Great book for Halloween. Loved the plot and the story. One of few thrillers that actually keep me on my feet.

THIS BOOK! 👀
Thank you, Sourcebooks Landmarks, for the gifted early copy of This Book Will Bury Me{partner}

Genre: Thriller/Mystery
Trope: True Crime
Format: 🎧📖
Pub Date:  3.25.2025
Pages: 480
Star Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆

Y’all, this book is THE BOOK. It pulled me right out of my reading slump, provided the perfect distraction from the world, and kept me reading until the middle of the night. It did not feel like a 480-page mystery—I flew through it. 

It had everything I needed, and I was utterly hooked from the first page. When I wasn’t reading it, I thought about the story and tried to put everything together. True Crime typically terrifies me, but now I’m starting to believe that, in some morbid way, it gives me something to focus on and figure out. I love unlocking all the clues and trying to bring everything together. 

Sure, there were a few over-the-top moments, but it was still the perfect book. When everything came together, it was SO GOOD. It was eerily similar to a genuine case that swept the nation last year, which added to the overall unease of what was transpiring. I had to remind myself to breathe and not hold my breath during the big reveal, but I was genuinely invested in everything happening. 

Read if you enjoy:
💻 True Crime
🔪 Serial Killer
👏🏼 Complicated characters
😳 Twisty

I genuinely can’t wait for everyone to read This Book Will Bury Me, but it won’t be out until March 2025! So, until then, add this book to your TBR list—I promise you’ll thank me later. 

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I was prepared to give this book 5 stars because I have loved everything this author has written, especially her last book, which haunts me still. Unfortunately it’s 3 stars from me. I’ll explain why.

On the one hand, the book kept me enthralled, I liked the ragtag band of characters, and I thought weaving in the personal story of grief added to the story. I was also happy our main character wasn’t a complete idiot, which seems to often be the case in thrillers- you’re left screaming why would you do that??

On the other hand, I guessed the twist very early and have some personal issues with some of the inspiration behind the book.

I’ll still be auto reading the next Ashley Winstead, but I have major mixed feelings about this one. Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy.

Ashley Winstead can do no wrong, and just secured herself as an auto buy author for me. Her books are compulsive, and hard to put down. This was no exception.

I see people reacting badly because this story shares details with the Moscow murders that occurred in 2022, and it's certainly something that occurred to me as I was reading it, like the feeling of maybe that's a little gross? Or weird? Especially given that it's still ongoing. But also, I felt like that was part of the narrative of the entire story – how weird people get about "true crime" and the way that boundaries are just totally blown in the face of a big story, even when families are beginning for privacy and respect. So yes, I'm sure some readers will find a moral issue with this story and also, I think that's part of the whole narrative and you can sort of do with that what you will.

Aside from all of that – I did really enjoy this! If you've ever been online and doomscrolling when you should have been processing emotions, I think you'll probably identify with this in some way. The story drew me in immediately and while I did manage to figure this one out, it was still incredibly satisfying in the big reveal.

I’ve loved other books by this author but I really struggled with this book and how it seems to capitalize on such a real life tragedy. I cannot understand why the author chose to include so many VERY specific details from an actual crime - the Moscow, Idaho college murders. This easily could have been done with another crime with totally different details and been a great read. Perhaps she had a reason for doing it, my DRC didn’t have an authors note, but as it was it gave me the ick and made me not want to keep reading. The book looks at the true crime industry and in fact at one point someone says the true crime community are vampires exploiting tragedy, which makes it really odd to do just that with this book. It felt exploitative and disrespectful to the victims families to sensationalize the crimes. Not only are there graphic descriptions of identical wounds to the Iowa crimes, but the actual victims are also similar in both descriptions and how they were found. It’s horrifying and if I hadn’t been given this by a publisher I would have DNF’d it. As it was it took me a month to finish when normally it would have been done in a day. This doesn’t come out until March 2025, so I REALLY hope they rethink this aspect and make changes to make it less of a copy of a real life tragedy.

Moving on.

At 450 pages, this felt long for what happens in the story. I really liked the idea of a faux true crime tell all and I thought the crime forum message boards were a great way to get details out without a lot of unnecessary info bogging it down. However, I never really felt like I was truly reading an actual true crime tell all, it’s told mostly in present tense with a lot of dialogue which is rare for that type of book. When we did get footnotes or a 4th wall breaking comment I’d suddenly remember that’s what it was meant to be. There are books that have done this successfully such as Chasing the Boogeyman, Kill Show or True Crime Story, but this never got the vibe quite right.

The MC was a really frustrating character. I appreciated the authors portrayal of grief and the many forms it might take but unfortunately to me it didn’t really fit in with the rest of the book and the explanation for why it’s in a true crime tell all felt forced.

The pacing was inconsistent and the ending went off the rails a bit. I did predict the who, but there were some fairly obvious clues in the book so maybe you are meant to know who it was?? Regardless, I kept waiting for a big final twist to surprise me but none came.

Will I look forward to the next book by this author? Yes absolutely. But I personally just couldn’t get on board with this one as it is now. If there is an authors note or explanation for her choices that changes my opinion I will update my rating and review.

Immediately I’m so happy to be back in the mind of the incredible Ashley Winstead! The writing has so much depth and detail! It’s lyrical and easy to get lost in her stories. It is simply aww inspiring to me how she can seamlessly switch sub genres and genres so effortlessly. 🤌🏼 For a thriller, 480 pages seems like a lot, but this book could have been double that and I would have been thrilled! This cast of characters is my favorite, especially the main character, Janeway. She is a young woman who shows so much perseverance and determination while going through one of the toughest times of her life. I also adored that Ashley had her do Sudoku to deal with stress, because I do that when I feel overwhelmed or stressed too! Also, just like Jane wants to ignore all responsibilities to solve a case, I wanted to bury myself in this book and not come up for air until it’s done! 😅 I really liked the online sleuthing community aspect as well, I have watched my fair share of murder documentaries, and this felt like I was watching one! I loved getting to read this with fellow Ashley fans, so we could all obsess over this book! The concept of found family was constant throughout as well as loss and grief. There are a few content warnings that Ashley mentions in the beginning. The way this book wrapped, I honestly could not think of a better way to end it. Ashley made me feel like I was in the MCs shoes, she had me so emotional, sobbing and then shocked and.. ahh. I don’t want to go into anymore detail for fear of ruining the book. But it was one of the best endings I have ever read. Anyone who knows me knows my obsession for Ashley and her work runs deep, and this is her best work yet!

This Book Will Bury Me is not for the faint of heart, Ashley Winstead takes on a challenging and somewhat disturbing topic and brings readers into this story in a fascinating way. It's TWISTY RIDE but please check trigger warnings, this book is not for all!

Whoa! This book had me thinking about it while I wasn’t even reading it. I kept thinking about how this book was going to end. I couldn’t figure out the plot until the very end. Great story line and great characters!!!

3.5 stars rounded up. I have some mixed feelings on this book. On the one hand, I found it totally addicting and finished it in two sittings. On the other hand, I did find it to be a bit predictable and the remarkable similarities to a real-life ongoing case did feel a bit...icky. First, the positives- this book will immediately suck you in. This is a must read for true crime junkies (I personally am not one of these people but still found myself immediately hooked). It follows a group of 'web sleuths' as they work together to try and crack a viral murder case. The group is a bit of a band of misfits- Jane, a young college dropout who recently lost her father, "Mistress" a sweet older grandma figure, "Lightly" a former cop, "Goku" a typical nerdy, perpetually online sleuth, and "Citizen" a bit of a mystery man with a huge ego. Between the unique characters and inside look into the world of 'web sleuths' this was truly unlike any book I've ever read. However, as mentioned, I did find it to be predictable towards the end. I called many of the twists before they happened, and it all seemed to pan out pretty much as I had thought. There wasn't really anything that shocked me, and while I still found myself furiously flipping pages to get to the end, it took away from the excitement of it all a bit. I do wish it hadn't drawn quite so much 'inspiration' from a real-life case because that made it feel a bit inappropriate, so much so that towards the beginning I actually considered DNFing.

Overall, a solid and very addicting thriller but didn't quite live up to the potential.

Thanks to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the advanced copy for my honest review.

I was super excited to be approved for this ARC and love this author, but I am super conflicted over this review. This would usually be a 5 star book for me, however the fact that the author uses super specific details from the real university of Iowa murders (a case where the trial hasn’t even happened yet) does not sit right with me. I get taking some inspiration from real crimes for a true crime book, but it definitely seems disrespectful and insensitive to include such graphic and exact details, especially for victims who have yet to fully find justice. Due to this, I’m rating the book lower.

Other than that, I did really enjoy the overall story. It was interesting to see the plot unfold through the true crime online networks/forums. The pacing was great and I found myself drawn into the story. Being a fan of true crime I enjoyed trying to figure out the “whodunnit” along with the sleuths. I did figure out the twist early on, so was hoping for a second one to throw me off. Despite being a bit predictable, the writing and suspense definitely kept drawing me in.

Thank you to netgalley and the author for approving me for this ARC!

4.5

Setting: Florida and Idaho
Rep: Black side character

This had SO MUCH five star potential. I literally devoured it in a day thanks to the short chapters and high intrigue, but from very early on there are lots of clues dropped about a certain character to the point that I decided we were obviously supposed to see them as the suspect to be put off the scent ... only for them to be the suspect all along. The predictability really ruined the end of this book. It would've been a favourite for sure if it hadn't been so painfully obvious who the killer was. I hope the author gets rid of some of the giant clues before publication!

EDIT: upped it to 4.5 (a low five star) because despite the above, I really enjoyed reading this and it has left me with a lot of thoughts!

I was intrigued when I first learned the premise of the book. I love the idea of 5 sleuths banding together and investigating a crime. I always love a found family trope. I liked how she intersected Jane’s grief and search for answers to the search for answers for the horrific crime that was committed. I was surprised by the twist at the end but I think it all came together well. I really enjoyed our characters and wished we could find out what happened to everyone else besides Jane.

Intense story of a group of true crime podcasters who work to solve a series of brutal crimes that lead them a shocking discovery. Fast paced, excellent book, definitely my favorite of hers so far. One of the best books of the year so far.

I didn't realize until after I'd finished this book that a lot of this was pulled from the real-life murders that happened in Iowa. So, I'm now conflicted on how to rate this. I enjoyed the story overall, and it kept me interested and reading. I liked each of the characters, though I'm not sure I liked how it was Jane's retelling of the situation and the little foreshadowing comments because I felt like it detracted from the story.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Ashley Winstead is an auto-buy favorite author of mine. I have yet to read a book of hers that I didn't think was a minimum 4.5 stars! This Book Will Bury me follows Jane, a 24 year old college dropout, who is grieving the loss of her father. When Jane happens upon a true crime Reddit-like forum and gets invited to be a part of a close-knit amateur detective group, her fellow investigators fill the familial hole that her father left behind. The group beings a deep dive investigation into a series of muders that occur on an Idaho college campus, first in a sorority house, and later in an apartment occupied by several track stars. Real life true crime junkies will instantly recognize this storyline as drawing upon the true events that happened during the 2022 University of Idaho massacre.

This book was unique in that it was slow paced, but jam packed all at once. There were times when I felt I was trudging through, but it was not due to lack of excitement, but rather because of the immense amount of detail that Winstead puts into her work. I read through the book slowly, so that I could savor each detail and put all ensure I had all the puzzle pieces fit together correctly in the end. While the main focus of the story is the murders, the book does a great job at exploring the many ways that grief affects us, and how we, as humans, find solace and hope in one another. Also a great dive into the bizarre and intense relationships that we, in the 2020s, are so quick to develop with strangers on the internet.

Long story short, this was amazing, and is in the running for one of my top books of 2024!

Many thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for an ARC of this title in exchange for my honest feedback!

This absolutely pains me to write because I love Ashley Winstead but this book just wasn’t for me. This was painfully slow, the FMC was so boring & I just don’t understand for the life of me how your dad suddenly dying makes you want to solve murders on the Internet with strangers…?
Also the fact that so much of this book was pulled & barely changed from the Idaho massacre case that’s ONGOING gave me the ick.

Ashley Winstead can do no wrong! This Book Will Bury Me is an excellent True Crime Thriller.

When Jane's father dies, Jane is thrown into the deep pool of grief. As a way of escaping her emotions, Jane joins some online true crime forums and just lurks in the shadows. But when a woman is murdered not far from where she lives, she investigates and shares her finds with the forum. When the murder is solved, thanks to her and the group she joined, they become fast friends- online. But when some college girls are murdered, the group of sleuths become even more involved together and join up in person to investigate the college town and see what they can find. As Jane slowly works through her grief thanks to the group of true crime gurus, she also finds family in these people...but can she really trust them?

I really enjoyed this book. It was a slow burn, but it also had a lot of twists and turns. In order to distract herself from the unexpected death of her father, Jane turns to a true crime story and finds like-minded people who also want to solve the murders of three college girls. This was definitely up my alley and I felt for the FMC and what she was going through in her personal life. Definitely a great book for people who like thrillers!

While I did enjoy this book I have a couple of thoughts. First, I felt kind of icky reading this because this is 100% based on the Idaho murders of 2022, but there was not a warning or call out saying this is based on a true story. I think this should be added prior to the release to warn people! It was scary identical to the ongoing case, even down to the way they described the prime suspects appearance.

Second, I liked the memoir style of writing and how all the true crime people became best friends.

Third, I think the ending really saved this book because I did not see the twist coming at all, but I fear had the Idaho case been closed before this book was released, it would have just been a carbon copy of the case.