This Book Will Bury Me
By Ashley Winstead
Release Date: 03/25/2025

The title alone—*This Book Will Bury Me*—might capture the intensity of Ashley Winstead's emotions as she crafted this narrative. Yet, I firmly believe that no author with such exceptional talent will find herself "buried" beneath anything other than glowing reviews and a promising string of future works.

This novel intricately weaves a chilling simulation of the murders and the surrounding controversies tied to the Idaho University case, which won’t even proceed to trial until June 2025. The depth of Ashley's exploration into this dark subject matter is bound to spark discussions, capturing the attention of readers eager for a gripping, thought-provoking experience.

Five amateur internet sleuths are in for the shock of their lives—if they can survive it.
When Jane's dad dies, she becomes obsessed with true crime and solving murders over the internet. Along the way, she finds four others, and together, they have become a makeshift family as they try (and succeed) in finding murderers. No one could prepare them for the massacre in Delphine, Idaho, though. The more they dig, the more questions they have. This killer might be too elusive for even the best true crime sleuths. Jane is ready to speak her truth a year after everything happens, but some may never see the truth coming.

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This book was exceptionally written and a good read. As a true crime lover, I really enjoyed the internet sleuthing community/at home crime solving and this book did it really well. It felt like I was actually involved in solving the crime! The depiction of grief felt so real and well done. I also loved the found family within an online community. The fact that it was written as a tell all book was refreshing and different.

I found it a bit distracting that the crime so closely resembled the Idaho murders, but there were enough differentiating details that I was able to move past it.

Overall, this is my favorite book by this author. If you are a true crime fan, you will like this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Landmark for providing me with an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to SOURCE and NetGalley for this ARC!
This book was so fun!! I absolutely loved the premise of true-crime online sleuths. The twist was kinda predicted easily, but still pretty good.


I wish I found out “He Who Must Not Be Named” though. Overall great read

This read was so fun as it’s told from the viewpoint of an “online sleuth” as the book she writes after her whole journey of entering the true crime online community and helping solve some crazy cases. I was sucked in from the beginning and had a hard time putting it down. I definitely wasn’t expecting the twist at the end. Still not sure how I feel about how everything came together, but I was sad to see Jane’s journey come to a close. This book explores true crime but also loss & grieving, found family, and how fame isn’t always what it’s cracked out to be.

How clever is this author??? So cleaver that she writes this book in the spirit of a memoir that you have no clue what really happened to cause the tragedy to write a memoir and out other people who played a part in slander of her name.
I couldn’t wait to find out what Janeway had done or what slippery slope she fell down to cause her to go from regular student to crime solver prodigy.
Along the way she confuses her instincts with reasonable thinking and gets lost to follow her heart instead of her head.
Everytime I pick up a book by this Author I am shocked by who’s different she writes and still sucks me in.

This book WILL bury me 🫠🫠🫠

Oof. I’m still all over the place on my thoughts on this. Did I like this book or not? Ha I don’t even know. Parts of it? Some parts were breadcrumbs that kept me reading when I didn’t want to. Initially the author hooked me right away. But then I quickly realized the book was based on a true crime that happened not too long again in Idaho. So for one, I feel like basing a suspense fiction novel off a true event (especially one so recent!) is lacking creativity & basically cheating. About as creative as my intro to my review hahaha. Later the plot thickens so it’s not a dead ringer to the actual Idaho murder, but still. To me it was a turn off. And all her stereotypes about Idaho people were awfully judgy.

“It is Idaho”….”Land of proud gun-toting hunters and country music fanatics.”

“He attended every country music concert that rolled through town, purchased his cowboy boots, ..”

“The cowboy and hunting parts were important. They suggested possible delusions of grandeur, an obsession with an antiquated idea of masculinity, the fragile kind that could be challenged, as well as a familiarity with knives, a comfort with using them.”

OH!! And her comment that the Idaho police department would be less receptive to a black man, because apparently Idaho is a bunch of racists 🙄

What???!!

She might has well have said she expected them to all be missing at least a tooth or be married to their cousin.


And then this weird comment
“…frats were cesspools of toxic masculinity that existed solely to perpetuate old-money power systems, as well as white supremacy and rape culture.”

White Supremacy?! 🤔

Second, the book is about online true crime sleuths so there is a lot of the reader having to basically read back & forth transcriptions of their online chats, same as reading a text message chat thread. NOT my favorite thing! It is actually a quick ride on the losing interest train 😴 So initially my interested was peaked, but that faded very quickly! The way Winstead did it (the online true crime transcription) was done well enough that I didn’t choose to DNF it at least. I did like how she seamlessly introduced Jane to the online world so her part in things made sense. Overall her character was likeable enough, all of the characters were but as a reader I found it hard to connect with her especially, and she was the main character/narrator. There’s not a lot I loved about this book. Much of it was boring, it was too long, her Idaho references got old quickly (because all Idahoans wear cowboy hats/boots 🙄) & her inserting her woke crap into it was just another thing to add to what I didn’t care for. Oh and the Star Trek references…true crime online sleuthing plus many many Star Trek references (I loathe Star Trek!) was a perfect recipe for wanting to throw my book and call it quits. Oh & some of the plot points were ridiculously unrealistic like the FBI clearance, what?! The other thing that bugged me was her “Dad research” that I felt went nowhere. It was weird & unfinished since the author did choose to take it somewhere but I felt it lacked the follow through. Like oh nevermind we don’t care about that anymore.

Winstead no doubt is a great writer! This book though, had I known then what I know now, I’d have skipped it. Positive notes? Although a bit long it’s well written, the story is fluid & I did like how she wrapped it up at the end. The ending was probably my favorite part. If my rating were based solely on the writing it’d be 3-4 stars. I’m pretty off-put that she chose to write a fictional book based on an event that was very real (I highly doubt it was a coincidence). It wasn’t her own idea on the initial storyline & insensitive to the Idaho victims & their families, especially since the murders happened quite recently.

I’m not writing her off (yet) but if she keeps putting her woke agendas in her books I’m done. Hopefully her next book is better!


Thank you to NetGalley, & the publisher SOURCEBOOKS Landmark for the arc!

If you enjoy true crime, this is the book for you.

Everyone handles grief differently, and for Jane that means diving headfirst into becoming an armchair sleuth. Jane joins a group of online friends to race to solve the death of three college girls. We hear from Jane a year after the events unfolded.

The ending is so shocking and unexpected. Talk about jaw dropping. I enjoyed the format of online chats and feedback. I loved the friendships formed by Jane and the others.

This is one not to miss!

Thanks to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Landmark | Sourcebooks Landmark for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

What a gripping story!! First, I loved the chat forum format and annotations. It felt very quick paced and added to the thrilling feel of the overall mystery. There were just enough moving parts and consistencies to balance the psychological/mystery aspects.

I enjoyed the read from start to finish! 4 stars as there is a plot point I just cannot seem to make fit in the puzzle. I could just be missing something though.

Overall I would recommend!

omg stop this book was amazing it ate and left no crumbs. I love all her books though so its no surprise that I loved this one too. It was super duper long but didnt feel like it. I ended up reading this in a day because I just couldnt put it down.

The layers of this book were beautifully done that it felt like 2 books in one, one story of grief and another story of finding justice for the voiceless and they weaved together perfectly. 

The story of fighting for the voiceless took a group of internet sleuths and banded them together to solve crimes even the police couldn't handle. Even though this was a hefty book, there truly was no single moment of unnecessary fluff, every piece fed to us was valuable and that made the flow of the book so smooth and easy to follow. I found myself next to them trying to solve the puzzles and it felt so immersive. 

For the 2nd story of grief and discovery, it definitely hit home since my own dad had a heart attack and that brings out the difficult conversations around what's more important to you: this lifestyle that's killing you or your family. I loved how honest and raw it was displayed for the reader as we joined Jane on this journey of discovering who was the man behind her father. 

Easily Ashley's best book so far and I can't wait to read it again.  

P.S. for my fellow Fringe fans, you'll find a fun Easter egg!

This Book Will Bury Me 📖

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Genre: Thriller
Pub Date: March 25, 2025

After the unexpected loss of her father, Jane finds herself on an amateur sleuth message board as a way to help cope. In this she finds herself internet friends with other armchair detectives working to help solve a horrific murder of three college girls in Idaho. Jane is quickly wrapped up in this case, and maybe even over her head in trouble.

I 👏🏻 ate 👏🏻 this 👏🏻 up 👏🏻. I loved basically everything about this book. I was immediately sucked in to this one. The description of Jane’s grief was so realistic and really had me ready to tear up imagining myself in her shoes. Winstead quickly shifts into the world of armchair experts and Jane’s connection with this community. I loved the format she added in with the online interactions between Jane and her friends. Speaking of her friends, this rag tag group was so fun and heartwarming. I really enjoyed the found family aspect here.

As for the crime itself, it very closely follows the real life events of the 2022 University of Idaho massacre. While I am not super familiar with all the small details of the case, I do understand that Winstead followed this maybe a little too closely than some people will be comfortable with.

Aside from that, I had so much fun following Jane and her friends try to help (and maybe sometimes hurt) with the case. I could not put this one down and stayed up way past my bedtime to finish it. I think some will be shocked with the ending, and others may be able to figure some details out, but either way this was such a great read to really dive into.

Can I give this book more stars???? All the stars!!!! I may be a bit biased by my admiration for Ashley Winstead, but I don’t think so. This book was so strong from start to finish. And what a finish! I’m sure I’m one of many who has been captivated by the Idaho College Murders. This story fed my fire and took it to a whole other level. Amateur sleuthing and true crime are so huge right now and I love the journey these characters went through to solve these murders. Plus, it was some of the most beautiful writing Ashley has ever done. I could not put this book down for one second. I wanted to know what happened and at the same time I wanted it to go on forever. Definitely my new favorite Winstead novel!

I enjoyed this book: I flew through the pages quickly. My big gripe is that I figured out a large piece of the puzzle before I was even 30% finished. I kept hoping I was wrong, but I’m disappointed to say I wasn’t. Other than that, it’s a fast paced, suspenseful read.

Twisty, thought provoking, and difficult to put down. Enjoyed the characters and the thoughtful look on processing the loss of a parent.

I’m a little torn writing this review. I loved reading this book. I loved the premise (armchair detectives coming together to find a serial killer). I loved the focus on their friendship, which morphed from an online found family to something even more solid and meaningful. I loved the mystery itself, and I don’t actually read many mysteries or thrillers. And I loved that at the end of each chapter, I could not put the book down. BUT the one thing that takes this down to a 3.5 star read for me is that it the main mystery was incredibly predictable. I texted my husband halfway through and told him I’d solved it and would be pretty upset if that was the actual ending—so then I was a little disappointed to be right. Despite that, the ending was still carried out pretty well (although towards the end I had to suspend disbelief a little). I still really enjoyed reading this book and will recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good mystery that focuses on character as much as the mystery itself. Very grateful to have had access to the ARC from NetGalley and the publishers.

This was my first true crime thriller and will not be my last. Written from the POV of an armchair detective, Jane immerses herself into the world of crime solving and finds herself front and center of the case. Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC! This book had me hooked from the beginning and racing to find out the ending.

This book was SO good. Took me a little bit to get to use to the writing style (sometimes written like an autobiography) but the storyline was captivating and the plot twist was perfectly written!

I loved every character in this book and became completely engrossed in the plot, which kept me guessing. I thoroughly enjoyed this book until the very end, and I didn't anticipate any of the surprises.

I loved this book! I truly had no idea how it was going to end. I look forward to reading more books from Ashley Winstead!

📚 PRE-PUBLICATION BOOK TOUR BOOK REVIEW 📚

This Book Will Bury Me By Ashley Winstead
Publication Date: March 25, 2025
Publisher: SOURCEBOOKS Landmark

📚MY RATING: ⭐⭐⭐

📚MY REVIEW:

This will likely be a controversial review, and while I'll keep it spoiler free, read with caution if you haven't yet read this book:

Oh, I REALLY wanted to love it. In fact, it was one of my most highly-anticipated ARCs of the fall and I was THRILLED when I was approved for it on NetGalley. I kept hearing that fans of true crime were going to absolutely LOVE this book, so I couldn't wait.

Here's what I enjoyed about it: I loved Winstead's suspenseful writing style and the way she developed the storyline of the book that involved the online true crime armchair detectives. She crafted a captivating plot surrounding these online sleuths and I genuinely enjoyed THAT part of the story -- especially the unexpected twisty ending.

However...In my humble opinion, as a die-hard fan of true crime who (first and foremost) always wants to see justice for the victims, this book is NOT a book that will be loved by true crime fans like me. To the contrary, I think this book will be loved by people who either fancy themselves fans of true crime and don't really closely follow cases in the news, or who know nothing about true crime.

The storyline of the brutal killings 'fictionalized' in this book is so scary and riveting because these killings are ripped straight out of the headlines. Unless you've been living under a true crime rock, fans of true crime are well aware of the Idaho College Murders: the brutal slayings of four college students in their off-campus house in Moscow, Idaho, in mid-November 2022.

The similarities within this book to the Idaho College Murders left me feeling INCREDIBLY unsettled. I have followed this case closely since day one, so I was very cognizant of the jaw-dropping and (at times) appalling similarities of the murders depicted in this book to the murders that night in Idaho. If you're familiar with that case, you'll recognize all the similarities within the pages. And let me be clear, there were A LOT. Not everything was the same, sure, but so much was similar that it felt very yucky and disrespectful.

Listen, I know that a lot of what we read and what authors write is taken from pieces of real life and then fictionalized to craft a good story. But this?! This was way over the top for me. Mixing so much of the same details of the real-life crimes with fictionalized accountings of theories (some of which have fueled rumors online), all while a very heated and polarizing trial is pending in the courts right now, felt borderline irresponsible to me. I feel for the families of the victims whose murders are basically fictionally recreated in these pages. Puke.

I know I'm expressing a really strong opinion here and I know all books are subjective. I think there are a ton of people who will absolutely love this book, as evidenced by many of the reviews I've seen. And I love that for them. For me, though, this book was definitely not one about which I feel good. In fact, it feels pretty shitty if I'm being completely honest.

To Kaylee, Madison, Xana, and Ethan, the four victims of the crimes 'fictionalized' in this book, I hope justice is eventually done in your honor. And to their families who are still grieving their losses, I hope you continue to find peace and healing.

Thank you to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Landmark for this advanced e-copy in exchange for my honest review.

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