While the writing itself was well done, this book is blatantly based on the murders of 4 college students that were committed in Moscow, Idaho. I know authors draw from real life events all the the time but, as an alumna of the U of I, this was difficult to read because it was too close, too often to reality.

Winstead’s story does go in different directions and adds twists, turns, and circumstances that aren’t a part of the ongoing investigation that would have made me a huge of this book. However, I will always struggle with how much she clearly based on the Moscow murders. Maybe she discusses this in her acknowledgements but those weren’t included.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy.

Wow!! What a ride! I love true crime and this felt like teasing a true crime, full of citizen sleuths. I found myself, right alongside the characters, trying to piece everything together. I loved the characters and the plot was well done and involved. Great work!

This was so good! It was reminiscing of so many true crime stories that are out there right now. It’s the story of some amateur true crime junkies slut who try to solve the murder of three college students. Everyone around them seem shady though especially the police. And all of the other people who are trying to solve the crime. it’s twisty and so good!

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a gifted advance copy. This is out March 25, 2025!

Rating: 5/5 stars

Written in the form of a true crime tell-all memoir, THIS BOOK WILL BURY ME is the story of Jane Sharp and her amateur investigation into the brutal murders of college students in Delphine, Idaho.

Ashley Winstead’s brain is one of my all-time favorite brains. I was absolutely hooked on this book from the very first sentence and devoured it over a couple of sittings because I didn’t want to put it down. The twists, the turns, and the reveals, not to mention the tenderness and heart and poignancy and grief kept me absolutely glued to the page. I love a thriller with a narrator who makes some morally questionable choices and this one absolutely gives us that—the framing of it as a “true crime” memoir is also super compelling and made me really enjoy the narration (I read this with my eyeballs but I bet it will make a fantastic audiobook as well!)

The writing here is also PHENOMENAL. It’s accessible and engaging while still being thoughtful, sharp, and evocative, and the reflections on grief, humanity, and death were all works of genius. It’s the rare novel that is able to be equal parts art and entertainment, and this is one is exactly that.

THIS BOOK WILL BURY ME is out in March and I cannot WAIT for the world to have it. I say this every time, but this one might be Ashley’s best novel yet!

CW: Death (including death of parent); grief; murder/blood/violence/gore; mentions of animal death; misogyny/sexism

I really enjoyed this one! I felt connected to each of the characters and like I could picture each one individually in my head. My biggest complaint with this book is that the end felt way too long and drawn out. I think the author could have shorten the book by 40-50 pages and the book would have been perfection. I found myself wishing for it to end at the end. The first half was delightful (or as delightful as a true crime book can be). The chapters were short and engaging. I would recommend this book to my friends for sure!

The thing I love most about Winstead’s writing is that she can write extremely different books but her signature writing style is always present. I love her voice and how she writes. This book was no exception.

I’m not a super big true crime fan, so this was a bit outside my preferred genre. I did love how the actual story was set up and how Jane is introduced to the world of true crime. I’m not sure how I feel about it being a fictionalized version of an actual crime, but it wasn’t a complete dealbreaker for me. I did see people dnf’ed because of it, so I would look into that if you’re concerned.

Overall, a solid crime thriller that had me invested and guessing until the end.

okay, this is a hard one for me. I really enjoyed this book and it drew me in immediately, however the author basically copied the exact premise of the Idaho murders down to some intense gruesome details that made this one a tough read. I think it's in poor taste to copy an intense homicide where the killer hasn't even been tried yet.
The pacing of the first half was a little slow and didn't have me reaching to read it, but the second half flew by and I NEVER saw what was coming, which is part of the reason this book is still getting a 4 star rating.
If you want to read this one keep in mind some of the content is intense, descriptive, and gnarly honestly.
However, if you enjoy Ashley Winstead books like me, and know that going into this and are okay with it I'd suggest reading it.
Thank you to netgalley, Ashley Winstead, and Sourcebooks for an advanced e-copy in exchange for my honest review.

This book had me so gripped I could not put it down. Ashley Winstead writes some of the most compelling, compulsively readable work I have read as of late. She captures obsession so well, and the conversations regarding what drives fascination with true crime were so interesting.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

easily one of the best books i’ve read this year, and easily one of my favorite books ever. the way it was written kept me so intrigued and hooked from start to finish. i loved that it felt like jane was actually talking to me and walking me through everything step by step from discovering the case to dead ends to theories to the ultimate reality of what was really going on. the plot twist of the ending was done SOOOOO well that even if i kind of guessed it it felt so satisfying to read it and see it all click together. the characters were so fun too especially the core five. each one had such distinct and different personalities and backgrounds and i loved seeing how they all blended together. i need the whole world to read this and love it as much as i do !!!!

2.5 I have to first say that Ashley Winstead is an automatic read for me - whatever genre she writes. In My Dreams I Hold a Knife is one of my favorite thrillers and I have recommended that book so many times.

I love the internet sleuthing in this book. Armchair detectives have become huge, podcasters also. Every since Don't F*ck with Cats came out showing how everyday people can solve crimes and "find" people I have been fascinated by those smart sleuthing every day people. So this story line instantly grabbed me and I dove right in.

What I absolutely disliked so much that I cannot forgive is that this story seems plagiarized by real life horrific murders that happened in Moscow, Idaho very recently and a story in which I am very familiar with and have read every thing about it from news reports to reddit. This case is set to go to trial in 2025 after publication of this book. To say that it "closely" resembles these Moscow murders would be wrong - it is almost identical. Stop reading here if you do not want spoilers:

It is so similar, down to the state it happens in, to the sorority aspects of two best friends, down to the even ordering food literally just before the murders occur, to the boyfriend being the initial subject after having been telephoned multiple times the times the night the murders occur and even to the lone survivor seeing someone dressed all in black and walking down the hallway! To the small town police force, to people protesting to destroy the 3-level house it takes place in, to the TA in criminology being suspected. This was just not okay with me at all. I do not think this is fair to the families of the survivors of the Moscow Murders. This is not something someone else should profit from in a fictionalized account of virtually everything that happened.

It's very odd to me since Winstead could have chosen a different state, a different set of circumstances, but that she intentionally chose so many similarities and I cannot understand why. A few changes and this book could have been a 5 star read - or if you are completely unaware of the Moscow Murders then you probably could rate this 5 stars.

Yes, the book then diverges to the role of crime sleuths and their interactions in helping law enforcement but at that point I didn't really care because this case is still so active and was so horrific.

I also did not like how the book talks to you as the reader. This bothered me - as if the narrator was talking to you. I didn't really care about the main character either way - she was a wayward 24-year old which is fine but she just seemed to lack personality or conviction. The title of this book is odd to me too - the novel describes a book being written about the internet sleuthers but doesn't really discuss the outcomes of that book or how it really impacts the narrator at all.

Thank you to NetGalley, Ashley Winstead and Sourcebooks Landmark for the opportunity to read this book and give my honest opinion. I anxiously await the next Winstead book but for me this one failed because it is too close to a current case.

Jane Sharp is grieving the death of her father when she becomes obsessed with true crime. She joins an online forum where she instantly bonds with a group of crime sleuths. The murder of 3 college girls in Idaho’s takes the group on a whirlwind lies and deception. Jane is determined to find the killer(s) no matter the cost.

I absolutely LOVED this story. The characters were complex and the story moved quickly. As for the plot twist I had a niggling feeling.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to Sourcebook Landmark for the free ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This one is out 3/25/25!

Thriller/Mystery/Crime. Told from Janeway Sharp’s POV a year after the incidents discussed in her book took place, Jane tells us how her foray into true crime sleuthing completely changed her life. In the wake of her dad’s sudden passing, Jane finds her way into a true crime forum where other internet sleuths try to solve crimes. In desperate need of distract, Jane is immediately drawn to a group of sleuths who are well known in the group for having a hand in solving past crimes. After a trio of sorority girls in Idaho are slaughtered, Jane and her fellow group of sleuths decide to meet in Idaho to solve the murders themselves. After the group members are made FBI consultants they are given special access to the details of the crime, but the more they find out, the less everything makes sense and the more it seems like they might be putting themselves in grave danger.

YES. This was the Ashley Winstead I missed! I loved her first two thrillers and after her last book (Midnight is the Darkest Hour) didn’t do it for me, I was happy that she was back on her a game with this one. It really demonstrated how obsessed people can get with true crime and both the good and the bad that comes when internet sleuths get involved with crimes. The pacing was great and I loved the aspects of solving a crime. Winstead clearly drew inspiration from the murders that happened a couple years back at the University of Idaho, but how they play out were completely different. The only thing I didn’t love was Jane trying to link her story with honoring her father - it seemed kind of mashed in there to me. An excellent thriller though and I think it would make a great mini series!

4.5/5 stars. I had so much fun reading this. This book is quite long but allows for many interesting plot twists. I will definitely be reading more from this author!

WOW.. so intense.. twisted.. mind blowing.. and completely unexpected. This is Ashley Winstead at her best, and by far, has the most creative ending ever in a thriller. And then to learn AW actually based most of this story off a true crime case. Murder, abduction, amateur sleuthing, theories, media frenzy, podcasting, the “Network” forum, collegiate snooping, and not one, but possibly two SERIAL KILLERS?!? Superb. 5 stars — Pub. 3/25/25

Thank you to the publisher via NetGalley for this advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

Ashley Winstead NEVER disappoints! This book kept me at the edge of my seat the entire time. Even though I figured out a giant piece of the plot about halfway through, this book still had a bunch of surprises that I didn’t see coming and I loved reading how it all came together.

A real slow burn in the best way. This reads as a tell all and I really enjoyed the footnotes in each chapter as a unique way to feed the reader more details and information. The grief journey and the murder mystery play out side by side beautifully. I loved learning about the world of online world sleuthing. It was well written and easy to follow. The found family aspect had a ragtag underdog feel, it was heartfelt and believable. Even though I did guess some of the ending, it was far too enjoyable for me to mind.

This one took a while to get through. Not because I wasn't captivated by the premise, but because the writing felt juvenile and dragged out. I think my biggest issue was the fact that our protagonist was...incredibly dry, and while the plot points with her father were relevant and connected to the rest of the story, it wasn't a strong enough connection for it to be a primary plot point. I also was frustrated by this one because I guessed the killer very early on and I almost felt like it was just frustratingly obvious.

The redemption to this story is the fact that the ending really did pick up and grab my attention. But I also believe the story would've been fine if it were told in a different narrative versus in a book format written by the main character just explaining the story because it really dumbed down the writing versus letting Winstead's genius prose shine through. To add to this, she kept hinting at the conclusion with little not-so-subtle nods that just irked me as a reader because it ruined the twists for me. For example, she'd drop lines like, "If only I'd noticed then what I would find out later," and it would just... spoil it with the foreshadowing??

Overall, I'll still always recommend Winstead's writing to my audience. But this one just didn't resonate with me and left me feeling unfulfilled. Hoping for something refreshing with her next release!

I don't even know where to begin to review this book. It feels inappropriate to review at all due to the fact that the crime that drives the plot is almost identical to the real life Idaho college murders that occurred just two years ago... a case that hasn't even gone to trial yet. I feel like I just read real life tragedy made fiction to be pushed out for entertainment. It hurts me to say this too because I am usually a HUGE fan of this author but this is so exploitative.

Jane’s dad suddenly passes away and she is reeling from the grief. Besides her mother she doesn’t have friends or much of a support system. She turns to an online community of amateur sleuths. She impresses the leaders of the group with her skill set and gets invited into a prestigious inner circle of the sleuths. (Warning bells are ringing) Jane becomes obsessed with researching and trying to solve real life murder investigations.

I thought this book seemed really interesting. I liked the first 30% and the build up of what was going on. I do wish I had the audio book version because I feel like that would have been good. I have mixed feelings about this book. At times it was really interesting. The middle dragged and I felt like the facts of the murder investigation were repeated without forward movement of the plot. The book finally gets going around 70%. Once things finally start to happen I had a good idea of what was going on so the book ending was not a good pay off for me. I have little patience with slow burns so this one wasn’t a good pick for me.


Thank you to netgalley for a copy of this book.

If you're an internet sleuth or armchair detective who finds yourself drawn to true crime cases, you might think that the premise of <i>This Book Will Bury Me</i> sounds right up your alley...I know that I did! I quickly realized, however, since I AM one of those people who have gotten sucked into the internet world of current cases, that there are SO many details in this book that are ripped directly from the Bryan Kohberger murder case in Moscow, Idaho. A fresh and fairly recent case that hasn't even gone to trial yet, and a case in which the real-life victims' families do not even have a semblance of closure yet.

The disclaimer at the beginning of this book that states that "the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious...any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author" is laughable once you start listing the similarities. Of course, the story does add plenty of other fictional elements, but WAY too many of the small details are the same as the actual case. I started taking notes of all the similarities, and I figured that I might as well list them here in case anyone is wondering just how close they actually are.

[See Goodreads Review for lengthy list of spoilers]

Honestly, I stopped keeping track of the similarities about halfway through the book because it was just TOO much to keep up with, so I'm certain there are other "coincidences" that I missed in my notes as well.

If you don't know anything about this case, I suspect that you may be able to enjoy this book, which is why I gave it a 2-star rating instead of one (even though it requires a LOT of suspension of disbelief to think that the FBI is going to make a bunch of random internet sleuths consultants on a major murder case and give them access to police records and insider information.). Knowing the case, however, I had the whodunnit figured out by the 25% mark, and there was nothing particularly shocking or twisty. It just doesn't sit right with me, and it feels really gross that the author is "coincidentally" profiting off of the victim's circumstances, especially in a case that hasn't even gone to trial and been resolved yet.