Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this book.

While not a bad book, I found it to be very predictable. It didn't deliver on the dark academia vibe I was looking for even though it took place in a private school. It just didn't hit the mark.

An exclusive boarding school murder is always a trope I love, and Jessica Goodman is so great at teen mysteries. In this one, Sarah and her boyfriend are brutally murdered in the dorm room Sarah shares with her best friend, Amy. Amy was there at the time, which makes her the number one suspect. Except she insists she didn’t hear a thing and woke to find them.

I loved that I had to keep changing my guesses about the murderer whenever there was a new twist. Liz, the journalist we love to hate, played a pivotal role in the story as well, and Amy didn’t know if she could trust her or not. Neither did I! Goodman's specialty is delicately misleading readers. The ending was a surprise but completely believable.

If you enjoy dark academia novels, you should check this out!

For being a young adult book, this had really good writing, and I really appreciated that. The dark academia vibes were everything and the twist and turns definitely kept me intrigued .

I’m always up for a murder mystery set in an exclusive boarding school. Always. This didn’t disappoint. Full of twists and turns to keep the reader guessing, and an ending that was satisfying. I recommend for a fun, fast read.

High school senior Amy’s best friend is found murdered, alongside her best friend’s boyfriend. Liz, an ambitious student reporter, is determined to get to the bottom of what happened.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Young Readers Group for the ARC.

The Meadowbrook Murders is a slow-burn YA mystery that reminded me of Pretty Little Liars—full of red herrings, secrets, and layered clues that keep you guessing.

The story follows Amy, a senior at a fancy New England boarding school whose best friend and her boyfriend are brutally murdered in their dorm room. Amy was the only other person in the room that night, and as the police start digging, Amy tries to cover for her own boyfriend’s sketchy whereabouts. But when her best friend’s lies start stacking up, Amy realizes she might not have known her at all.

Then we meet Liz, the school newspaper editor and social outsider, who’s determined to solve the mystery to win a big scholarship. As she uncovers more about what was really going on behind closed doors at Meadowbrook, she finds that everyone is hiding something. The deeper she digs, the more dangerous things become.

This book is a little slower at first, especially for readers used to fast-paced thrillers. But if you’re just getting into mysteries, especially as a teen or young adult, this is a great entry point. About halfway through, the plot really picks up—and I was completely hooked. I needed to know who the killer was and what was really going on. I didn’t guess the ending either, which is always a win for me.

This story made me think of This Book Kills by Ravena Guron. If you liked that one, I think you’ll enjoy this too. The Meadowbrook Murders is a classic whodunit with a dark academic twist, full of gossip, danger, and suspense.

This one was an interesting read for me, but it wasn't my favorite. I really felt like I struggled to connect with the voice and the writing, which is absolutely a me problem. I'm still very glad I had the chance to read this!

This is a fast paced murder mystery set in the world of academia and as a fan of Jessica Goodman, I was here for it! This story was very fast paced and involved a scandal at a private school. I wanted to see where the story was going and I kept turning pages to find out. I feel like many of my mystery loving kids will enjoy this book and like They'll Never Catch Us and They Wish They Were Us, I am sure this will be checked out of the library!

This was just fine. I'm a big fan of Jessica Goodman's popcorn thriller books, but I feel like this one just didn't have that addictive feel that most of her books have. Mostly I just couldn't stand reading from the perspective of Liz and the adults surrounding her. I was screaming at the book and the adults who were constantly telling her not to report on the story when that's literally what journalists do. Sometimes this book felt more like a critique on journalism than a murder mystery novel. I would have much preferred just following the Amy perspective, but I still wasn't THAT interested in her perspective either. I just feel like it was missing that "thing" that makes Jessica Goodman novels so fun to read.

I don't think I expect a whole lot from young adult thrillers anymore but I didn't enjoy this one. It felt extremely anti-climactic and honestly I was bored through a lot of it. I really disliked Liz's character with how pushy, self=righteous, and uncaring she was. The little twists thrown in and the big plot twist at the end didn't even shock me. I'm only giving it 3 stars because I did like the setting and how fast it was for me to read.

a suspenseful, twist-filled thriller set against the backdrop of a prestigious New England prep school. The premise is gripping from the start—Amy, the seemingly innocent girl whose life is turned upside down when her best friend Sarah and her boyfriend are brutally murdered. Amy is thrust into the role of prime suspect, but as she’s forced to cover for her boyfriend’s suspicious whereabouts, the layers of deception and dark secrets begin to unfold.

The story moves at a decent pace, and while the twists aren’t always entirely surprising, the book does a good job of keeping you on edge, questioning everyone’s motives. The dual perspectives of Amy and Liz work well, creating a complex narrative as both girls uncover more than they bargained for. The campus setting is effectively used to heighten the sense of isolation and danger, as the killer is still on the loose, and every character is a potential suspect.

While the book doesn’t necessarily break new ground in the mystery genre, it delivers a satisfying read with enough twists and intrigue to keep fans of YA thrillers engaged. It’s a quick, engaging story that will keep you guessing, especially as the deeper secrets start to surface and the stakes become more personal.

(3.5 rounded up to 4)

I enjoyed this book but it was a little predictable. I also wish it was a little more Dark Academic because that was what pitched to me & it was lacking in that department. I did like our main characters Amy & Liz (especially Liz) and I loved Liz’s growth by the end.

Will the killer be found?

At the Meadowbrook Boarding School, Amy is enjoying the senior week before the underclasses arrive on campus. She’s looking forward to spending time with her best friend Sarah and her boyfriend Joseph, who attends school in town. After a party the night before, Amy wakes up and knocks on Sarah’s door. When there’s no answer, Amy opens up the door to find Sarah and her boyfriend Ryan dead in a bloody bed. The school is shocked to the core and every student is terrified that they’re going to be the next victim. Amy is moved to room with Liz, the school newspaper journalist, who has high ambitions for reporting the news, on and off campus. Will the killer be found? Will the killer be stopped?

Likes/dislikes: I like how the characters each found a true friend when they didn’t expect to at all. It just shows that you never know where you’ll find a friend. Liz meets her journalistic hero and she learns quite a lot from her. Great character development.
Mature content: PG-13 for implied sex and underage drinking.
Language: R for 66 swears and 19 f-words.
Violence: PG-13 for bloody death.
Ethnicity: Jewish, Black, White are all mentioned.

I love me some dark academia; give me boarding schools & murder any day.

Overall, this was a pretty solid read. It was fast-paced and easy to keep reading, and the juxtaposition of rich prep school kids, lower-income prep school kids, and townies was interesting.

I did feel at times the dual narrations were too similar; sometimes I'd have to double check whose voice I was reading. And—this is the drawback of reading YA as a middle-aged mom—almost all of the parents were godawful!

I recieved a free advanced e-copy on NetGalley to review.

This is a boarding school murder mystery, and in my opinion a very average one. Nothing stood out to me as unique or interesting, but I wouldn’t call it bad. The pace was quite slow and the plot was predictable. The characters were fine if somewhat two-dimensional. All in, it felt very much like a mystery novel was outlined for the major requirements and the outline was executed. Yes, all the boxes were checked - but a bit lifelessly.

I do think there are better YA mysteries out there - but if you’ve already read them all this is an okay one to pick up.

Overall, I love Goodman's writing style; however, I found this mystery to be predictable (knew the killer as soon as they were introduced) and one of the main characters were insufferable (and not in a flawed/unlikeable way, but annoying).

Gave this two chapters, but the writing didn't interest me and the subject matter felt over-trodden/oft-visited. I understand the audience is likely YA, but it felt as though the writing was too simple/too many shortcuts. I did not finish.

Private review - no socials or public reviews for this book as a DNF.

Thank you net galley for the advance reader copy of this novel. This was a YA suspense novel that didn't disappoint. Murders at a prep school was definitely an engaging plot and had me from the first page. I liked how the chapters alternated between Liz and Amys perspectives. I will definitely read more by this author!

The Meadowbrook Murders had all of the themes that I typically enjoy, private school setting, murder, the haves vs. the have-nots. The mystery and twists were interesting but it took an extremely long time to get there. It was slow and hard to get through. Overall the story was solid but pacing and slow build up lessened my enjoyment of it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

When Amy’s best friend and best friend’s boyfriend are murdered in the boarding school room right next to hers while she sleeps, Amy becomes the prime suspect. She reluctantly joins up with Liz, a determined and driven journalist on the school paper, to figure out just who the murderer truly is.

I really enjoyed this book. I have read some of Goodman’s books before and really enjoyed them as well. This one has a great mystery as the set up, and the rest of the book really delivers. Liz and Amy are really complex characters and very strong young women, and you can’t help but cheer for them. I had a particularly good time with guessing the murderer just a few chapters before the reveal, which means the book was good enough to fool me for a long time, while also being good enough to have enough clues for me to follow. I would recommend this book.

This book will be such a hit with the young adult crowd!!! It held my attention and kept me guessing the entire way! Teens love nothing better than reading about other teens, especially when you throw in a murder. This author did an excellent job of keeping the reader guessing until the big reveal. I thought the ending was perfect! I will definitely be recommending this book to my students and fellow adults that enjoy this type of work. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC! I really enjoyed it!