This was a great mystery. I love a mystery that keeps me guessing. There were multiple times in this book where I thought I knew who the killer was and then I was proven to be wrong. The character development was great and I came to like the main characters and several of the supporting characters. Sadly, I also came to like the killer so I didn’t want this person to be involved but, by the end I was ok with it. The setting was also well developed and I felt as if I knew my way around the campus so when Amy went somewhere, I could visualize.

I love Jessica Goodman’s books and this one does not disappoint.

Prep school and a murder? I obviously loved this one. This wasn’t your typical YA novel. I thought the characters were likeable and the plot was interesting. I can’t wait for Jessica Goodman’s next book!

Captivating mystery with complicated relationships and real-feeling characters who make the kind of mistakes you'd see in a real case. I loved the dual POV, and especially Liz's growth as she struggled to cover the story. So good!

So, I'm going to be honest here: I wasn't really crazy about this book. Was it bad? No. Was it blow-my-mind-amazing? Definitely not. I think the story set up is solid, but the characters didn't feel fully developed and the plot was lackluster in my opinion. 

With the characters, I could find myself mixing up Liz and Amy. If their names weren't at the top of the chapters, I would've had a hard time telling them apart at times, which is not great when you have two POVs. You literally get to know nothing about Ryan (Sarah's murdered boyfriend) even though the book preaches about learning more than just how the victims were killed and getting to know them as people. Most of the other characters were very one-dimensional and I think that's what pulled me out of the book the most. 

As far as plot goes, it felt cohesive for the most part, but was predictable about 50% of the way through. I won't give any spoilers, but I definitely had a feeling about who was the perpetrator a good bit before we get any closure. Most of the things the drove the mystery forward, though, were circumstantial and sometimes seemed random. That bothers me more than anything else when it comes to mystery novels. I don't want it to be a coincidence and I don't want characters to happen upon things. I want them to work for it and this novel didn't really feel like work. 

Okay, so the things I enjoyed. I loved the boarding school vibes you get throughout the whole novel. I also love the hostility (I know, this sounds weird with me saying that I like that) because it totally felt "high school". The atmosphere was on point for sure. I also enjoyed the ending after our murderer was unmasked. It felt nice and realistic (not necessarily the explanation from the murderer, but what our characters do after everything is all said and done). 

Overall, I would give it a solid 3/5 stars. The ending was predictable with who the murderer was and the characters didn't feel fully thought out, but the vibes, atmosphere, and writing for the novel were really good.

📖 : The Meadowbrook Murders-a standalone

✍🏾 Author: Jessica Goodman- I read The Legacies -gave it 5⭐

📅Publication date: 2-4-25 | Read 1-30-25

📃 Format: e-ARC 336 pgs.

Genre:
*Mystery/Suspense
*YA
*Crime

Tropes:
*small town
*dark academia
*the wealthy
*amateur sleuths

👆🏾POV: dual 1st person, Amy and Liz

⚠️TW: murder, bullying, underage drinking

🌎 Setting: New England, CT

Summary: Amy and her BFF/roommate Sarah were enjoying their first week as seniors at a boathouse party but got into an argument about their boyfriends. Amy comes home to their dorm room and when she wakes up the next morning Sarah and her boyfriend Ryan are dead. Amy becomes a suspect and Liz, a reporter for the school paper, is out to find the truth.

👩🏾 Heroine: Amy Alterman-Jewish, senior at boarding school, and soccer player

👩🏾 Heroine: Elizabeth "Liz" Charles-editor in chief at the Meadowbrook Gazette and a loner

🎭 Other Characters:

* Joseph Stone-Amy's boyfriend, a townie
* Sarah Oliver-Amy's roommate, soccer player
* Ryan Pelham-Sarah's boyfriend
* Janet Egan-the headmaster
* Pamela Jensen-Joseph's mother and the soccer team coach
* Peter Radcliffe-BFFs with Sarah and Ryan, always competes with Ryan
* Kayla- a soccer player, dislikes Amy because of her friendship w/ Sarah

🤔 My Thoughts: This had a lot of twists and turns in this whodunit. It takes a real look at the wealthy's prejudice and entitlement. The Olivers and the Pelhams talk down to Amy and Liz in their brief encounters. Liz wanted to make a name for herself by investigating the murders and learned about bias and reliable sources while investigating. Amy found out her friends betrayed her, and was lucky to have found Liz and their unlikely friendship.

Rating: 4/5⭐⭐⭐⭐
Spice level 2/5 🔥🔥 off page

🙏🏾Thanks to NetGalley, Penguin Young Readers Group | G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers, and Jessica Goodman for this ARC! I voluntarily give my honest review, and all opinions are my own.

The Meadowbrook Murders sets up an intriguing murder mystery against the backdrop of an elite academy, weaving together secrets, lies, and the pressure of high school life. Jessica Goodman captures the eerie, suspenseful atmosphere of a campus reeling from tragedy, making for an engaging read.

Amy and Liz’s dual perspectives add depth to the narrative. Amy’s paranoia and tangled alibi create tension as she struggles to maintain her innocence, while Liz’s determination to uncover the truth adds a sharp investigative edge. The slow unraveling of secrets keeps the reader engaged, even if some twists are predictable.

While the premise is gripping, the pacing occasionally falters, and some character motivations feel underdeveloped. However, the book delivers enough suspense and intrigue to keep mystery fans turning the pages. Readers who enjoy dark academia settings and campus thrillers will find The Meadowbrook Murders an entertaining, if not entirely shocking, read.

This was an exciting academia thriller! I love her writing, especially the book "They Wish They Were Us" and this one carried the same concept of power, privilege and secrets.
I loved the characters and the setting in a prestigious New England boarding school opening with a night of partying. Two roommates Sarah and Amy are also considered best friends, but have said some terrible things to each other and not speaking. While Amy was asleep in the next room with her boyfriend Joseph, Amy and her boyfriend Ryan were murdered. Amy finds them and since her boyfriend was not allowed on campus, she tells the police that she was all alone. She becomes a suspect in their investigation.
The story is told in two POVs with Amy's view and Liz, a school editor on the school newspaper and a social outcast. Both investigate different perspectives and motives on the murders.
Amy can't remember a lot of the night but cannot use her boyfriend as an alibi after she lied to the police. What she does find out is Sarah told a lot of lies and carried a lot of secrets with her but...
"Secrets don't die when you do."
Thank you NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group | G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I enjoyed this one! Overall it was a pretty quick, easy read. It wasn't my favorite book by this author but was still really good. The "plot twist" was a bit predictable but I still enjoyed the ride and how everything ended. I also liked the rich boarding school backdrop and the way grief and journalism and ethics were kind of all intertwined. The two POVs were a little too similar and I got confused in a couple places about who was who. There was more I liked in this book than disliked though! If you want a nice popcorn YA mystery, you should definitely pick up this one!

"My heart thumps hard in my chest, adrenaline and fear coursing through me. A killer, here at Meadowbrook Academy. The idea is impossible."

It's only the first week of their senior year at their fancy boarding high school when Sarah and Ryan are found murdered in Sarah's bed. Suspicion immediately turns to Amy, Sarah's roommate, so when school reporter Liz has the chance to get close to Amy, she'll do anything she can to get the story and hopefully solve the case.

I've read all of Jessica Goodman's books, with THE MEADOWBROOK MURDERS being the latest. All of her books are YA and most feature an academic setting, which I really enjoy!

THE MEADOWBROOK MURDERS had all the intrigue AND an elite boarding school in New England, which should have made this a new favorite for me, but it, unfortunately, fell flat.

The pacing was extremely slow and the lack of depth to the characters didn't help in moving the story along.

While the mystery is what kept me reading, it ultimately left me feeling underwhelmed by the end.

Will this be the last Goodman novel I pick up???? Only time will tell 😬

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Teen for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Publication Date: February 4

Amy & her best friend Sarah are roommates at Meadowbrook Academy., where they are beginning their senior year. After an explosive public argument at a party, Amy goes back to her room with her boyfriend, whom she later lets out through the window, so he won't be seen sneaking out of her room. When Amy wakes up the next morning, she goes to Sarah's room to apologize and try to make up, She discovers Sarah & Sarah's boyfriend brutally murdered & after she calls for help, all eyes turn towards her because she had motive & opportunity.. Amy teams up with Liz, the editor of the school newspaper to help her discover the truth about what really happened that night.

I normally love mysteries & thrillers set in academia, but this one was just lackluster for me. The characters felt one-dimensional, the suspense was just not quite there, there wasn't a sense of danger, and the entire book was a slow burn. All of that does not add up to the makings of a good thriller. I give this a 2.5 rounded up to a 3.

4.5 stars rounded up

I think this is one of Jessica Goodman's best novels! The Meadowbrook Murders is a murder mystery set at an elite boarding school a popular couple has just been murdered. Amy is the best friend of the girl who sleeps next door, but she and her friend had been fighting with each other at a party the night before. The other perspective is Liz, an aspiring journalist and editor of the student newspaper who has been dying for something interesting to happen at their school to advance her career.

As the story progresses, Amy realizes that she might not have known her friend as well as she thought she did. And Liz must grapple with the consequences of reporting on your own community and the ethics of journalism in a case where there are victims. It's a thoughtful, twisty story that kept me hooked. I did kind of guess who the killer might ultimately be, but it didn't detract from the book for me. This was really well done! I received a copy of this book for review from the publisher, all opinions are my own.

Jessica Goodman always knows how to create a compelling high school mystery and The Meadowbrook Murders is no exception. The action starts immediately and with each chapter, there’s a growing ominous feeling that I just absolutely love in a book like this. I really enjoyed getting both Amy and Liz’s POVs and getting to know them as characters. I felt like the book gave us some GREAT red herrings and truthfully, they would have all made sense as the killer. I did guess the big twist, but it was such a fun one that I didn’t mind it at all. Also, I’m a sucker for a boarding school setting and oh man, it was done so well here. If you enjoyed her other books or like an intriguing YA thriller, definitely check this one out! And now I impatiently wait for her next book.
CW: murder, violence

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Teen for an advanced digital readers copy in exchange for an honest review!

Imagine waking up in your dorm room to find your best friend and her boyfriend murdered right before your eyes, not an easy sight, right? Amy had the unfortunate experience to find Sarah and Ryan murdered in a double homicide with no leads to finding the culprit. That's when you need a reporter to help uncover the secrets to this case, except that report is another student on campus who has been advised to not report on this matter, but when has that ever stopped her?

The Meadowbrook Murders is a young adult mystery that I didn't want to put down. The amount of times I had to stop myself from reading on at night or before a class was astronomical. Why would I go to sleep or continue my education when I could find out who murdered Sarah and Ryan?

I hate to say that I found this murder mystery novel "fun" as no murder mystery should be fun as it's quite tragic, but I really enjoyed the story. The characters on the other hand, they were frustrating to read about on another level, which is a good thing as this proved to me they were human with human emotions and thoughts as high school seniors (and I've been there). I went through a lot of second hand embarrassment for their actions, and they were justifiable, it was just every single character acted like this and that was a lot to take in.

Despite my feelings about the characters, I really do recommend this book for people to read if they want to get into mystery books (like I do), because let me tell you, I couldn't say who actually did it until it was written out in front of me. I bet I missed so many clues that pointed in the direction of the culprit. . .

Thank you, Penguin Teen, for allowing me to read and review The Meadowbrook Murders!

I thought this was an interesting thriller throughout and it held my interest! The two perspectives were good viewpoints, and I was interested to find out how it would all turn out. The ending was surprising, but there were some slow parts throughout. I really liked the setting and idea behind the book and thought it was well executed overall. 3.5 stars!

Do you like twisty dark academica ya novels with more than one pov? The Meadowbrook Murders is the book for you!

There has a been a lot of buzz surrounding this book and I was very thankful when NetGalley and Penguin approved me to read an e-galley.

This fast paced thriller rocks the seemingly idyllic Meadowbrook Academy community when two seniors end up murdered during senior week.

Told in the point of views of Amy (murder victim 1's best friend) and Liz(editor of the school paper), this unlikely duo ultimately team up to unravel the mystery of who could commit such an awful crime.

I loved the short chapter format and the back and forth point of views. This kept me guessing until the very end! I thoroughly enjoyed this thriller!

The ending was super predictable, so I wasn't as impressed with this one as I was with They Wish They Were Us or The Counselors, but it was still a fun read for mystery readers and I will be recommending this to the many teen patrons who want readalikes for "A Good Girl's Guide to Murder".

I did enjoy this story and liked the characters of Amy and Liz. I did feel as though there were too many side characters in this one to keep track of and the other red herrings didn't really work for me as they weren't in the story as often. The killer was obvious from the beginning, so I wasn't surprised there. Overall, I did enjoy this one but it didn't wow me like the author's previous work.

This young adult mystery/thriller is set in an elite boarding school, and the author does an impressive job of creating a vivid atmosphere, rich with detail about the surroundings. The story follows Amy, who wakes up one morning to find her roommate Sarah and her boyfriend brutally murdered. As the only other person in the room, Amy quickly becomes the prime suspect, despite knowing she’s innocent. Desperate to clear her name and protect her boyfriend—who she had sneaked in for part of the night—she sets out to uncover the truth.

The narrative alternates between Amy's perspective and that of Liz, the school newspaper editor (and Amy's new roommate), who is covering the story in the hopes of winning a scholarship. The two girls initially clash, but as secrets start to unravel, they are forced to team up. However, despite some strong character development in Amy and Liz, I found the supporting characters lacking depth.

While I appreciated the author's knowledge of the school campus and surrounding town, I struggled to form a clear picture of the setting. It felt like the layout of the place was not fully conveyed to the reader. Additionally, the story could have benefitted from more backstory, particularly regarding the characters' histories and relationships. I found it hard to connect with Sarah, Amy's roommate, which made the eventual reveals about Sarah's secrets feel less impactful.

As for the mystery itself, I didn’t feel the kind of urgency or suspense I was expecting. The pacing could have been more intense, and the stakes higher to really draw me into the hunt for the killer.

Overall, while the book has potential, it falls short in areas like character development and building a compelling sense of mystery.

Thank you G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Summary: In "The Meadowbrook Murders," Amy's senior year turns into a nightmare when her best friend Sarah and Sarah's boyfriend are murdered, leading to a tense investigation by school newspaper editor Liz, who uncovers dangerous secrets while a killer remains on campus.

My review: "The Meadowbrook Murders" is a quick, gripping read with short, snappy chapters that keep you flipping pages. The suspense is top-notch, though the ending becomes a bit predictable. While the plot twist isn't mind-blowing, it's satisfying enough to keep you hooked until the end. The killer's motive could have used more depth, but the character growth of Amy and Liz is a highlight, making their evolution and teamwork a joy to watch. I definitely recommend this book to dark academia fans for its balanced pacing and engaging character development. Perfect for fans of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder; this is my 2nd read of Jessica Goodman, I will definitely go back and read her backlog!

Genres/Themes: Young Adult Fiction / Thrillers & Suspense - Crime / School & Education - Boarding School & Prep School / Mysteries & Detective Stories

The Meadowbrook Murders is scheduled for publication on February 4, 2025, by G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers.

I love Jessica Goodman's YA thrillers. They are always the perfect binge read to get me out of a slump! They are almost always set at private schools and the storylines of rich kids doing bad things are a favorite. Amy and Liz, two seniors, were interesting main characters in The Meadowbrook Murders and I loved getting both of their POVs as they try to figure out what happened to their murdered classmates. I saw a lot of myself in Liz as I wanted to do journalism when I was that age! Unfortunately, the twist was a little too predictable to me compared to her prior books so this isn't my favorite from Goodman! But it was still a quick and twisty read!