If you’re a true crime fan, this book is going to be right up your alley. It dives deep into the world of amateur detectives and online sleuthing, crafting a fictional take that feels incredibly immersive.

What really sets this book apart is its unique structure. The way the story unfolds, with layers slowly revealed and subtle hints dropped along the way, makes it impossible to put down. Trust me, when this book releases, you’ll want to grab it immediately!

I wanted to like this book, and the beginning had me hooked. But as the story started diving into a fictional take on a recent real-life crime, it just didn’t work for me. The writing was solid, and the story itself was well done—it just wasn’t my kind of read.

𝗠𝘆 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: 3 ⭐️
THIS BOOK WILL BURY ME
🤍𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗿𝗲: thriller/mystery
📖 480 pages
𝗘𝗺𝗼𝗷𝗶𝘀: 🚔😢🪓💻✍🏼🔍🔪☕️😱🚔🛸👀🎙️✉️
𝗣𝘂𝗯 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲: 3/25/2025

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲:
◽️ true crime & serial killers
◽️ single POV
◽️ found family
◽️ lots of characters
◽️ slow burn thrillers

💙𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲💙

Thank you @netgalley @sourcebooks for the #gifted copy!

Winstead’s latest novel, while ambitious in its format, ultimately didn’t resonate with me as her previous works have. Framed as a true crime online forum, the structure initially intrigued me, but I found myself struggling to keep track of the characters’ usernames vs real identities, which led to a fair amount of confusion. The single POV of the MC, Jane (or “Searcher”), had potential, but her journey of self-discovery after her father’s sudden death felt sluggish & overly drawn out in the first half. The narrative style, written as though Jane is addressing the reader directly, hinted at significant events that often felt frustratingly vague.

Though the premise showed promise, the execution left me with lingering questions & too many moments that felt irrelevant. The book could have been considerably shorter, as it only started to engage me more than halfway through. However, the second half redeemed the story somewhat. The dynamic shift as characters finally met in real life brought much needed energy to the plot. I particularly enjoyed the references to the KD sorority & the college town backdrop tied to the recent murders, which added depth & familiarity for me as a fellow KD along with Ashley ☘️🤍

This novel might appeal more to readers who enjoy slow burn mysteries & don’t mind a meandering pace. While this wasn’t my favorite of AW’s works, I’ll continue to look forward to her future releases. She remains a talented author whose books I’ll always prioritize reading!

𝗣𝗹𝗼𝘁: After losing her father, college student Jane Sharp turns to true crime to cope with her grief, finding solace & purpose in an online community of amateur sleuths. When 3 college girls are murdered in Delphine, Idaho, Jane & her friends join the race to solve the case. The investigation reveals strange inconsistencies, cagey police behavior, & a lack of solid evidence, making the killer seem both cunning & prolific. As they dig deeper, Jane & her friends realize they may have become part of the killer’s sinister plan. A year later, Jane breaks her silence, revealing the shocking truth behind the Delphine Massacres.

Okay, 𝑇𝑟𝑢𝑒 𝐶𝑟𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑔𝑖𝑟𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑠🕵️‍♀️, this one had me shook from start to finish! Jane Sharp’s journey from grieving daughter to amateur sleuth is like if your favorite true crime podcast met its 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑡 plot twist—𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝐰𝐨𝐰, did it deliver. 👀💻

Set against the eerie backdrop of Delphine, Idaho, this book serves up murder, mystery, and 𝑎𝑙𝑙 the internet-sleuth vibes. 🖤 Jane’s obsession with solving the case of the three college girls’ deaths pulls you right into her world—and let me tell you, you won’t want to leave (even if it’s a little terrifying). 😅 Every chapter added another layer of intrigue, and just when you think you’ve figured it out, 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐌! Plot twist city. 🚨

This story is more than just a whodunit; it dives deep into grief, obsession, and the lengths we go to find meaning in the chaos. 🥀 Plus, the way it’s told as a post-event confession?? *𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒇𝒔 𝒌𝒊𝒔𝒔 💋*! I felt like I was uncovering the truth 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ Jane, and the final reveal… Let’s just say, my 𝒋𝒂𝒘 𝒉𝒊𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒓. 😱

If you’re into books with morally grey vibes, unreliable narrators, and endings that make you stare at the wall for five minutes straight 🤯—this one’s for you. 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡… it might bury you too. 😉

"This Book Will Bury Me" is a thrilling story about a girl named Jane who gets caught up in solving a murder. After her dad dies, she joins a group of online detectives to find the killer. But as they get closer to the truth, they discover some scary secrets and put themselves in danger. This book is full of surprises and will keep you guessing until the very end. If you like true crime stories and mysteries, you should definitely give this one a read!

I just did not get this book and it did not connect with me. I am learning I am not a big true crime fan in general, so that may be a big part of it.

This book felt longer than it needed to be, was a bit dry for my taste, but also had triggering content seemingly tossed in at the same time. One of my concerns with a lot of true crime entertainment is the handling of difficult and dark concepts and doing so respectfully, and I don't know that this book achieved that. The abundance of message board messages also took me away from the story.

I enjoyed the writing style but this book was just not for me. Thank you for the opportunity to review it! I am leaving this feedback voluntarily.

First off thank you to Netgalley, Sourcebooks Landmark, and of course Ashley Winstead for this ARC.
I did not realize going into this book in took inspiration from the 4 Idaho unlivers, that was a nice surprise as I and a lot of people follows the case. I got bored in a bit of this book but it kept my interest enough to keep reading till the end. I do recommend this book if you like true crime and thrillers. This book is based on sleuths trying to piece together cases and shows what it is like to be a warrior behind the screen of a computer.

No spoilers. Read via ARC kindle.

This book had me so dang intrigued and just wanting to binge it one sitting. I loved the crime thrills you got with this book. I loved the characters in this book, and the storyline was so great! It was easy to follow and had your attention the whole time. I could not stop thinking about this book when I was not reading it. I absolutely enjoyed reading this book, and the twists and turns were great! This reminds of how I was when I was reading AGGGTM series, and I need more books like this! I am a crime junkie, and this was everything I hoped for from this book.

Would I recommend? YES! If you are crime junkie and find yourself following along of a crime, you will enjoy this book!

I adore Ashley Winstead and her writing but as much as I do I have to say This Book Will Bury Me was her weakest. I say that because compared to all her other books which are spectacular, this one is just alright. I never connected with anyone in the book which is strange because Winstead’s strength in my opinion is characters you care for. Overall Winstead writes a fine mystery compared to her others and I’m hopeful her next will exceed the expectations I have set.

Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!

This was a letdown for me. Way too long (almost 500 pages!!!) and predictable while also feeling kind of gross as true crime tends to be. A large chunk of this is very clearly meant to be based off of the 2022 University of Idaho murders which is still technically not even a closed case. I think utilizing this felt scummy.

I think Winstead is a great writer so it was such a bummer to not love the progression of this book. I do think the found family aspect was the strongest part of the book and I found those interactions to be the only redeeming factor for me.

I guessed the big twist pretty early on and then you have to plod through such a long book for a somewhat lackluster finale.

Heathers (1989) meets true crime in Ashley Winstead's upcoming novel.

There are four types of amateur sleuths: the defender, the victim, the detective, & the killer.

As she enters her final year of university, twenty-four-year-old Janeway "Jane" Sharp receives a phone call that changes her life forever: the news of her father's heart attack & death. As she begins to dig for unfindable answers, Jane gets swept into the world of true crime & online sleuthing. In her guilt & grief-induced search, Jane's involvement with true crime quickly reaches the stage of obsession. With the help of four other infamous sleuths, Jane takes on the biggest, most famous case in modern history: The Delphine Murders. But just how far will she go to find the killer?

Spoiler-Free Review:
I've read three of Ashley Winstead's books (IMDIHAK & MITDH), so let me just say this: I am captivated by her ability to tell such an immersive & enthralling story. TBWBM had me hooked from the first pages & held its grip on my mind until the last page.

The narrative of this novel is through Jane's tell-all: the whole, uncensored, unabridged truth of how she entered the world of sleuthing, became intertwined with the Delphine Murders, & was pinned as one of the five villains of the infamous case. Somewhat anti-hero; somewhat unreliable.

My only concern about this novel is that it was heavily inspired by the 2022 University of Idaho murders. Although the suspect has been arrested, the trial is not set to take place until August 2025 (months after this book is released). Therefore, I feel compelled to reduce the would-be five-star rating to four stars out of sensitivity & respect for the victims & their families. I was unaware of these parallels between this case & the novel before reading it, but have since been made aware of the ethical & moral issues of the timing of the book's release & the trial. I would encourage anyone interested in reading TBWBM to at least lightly research this case before beginning the book.

This book is filled with pop culture references varying from Poe to Star Trek to Taylor Swift to Shakespeare, which allows the reader to be immersed in a realistic true crime atmosphere. It's an ode to true crime & grief. With twists that beat like the heart under the floorboards.

TBWBM is out on March 25th 2025. Thank you to Sourcebooks Publishing via NetGalley for the eARC of This Book Will Bury Me in exchange for an honest review; all thoughts are my own.

Another Ashley Winstead book, another 5 star read. I wanted to save this one for when I had time to really get lost in it and I am so glad that I did. It was near impossible to put it down. I was totally hooked from start to finish, I loved it so much. I was sad when it was over and that ending was 😳😱

We know from the start that some really bad has happened and that our main protagonist Jane Sharp was a big part of it. What we don’t know is what happened and why. This is Jane in a tell all kind of read, setting her story straight. We go back to where it all started for her with the sudden death of her beloved father. Her grief leads her to find something to busy her mind, and she falls down a rabbit hole online with a rue crime forum. She finds herself obsessed with finding clues and working the cases. She soon finds herself in with the big guns online, and looking at a case that is all over the news, the murder of 3 college girl on campus.

I don’t want to say too much more about the story, you just need to read it. It is a story of love, loss, grief and obsession. It highlights our relationship with true crime and the need to know. Jane is a complicated character, at times not easy to like and at other times you just want to give her a hug. It is dark and emotional and very well written. I loved knowing something big was coming but not knowing what it was. It certainly increased the tension for me.

So do yourself a favour, grab this book, put the do not disturb sign on and go down the rabbit hole that is The Book Will Bury You. One of the best books that I have read this year.

Thank you so much to Sourcebooks Landmark on NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book so early.

Publishes on March 25th, 2025.

4.5 / 5 stars

College senior Jane Sharp is sent into a dark spiral of grief following her father's unexpected passing. A local woman's murder does manage to catch her interest, and Jane finds herself getting obsessed with the online amateur detective community. When Jane helps to find the clues that crack the case, she gets invited to join a close-knit inner circle of elite investigators who work together on cases virtually.

Several months into her new avocation, a shocking murder begins to make waves online: three college women have been brutally slain in their home, but the police have no evidence to go on. After the killer strikes a second time, Jane and her team of online investigators decide to gather IRL in the college town to investigate the apparent serial killer. But every clue they uncover only begs more questions and the answers all seem impossible.

Written as a fictional tell-all, This Book Will Bury Me is by far the best I have read by Winstead yet. Jane is a young woman struggling with understanding how to deal with her own grief and how to process decisions her deceased father made. She wants to create a legacy worthy of his memory and is driven by that. I might not buy that the elite circle invited her in immediately, but I did find her character believable.

I thought that they mystery aspect was great and it kept me guessing all the way to the end. The conceit of the book being Jane's memoir was interesting and allowed her character to include commentary on the vampiric nature of the true crime industry and the racism and ageism of the official and unofficial crime solving communities.

I'm shaving off half a star from this book because it is perhaps a bit longer than it needs to be. I think too much time is spent at the outset establishing Jane's grief. It is an important part of the story, but that section could have been tighter.

This will be one of the biggest thrillers of 2025! If you're a fan of the genre, add this to your TBR!

Jane, struggling from her father ‘s sudden death, finds solace in an online group who is dedicated to solving real life crimes. She has had trouble in the past fitting in whether it be a college or in her job and is welcomed into this group with open arms. She finds her niche and the group of four others work together solving crimes the police have trouble solving on their own. Their success of solving high profile crimes is featured on a dateline type show, which makes them a celebrity within the online community that comes with its pros and cons. The next big case comes up that the police are extremely inept at solving and the team jumps on it.

I like the idea of the online community and delving further into what I would consider the armchair detective scene. I personally am a huge fan of dateline as well as follow all the true crime and documentary shows . It was interesting to me to see this behind the scenes, armchair detective theme play out. The crime itself is very closely related to one that is currently in the headlines today. The fictional crime had so many details that were pretty much identical to the true crime that I questioned the reasoning behind why the author chose this route. Some of the details were almost identical to the case itself and became a distraction. I couldn’t discern between what was fact and fiction and found myself on Google several times. Once I got past all of the details of the case I enjoyed where the author went with it. The twists at the end were very good and I did not see them coming. I’ve read a few books by this author and have come to enjoy her writing style..

There is a lot of controversy circulating in regards to this book and the topic that closely resembles the Idaho murders. If this is something that is too soon to be read about then I suggest you skip this book, but I’m glad I I continued on as it did deviate from the headlines once it got going. Again, the author does address all of this prior to the start of the book so it might be a good idea to read that to determine if this is for you or if it will be triggering..

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, for my advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

I really enjoyed this one! I enjoyed the perspective of the story being told by an amateur sleuth. The characters were well developed and the whole story was really well written. I could not put this book down, and finished it in a few days. I appreciate the authors note at the beginning of the sensitive subject matter.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC of 'This Book Will Bury Me' by Ashley Winstead, in exchange for an honest review.

I decided to return this book back to the publisher without reading it.

I went to add this book to my Currently Reading Goodreads shelf but first I read the summary then the many, very detailed reader reviews. This made me decide not to proceed. It seemed that reading/reviewing this book would support the exploitation of such a recent, horrendous tragedy, the Idaho college murders.

Nowhere in my copy did the author include an acknowledgement giving respect or courtesy to the victims, or their families, on using exact, specific details from the murders/case nor did she preface that it was based on true events. She disregarded that completely and chose to instead include a blurb on the copyright page stating "the characters and events portrayed in this book are ficticious or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author. "

I would also like to note that the version I was provided was not an uncorrected copy, there was a note just before the title page that read, "This file represents the final manuscript being distrubuted for prepublication review." This all seems quite disrespectful, disturbing and unprofessional, both from the author and the publisher.

Anything that Ashley writes I will read! Jane is a college student and unexpectedly loses her father. She becomes obsessed with true crime and finds and joins an online group that helps track and solve cases that even the police are having trouble with. When three girls are killed on a college campus in Idaho Jane and her new group of friends are determined to crack the case. The story is suspenseful and I loved all the twists and surprises throughout the story. I enjoyed the format of the book and reading how the mystery unfolded and seeing all the pieces come together. The writing is this book was very raw, vulnerable and so emotional!! I was definitely tearing up while reading it. Ashley wrote about grief in such an honest and real way and I could tell this book is very personal for her. I finished this one a month ago and I still haven’t be able to stop thinking about it. I highly suggest you add this to your 2025 tbr!

I love Ashley Winstead, but I am so disappointed.

In My Dreams I Hold A Knife is peak dark academia, and Midnight Is the Darkest Hour reads like Twilight fanfic in the best way.

But, girl… writing a factionalized account of real-life murders, especially when they are so fresh, is pure exploitation. I’ve seen some marketing materials that frame the book like it’s supposed to be commentary on society’s unhealthy obsession with true crime but, if that’s her motive, the hypocrisy is epic. Other authors have made that point without profiting off of the pain of real-world victims and their loved ones.

If this were the first time she did it, I might be less critical, but I read The Last Housewife. I remember feeling like the details of that story were not only disturbing, but eerie… because it was based on the Sarah Lawrence cult.

If I wanted true crime (which I don’t), then I would read true crime. This is almost worse because it pretends to be more noble in pursuit of statement, but it’s too exploitative for me to enjoy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the advanced reader copy. All opinions are 100% honest and my own.

For all true crime lovers, this book is for you. Jane Sharp is reeling from the unexpected death of her father & throws herself into unsolved murder online forum. Once there, she is HOOKED. Ultimately she partners with four other amateur sleuths from extremely different backgrounds to assist the FBI solving a gruesome murder on a college campus.

This book is PHENOMENAL. As someone who went down the true crime rabbit hole, this book spoke to me on all levels. ✨

HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC, all opinions are my own

*posted on GR & IG

THIS BOOK WILL BURY ME is a pivot for Ashley Winstead and her most personal thriller yet.
After losing her father unexpectedly, college student Jane Sharp immerses herself in the world of true crime, joining online sleuths who teach her how to track killers from afar. When the shocking murders of three college girls in Delphine, Idaho, make headlines, Jane and her friends race to crack the case, only to uncover a web of deception and danger far more sinister than they imagined. One year later, Jane breaks her silence to reveal the true story of the Delphine Massacres—a confession that will stun even the most seasoned true crime fans.

THIS BOOK WILL BURY ME is perfect for fans of Michelle McNamara's true crime book, I'll Be Gone in the Dark. This book reads more like a true crime thriller (which it is) than a psychological thriller that you may expect from this author. This book is still twisty at times that you won't expect, but the story does dive into a "story within a story" narrative, which is very different than the author's previous thrillers. The pacing is a bit slower, which took me a bit longer to finish, but I do believe that the reason for the pacing was to fully immerse into Jane's world. The narrative about Jane's father was deeply personal, raw, and compelling. You will root for Jane in ways that you won't expect. THIS BOOK WILL BURY ME is entertaining and suspenseful, and fans of this author should prioritize this book when it comes out in March 2025!