I have decided after much consideration that I will write a review for this book, but will be abstaining from providing a true rating of this book. To preface, I am a super-fan of Ashley Winstead - I have read everything she's written and find her writing style to be captivating and keeping the reader on the edge of their seat. The same is true for this book and if you can suspend your knowledge of the subject matter of this story, you'll probably love this one!

I am not ignorant to the thought that many authors write stories that are largely inspired by true events (and also not the first time that Ashley has been inspired by true crime, for certain!) so that's not my issue here. My issue is that this is so closely based on the murders of the Idaho college students that I was so distracted by drawing parallels and couldn't even focus on what was going on in the plot. On top of that, basing your novel on an ongoing and open case, which hasn't gone to trial and the victims not having received their justice yet, made this story altogether too icky. I hope that once published, there is an author's note acknowledging the case because as it sits right now in my ARC, the lack of regard is entirely disrespectful. By writing this novel, Winstead is taking part in the behavior she attributes to true crime internet sleuths and armchair detectives in her story, behavior that is absolutely despicable considering where the real case stands today. This book is an exploitation of tragedy. Well-written but disrespectful.

Hot damn! I loved this one!

Jane Sharp has lost her father and needs distraction from her grief, so she joins an online true crime website for amateur sleuths. She quickly makes a tight knit group of detective friends that work together to solve crimes. When a serial killer case develops in Delphine, Idaho, they are quickly sucked into the high-profile crime. Written a year after the case’s dramatic close, Jane is telling her own version of the events.

What I loved:
🕵🏻 Short chapters, mixed in with online chat room streams, made the reading quick and exciting.
🕵🏻 The small group of online sleuths that Jane joins become like family to her. This cast of characters was exceptional. Not all thrillers have characters with a lot of emotional depth and backstory, but Winstead took time to develop this cast of characters without compromising the fast pace of the story. So well done!
🕵🏻 This book had its fair share of twists and turns. Yet each twist worked perfectly with the next, they didn’t come out of left field (which I hate). And each twist helped with the development of the story leading to an incredibly satisfying resolution.

This is my new favorite from Ashley Winstead!

Thank you to @netgalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

4.75 ⭐️ Advanced Reader Review!

After her father dies suddenly and unexpectedly, Jane Sharp’s life is thrown off kilter. She soon finds the online world of web sleuths, and quickly becomes enthralled with it all.

So when three college students are killed in Delphine, Idaho, true crime fanatics and armchair detectives like Jane and her friends are drawn to the case. But as they dig into the case further, things don’t add up. Details are sparse and the police are more focused on the media and social media attention than solving the case. Placing themselves in the center of the story starts to feel more and more like walking into a trap…

My thoughts: As someone who has experienced the loss of a parent, this moved really moved me. This book perfectly captured what my experience was like after my dad passed in a way that no other book, movie, tv show, etc. has been able to do.

As far as the mystery goes, I loved how deep this story went. It felt like we were sinking into the thick of it with each chapter. I loved how one mystery connected to the other. I loved our main characters and their dynamic so much. I will say, I guessed the big twist at the end, which is always a bit of a bummer, but I still had a great time watching everything play out.

Overall, I loved this book! It is quite long at 480 pages, but I enjoyed every single moment. 4.75 stars.

Thank you NetGalley, Ashley Winstead, and Sourcebooks Landmark for the complementary advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

This book completely sucked me into a vortex and I couldn't stop until I finished. Winstead has done a wonderful job touching on the dangers of true crime and how social media lulls us all into believing we know more about others lives than we do. A thoughtful exploration of the dark pull of true crime wrapped up in a suspenseful package.

This was my first Ashley Winstead book, but will not be my last! I was drawn into this story from the very first page, and impressed by what I found to be a very different kind of murder mystery. It was part coming-of-age for our narrator Jane, part true crime commentary, and part page-turning thriller. When Jane experiences a traumatic personal loss, she searches for connection and purpose, and winds up falling into the rabbit hole of online sleuthing. She becomes obsessed with helping to solve a series of tragic murders with her new online friends, while also grieving her own loss. This story had heart and soul, as well as some great twists and turns. It explores how and why we as a society are drawn into certain kinds of 'crimes of the century', while also asking the question of how well we can ever truly know the people we love once they are gone. It examines how technology and social media have changed the landscape of murder investigations (for better or worse), and why some kinds of cases capture our collective national attention more than others. It does all of this without sounding preachy or judgmental, and merely explores what this might illustrate about human nature and grief and loss. I found it to be fresh and interesting and relevant, and Jane was a truly unique voice in her own journey with many flaws and complexities and yet, I rooted for her the whole time. Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for this ARC!

The way I dropped everything to read this book! Ashley Winstead is an auto-buy author for me and this one doesn't disappoint. A slow burn of a story that builds to a flaming crescendo. The true-crime slant was an added bonus. All the stars ⭐️

This Book Will Bury Me is the true crime mystery you need this year!

Ashley Winstead returns with another excellent mystery, keeping readers stumped until the very last page. This story follows Jane, aka "Searcher," a burgeoning true crime aficionado who stumbles upon a group of armchair detectives dedicated to solving crimes in their own unique ways. With the support of this online community, Jane hones her crime-solving skills and starts trying to help those in need.

This fast-paced mystery is told in three distinct parts: the ramp-up to the mystery, the meat of the case, and the exhilarating conclusion. The ramp-up keeps readers on their toes, introducing themes of grief and self-discovery while presenting a "beginner" mystery to solve. As the true central mystery unfolds, the suspense builds into a deadly race to the finish that will leave readers breathless.

The voice of this story is as unique as its structure. Jane narrates through her "tell-all" response novel, offering a contrast to a competing mystery on the market. Readers can expect snarky comments, witty asides, and insider knowledge that propel the plot forward. The charm and humor of the group of armchair detectives provide much-needed comedic relief while also exploring grief from a fresh perspective.

Readers are going to LOVE Ashley Winstead's latest story. It’s perfect for both new and longtime fans and will resonate with readers who enjoy Riley Sager, Ruth Ware, and Shari LaPena.

An excellent read for any and all readers! Author comes at you with both barrels and knocks you out of your shoes! Great job fleshing out all the characters. I give this book FIVE stars! Definitely recommend!

This started off very promising, Winstead got the Internet interactions and the communities very accurately right. However, I predicted the ending of the novel about 33% of the way in. This is also a retelling of a real murder in Idaho, which rubs me the wrong way. Even down to the small details, it is exactly the same. If it was an original crime, I would be rating this one higher.

SYNOPSIS
- Unfortunately, I went into this blind and had no idea what it was about.
- The author has written a fictionalized version of the 2022 University of Idaho Massacre.
- The book closely mirrors the 2022 University of Idaho murders with minimal changes. Three sorority roommates—two blonde, outgoing friends and a reserved, dark-haired roommate—are murdered in their Idaho college town home. A fourth blonde roommate survives after seeing the masked intruder enter through a sliding glass door at 4 AM and locking herself in her room. Like in real life, she calls a fraternity friend before dialing 911, leading to an ambulance arriving before the police.
- Key details, such as the house address, victims’ routines, and even character names, are barely altered. The suspect is a criminology grad student with wavy dark hair and vacant eyes, known for being condescending and sending an ignored social media message to a victim.

MY THOUGHTS
- This book has been getting a lot of buzz and currently sits at a 3.99-star average rating on Goodreads. I received a digital ARC from the publisher and only then realized it’s essentially a retelling of the tragic events at the University of Idaho in 2022.
- My biggest issue with thrillers like this? When authors take real-life crimes and thinly disguise them as fiction. It feels lazy, exploitative, and frankly, in poor taste.
- The writing itself? Not bad. But the content? A major problem for me.
- The fact that this crime is so recent makes it even worse. The victims’ families are still grieving, and the accused hasn’t even gone to trial yet. It’s unsettling to see the story rehashed for entertainment purposes.
- Why not craft an entirely original story? Instead, this book rehashes every detail of the real-life crime, coming across as a blatant attempt to cash in on public interest and media buzz surrounding the case.
- Ultimately, it’s unsettling to see true crime being turned into what essentially feels like fan fiction for a tragedy that is still so fresh.

TL;DR: ⭐️A fictionalized retelling of the 2022 University of Idaho Massacre that feels exploitative and unnecessary. Creepy fan fic and in poor taste.

Thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark and Netgalley for this digital ARC in exchanges for an honest review. This book will be published on March 25, 2025.

This is a page turner. Kept my interest. I do think the twist was pretty easy to figure out but it plays out well so you won't disappointed. Very easy to read although it was a little graphic at times.

Outstanding!!! This book was suspenseful, modern, relatable (like how people use online forums, talk about true crime, etc.) and overall unpredictable. I really enjoyed Ashley Winstead's writing style as well and I appreciated how her chosen words set the tone of the novel. I also appreciated the nod to current events in reference to the crimes (Idaho). I will absolutely recommend this book to friends and family! This would make a great book club book as well.

This Book Will Bury Me
Ashley Winstead
Publication date: March 25, 2025
5/5 stars

This was my first book by this author and now I want to read all of her books! Jane recently lost her dad and becomes a part of an online group investigating murders involving a serial killer.

I think this is going to be the next big thriller of 2025! I really enjoyed the messaging back and forth in the online crime group and fast pace of this book. I definitely recommend this book if you are looking for a thriller. Thank you Ashley Winstead, Sourcebooks Landmark, and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I was willing to put aside what I was seeing online ab0ut this book being a complete rip off of the current tragedy of the 4 slain Idaho students until the author came out and essentially said that yes it was ripped from the headlines and she was going to turn a profit from it but it is ok because she was grieving the loss of her father and she thinks she was too young for him to die so her decisions about this book are fine. Her last few books haven't hooked me and this was her worst one.

This book was a highly anticipated one . I enjoyed the character building . I enjoyed how everything was revealed. I enjoyed how the author allowed us to see how everything worked together I loved the book and would recommend .

thank you to Sourcebooks and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I am not impressed with a fiction novel HEAVILY lifting EXACT details from an ONGOING and HORRIFIC murder case. You can write a book dissecting the true crime community and amateur sleuths without "drawing inspiration" from real life tragedies. I requested this ARC without reading the blurb because Ashley Winstead is an autobuy author for me, so perhaps that's my own fault because tbh it is obvious that this book is about the Idaho 4. (and the note from the author that was added to the beginning of this ARC after she began receiving backlash does not help matters.. it really doesn't!)

Onto the actual plot of the story: I liked the found family aspect and how short the chapters were. That's about it. The way everything wrapped up at the end was anticlimactic, underwhelming, and rushed.

I am truly baffled at how this even got published, which actually kinda sucks because the way Winstead talked about grief was beautiful and really resonated with me.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
What I liked:
THE TRUE CRIME! I LOVE LOVE LOVE the true-crime aspect of this book (even if it is fictional). When starting this one, I was reminded of reading I’ll Be Gone in the Dark which featured the story of how an everyday woman turned internet sleuth helped find a serial killer.
👏THE PLOT! When I say this was a page turner, I mean that I sat down and would read for hours on end. I was so invested in the sleuth group’s investigation and how these regular ol’ citizens were working to track down the smallest of details - combing through years worth of social media photos, hacking into emails, researching property records…. I was so here for it!
📚 THE CHARACTERS! I think this author did an amazing job of allowing you to slowly grow a relationship with each sleuth within the group, even if the book was from one character’s point of view. Each member had very distinct personalities and traits, yet it was easy to see how they all meshed together and grow, as they say, into a family.

What I didn't care for:
🫣The only thing that I am a little sad about is that I guess or slightly guess who the killer was about halfway through. I was never sure of myself until the end, but wished I would’ve been a little bit more blindsided.

Such a great mystery read that was very different than anything I have read in the past year! Hope you devour this one the same way I did!

ARC for review through NetGalley

I have the same issue with this as i did with bright young women. There is really no need to take details from real life cases as "inspiration." Especially the idaho case which is still so fresh and hasn't even gone to trial yet.

I enjoyed the aspects about jane trying to understand her father better and the depiction of online forums. I loved in my dreams i hold a knife so i'm not sure why winstead felt the need to base this book off of the idaho case when she's capable of original ideas. This book left a bad taste in my mouth.

I could not put this book down. This was second Ashley Winstead book and I actually like this one more than my previous one (Midnight is the Darkest Hour). Maybe because it's focused on the true crime genre and the roles those of us play who follow along to cases, but from an online perspective. I can't say that I am even close to the level of many online sleuths, but I do listen to podcasts and visit Reddit forums. So I just totally understood and liked the basis of this book. The characters were engaging and the storyline kept my attention. I flew through this book and found the ending satisfactory.

I was admittedly (and also embarrassingly) late to the Ashley Winstead game. Only a few months ago, I read In My Dreams I Hold a Knife. But once I tore through that, I was hooked and flew through her other books -- just in time to snag an ARC of This Book Will Bury Me. In that case, perhaps my timing was perfect. Either way, I was thrilled to get an ARC and once again, Winstead didn't disappoint!

I found the plot to be both inventive be and also terrifyingly plausible in today's true crime/keyboard detective society. I loved the character development (and their backstories) and the various settings throughout the US. Winstead's writing style is descriptive but not overly verbose, which made the pages fly by. A must read thriller for 2025!