Thank you NetGalley and SourceBooks for the E-ARC

I *really* loved this one. I couldn't put it down. The type of storytelling AW is amazing. It's written as an auto-biography of a 24 year old Floridian girl. She tells the story of how her father passed and she found herself in the life of a true crime sleuth. It felt like a unique way to tell a serial killer story.

I don't typically like sleuth books, but the way this was written made it feel believeable. AW did a great job of giving background on how sleuths get their information, how they utilize hive brain, and how they work with law enforcement.

All of the characters were likeable and the found family aspect was my favorite.

The reason I gave this four stars instead of five, is because I guessed the plot twist VERY early on in the book. As the story progressed, my guess became more solid, to the point that I suspected it was a red herring and she would change the twist. I was disappointed that my early guess was correct as it lessened the impact of the twist.

Overall, even knowing the twist, I still couldn't put it down and still wanted to know how it ended.

For fans of A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, but want an adult version.

I will NOT be reading this book but still wanted to provide a review to warn others and the author and publisher about what a disappointment this is. I just learned that the storyline and events in this book are *copied* (not inspired - identical) to the Idaho murders from 2022, and the murderer hasn't even gone to trial yet! I'm shocked this book was allowed to be published and disappointed I am just now learning about this situation as I was originally looking forward to reading this book. I've been disappointed with Ashley Winstead's last few books and will absolutely not be supporting this book by reading it or discussing it on my Bookstagram or Goodreads pages.

The opening alone will make you want to read this book!! I couldn't stop reading at times and was shocked at the ending. Jane Sharp suffers the sudden loss of her beloved father. While reeling from that, she finds solace in true crime sleuthing online. She meets a great group and they embark on solving the worst modern crime. Will they get to the bottom of this? Is everyone who they say they are? Can you really trust anyone?

This Book Will Bury Me by Ashley Winstead
Pub Date: 3/25/25
Format: ebook
Rating: ⭐️⭐️

For a book I could not put down for the first 40%, it hurts me to give this book such a low rating. While this book had potential and did feel like more of a return to form after Winstead’s last book, I really feel like this book crosses a line.

The Idaho Murders happened just over two years ago and I’ve had this arc for four months which means it was delivered to early readers about a year and a half after four college students were murdered in cold blood. This case has not yet gone to trial and families have not received justice.

For Winstead to copy SO many details of this case verbatim and then change the ending, call it fiction, and aim to profit off the victims stories is really in poor taste in my opinion. It also bothers me that she stole so many real life facts from the murders and she never once mentions the real victims names in her authors note.

Honestly the tie in with the main characters dad did not work for me either and felt like this was self insert fan fiction in a way. The connection to the main characters dad worked alright for me in the beginning, but as the book went on it felt very forced and jarring.

And much like her last book, it needed to be about 15% shorter.

As someone who used to list Winstead among my favorite authors I am very disappointed both in the author and the publisher for taking this book to print. These victims and their families deserve better.

I want to thank everyone for this early gifted copy of This Book With Bury Me by Ashley Winstead.

I’ve read most of Ashley’s books over the years but I think that I’ve come to the decision that I like her better as a romance author than a thriller author. I loved her first thriller and couldn’t stop reading it, but the last few have disappointed. I find that I can’t get myself into them and am very bored, which just makes me not want to read at all.

I want it to be known that I think Ashley is a great writer. I think that this book has a lot of potential and I was initially drawn in, but quickly because very bored on the main character and didn’t find that I was invested in her or her story.

This Book Will Bury Me – Ashley Winstead
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (all of the stars)

College student Jane Sharp turns to true crime sleuthing as an escape from grief, but when she and her online friends dig into the shocking Delphine, Idaho murders, they quickly realize they may be in over their heads. Told from Jane’s chilling perspective a year after the case’s explosive conclusion, the story unravels the terrifying truth behind the crime that captivated the world.

I will read anything Ashley Winstead writes—she’s just that talented. What makes this book so gripping is its twist on true crime: it’s loosely inspired by the real-life Idaho murders, adding a layer of eerie familiarity while exploring the dark world of online sleuthing. I loved that element (something different than a podcaster) while also being grateful to remain an observer IRL and through books! The way the narrator hints that things spiral out of control had me on edge the entire time. I picked this up when I was struggling through another book and, suddenly, hours disappeared—Ashley’s writing pulled me right in. 1000% recommend- but as always, check for trigger warnings.

This Book will Bury Me is a new thriller by Ashley Winstead. This was the first of her books that I have read, and I enjoyed it.

Jane Sharp is a normal college girl when her father dies unexpectedly. In her grief, she turns to the internet and stumbles into a forum for internet sleuthing- trying to solve crimes when it seems like the police can’t. After a successful investigation, she has some new best friends, and she leans into them instead of dealing with the death of her father.

The author notes that she has taken some inspiration from true crime, and it is apparently here. The main case Jane and her sleuthing friends are working on is very clearly based on the murdered of the college kids in Idaho a few years ago, but the story eventually does deviate from that.

This book takes on some of the issues that police face when internet detectives start to push the boundaries and take matters into their own hands.

Though overall I enjoyed this story, I did think it was a little overlong. Even so, it’s fast-paced. Thanks to the author, the publisher, and Netgalley for the ARC.

Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the advanced reader's copy of This Book Will Bury Me by Ashley Winstead.

I am not at all a true crime fan so my review may hit a little different for those that are. I actually don't get why so many folks are enamored with it and spend so much free time focused on it. Once I started reading my initial thought was I wasn't going to enjoy the book. I was wrong. I think the layout of using dialog from the character's online correspondence and chatting to be really useful writing tool to keep me as the reader engaged. I was curious to see how the amateur true crime sleuths got themselves embedded in the case. For good and for bad. Despite being very much a true crime novel, this one worked for me.

It's my understanding that this is a deeply personal book as the author lost her own father and was coping with the loss much like our main character lost her father and was coping the best way she knew how. I also now know that the events in this book mirror a real life case out of Idaho that is relatively fresh in the news cycle.

I went into this novel blind. Meaning I did not read the synopsis before diving into it. I am though a big fan of the author's previous works.

After her father’s sudden death, college senior Janeway Sharp stumbles across a true crime network on the interweb and quickly becomes enthralled as she looks for a distraction from her own pain and grief. Soon close friendships and alliances are formed as the armchair detective group takes on the shocking and brutal murder of three sorority students in Delphine, Idaho and are suddenly thrust into the spotlight themselves.

Looking at the reviews for this book, it strikes me that most people fall into two categories on it - you either love it or you hate it. Turns out, I am in the former. While this book didn’t quite bury me, it sure gripped my attention to the point of complete absorption. I. Could. Not. Put. This. Book. Down.

Unlike Ashley Winstead’s other novels that are works of pure fiction, the primary case in this book is based on a very true crime, and is part of what makes this book controversial. Is it too early to be featuring this brutal murder, an event that has left a town broken, in such a front and centered way? In fact, Winstead even includes an author’s note to explain her rationale on this and it’s definitely worth a read.

I would argue that although it is pivotal to the story, it is very much not THE story. At the core, TBWBM is about community and making sense of the senseless. It’s about our overarching desire for answers we may or may never be able to find. And it’s about family, those who we love and who offer comfort, and those who seek only to knock us down.

To prevent the risk of spoiling a book that’s best when gone into blind, I will end my review by saying that although, I didn’t love her last, this book was a major winner for me and such a pleasant surprise. Not since Verity has a first page grabbed me hook, line and sinker and I hope it does the same for you, if you choose to read it.

Thank you to the Alisᵗᵐ for buddy reading this one with me. Sorry I wasn’t able to slow myself down there at the end, but what a testament to the addictiveness of this book.

Read if you like:
▪️true crime
▪️serial killer storylines
▪️quasi-cozy mysteries
▪️epistolary format
▪️unputdownable thrillers

Thank you Sourcebooks Landmark for the advanced copy.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks for this ebook ARC. Inspired by true crime and internet sleuths, especially the case of The Idaho Four, Ashley Winstead has written an enjoyable and thought provoking murder mystery., with tense moments and good twists. Grieving after the sudden death of her father, Janeway Sharp leaves college and moves back home. Spending time on the internet she soon falls into the world of online private citizens who make it their hobby to investigate and attempt to solve famous murder cases. Jane soon becomes friends with, and joins a small group of “elite” internet detectives.
This small group of five bond and become close while solving their first murder together. They soon become pretty famous in the internet sleuthing world. They are soon drawn to their big case that may be their triumph or ruin.
While a very enjoyable read, this book also opens the reader up to the discussion of internet sleuths. Are they another burden for law enforcement to deal with while trying to solve murders? Or do they provide a service to a sometimes over extended police force? Some people in law enforcement see them as amateurs who get in the way and can hurt a case. While others welcome their help. And how do the grieving families feel about this help or interference into their tragedy?

Ashley Winstead can do literally NO wrong. I love everything that she writes, 10/10 author for me. If you also enjoy her writing then you NEED to pick up this new book from her. It is filled with all the twists and turns that she normally includes, while also having a powerful message. I truly cannot praise this author enough.

Thank you to Netgalley & the publisher for my e-arc.

Ashley does it again! A heart pounding true crime thriller that ticked all the boxes for me. I really enjoyed all the characters and how twisty this book gets, especially by the end. I’m a big fan of the film Heathers and I enjoyed all the other media references as well.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for this ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for this ARC!

I’m a huge fan of Ashley’s works and This Book Will Bury Me was a wild ride. Winstead’s writing is top notch and makes putting this one down impossible!

Full of plenty of red herrings, this book will definitely make you stop everything you’re doing and keep reading. I loved all the twists and turns and how Ashley made this fictional novel feel so real!

I don't really know 100% what I want to say about this book. This was definitely a slow slow burn for me. I feel like I didn't get super interested until about halfway through. however, I felt like I already knew this book from the true crime events surrounding the murders of 4 young college students in Idaho. I know we're naturally curious as humans when it comes to true crime, but this book felt a little insensitive to me for the members of those students' families, especially for this book to be centered around that tragedy. Again, I am fully aware of the warning prior to going into this book, the author doesn't let this fact slip by that this fictional adaptation was inspired by the true events.

I did figure out who one of the serial killers were, and I think this was supposed to be the big surprise. I did like this story has a resolution. I just have a lot of jumbled thoughts on this one! Overall, this is an entertaining piece, read it if you like true crime. But this one was just meh for me!

Thanks to NetGalley and SourceBooks for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

While I'm unsure how I feel about fictionalizing this horrific event to make money, the story was page turning.

This whole book kept me in rapt attention. From the get go I liked and had so much sympathy toward Jane and was ready for whatever journey I was about to go on.

The mystery of this book is twofold - one having to do with the crimes Jane and her companions are attempting to solve and the other being an undisclosed event during the investigation that puts Jane in an unfavorable light with the public (and law). The second was dangled like a carrot keeping me so invested and concerned about how the story would unfold.

I am not a true crime fan. I fall on the end of the spectrum that amateur sleuths are overwhelmingly unhelpful and exploitative of victims and their families. Of course there are the exceptions but the way social media reacts during a high profile crime is gross, in my opinion. I think this book did a great job at showing this gradient - completely well meaning players, those in it for clout now matter who gets hurt in the process, and those in between. Jane did several questionable things throughout her investigations and while many of them ultimately helped her to develop better suspicions and theories it cannot be ignored that she willingly deceived and hurt victims in the process.

The mysteries and clues were laid out so well. I came to many of the same conclusions as the characters and even made several of the same mistakes. I really felt like I was a sixth member of the group working to solve the crimes. I was coming up with so many theories that I unwittingly guessed some major reveals with no real evidence simply because I was trying to beat the characters to it. It gave me a small understanding of why people who become so involved in true crime do so - the rush of a right answer is exhilarating.

The overarching theme of grief was felt so strongly throughout this entire book. Knowing about the author’s own experience losing her father made the loss of Jane’s father even more palpable. Getting a look into Jane’s grief felt intimate and raw and was clear that Ashley Winstead worked so much of her own heartache into the writing.

Definitely recommend this one if you’re looking for a good crime mystery/thriller!

reading this was like watching a true crime documentary- and it was awesome. dark, twisty and well written. i loved this one almost as much as in my dreams i hold a knife.

Loved loved loved this one!! Definitely heavy trigger warning for those with grief over loss of a loved one. I could relate to Jane on so many levels, and that's one of the things I loved when reading this. Jane lost her dad (as did I unexpectedly) and sometimes it was so darn easy to feel like I WAS her. The level of grief and going down rabbit holes because the not knowing why someone we loved has left us and if things could have been different, has been me for the last almost two years. But since Jane was dealing with grief, she found an outlet for herself through sleuthing, and I loved that for her because she was SO GOOD at it. I absolutely loved Ashley's writing, I loved the twists and turns, and I loved how I thought I had everything figured out, but didn't.
There's no better feeling when it comes to books than being wrong about how it's going to end. It was disturbing, twisty, unique, and a fast paced read for me. I highly recommend!!

𝗔𝗥𝗖 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄🌀🔎🔪

#bookreview
📖- This Book Will Bury Me
✍🏼- Ashley Winstead
📅- March 25,2025
★★★★☆

⚠️•This book investigates the case of the Delphine, Idaho m urders, which mirrors the events of the Idaho state m urders
• Death of a parent ⚠️

Thank you @netgalley and @bookmarked for a digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

ℝ𝕖𝕒𝕕 𝕚𝕗
📺 You like watching True Crime shows
🌀 You like intense slow burner books
🎙️ You like true crime podcasts

𝕊𝕪𝕟𝕠𝕡𝕤𝕚𝕤

Jane Sharp becomes obsessed with the true crime world after her father suddenly passes away. Attempting to fill the void and to feel a purpose and in some way get closure. She’s drawn into the sleuth 🕵️ world and beings to make friends. When the death of three college girls in Delphine, Idaho are murdered gruesomely they feel like it’s up to them to solve the case. Except the sleuth world is a cutthroat world, and as they race to beat one another the case just gets stranger as it progresses. Will they solve the case? Or will they be left with more questions than answers?

𝕄𝕪 𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕤 💭

This book took me a minute to finish but in the end it left me wanting more! The last 20% of the book was intense and I was sitting on the edge of my seat from the thrill of it. You don’t realize how dark the internet can get especially the true crime world and I honestly never knew what a sleuth was until I read this book. The story was like a puzzle and you had to put each piece together, it captivated me from page one! Definitely a book you should add to your TBR.

Unfortunately I DNF’d this book at 30%. The story was slower than a slow burn and the Idaho murders didn’t come up until the 25% mark. I wasn’t able to connect with any of the characters. This book just wasn’t for me.

Thank you to the author, publisher and Netfalley for the opportunity to read and review this arc.