Interesting storyline - a lot of similarities to the Ohio college murders. I enjoy a lot of Ashley Winstead thrillers, but honestly I struggled a lot with this one and idk why. It had a great storyline - the writing is always great with this author, but every time I opened this book I struggled to stay awake. I will give this another chance once its released - I think I'll try audio next

I was really hoping to enjoy this one a bit more. I found this to be an ok true crime novel that I have mixed feelings with. On one hand, it has some compelling parts with the amateur sleuthing but for the most part I found it lackluster.

A bit of a slog for me to get through. The book-within-a-book style not only didn’t work for me at a writing level, but also because the set up felt like we were always in exposition waiting for the real story to begin (I was still actively feeling this way at 75%).

I felt like there was zero pay off to the mystery, which I predicted early on. Normally a 1-star book is something I have many complaints about, but my biggest complaint here is that nearly every chapter ended with some version of “well that was true…until something else happened!!!!” and that is just tired and embarrassing.

While I was anticipating 2 stars, the downgrade comes from realizing I just never really enjoyed myself while reading this book.

I thoroughly enjoyed the writing and pacing of this book, and it was a fantastic portrayal of how all consuming and disorienting grief can be. That being said, the 'ripped from the headlines' approach maybe isn't my jam.

I really enjoyed this roller coaster ride and loved the true crime mystery aspect of the book! I liked the unreliable characters, which I can always count on Ashley Winstead to give! I also liked how Jane came to find herself in the end and the importance of family.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the ARC!

4⭐️

Five amateur sleuths join together to try to solve one of the biggest series of murders in a college town.

This book had me burning through the pages. I could not put it down. If you are a fan of true crime or true crime podcasts, you are definitely going to need to read this one.

After Jane Sharp’s father passes away, she is adrift and grief stricken. Looking for a way to get through the days, she finds comfort in a group of amateur online detectives who discuss and try to solve crimes. Here she finds friends, and yes, even a bit of fame for her ability to hunt killers.

When a horrific crime occurs at a college town in Idaho, Jane and her friends rush in to be first on the scene, to solve the crimes of the Delphine Massacres, but along the way, they find themselves up against an extremely dangerous and intelligent killer, putting themselves in danger.

At first, this was a bit hard to follow, because a lot of the book is based on online chats, and messages, but once I got used to the format, I flew through this story. The last 100 pages of this book were absolutely mind blowing!

Amateur sleuths meet on the internet and hook up to try to solve a crime. There are some good twists in this book and it kept me guessing

First off, I enjoyed Ashley Winsteads other 3 thriller books, so I automatically couldn't wait to start this one. That's where the excitement ended for me. Unfortunately, I DNF this book, I got 30% through and had no interest to hold me or keep me wanting to continue and I rarely give up on a book. I enjoy true crime but as the author note states this book is loosely based on other true crimes. That being said, I would rather just watch a true crime episode than read this lackluster play by play of online sleuths that read in a non fiction type of way. This one missed the mark for me.

Wow! This book has me checking my doors and locks on my windows (I’m on the 3rd floor 🤣) and I may sleep with the light on tonight! If you love true crime, this book is for you! So many twists and turns in this book. Even though I figured out some of the things that were going to happen early on, I still enjoyed the book.

This book is a little graphic, so aware when reading.

Thanks NetGalley for this arc in exchange for my honest review!

I could not put this book down and mark my words, it will be adapted into a limited series. I’m not really a true crime fan but I found this books so engaging. Are people really out there solving crimes in forums? News to me. Anyway this book was on the longer side but it was pretty fast paced. I loved the forum messages and the group of unlikely friends solving crimes. Overall, I couldn’t wait to find out what happened and found myself thinking about it when I wasn’t reading it. I guessed the murderer early on and wish it would’ve been less obvious. Other than that this is was a stellar read!

Unfortunately I found this book pretty tedious and highly implausible. The online warriors inserted themselves so deeply into the investigation, they were able to infiltrate the FBI? I wanted to quit a few times, but the cliffhangers pulled be back. The twists were not super surprising and the link to her father's death felt forced.

I wanted to LOVE this book. I was really excited about the premise of the story, online true crime sleuths working in chat forums to solve murder mysteries the authorities can't seem to. Initially I was hooked but about 40% in the book lost steam and I had issues with the pacing causing the story to fall flat. There's a subplot where the FMC wants to determine why EXACTLY her father has passed away -it was a heart attack, and we KNOW THIS- and I just did not get that bit and found it to be unnecessary. The idea was there but I fear, for me this one lacked the execution I was looking for. I would encourage checking triggers before going in.

Thank you Sourcebooks and NetGalley for my ARC

These thought and opinions are my own

2.5 or 3 stars. I LOVED Midnight is the Darkest Hour and was so excited to get my hands on this one. I was unfortunately disappointed.

I've seen the criticisms of this book and its plot. I didn't have a problem with the content of the book and I don't see anything wrong with using real stories as inspiration for a book but... this seemed so lazy. It was basically a 500 page retelling of the Idaho murders. Why? Some of the plot revolved around a different murder, yes. But most of the book focused on the Idaho killings and that plot followed the real life University of Idaho murders to a T. I just don't understand why such a talented and creative writer would do this.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me an e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

This book was excellent! It was extremely long but definitely didn't feel like it at all, I actually stayed up until 6 AM last night finishing it. It's one of those books that takes you on a journey and what a journey it is! This is actually my first true crime thriller book and what an amazing one to begin with! I will definitely be picking up more books centered around true crime in the future.

I have actually read two Ashley Winstead books in the past and when I saw this one was available on NetGalley I rushed at the chance. I think Ashley Winstead is a terrific author and her writing is absolutely beautiful without being overly wordy or long and tedious. It definitely made the book easier to get through even with it being so long.

The characterization was top notch as well and because we are taken on this long journey with all these unique characters, we really get to know them on a personal level. By the end of the book they really felt like old friends and didn't feel two dimensional whatsoever. It's definitely another thing that Ashley Winstead does masterfully.

The plot was so intricate, full of twists and turns, most of which I didn't see coming. I did guess one thing right halfway through the book but there were so many more surprises later on that it really didn't take away from my enjoyment of the story. There were just so many layers to the plot that the author really made a good choice in deciding to tell it in the form of a tell-all book that the main character ultimately writes after everything has already transpired. The chapters were also pretty short and the book is divided into three parts which made it even easier to digest and process.

Pacing was also on point, even though I wouldn't call this book an outright thriller. There were definitely thriller-y parts in it but it was mostly a suspense mystery in my opinion. But even with that being said, I wasn't bored at any point in the story and I usually only enjoy super fast paced thrillers.

All in all, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys mystery thrillers centered around true crime and finds that fascinating. Who would have thought I would learn something from a fictional thriller book, definitely not me. Highly recommend!

Was this good? Yes. Was it heavy? YES. Her writing pulls you in every single time and while the subject was tough,
I couldn’t look away. This book does mirror a tragedy that occurred in Idaho a few years ago but it was not tasteless. It was executed well. This book paid an homage to true crime fans everywhere with an interesting twist. I still have to sit with this for a while but I will continue to read ANYTHING she writes.

4.5⭐️

I gotta say I mostly enjoyed the storyline but was very distracted with everything that has been going on politically. I know that definitely disrupted my "rhythm" and I ended up reading 2/3 of this in short spurts. I did really like the premise. It was unlike any other mystery I've read. I felt like I was reading Jane's diary in real time, which I guess was kind of the whole point. I didn't love her as a character - she is very much a flawed heroine. But that's one of the things I enjoyed about the story. The online amateur sleuth storyline was fun to navigate, especially since I know nothing about it. The twist, or who-dun-it, was not expected. Well done! I didn't particularly love the plot regarding Jane's father. I don't know...if felt like it was supposed to be more revealing but I guess I just didn't see the whole point of it. Overall, this was a fun read!

This book was good but not great. I'm not sure if a reveal toward the end is meant to be a twist, but I felt it was quite obvious even a third of the way into the story. In addition, I didn't love that the actual details of the crime so closely mimed what happened in Idaho - so little about the setting, the victims, the witness, and the details of the crime itself were changed and that felt perhaps too exploitive. However, I did think the author brought up some valid points about the true crime community, and I found the found family aspect of the storyline endearing.

This dark academia genre has twist and turns and an atmospheric chill. The deaths of three college students seems a little insensitive, but I guess all true crime is. This book shows how completely obsessed strangers can become with true crime and how it helps and hurts cases. Written with footnotes, narrative gaps, and an unreliable narrator keeps you reading and guessing.

I genuinely loved this book. At no point did I know what was coming next. I felt so close to the main character, her grief and pain was so palpable but made her such a well rounded character. I thought the dynamic of all of the characters in the group as well was fascinating, and the ending had my jaw on the floor. Loved.

DNF at 15% couldn’t get past the use of real people and stories this book was not correctly marketed in its description there is not mention of that in the synopsis.