I'm always down for a book with murder in the title. This was excatly what I was wanting in a good mystery book. The story follows Amy, who just found her best friend, Sarah, and her boyfriend, Ryan, murdered in their dorm. Who would have thought a murder could happen at a prep school right? Amy gets moved dorms and is now rooming with Liz , the editor of the school paper who wants to make a name for herself. Liz is trying to crack the case and get a good scoop for her article, but Amy just wants to know what happened to her friends. Will they find out or will they both end up as the next school deaths? GAHH such a good plot.
Thank you Penguin Group and NetGalley for letting me read this arc!

4 1/2 Loved this YA mystery. Though no overly twisty and About 3/4 of the way I figured it out, this is a YA story and my teens would love it.
As it alternates between 2 perspectives, it builds suspense well as well as keep the pace going.
First perspectives is Amy, best friend of murder victim Sarah who also shared a dorm suite with Sarah--she heard nothing during the night and lies about her boyfriend being in there and sneaking out. Second perspective is Liz who is the editor of the school newspaper, seemingly never part of the in crowd and avoided by many as they feel she is always writing a story. Amy and Liz are thrown together when Amy cannot return to her dorm room. They both begin to do their own investigating which begins to unearth secrets not only of the victim but of others in their lives. Who could have killed Sarah and her boyfriend while Amy slept?? Amy feels like she doesn't know those who she has surrounded herself with the last few years. And Liz and Amy are certainly not trusting each other or even necessarily working together. But information gleaned keeps pushing them together.
This was enjoyable, gripping page turning mystery.
Thank you to NetGalley

Finished this book in basically one sitting because I just could not stop reading it! I love dark academia, so I was really excited to be approved for this book. It kept me turning the pages. I didn’t figure out the killer until close to the end, so I was happy to be surprised.

Thank you to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam’s Sons Publishers for the ARC. This opinion is entirely my own.

This is a good choice if you’re wanting to read a dark academia, murder mystery that reads more on the true crime side. If you enjoyed A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder, I think you will enjoy The Meadowbrook Murders as well!

The character development was nice and I liked how the friendship blossomed between Liz and Amy. It was nice to see them realize they were in this situation together, whether they liked each other or not.

The culprit wasn’t easily guessable, and I enjoyed that when clues led you to suspicion of a character, and you think you’ve found the murderer out, it twists again leaving you unsure.

I think the pacing was good, the mystery unfolded well and I was interested to find out more each chapter. I also liked that the chapters were short so it didn’t feel like each POV was dragging on.

I liked this story well enough and I will definitely read other work by Jessica Goodman!

i’m not really a big fan of ya thriller books so this was quit the surprise for me, i still feel like it could’ve been better but still very enjoyable!

How well do you know your best friend? This story follows the murders of Sarah and Ryan at the Meadowbrook Academy. Amy, Sarah’s roommate and best friend was home at the time but heard nothing. What if she wasn’t alone? What if the murder was in the dorm? I loved this book and the rotating chapters between Amy and Liz. Liz is a student reporter is who determined to find the truth no matter who she takes down. Overall it’s fast paced, fun, who did it book.

I absolutely loved this book! I was hooked from the first page. The story takes place at a boarding school with many twists and turns throughout to find the killer of Sarah and her boyfriend.


Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC.

I always enjoy Jessica Goodman’s YA thrillers, but this one has been my first four star read. I love the boarding school setting and the slasher style murder mystery. To be honest, the murder scene isn’t graphically written, which makes it all the more scary in your head. You start to imagine what probably happened in that dorm room, bringing to mind murder scenes from the movie Scream. There are a lot of characters involved, and it seems they all could be suspects along the way. Great pick for the Halloween season!

Thanks to Jessica Goodman, GP Putnam’s Sons/Penguin Group and NetGalley for the arc!

I've loved all of Jessica Goodman's books, so was very excited to get my hands on her new one early! The Meadowbrook Murders did not let me down. I love a boarding school drama, so I flew through this is a couple of days. Two popular seniors are murdered in a dorm room, and everyone around them becomes suspects. Lots of secrets, flashbacks, and multiple POVs really let each character's voice shine, and I couldn't put it down until I knew what had happened. Liz annoyed me through much of the book, but I really loved Amy (despite some of her terrible decisions). I guessed the twist towards the very end of the book, but the author absolutely kept me guessing and made me suspicious of everyone! Ultimately, I would definitely recommend this book when it comes out, and I can't wait to see what the author does next.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

This is my 1st dark acadamia novel and a new to me author. I'm not sure how I feel about it. It longer to complete this book than I would have liked, I kept forgetting to pick it up and would read something else. Could be because I figured it out early on and didn't want to be proved right. Overall, it was a quick read, once I remembered that I was reading it. Not sure if that means it was boring or if I was just interested in other books more. I will read something else from the author, because this could have been a "me" issue.

After two popular seniors are murdered everyone is on edge with a killer in their midst. There are many assumptions within and outside the school community. Liz tries to take advantage of this opportunity as the school’s newspaper editor Meanwhile Amy, the best friend of the murdered girl, is trying to hold it together while those close to her are suspect

I enjoyed the alternating voices of the two protagonists. One was basically an outsider with no real friends while the other was with the popular crowd. Both had problems within their family. Amy didn’t trust anyone involved in news reporting due to her own personal family history. Liz was trying to write a news worthy story in order to procure a scholarship. Both had to ultimately join forces to catch a killer.

Overall, this was a good short YA thriller, but I would have liked a little more character and emotional depth.

I really enjoyed this dark, twitsty murder mystery that takes place at Meadowbrook Academy, a boarding school. It was told from two points of view - Amy, who finds her best friend and her boyfriend murdered in their shared room, and Liz, the newspaper editor. I really enjoyed the two perspectives, as Amy is trying to figure out what happened for herself and Liz is investigating in order to write about it. It's fast paced, gripping and while a little predictable, still a fun enjoyable read.

I enjoyed this book! I love books that are set in a boarding school setting, and this checked all the boxes-rich kids, a murder, everyone acting shady. I

I enjoyed the main character, and appreciated that they didn't dumb her down like so many author's do with high school students. I also liked the mysetery, and the fact that there were so many suspects to go through to try to find the killer.

The beginning immediately grabs your interest and thrusts you into the bloody murders of 2 boarding school seniors. The remainder takes you through the twists and turns of all their complicated relationships. The suspense of what happened leaves an eerie feeling throughout the entire fast paced story. We just don't know who may be next or who is responsible for the grizzly murders, leaving no one feeling safe.

Thank you to the publisher for the free copy in exchange for my honest review.

Jessica Goodman is a go-to read for me and The Meadowbrook Murders didn’t disappoint. I love a boarding school setting and the small-town secrets piled on top the brutal murder of two privileged students was a perfect mixture. I enjoyed the two POVs of one popular, athletic student and the outcast student journalist and the way they were forced together throughout the book. One star removed because Amy (one victim’s best friend and roommate) did herself no favors keeping secrets and tampering with evidence at certain points. And I know that highschool girls can be evil, but some of these “friends” were super nasty in their mourning. Overall, The Meadowbrook Murders isn’t revolutionary. It’s an entertaining page-turner with popular tropes and I liked it better than The Legacies but probably about the same as all her others. A tried-and-true YA book that fans off Goodman and first-timers will definitely enjoy.

I am an avid fan of KMM. This book did NOT disappoint! I cannot wait for the next book to be available.

Thank you to Netgalley and the author/publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

I am a huge fan of this author and was very excited to read it. I really enjoyed this book and it didn't take me long to read at all. The mystery was good and I actually did not figure it out until they revealed the culprit. I look forward to reading more of the authors books in the future.

The first week of senior year finds two kids murdered in their dorm.
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Amy wakes up after a night of partying for Senior Week only to find her best friend and her boyfriend brutally murdered in their shared dorm at the elite private school they both attend. Liz hears about the case and breaks the story as the editor-in-chief for their school paper. Amy and Liz both want answers, but for different reasons. When eyes start to turn to Amy as the killer, the two team up to get the answers about what happened that night.
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This was such a great YA dark academia thriller by one of my favorite writers in this genre. I found the dual perspectives to help build the suspense, keeping me reading to see what happened next. I read this in one sitting! Students will love Jessica Goodman’s newest book when it releases February 4!

CW: blood, emesis, death, murder, violence, alcohol, classism, parental abandonment

Deducted 1 ⭐️ because I easily figured out the killer pretty early one

I have to admit I am a sucker for dark academia so this book was a hit with me. One of my favorite parts of this book is the short chapters that keep the story moving along. Both of the POVs are interesting. This book is very well paced and well written.

Thanks to netgalley for the ARC! I’m always looking for mysteries to recommend to my students as that’s a popular genre for them. This one didn’t disappoint, and I can see my students enjoying it. The book is told in alternating POVs of Sarah, the roommate and best friend of the murdered girl and Liz, a college journalist looking to make a name for herself. While I’m not sure the murder is very believable, this was a fun mystery with plenty of creepy twists that keep the reader interested. You’ll find yourself suspecting new people as Liz and Sarah do, and, even though I had a suspicion of who the murdered was, it was pretty well concealed until the end. There’s some good teen drama here, and the language wasn’t too bad in it with sexual situations not being graphic but referred to as “hooking up.” Overall, I’d say this is best for older MS to HS readers, and I went from 3 stars to 4, considering teens would like it a little better than I did. Its creepy and right up their alley!