Overall, I really enjoyed This Book Will Bury Me but the use of an actual crime that hasn’t even been to court yet as the obvious inspiration, was off putting. It was fast paced and I did not have it all figured out at the end.

This Book Will Bury Me - Ashley Winstead
Thriller / Mystery
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

“After the unexpected death of her father, college student Jane Sharp longs for a distraction from her grief. She becomes obsessed with true crime, befriending armchair detectives who teach her how to hunt killers from afar. In this morbid internet underground, Jane finds friendship, purpose, and even glory...”

The first half of this book read like a textbook to me. It was kind of boring and I didn’t love it.
BUT the second half was really good. There were some real suspenseful moments that I enjoyed reading & i feel like those made up for the first part of the book. Also, I did not see the ending coming.

Thank you @netgalley & @Sourcebooks for the advanced readers copy of this book. I will be recommending this author to friends.

Jane (Janeway) Sharp's father dies unexpected. After traveling home and deep in grief, Jane sees that the body of a woman was found in a very deep lake by her house. So begins a true crime obsession that gets her involved with a Bundy-esque massacre that spirals out of control.
I found Jane's character to be likeable and believable, and the character of "Mistress". The others fell flat for me. Father figure, anime obsessed nerd, hunk. It was also easy for me to know who the killer was and found I just kept reading to make sure I was right....I was.

Regardless, I was entertained the whole time I read it, and it even kept me up a few nights. I would recommend this book to true crime fans. Although not super original, it was entertaining.

RUN, don’t walk to preorder this new book by Ashley Winstead!! Seriously, I’m sounding the alarms, raising the flags, calling all thriller lovers because This Book Will Bury Me goes down as one of the best thrillers I’ve ever read. It is always such a privilege to read a book that effortlessly guides you through a story and lets you fully bask in the glories the genre has to offer.

In the same vein as the show A Murder at the End of the World, our perspective is from a sleuth neck deep in the true crime community. Winstead points a microscope at the humanity of those who participate, from the “vultures” with their rubbernecking to the Michelle McNamara’s, even giving them a four sided archetype to choose from. Are you doing it for the heroics? The justice? The curiousity? With a cast of found family, Winstead explores these questions while also still firmly rooted in the thrilling aspect of thrillers.

I’m astounded by the amount of depth that is portrayed here while also still being incredibly gruesome in description. The juxtaposition of stylistic techniques and draws from other genres creates a masterpiece of storytelling. This is the kind of book that has me continuously reading the genre, the diamonds that I know I’ll eventually run into if I read enough. And don’t get me wrong, most thrillers are fun and enjoyable. But the grief, despair, anxiety, and shock I experienced here is only something I can get from a true five star book.

Ashley Winstead has been hit or miss for me in the past but I’m SO grateful for this ARC because this was completely unexpected. I was relatively excited going in and even more excited coming out on the other end. I cannot get over how beautifully written this was and it would excel anywhere regardless of genre. As a trigger warning, this book does get incredibly graphic so please be aware of that going in.

This book had me completely sucked in, by the time I looked up from it I had less than an hour left on my flight. This book deals with a loss of a parent and how people cope with grief. As a true crime connoisseur myself, I absolutely loved the sleuthing and Reddit feeds, the TikTok video references and the podcasts. This is a true crime fan’s perfect book. I also thought the ending was done perfectly! All in all, this was a fantastic read!

This was a huge disappointment. Honestly, terrible. Sorry not sorry. Here are some unorganized thoughts:

There are too many breaking the fourth wall "let me tell the reader" hints for what is to come, but the reveals happen way too slowly. Each chapter ends with one of those little cliffhanger sentences right at the end and it got to just be really annoying because it never led anywhere.

Some descriptions of the crime scenes are very graphic and made me sick to my stomach. I didn't hate this though, it's just worth mentioning it can be graphic in parts.

There's a fatphobic rant about how her father died because he was fat and unhealthy. It literally said he had to die because he was fat. Like how the fuck is that necessary? A character can be fat and die and not have it blamed on his weight. The mother character was also incredibly fatphobic.

I did like how it talks about the many negative aspects of amateur true crime aficionados on the internet. I thought that was done with care and sensitivity towards victims and their families.

And the ending??? Terrible. I kept waiting for a final twist/reveal to change everything but nope, Ashley Winstead really wanted to end her book that way. I was expecting a lot more from the author of In My Dreams I Hold a Knife (skip this one and read Knife instead)

I also learned that this book takes a lot of details from a real-life, still untried, murder in Idaho. She didn't even bother to change the state the murders take place in! That seems really disrespectful to me and is sort of an antithesis to what I think the author intended. Again, poor execution.

Overall, a waste of my time and probably a waste of yours.

Thanks to NetGalley for a free e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book will bury me by Ashley Winstead

Thank you NetGalley and source books for this ARC.

Jane Sharp has lost her father and has submerged herself in a True crime group to alleviate the sadness of losing her father. She has dove in head first in solving a crime with her keyboard buddies looking at a massacre that has hit a women’s college in Idaho. This story was compelling and. Intense as you follow these armchair detectives searching for clues to solve this insane murder.

What a trip this book was! I enjoyed it thoroughly and couldn’t put it down! Crazy good book!

When the universe hands you exactly what you want, the one things you could never turn down, a perfect trap of your own making. So many great lines in this book and it is apparent from the beginning that Jane Sharp loves her father! He dies suddenly and Jane finds a distraction from her grief., she becomes obsessed with solving true crime. She gets involved in a college tragedy of 3 murdered college students.

Here's the distance I needed to make peace with: my father had existed here on earth. He made me, gave me his dark hair and Roman nose, his laugh and love of magic. He game me his heart. My name. Loving him was part of what I was put on earth to do. And then he left. The love of a daughter and her father is my favorite part of the book!

Addicting, Multiple Layers, and Twisted!
3.5 stars!

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy. This book will be released 3/25/25.

After the unexpected death of her father, Jane becomes obsessed by true crime and drops out of college. She joins an online chat group and together, the amateur sleuths chip away at unsolved cases together, with some success. Then there is news of the deaths of three college girls. But the case is a strange one, puzzling the police and the sleuths. They are missing something crucial and as they work their way towards it, it is clear they may be in danger.

While I had some clue as to where this one was headed, I did not guess the precise details and this novel had me flying through it to find the answers. It also addressed what I imagine to be many issues involved in true crime groups and the court of public opinion (without evidence), which was really interesting.
The author has become an auto-read author for me and I can't wait to see what she does next.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for this gifted review copy.

Five amateur internet sleuths are in for the shock of their life.. 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 4 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 just might be too elusive for even the best true crime sleuths. Told a year after everything happens, Jane is ready to speak her truth but some may never see the truth coming.

This book had me HOOKED from the very first page. Winstead’s writing style is just so intriguing and this specific format was so interesting. Told from a “tell-all” perspective just adds to the story and keeps you wanting to read, just one more chapter. I was able to *kind of* guess the twist at the end and I still truly enjoyed the ride to get there and the conclusion of the story. It was enjoyable even with guessing it correctly and I think that just speaks to how well written the book is. If you liked “In My Dreams I Hold A Knife” I think you’ll enjoy this one as well. The other themes in the book (ie. grief and makeshift family) are truly beautifully written and a true testament to reality. A 5/5⭐️ read for me and more than worth checking out when this releases in March of 2025!

💭 ⓂⓎ ⓉⒽⓄⓊⒼⒽⓉⓈ
I cannot wait for more people to read this book when it comes out next year! It was amazing!!! I couldn’t put this book down and I was 100% invested the entire time. This was so cleverly written and the characters and story draw you in immediately. Ashley Winstead has a brilliant mind. I’m in awe of her ability to bring this story to life. There were so many layers, the characters were flawed yet you loved them all, and the writing style sucks you in. It really feels like Jane is talking directly to you in this book. I can’t say enough great things about it and it hands down is my favorite book I have read by her. I’m honestly not ever a true crime junkie. I typically get freaked out by that stuff. I was definitely hiding under my cover and certain points but I still refuse to put the book down! Mark your calendar for 3/25 and pick this one up! Better yet, go preorder it now!

📚 𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎:
🕵️‍♀️True crime
🔎Amateur Sleuths
🔪Serial killers
📖Page turner
🖤Addicting
🏡Found family
😢Loss and grief
🏫College town setting

🕵️‍♀️𝕄𝕐 ℝ𝔸𝕋𝕀ℕ𝔾🕵️‍♀️
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

💕Q U O T E: “ 𝐸𝓋𝑒𝓃 𝒶𝒻𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝒶𝓁𝓁 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝑒𝓋𝒾𝓁 𝐼’𝓋𝑒 𝓈𝑒𝑒𝓃, 𝐼 𝓈𝓉𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒 𝒽𝓊𝓂𝒶𝓃𝒾𝓉𝓎 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝒾𝓉𝓈 𝓈𝓂𝒶𝓁𝓁 𝓂𝑒𝓇𝒸𝒾𝑒𝓈.”

🙏Thank you NetGalley, Sourcebooks Landmark, and Ashley Winstead for this ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts. 💕

Jane is in a state of immense grief when she starts her amateur sleuthing, looking into the death of a woman who was cut up and left in a garbage bag. The group is filled with true crime aficionados who try to solve crimes by digging up information and ostensibly “helping” the police in their investigations. She finds herself immersed in an online message board, Real Crime Network, and is soon invited into a smaller subgroup made up of four true crime groupies. After gaining a bit of notoriety in the true crime world, Jane and her other close colleagues turn their sights on the Delphine Murders. These murders include the slaying of three young women studying at the University of Northern Iowa.

This was a taut murder mystery thriller driven by excellent characters. Jane, our protagonist, is so driven by grief that it almost seeps out of her pores. Her fall down the rabbit hole into true crime is believable and heartbreaking. The four other crime solving crusaders are equally well defined and pleasingly quirky—each portrait laden with their own true crime tropes. In my opinion this only buoys the story and makes it more entertaining. I kept make guesses as to whodunnit and more often then not I wasn’t correct, only getting closer to the truth when the book was nearly finished. I give it four stars—one subtracted because of the hanging plot-line at the end. Regardless, I found this to be an engaging, ripped from the headlines true crime thriller.

I received this advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review and feedback.

There's no doubt that Winstead can craft an enjoyable and thrilling story! This left me intrigued but sad because I lost my dad this year like our main character has. Overall, it was entertaining and another glimpse at people and the ways they become obsessed with solving murders using different media channels. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I can’t figure out what I think about this book.

Initially, I loved it. Loved. When it first started, I was immediately intrigued. I loved the premise because true crime and ‘internet sleuthing’ interests me so much.

I really enjoyed the way it was set up with the forums and the video chats. I liked how she incorporated social media and TikTok. This was really a true representation of how the internet can impact, both in good and bad ways, investigations.

But then…..the main case that she used really bothered me. The fact that it was a real case…that is actually active…and the only thing she changed was names for the first half of the book…it just made me feel weird.

It felt a little lazy, honestly. She very literally just copied and pasted the case with names changed. There does come the point where it is the ‘same case,’ but she adds more to it, but that just made me very conflicted on how I felt.

It’s so weird to really like a book but not like the crime she’s based the whole book around.

With that being said, it was a good book. I think it would make a really good movie…if they changed the crime they’re investigating. As the characters were being ‘revealed,’ I saw a TV screen in my mind and each one popping up as they were being described.

It kept me captivated the whole time. I found myself picking it up any time I had a chance and I also really loved the addition of the footnotes. I thought that was fun and interesting.

I don’t know if I have just been reading way too many thrillers, but I had my suspicions about who the real killer was about halfway in, and I ended up being right. It was still a good story, and I don’t think it was apparent…I think I have just read so many books like this that it’s hard to shock me anymore.

Overall, I liked the way it was written, like a tell-all, and enjoyed it all…….EXCEPT for the fact that she used the Idaho 4 case as her plot. So I’m having a hard time knowing how to rate it.

Because *overall*, I felt like it was a really good book with that one exception, I consider it a 4-star book. The only thing that bothered me about it was the case, so I can consider that a personal preference and only took off one star for that reason. But again, I have to reiterate that I feel like using an active case felt like lazy writing to me and a little insensitive.

The cover is gorgeous, too.

(and a side note, she praises Rachel Maddow a few times for being a fair and level-headed journalist……….ok, sure….….not to mention that she changed other journalist names but not hers, why?)

Ashley Winstead's latest novel, This Book Will Bury Me, is an absolute masterpiece that left me completely captivated! It's a gripping thriller that will undoubtedly be at the top of everyone's reading list for 2025.

The story follows Jane, who is grappling with the recent loss of her father and the decision to leave college. Seeking a sense of normalcy, she connects with a group of amateur sleuths who share her passion for true crime. Together, they embark on a mission to unravel the chilling murder of three college girls. From this point on, I was completely engrossed in the narrative, unable to put the book down.

Ashley Winstead has expertly crafted a storyline that deserves more than 5 stars! The perfectly placed plot twists and turns left me in awe. This novel is a compelling escape from reality that I wholeheartedly recommend to everyone!

All of Ashley Winstead's thrillers have been 5 star reads for me, so I was super excited to receive an ARC of This Book Will Bury Me. I will admit that the beginning was a slow start. I thought that the parts of Jane coping with her father's death kind of dragged, but I understand that they were important to building her character. However, at about 40% in, things really started to pick up. I am a big fan of true crime, so the premise was very fascinating to me. The murders in the book were eerily similar to the Idaho Murders from a few years ago- which I followed closely. In true Ashley Winstead fashion, there are twists and turns, including a jaw-dropping one at the end. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it!

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark for the ARC!

Dare I say this is Winstead’s best? This book was truly so well done.
I didn’t like, at first, that it seemed to be the Idaho Massacre of 2022 just in fictional format. Then it took a turn and I absolutely LOVED where Winstead took us.

This defines what it means to be a compulsive read - I COULD NOT put this book down. I finished it in under 24 hours and could not get enough.

I will always pick up an Ashley Winstead book the second I can! All of her books are so unwisely written and make me want to ignore everything else in life to binge the book.

*Thank you to Landmark and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review*

THIS BOOK. Consider me dead, because it buried me.

For a chonk of a book, it was never slow. I freaking whipped through it. We dive headfirst into the world of true crime, from amateur sleuths to lifelong gumshoes. The interesting parts of this book start with the first footnote - asides from a future Janeway. Quickly we realize that her foray into true crime is made to last, but also that something horrible is on the horizon. I really enjoyed how we examined true crime from multiple angles: those of the sleuths who truly want to solve crimes, journalists who seek to exploit their trauma for a story, and voyeurs who just want to get off on someone else's trauma. She touched on articles, news stories, tell-all books, forums, the whole shebang. Through all of this, Jane begins to process her grief over her dad's sudden death. She throws herself headlong into true crime, forcing it from a strange hobby to full-on obsession. I really saw myself in that obsession, almost as an avoidance technique but also as a manner to process it.

The main quintet complemented each other so well, but I couldn't help but love Janeway. She makes some seriously *poor* choices in this book, but man did it make things interesting! I did predict a few of the plot twists, but there were almost too many to keep up with. Truly, Ashley Winstead is one of those authors who can always pull one over me. And the ending, oh my god. I am D E A D.

In a synergistic convergence of real-life horror and fictionalized true crime comes This Book Will Bury Me, the upcoming release from my favorite author, Ashley Winstead. This Book Will Bury Me is a cautionary tale recounting the realistic ramifications of hyperfixation and parasocial behavior around true crime materialized as one of the best thrillers I have ever read. In other words, this book knocked my socks off.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This Book Will Bury Me follows a group of five amateur sleuths who are united by their love of true crime and enacting their own, unsanctioned investigations. After the murder of three college girls in Idaho draws the attention of not only their niche, online community, but the world, the group comes together, putting themselves in the middle of the investigation, blurring the lines of fascination and obsession.

The story is told from the narrator, Jane's, perspective; one year later, Jane sets out to set the record straight once and for all.

There is no question that This Book Will Bury Me is inspired by an actual criminal case in which online sleuths have been criticized for their involvement. As someone who struggles with my own opinion of the ethical consumption of true crime, I was a little worried about this aspect of the story. But I think Ashley Winstead handled it with a lot of care and did an excellent job of acknowledging many people's issues with true crime.

As you can expect with any Ashley Winstead book, this is much more than your typical popcorn thriller. The story is layered, the characters are flawed but developed, and the story unfolds in a way that had me more invested than ever in a thriller. In My Dreams I Hold a Knife is one of my favorite books of all time, so it’s hard to say that This Book Will Bury Me will dethrone that. But I think her writing has developed in many ways since then.

All that to say, I have pretty much no notes. I think this is a near-perfect story, and I can’t wait for it to take the world by storm next year.

This Book, Will Bury Me, will be released on March 25, 2025. Thank you to #Netgalley and @bookmarked for the advanced copy.