4.5 🌟

if you love true crime, this book is for you. this one was unputdownable from the start. the way ashley winstead wrote this story was perfect and i felt so immersed throughout. it was definitely graphic at times so please be aware of that. i did guess one of the reveals but i still was completely hooked from start to finish. this had all of the qualities of a great thriller.

thank you sourcebooks & netgalley for the arc!

Ashely Winstead has a new book - This Book Will Bury Me - and all I can say is WOW. I absolutely devoured this book. I've been in a bit of a reading slump lately so I was thrilled (pun intended) to finally find a book I didn't want to put down and couldn't wait to pick up again.

This novel has everything a good thriller should have - a unique premise, well-crafted characters, great pacing, a compelling story, and serial killers. I did actually guess one of the plot twists, which I almost never do, but it didn't detract from my enjoyment one bit. This is Ms. Winstead's best book to date and definitely one my favorite reads of 2024.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

WOW. Okay.... So I was hooked from the absolute get go. I am a huge fan of true crime documentaries, so from the very beginning I knew this was going to be a heavy hitter for me. I think that Jane's grief was so beautifully portrayed, I think that the author showing evidence of a much sadder, darker, inquisitive form of grief can really rationalize with people who have lost someone they hold dear. This thriller truly kept me on the edge of my seat and I absolutely adored the characters. I found myself visualizing all of our sleuths. I was emotionally invested in the outcomes of the crimes and how the interactions with the characters all formed. I will definitely be purchasing this book when it comes out and I highly highly recommend this for anyone who is interested in a well written psychological thriller, with a wild ending. 5 stars for me!

Ashley Winstead's newest thriller This Book Will Bury Me is jaw-dropping, mind-blowing ,and completely unforgettable. Perfect for true crime junkies, this delves deeply into the cracks in the case of the Delphine murders and the group of unlikely online sleuths who come together to solve it.

Jane Sharp, reeling from the loss of her father and still communicating with him by keeping his ashes closeby, becomes part of an internet forum dedicated to finding clues that will lead to the murderer who violently stabbed three college sorority girls. She joins forces with Mistress, Goku, Citizen and Lightly, all of whom have personal reasons for wanting the killer brought to justice. As another slaughter rocks the quiet community, Jane realizes that her persistence may have placed her in the sights of a serial killer.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this gripping new novel by one of the best mystery writers of our time.

✨This book has so much to love including its fast pace, multiple layers, richly developed characters and one of the absolute best endings I’ve read in a thriller. Just when I thought I had it all figured out, that ending hit – and it was just absolutely astonishing.
 
✨In addition to being a compelling thriller, this book is also a harrowing, devastating and ultimately beautiful study into the journey of loss, grief and acceptance seen through the lens of a daughter who is coping with the death of her father.  As a daughter who has lost her father, I can tell you that these were the most tender and authentic aspects of the book.   
 
✨In true Ashley Winstead style, she is able to blend a cunning thriller with a social commentary on the true crime sleuthing commentary as well as elements of found family, grief, a father-daughter story and – wait for it – Star Trek. I say “in true Winstead style” because this is the author who writes romance novels in between her mind-blowing, “what the heck is in this woman’s head” knockout thrillers.   Is there anything she can’t do?
 
✨Now I must veer into a less positive aspect of my review – and that is the inclusion of the eerily similar details to the Idaho college murders.  There has been much discussion of this in the book community, and it almost kept me from reading the book — but I wanted to read for myself before making a judgment call.  I must admit, it was very off-putting for this reader to see the details so similar to such recent murders.  I will add that I read an advanced copy which did not yet include the author’s note.  Perhaps the author will address this in the final copy author’s note, and I will edit my online reviews, if so.  With that said, I can still give this book no less than five stars.  It’s a truly exceptional read. 
 
🌿Read if you like:
✨True crime
✨Online communities
✨Found family
✨Father/daughter narratives
✨Stories of the grief journey
✨Compelling thrillers
✨Serial killer stories
✨Multi-layered, fast-paced suspense
✨Star Trek

Um. What did I just read 🤯 Winstead really knocked it outa the park with the one. There was SO MUCH going on in this story but it worked out so well. I love how much backstory we got from the main character. I thought it was going to be too much but it really built a well rounded character. And the overall plot line was so interesting. I was so drawn in and couldn’t stop reading. It’s a pretty long book but it didn’t feel like it. I really did not see anything coming and was completely shocked by it. I loved the writing style of the MCs book. There’s definitely triggers and there are a lot dark and gruesome scenes. I was trying to put all the pieces together which was so fun. But of course it won’t happen how you thought it’d be. There was stuff happening up to the last page and it was just amazing.

Thank you so so much NetGalley and Sourcebooks for allowing me access to this ebook, you literally made my year! This Book Will Bury Me by Ashley Winstead will be released on March 25th next year and is my favourite thriller of the year!
In this book we follow Janeway Sharp who finds solace from her grief in the world of true crime. Obsessed with solving cases from afar, she and her online sleuth friends dive into the mysterious deaths of three college girls in Delphine, Idaho. But what begins as an exciting hunt for the truth quickly turns dark as Jane realizes that the case is far more complex than it seems. I had an absolute blast with this book. I actually did not read the synopsis and I recommend anyone who picks this one to do the same.
You can except short chapters, fast pace action, interesting plots twists, found family and a book that won't leave your thoughts until you finish it!

Loved the telling of this story from the eyes of the amateur sleuths. Loved our heroine Sesrcher! Ashley baked in a lot of current events (Idaho college massacres of 2022) but goes in a totally different direction. Definitely didn't see the outcome. I didn't love her last book but...she's back!

I loved the format of this book, a tell-all after the fact in a true crime mystery. It drew me in quickly and I definitely didn’t see the twist! Really great book!

**Outlier opinion** I want to start by saying that Ashley Winstead is one of my favorite authors and I will read everything she writes. One of my favorite takeaways from this story is the representation woven throughout the pages about how our protagonist deals with grief and how she starts grasping for any sort of control as her world has been turned upside down - "It's what we will never know about the ones we love that binds us to them".

Another thing I liked was the relationship between the group of sleuths and some of the references involving the media were funny and pretty accurate.

Now about what I didnt like...well the rest. To be fair, I read a lot of thrillers so I was irritated that I was able to predict one of the main twists early on. This is also just way too long. So much could have been cut. I kept getting bored and pushed through as fast as I could in the hopes my predictions were wrong. Overall this was entertaining read and if you are a true crime lover, this is definitely the book for you. 3.5 stars rounded up

Thanks to NetGalley and SourceBooks for the advanced copy.

Are you obsessed with true crime podcasts? Well, this is the book for you! We follow Janeway Sharp, who has just lost her dad. To distract herself from grief, she joins a forum that investigates crimes. Things go awry pretty quickly, once she and a core group of sleuths go too far.

Would definitely recommend this one!

This book was so fantastic and I cannot wait for everyone else to read it because I need someone to debrief with ASAP!!! I love an Ashley Winstead thriller and this book just proves how incredible she is at these types of book. Jane is the main character of the book and with the unexpected death of her father she deep dives into the true crime web forum world. She meets four other amateur web sleuths who all try to solve murders via an online group where they form a bond that they feel like will never break. They come to depend on each others special skills to solve these mysteries and when a serial killers seems to be targeting college girl in a small town in Idaho they find themselves thrown into the story. I loved how the story progressed and how you also found yourself sucked into this world. I when I say the twist at the end was shocking I mean my jaw was hanging open and I just couldn’t believe that she would throw such a huge curveball like that in.

This book was SO addicting! I absolutely loved it! True Crime strikes again, I wouldn’t think these kinds of stories would be so addicting for me but man, I absolutely could not put this one down! I was so tuned into the investigation of the killings and equally as interested in her investigation of who her father really was. There was just so much about this book I just thoroughly enjoyed and some of it I don’t want to spoil, I can’t wait for everyone to read and love this one!!!! Also I really like this author she’s one of my absolute favorites and such a friendly person!!!!!

4 stars out of 5.

Another great thriller by Ashley Winstead. This book was full of twists and turns. Just when you think you know who the killer is, you are thrown for a loop. The last 25% was a wild ride and I really thought the ending was perfect. Overall, I would definitely recommend reading this, you won't be disappointed.

In This Book Will Bury Me, we met Jane. She recently lost her father suddenly due to a heart attack. Deep in her grief, she finds comfort in true crime and befriends a group of amateur sleuths. She helps solve a local case to her and is brought into the inner circle of the best sleuths of the group. Then a group of sorority girls are murdered in their house and it takes the country by storm. Jane finds she is spending all of her time with her friends trying to help solve the murder. The 5 of them decide to rent a house in Idaho where the murders take place, to get closer to the action. Some things are not adding up and evidence points to something shocking.

Thank you Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I immediately dropped all of my current reads to pick this one up when I received an ARC of it, because ashley winstead can do no wrong 👏🏼 I’m here for every thriller and every romance she writes!! heck, I’d read her laundry list!!

ashley proves yet again why she’s the queen of spooky thrillers with this installment of a campus killer told through the eyes of amateur sleuths!! her writing is so captivating and intriguing that you won’t want to put the book down until it’s over 😱 and it won’t be over until the very last page!!!

after the sudden passing of her father, jane decides to throw herself into the true crime community to help solve crimes and get answers for the world that seems unanswerable in times of grief. while I didn’t take as drastic of a recluse as jane did after her father’s death, her thoughts and depiction of grief was like opening a door to the inside of my brain 🫶🏼 grief is a fickle beast

what caught my attention from the first description of the campus murders was the similarity to the idaho killing that happened last year. the details were eerily similar, down to the roommates and location, and although the resolution was completely different, it did feel a bit copycat at times. that being said, it didn’t change my rating or perspective at all because there was so much else going on at the same time!

while I did guess the overall killer by the end, it was more of a “ha I knew it!!” satisfaction rather than it being obvious. ashley’s writing once again proves superior as she twists and turns the story over and over again until the very end!

a huge thank you to ashley herself and sourcebooks for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review! I can’t wait to promote the heck out of this one next year!

rating: 5 stars
wine pairing: dry creek zinfandel

Thank you to Sourcebooks for my arc!

where do i begin?

I loved this book. You follow Jane Sharp as she tries to make sense of the world after her fathers passes away unexpectedly of a heart attack and turns to true crime to deal with her grief, from there you get a story of found family and friendship and let me tell you that last 30% of the book had me screaming. I loved this book so much

How does she do it. Every book is a twisting, turning ride! I kinda guessed who the killer was halfway through, but let me tell you, it didn’t dull anything about this story. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time and read it in just a few sittings— and it’s not a short novel. I will read anything she writes.

I love this author and this book was another surprising twisty thriller for me. I’m a big fan of her work and her writing style and I really appreciate the way she fleshes out the characters. Definitely will be recommending!

On the one hand, I think I would rather read about nautical innovations in the late 17th century (the most boring thing I can think of off-hand) for days on end than read another true crime super sleuth heroine. On the other, this was deeply entertaining.

𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
𝗥𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗘 𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: March 25, 2025
𝗔𝗥𝗖 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪:

Screaming, crying and all the emotions when I saw this book show up for me. I am OBSESSED! This book DID bury me…straight on the ground at the very last page and I realized my time was over with this book WAH…I’m fairly convinced that Ashley can write literally ANYTHING and it be a 5 star read, the queen of the pages for sure. I loved that the story takes us to Delphine Idaho because I am an Idaho girly and I love that. I thought that our author wrote in such an incredible manor that we as readers felt every single emotion and feeling and tone that was set throughout this book. The attention to details etc made this book feel as though you were walking along the storyline yourself. If you love a true crime fast paced thriller and you feel as though you’re up to the challenge of helping our character(s) solve a murd3r, then this book is absolutely for you and you will not be disappointed. This needs to be on EVERYBODYS TBR.

𝗧𝗥𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗦: True Crime, Podcast, Complicated Characters, Twists & Turns, Found Family