Liz Lawson's Murder Between Friends is a gripping thriller that delves into the complexities of friendship, guilt, and the blurred lines between truth and lies. Set to release in April 2025, this novel promises to captivate readers with its suspenseful plot and well-developed characters.

The story unfolds in a small town where three childhood friends, Grace, Henry, and Ally, find themselves entangled in a web of secrets and mistrust. Two years ago, a tragic event shattered their bond, leaving them scarred and estranged. Now, as a mistrial threatens to release the convicted killer, Jake, the trio is forced to confront the past and the painful choices they made.

Lawson masterfully weaves a narrative that kept me guessing until the very end. The author's skillful pacing and intricate plot twists maintain a constant sense of suspense, leaving me eager to uncover the truth. The characters are complex and multifaceted, each harboring their own secrets and motivations. Grace, torn between guilt and a desire for redemption, is a particularly compelling figure. Her internal struggle to reconcile her past actions with her present beliefs adds depth to the story.

While the novel's strengths lie in its suspenseful plot and well-developed characters, there are moments where the pacing feels slightly uneven. Some subplots, particularly those involving secondary characters, could have been further developed to enrich the overall narrative. Nonetheless, Murder Between Friends is a captivating read that will appeal to fans of psychological thrillers and domestic suspense.

Murder Between Friends is a must-read for those who enjoy intricate plots, complex characters, and a healthy dose of suspense.

Thank you to Random House Children's, NetGalley, and Liz Lawson for this advance reader copy!

I have read another book by this author so I am already predisposed to like it. Which I did.
This author is constantly weaving a tale that is complicated, exciting, confusing, and unexpected. The story grabs you from the first page and keeps you hooked till the end.
A couple of times, I did have to stop reading because I got scared and didn't want to read it alone and at night. But for the most part, I couldn't put it down.
Enjoy!

When it comes to murder documentaries or those Saturday night mysteries, I am a sucker. They draw me in and I can’t get enough. The weirder, the better. Throw in a love triangle and I am all set. This book gave off those vibes and that was all I needed. So sit back, relax, get that cozy blanket, and a glass of wine. The mystery has begun to unravel!

A beloved teacher was murdered in her own home. The teen next door was charged with the crime. The pieces fit so perfectly. Or do they?

This was an engaging mystery with a predictable ending. The concept of teens becoming amateur sleuths was entertaining, and I found myself enjoying it as the story unfolded. However, once we got closer to uncovering the truths, I began to lose interest. The answers were obvious from the start, and I wasn't surprised at all, which was the most disappointing part of the book. The author kept introducing quirky twists in an attempt to mislead the reader, but that quickly became tiresome. I still found myself enjoying the rest of the book.

Murder Between Friends was a fun and decent mystery with lots of twists. While parts were a little over the top, the rest of the read was entertaining.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers, and the author for this amazing ARC. This book follows three teenagers as they try to figure out who really killed their teacher, since they do not believe that the killer behind bars is actually the killer. I loved the different points of view, loved the characters, loved the storyline. Definitely a must-read when this book releases.

The last twist had both my jaw dropping but also made complete sense when you thought about it. This is I believe more of a young adult book, and it kept me hooked from start to finish. I couldn’t wait to keep picking it up and reading it.

Highly recommend!

This book was one of those murder mysteries that require you to suspend your disbelief an absurd amount. I was willing to suspend it for the majority of the book, despite the fact that it tried too hard to be mysterious and twisty, but the double twist at the end didn’t surprise me so much as it annoyed me. I felt that it was too far-fetched, even for a book of this genre. The unbelievability of it really interfered with my ability to enjoy the book.

I feel this book was a super slow burn. It didn’t really take off until the end but that was a plot twist I didn’t see coming.

Thank you both NetGalley and Delacorte Press for the arc exchange for my honest review :)

Being new to Liz Lawson I was nervous at first having never read any of her books so I wasn't sure what to expect from this book. I'm always looking for new reads, as well as authors and I do not regret choosing this one! It was so well written, not to mention a fast read getting into the plot and finding out who did it. I had trouble putting it down, as soon as I started reading it I just had to know what was going to happen. I truly enjoyed reading about the characters and how they went about trying to solve the mystery of the murder. The twists and turns, including the ending, will have you on the edge of your seat in suspense!

So if you like fast-paced, murder mystery and thriller reads I highly recommend this book you won't regret it.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC for an honest review.

I was intrigued from the very beginning; Jake was released from prison after serving 18 months of his 25-year sentence for murder but his friends didn't believe he did it, so they set out to prove his innocence.
I'm not gonna lie, I thought I had this one pegged from about midway as to who the killer was, not until the very end was I surprised that I was on the right track but totally wrong. Liz Lawson really got me with this thriller and it had everything I loved, suspense, twists, mistaken identity, and the truth coming to front. I am excited to check out her other work.

I love this style of writing. Each chapter is a different character on a specific date. It flows naturally and was easy to follow. And if you are like me, and need to go back and check details, they are easy to find. I also enjoyed the juvenile decisions made. Kids doing kid things, makes it more relatable. This was a fast and enjoyable read. Will be adding other Liz Lawson books to by TBR list!

This book was amazing! I loved it. Did give me how to get away with murder vibes but had the biggest twist of my life!!!! I am so thankful to be able to get an advance copy! I loved it! I can’t stop saying that. I highly recommend this book most definitely will buy a physical copy.

This is a great, fast paced YA novel! I love a good whodunit mystery with a twist! I couldn’t put this down!

Grace - Estranged from her childhood friends for speaking to police about what she saw the night of her teachers murder.
Henry-His brother convicted of murder he knows his brother couldn't possible commit.
Ally - A striving journalist committed to finding out the truth of what happened the night of the murder and exonerating her best friends brother.

Can these three teenagers put aside their differences and solve a case their whole town is convinced is already solved?

Thank you, Random House Books, NetGalley, and Delacorte Books, for this advanced copy of the book.

What a great read and great YA thriller! Very bingeable. There are three perspectives, and I feel like it flowed well. And what a twisty ending! One thing IDK of I liked was that the chapters weren't numbered. They were labeled by the current perspectives name. This made it difficult when searching for my place between NetGalley and my Kindle. There were dates attached to the perspective in the individual chapters, but the context page just had the perspectives listed (no date attached). Even the individual chapters with dates are repeated because the multiple perspectives go back and forth on the same dates. HOWEVER, I really enjoyed this book. It kept me on edge and kept my attention throughout. I love it when thrillers aren't slow burns. This one was able to keep the intrigue going without a bunch of fluff details in between. I definitely would recommend this book to young adults and adults who enjoy a quick paced thriller.

Yes yes and more yes. From late 1 this book TOOK OFF. Immediately hooked me and didn’t let me go. This was a great murder mystery with the perfect amount of suspense!

4.5 stars.

Murder Between Friends by Liz Lawson is a contemporary novel that follows three different points of view: Grace, Henry, and Ally. These three join forces to prove that Henry’s brother, Jake, is innocent and to put the killer behind bars. As the narrative unfolds, the story becomes more and more interesting until it reaches a satisfying ending. The writer provides great character development and the narrative was captivating throughout the story. While I had trouble getting into the story at the beginning, I am glad that I continued to the end. The beginning felt slow, but once things got rolling it kept me wanting more. The chapters followed different characters points of view and were fairly short, which gave insight into our three main characters and allowed me to read as I had time. The book does a good job at bringing realistic elements into the story, such as texting and social media, which I think will appeal to young adult readers. As you go further and further into the book, a lot goes on and it keeps you wondering who the killer is. Just when you think you have it figured out there is another development. I would recommend this to readers who like contemporary works, the setting is in 2025, and realistic novels. I would classify it as a mystery thriller as it has a whodunit feel and keeps you engaged for a good chunk of the latter part of the story. While the book takes place in high school, this book feels like it would be appropriate for any young adult reader. Lastly, I want to thank Delacorte Press, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Fast-paced, short chaptered YA mystery, one of my favorite genres! I had a great time reading this book, despite it being a little hard to get into in the beginning.

The main characters were all very nice, though I feel like they could have been explored a bit more, as well as the romance, it was a bit too rushed.

Also, one particular frightening scene, which I loved, had no explanation at the end, unless I'm not remembering correctly. I wanted to know what happened.

Lastly, I didn't expect the ending and I was glad it shocked me the way it did.

Overall, a great mystery book to binge!

Nice little mystery! It dragged a bit at points but I think the target audience would enjoy it. The twist at the end was unexpected for me which I appreciated!

SO, SO GOOD!!!! I definitely did not see the ending coming! This was my first book by Liz Lawson. I'll definitely be adding her to my TBR list! Can't wait to read another book of hers!

god i love a book where teenagers do illegal things to solve crime and succeeding in entirely unthinkable ways. this sounds like a criticism but it genuinely is not

Still some formatting issues with the text that made it hard to make out. Other than that the story moved well and was suspenseful. I really enjoyed all the layers to the murder and how grey everything was. The companionship between Grace, Ally and Henry was well written and very believable. The whole thing is bingeable and kept my heart racing! Well done!

I am a sucker for books with multiple POVs. This one was great!!!!! Such a great ending for it being a YA book.