While I devour thrillers this book was unlike others I had read before. This book was equal parts thriller and part commentary on women’s body standards through the lens of body building and ‘fat activism’. The story is told primarily from two viewpoints - Gemma a body builder who lost 100lbs and is getting ready for the Bikini Olympia Competition and Ashley - a software engineer turned ‘fat activist’ who is tired of being held to society’s body standards. You get other perspectives of the supporting cast interspersed. This story was great, it immediately grabbed my attention with the murder, building suspense, character development and as a woman who has struggled on and off with body image I enjoyed that element too.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.

If you can get your hands on the audio version of this one, do it. There are three narrators so you can easily tell each chapter apart, and they are fantastic. They add more nuance to the story and make it much more engaging. I don't usually prefer audio formats but in this case I do.

As a lifelong victim of diet culture who now knows better, I enjoy books and podcasts that dive into why diets don’t work and why they’re harmful.

Bodies to Die For is a novel that touches on this harm, but that’s not the main focus. This is a murder mystery slash social commentary on the extreme things people are willing to do in the name of being thin — waist trainers, Biggest Loser type competitions with dangerous trainers, consuming untested products that make big claims.

“Fit girls” are getting murdered. Who did it? The two main characters, Gemma and Ashley, alternate POV throughout. Gemma is a former fat girl turned bodybuilder who is hungry and unhappy, and Ashley is a fat woman learning to accept her body but in doing so got mixed up with the wrong people. There are some chapters told from side characters and I liked those the most. Throw in an unhinged client, a creepy stalkerish fan, a jealous competitor, and a domestic terrorist and you get a jam packed story that keeps you guessing.

Despite all that, I didn’t love it. I liked it, and I’m glad I finished but found that the middle dragged. I skimmed some middle sections but by the end was absorbed once again. I also hope the messages of fat acceptance didn’t get overshadowed by the actions of Lydia and her group because they’re important messages.

Thank you to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review

A clash between the two sides of diet culture at a bodybuilding competition is the setting of this whodunnit!

Gemma is a fitness influencer whose dramatic weight loss and lifestyle changes have earned her thousands of followers. On Instagram, her life looks perfect — great body, husband, and life. But the reality is far different.

Ashley could easily be Gemma’s “before” picture. She’s overweight and is frequently hounded by her mother to lose weight. After failed fad diets, Ashley rebels against obtaining “the perfect body.” With the encouragement of her new friend Lydia, Ashley decides to fight against diet culture and influencers like Gemma.

When Gemma’s friend and bodybuilding competitor is murdered, everyone is a suspect!

I enjoyed this fast paced debut for its well developed characters, relevant topics, and well-timed twists that will keep you guessing.

Narrators Jennifer Aquino, Chelsea Stephens, and Joe Hempel make Bodies to Die For an entertaining listen. The multiple narrators made the story easy to follow. All three made the characters and their struggles relatable.

Grab Bodies to Die For if you want a murder mystery with lots of drama and suspects.

Thank you #NetGalley and #BlackstonePublishing for giving me the chance to listen to this #ALC in return for my honest review!

I loved this book! Everything about the book allowed me to relate to almost every character at some point in my life. As activities of the characters unfolded, I could feel my head bobbing and saying to myself, "Yup, I can see that" or "Been there, done that"!

Lori Brand did a spectacular job of what I call "jumping characters" without confusing me; I can easily pick up where she left each character while still enjoying the current character.

Lori also did a great job writing about a subject that is so touchy. She was able to show each side of this "fat/skinny war". Some spice was thrown in there but it was not the focus. And she threw in the twist at the perfect moment!

I look forward to her next book.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this audio!!

I loved this book so much!!! I finished it in one sitting!! I loved the twist and the plot and the characters. It was hard to stop listening to it.

This book had such a unique premise for a thriller.

Beware of trigger warnings because this book involves body shaming and diet culture. It is set in the scene of fitness competitions.

Gemma is haunted by memories of her old self, despite being a fitness influencer. She is determined to win an upcoming competition, despite all her competitors turning up dead. Ashley is a body positivity activist determined to bring Gemma down at all costs but finds herself working with the wrong people.

I found the writing to be so witty and often funny, despite this being a thriller. The narrators all did a great job giving the wit and banter just the right tone. I loved both of the main characters and their attitudes.

There were a few plot twists that I saw coming and others that I didn't. Overall, I loved how it all fit together in the end. I think the overall message in the end was a positive one.

This psychological thriller was so fast paced, I ate it up! I really enjoyed the concept of this book that it included many current topics such as influencers, dark side of social media and diet-fitness industry. I loved the alternating points of view of the book- it made the book such a page turner. It kept me guessing with the various motives and suspects. Twisty and addictive but also thought provoking on the pressure we put on one another for the perfect image as well as, the pressure we put on ourselves. Perfect twisty summer beach read. The audiobook was so easy to listen to! The cast of characters was narrated by Jennifer Aquino, Chelsea Stephens, Joe Hempel. They brought the characters to life and make it such an easy fun listen.

“𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐞𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬. 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡. 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞. 𝐈𝐭 𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐬 𝐮𝐩 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐬, 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭, 𝐩𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲. 𝐒𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐲 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐬.”

I absolutely loved this one! Told from multiple perspectives, with Ashley and Gemma being my favorite. This was such an addicting listen. The narrators, Jennifer Aquino, Chelsea Stephens, and Joe Hempel did a wonderful job portraying the characters and pulling me in completely into this fitness world that is filled with competition and keeping me fully immersed in this competitive – and sometimes deadly – fitness world. I loved how diverse and complex the characters were. Some you love and others you dislike immediately. I couldn’t trust anyone and it was so fun to see the conclusion. A fantastic listen with a gripping mystery.

A solid beach read.

I read Bodies To Die For by Lori Brand in basically one sitting while relaxing on the beach. I liked the changing perspectives a lot - it really kept up the pace. I also wasn't totally sure where the plot would go, which is always a plus.

One major theme is that restrictive eating is bad, but there's a lot of mention of dieting, counting macros, and body fixation along the way. It wasn't triggering for me personally (I think in part because of the way it's written), but I appreciated the content warning at the beginning of the book and would recommend reading with care if these are tough issues for you.

I read this one before my eyes before being approved for the audio on NetGalley, but I sampled a few chapters of the audio and thought Jennifer Aquino, Chelsea Stephens, and Joe Hempel were all well cast - I particularly liked the tone each of them brought to their characters. (Thank you to Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for the free ALC of the same!)

A fun and fresh take on a serial killer thriller paired with social commentary on the fitness and diet industry. The audio was very well done, with multiple narrators reading for the different POVs. Another strength of this story was that all of the suspects all had legitimate motives. This made it really fun to ride along as the truth unfolded.

Trigger warnings for those who are sensitive to discussions about calories, dieting, body image, etc.

⚠️⚠️ DISORDERED EATING, BODY DYSMORPHIA, AND RELATED CONDITIONS⚠️⚠️

I find the fitness competition world so interesting! I have never competed, but love watching those who do and to get a mystery with it, AMAZING! I am also a boxer and lover thrillers so this was a no brainer! I loved that this book focused on such a serious topic, I think it would make a great bookclub pick! The audio had moments when you could tell it was edited together, but it didn’t take away from the story.

At times, the book was tough to listen to as the characters picked themselves apart and criticized themselves

🏋🏻 Fitness Competitions
🏋🏻 Multiple POV’s
🏋🏻 Social Media Influence
🏋🏻 Twisty Mystery
🏋🏻 Short Chapters

OMG why did you have to make Andrew so real and make it all so detailed?!
I was cringing.
I loved the different perspectives and the fun ending. It was nice to have a little something wholesome after reading Andrew's parts.
The narration was perfect for all the roles! I was enthralled with the entire book even though I don't do fitness or fatness. I just roll with whatever my body wants whenever. I have the confidence of a mediocre man.

Gemma was a “before picture” until she transformed herself into a popular fitness influencer. In her successful new life she has a hot husband, corporate sponsorships, and is striving to win the Bikini Olympia to elevate her career to the next level. But the pressure is ON because “Fat Gemma” is always lurking, reminding New Gemma that she’s starving, her hot husband is a total knucklehead, and now her fellow Olympiad competitors and other fitness ladies are being murdered. Meanwhile… Ashley is a fat lady who is frustrated and fed up because living in the world is fucking exhausting for fat ladies. She caves to her trash mom’s pressure and goes in for a bariatric surgery consultation, where she meets Lydia - a radical Fat Activist who opens Ashley’s eyes and changes her life.

Overall I really liked this book! It was super fast-paced and wildly unhinged, and I loved the short chapters and constantly changing POVs — there was never a dull moment. It was so fun waiting to see exactly how Ashley and Gemma were going to collide - plus there’s a gross incel guy who is obsessed with Gemma lurking around and a wackadoo influencer wanna-be named Kylie and a bunch of other side characters all swirling around and adding their voices to the utter chaos.

I did have a few issues with the book that are impossible to talk about without spoilers, so I will just say this was entertaining AF and completely bananas and would be a great beach/pool/vacation read/listen! (3.5 rounded up)

Being an active member of the bookstagram community and the fitness IG this was definitely the perfect audiobook for me! I listened while walking or working out! This book had such relevant topics! Women are always striving to look their best no matter what it takes and there's always haters on the 'Gram! It was the perfect fitness thriller! Who is killing off bikini competitors? Read/listen to this book to find out! I enjoyed Gemma's story and could feel for her at the beginning of her chapters when her macros were listed(been there done that!) Thank you Blackstone Publishing, Netgalley, and Thrillerbookloversthepulse for the audio to listen and review!

This was such a twisted, fun, and wild ride!! I loved the audio for this. I did struggle with POV's at some points but overall this was such a great read! I suspected literally everyone!

Thank you to @thrillerbookloversthepulse for having me on this tour!

This was a thriller that I wasn’t expecting that I needed in my life. And I’m glad it graced me with its presence. I saw some of my trusted peeps post about it, and we spoke in group chats about recent books about recent books we read and Bodies to Die For has come up. Now I’m not gonna lie, I didn’t read full reviews because I wanted to go in blind. And so happy I did!

This was a unique thriller. Unlike any I’ve read before. Following the need to be fit and diet culture, possible surgery and diet pills and body competitions , to fighting diet culture and being body positive, this book shows the impact of both and offers perspectives. I loved the cast of characters and my suspects kept piling up like bodies, but was able to start ticking them off one by one, and bout lost my mind when the killer was revealed! It was an extremely fun read for a thriller! And this is a book y’all need to add to your summer reading!

𝘽𝙤𝙙𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝘿𝙞𝙚 𝙁𝙤𝙧
Lori Brand
Narrators: Jennifer Aquino, Chelsea Stephens, Joe Hempel
Publisher: Blackstone Publishing (Audiobooks)
Release date: 11 June 2024

𝘉𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘋𝘪𝘦 𝘍𝘰𝘳 plunges readers into the high-stakes world of female bodybuilding, fitness influencing, and body image obsession.

The novel follows the lives of Gemma Jorgensen, a model, fitness influencer and bikini bodybuilder with a seemingly perfect life, and Ashley, a software engineer caught in the throes of body dissatisfaction and diet culture. Before their paths meet at the prestigious Bikini Olympia bodybuilding competition, a chain of ominous events occur. Is there a “fit girl” killer leaving a trail of bodies behind them? And, if so, have they marked their next victim?

Gemma’s transformation to a celebrated influencer is fraught with internal conflicts and external pressures, revealing the dichotomy between her online persona and her true self. Ashley’s journey is equally compelling, as she grapples with societal expectations. Her life takes a turn when she joins a group of radical Fat Activists, finding a new sense of purpose and belonging.

Lori Brand’s writing is sharp and incisive, with short chapters that maintain a snappy pace. Her use of alternating perspectives, mostly those of Gemma and Ashley, allow readers to empathize with both protagonists.

She brings authenticity to the narrative with her own background as a fitness instructor and former bodybuilder.

𝘉𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘋𝘪𝘦 𝘍𝘰𝘳 tackles the pervasive issues of society’s and social media’s influence on self-image, the insidious nature of diet culture, and the objectification of women’s bodies. Brand doesn’t shy away from exposing the harsh realities of the fitness industry and the psychological impact of striving for a barely attainable ideal.

Narrators, Jennifer Aquino, Chelsea Stephens, and Joe Hempel, bring this murder mystery to life, offering listeners an absorbing experience as they navigate the twists and turns of the plot.

Thank you @blackstonepublishing and @netgalley for the ALC.

I never thought I would be reading a thriller based around having the perfect body but here we are. Fitness influencers begin dropping like flies when someone seems to be on the warpath. Why is he targeting these women?

This book was excellent on audio! It wasn't too long, had short chapters that kept me intrigued and had me itching to find out what was happening. It was cleverly written with slight humour and that ending made the ride worthwhile! Kudos to Lori Brand for such a solid debut! I look forward to reading what she writes next.

Bodies to Die For sent me back to my high school days where all girls wanted was to be the best and most beautiful . The concept of using the fitness world was a fun and a new take on this crazy competition world we all live in . Highly recommend!

I’m always up for a thriller and throw in that it’s an audiobook and I’m in heaven.

This one reminds me of my working out days in my 20s. I was never a competitor or influencer but it was an everyday thing.

This is a new twist on the women behaving badly genre. Instead of rich women, this is in the fitness industry and influencers are competing to win a bikini competition. It’s not only a whodunnit but a little bit of a commentary on what is fit and what size is acceptable in today’s society.

It was a unique listen. All the women are super catty and super judgmental and I’m not sure I liked any of the characters but it made me nostalgic for my days at the gym.

The backstabbing and oneupmanship muddled the waters in me figuring out the mystery. I was guessing who and why until the very end.

Narrated by Jennifer Aquino, Chelsea Stephens, and Joe Hempel, I was drawn into the fitness world and felt the tension. The multiple narrators made it easy to follow the story yet obviously not easy to pick out the killer.