This Book Will Bury Me is a gripping, high-stakes thriller that plunges readers into the shadowy world of true crime fanatics. From the outset, Ashley Winstead pulls you into the unsettlingly familiar landscape of amateur sleuthing, where Jane, the protagonist, becomes enmeshed in a community that thrives on uncovering dark truths.

The narrative is structured as a “tell-all,” which works brilliantly to immerse readers in Jane’s world. Her pursuit to uncover both the mysteries surrounding her father’s death and the chilling crime of the century keeps the pages turning. Winstead’s meticulous pacing ensures that just when you think you’ve figured it out, another twist sends you reeling. The book’s themes—grief, loss, and obsession—are threaded seamlessly into the thriller’s taut suspense, offering a deeper emotional pull that grounds the narrative.

One of the most intriguing elements is how Winstead explores the moral complexity of true crime enthusiasts. Jane’s relationships, particularly with her crime-solving peers, are developed with depth, showcasing how far people will go for answers. However, the book also delves into uncomfortable territory, with a crime that bears unsettling similarities to real-life events. While this adds an air of realism, it might strike some as insensitive.

Despite a few pacing issues in the first half, the intricate plotting and multi-layered characters make for a compelling read. Winstead is a master at crafting thrillers that blend mystery with sharp social commentary, making this a standout novel for fans of true crime and suspense.

For those who enjoy edge-of-your-seat thrillers with an emotional core, This Book Will Bury Me is not to be missed. Winstead continues to prove why she’s a powerhouse in the genre.

Ashley Winstead is definitely on my “always read” list and this book didn’t disappoint. The format of the story was different - the pov different from almost every book I’ve read, but it worked and I enjoyed it. Jane (Searcher) as the narrator is spot on. The relationships that she develops with the rest of the group, her inspiration/motivation for getting involved, her parallel quest to find out more about her dad… it all works together in a remarkable way.

And, the real test of all thrillers, there were some genuine twists and turns that I didn’t see coming, so that’s a win!

Told as if the protagonist is writing a tell-all, <i>This Book Will Bury Me</i> dives into the world of true crime and the consequences, both positive and negative, amateur sleuths can have on criminal investigations. This book had me forgoing sleep to find out what happened next and at the same time, scared to finish because I was worried the ending wouldn't live up to the rest of the book.

From the very beginning, Winstead keeps the reader on the edge of their seat, dying to know what went wrong to make our narrator infamous. Though the introduction was a bit lengthy (the first quarter of the book was a bit slow as Jane recounted the first case she worked on), the plot and the mystery really picked up once we learn about Delphine.

The book sprinkles small reveals throughout at a good pace and then ramps up at the end. Reading this book felt like being a part of Jane's crime-solving gang in real time. The twists were well executed and fit reasonably with the pieces the author had scattered over the narrative. I saw the big reveal coming and hoped it wasn't true, but am satisfied with it in the end.

I can't wait to pick up a copy when it's released!

5 stars. Ashley Winstead has crafted a powerful mystery inspired by the Idaho Four murders that interrogates the grief of loss, the ethics and lure of true crime, and the critiques embedded in Dark Academia. It’s a deeply humane and moving read as well as an engrossing page-turner of a thriller. I particularly appreciated how Winstead wove the love and big ideas of Star Trek: Voyager into this work. It’s one of the best novels I’ve read this year, and I look forward to recommending it to others.

My thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this novel before its publication in return for an honest review.

I read Ashley Winstead's, "In My Dreams I Hold a Knife" and it was creepy and well-done so I had to give this read a chance. The book includes mystery, suspense, murder, amateur internet sleuths, found family, and the ways we deal with grief. I couldn't wait to get back to reading a portion each night before bed. Fans of Winstead's work, and readers who love psychological suspense will lap this up. Highly recommended. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. Publishing date: March 25, 2025.
#ThisBookWillBuryMe

This Book Will Bury Me by Ashley Winstead is a fantastic, highly entertaining crime thriller! I’m a sucker for true crime amateur sleuths, and this book had me hooked from the start. I was thrilled to get an advance copy, and it didn’t disappoint. Despite being nearly 500 pages, the writing was so engaging that I flew through it in just two days. It was captivating from beginning to end—I couldn’t put it down, even with its length.

This is an incredible, multi-layered story about a young woman who becomes entangled in true crime after the loss of her father. Following his death, Jane joins a true crime community and finds herself deeply involved in several cases. As her small group of amateur sleuths grows closer, they set out to investigate the crime of the century. True to her style, Winstead crafts fully developed, engaging characters who are intelligent and relatable, drawing me in right from the start.

My only criticism is that the main crime in this book bears a striking resemblance to the real-life Idaho college student murders. Many of the small details are nearly identical. While I think the author may have done this to add realism and spark conversation, I can’t help but wonder if it might come across as a bit insensitive to the real-life victims' families.

I suspected who the killer was a little over halfway through the book, but surprisingly, that didn’t detract from my enjoyment. Normally, guessing the culprit too early takes away some of the suspense for me, but this story was so captivating and well-crafted that it didn’t bother me as much as it usually would. The writing was engaging enough to keep me fully invested, and the unfolding of events and the depth of the characters kept me hooked right to the end. The journey was just as thrilling as the reveal itself.

This Book Will Bury Me is a standout crime thriller that truly highlights Winstead's skill in crafting an intriguing, well-structured, and captivating narrative. From the very first page, I was drawn into the story. Winstead’s ability to develop rich characters and weave complex plotlines kept me engaged throughout, and she is definitely on my list of must-read authors.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Sourcebooks Landmark, and Ashley Winstead for an advance copy of this book to review. All opinions are my own.

THIS WAS SO FREAKING GOOOOOOD!!!

That’s it. That’s the review 😩

Honestly though this had me hooked from the beet first page. The writing, the story, the footnotes, THE TWISTS!

I am a huge fan of Ashley’s thrillers and I think it’s safe to say that this is my favorite one to date.

Another winner by Ashley Winstead! I was so excited to get an early copy of this through net galley. Ashley is also a local houstonian and has always supported our local thrillers book club so it’s extra special to our club to read her books and get the inside scoop on what she is up to.

Her newest book, This Book Will Bury Me, introduces the topic of the true crime community and regular people who discuss and try to solve crimes. What’s particularly interesting about this topic is the increasing popularity of these groups and the lengths people will go to solve a crime. I felt this book was a fresh spin on telling the story of crime solving from an “armchair detective” perspective. I didn’t see the twists coming and I really enjoyed this one to the very last page.

I’ve been wanting to read more thrillers and though I haven’t picked up another Winstead book since really enjoying In My Dreams I Hold a Knife, I figured I’d try her out again!

Unfortunately, I kinda hated this one. As with most thrillers, it was intriguing enough that I was able to keep flipping pages. But I still felt that the pace was fairly slow. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t hit the halfway point. And then I DID, and I had a feeling I knew the twist, but spent the rest of the book feverishly hoping I was wrong because I didn’t think it would make a great ending. Welp.

One thing I did enjoy was the found family aspect of the story. I liked Jane’s relationship with Lightly and Mistress. Jane’s relationship with her dad was a driving force in the story, but I also felt like some of the focus on that slowed the pace and made the book feel overly long.

I am just left with some upsetting feelings because I really don’t like how it all ended. It kinda seemed like a cop-out to me, and the reveal seemed insanely obviously from the halfway point. I am left feeling very unsatisfied and like I wasted my time with the one. Disappointing!

I have mixed feelings about This Book Will Bury Me. On the positive, I LOVED the Network threads, the development of the sleuths, and the unraveling of the mystery. On the other side, the story took a bit to get moving (I'm sorry, but I wish we could have jumped into the Network angle faster), the book felt about 1o0 pages too long, and the clear parallels with the Idaho murders took away from the originality of the plot (and tbh just made me really sad).

However, Ashley Winstead delivers a layered mystery, intriguing characters, and a plot that compels you to want to solve the mystery while also realizing the problematic nature of armchair detectives.

this is such a fun read! i personally don’t involve myself with true crime because i find that a lot of the people in the community overstep and ignore the victims family and friends just so they can engage in something that fascinates them which the characters in this book do but i think for the main character it made sense why she was like that, plus it’s fictional so it’s fine. i enjoyed the main character and the cast in general.

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!