve more into Molly, and we can see where she goes after this book in the future, as the ending is a tad open ended (but that's also whats fun about it!)