This is my first Ashley Winstead novel, and I did not expect it to be this chilling. Jane, the protagonist, finds herself diving headfirst into the world of amateur sleuthing after the passing of her father.

SPOIlER ALERT: The first set of murders is incredibly similar to the recent Idaho murders, which made this a little scary to read at times (and I don't spook super easily)

I found this book captured my attention more that most thrillers of later. I think the market is oversaturated with crime thrillers, and Winstead knew she had work hard to stand out, and she delivered!

We see Jane and her online friends evolve as they research and try to find the "Barbie Butcher," and I'm excited to say I didn't have it all figured out! Many twists and turns. Thank you to Winstead, Sourcebooks, and NetGalley for the ARC!

5 stars
Publication date March 25, 2025

Thank you, NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Landmark, for sending this eARC for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

While grieving her father's passing, Janeway Sharp becomes involved with a group of amateur sleuths online. After solving a case, they gain some fame. Next, they get involved in a huge murder case in which three sorority girls are brutally killed in their shared house late at night. This leads to them being asked to be consultants for the FBI. They get together in the town in Idaho where the murders occured to be closer to the investigation. None of them realized just how close they are to evil.
This story is written as a book within a book, authored by Janeway. She is writing to tell her side of the story, after all the negativity surrounding her groups involvement in the case. I loved the style of this book, it read like a good true crime story. As a fan of true crime, I found it all very fascinating, and the story itself was excellent.

Jane better known as her online persona The Searcher finds herself lost after the passing of a family member she turns to an online community of sleuths where she finds her purpose and a family. When a major case with no clear leads gets the sleuth's attention the mess that ensues after will have everyone questioning who is right and wrong and if the true crime community is helpful or harmful.

For Fans of:
⚠️True Crime
⚠️Online Sleuths
⚠️Adopted Family

Ashley Winstead is an auto-add to my TBR list, and that hasn't changed! Thank you so much to NetGalley, and Sourcebooks Landmark for this e-ARC. All opinions are my own.

Apparently I was living under a rock in 2020 or whenever the crime committed that inspired this novel happened becuase I have no recollection. Because of that minor blip in living in the real world (i was pregnant, okay?!) I found that I truly could not put this book down. I binged this thing after it being in my TBR pile for months, and I’m so mad it took me this long to read!

If you don’t think writing a true-crime-esque novel about a crime that happened that is apparently still unsolved or open is in poor taste, this one is binge-worthy and will keep you up at night. I don’t even like true crime and i liked this one soooo….try it?

Very intriguing!! Suspenseful and has so many twists in the plot. Thank you to Netgalley, Sourcebooks Landmark and the author for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

I didn’t care for this one. It just didn’t work for me. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for this copy for read and review

I have read several of this author’s books and this one was interesting for me. It started off slow and remained that way until about 60% into the book. Then it picked up and I was interested and invested in what was happening. I will continue to read books by this author.

A fast-paced thriller that I had a hard time putting down. I really enjoyed the different perspective this book took, focusing on internet sleuths who are working to solve a case. The characters each brought their own unique value to the story and had me thinking differently about those who spend their time online trying to solve active or cold cases. I was a somewhat taken away from the story because the author used details similar to a recent case.

2 stars--it was OK. I'm uncomfortable that the author drew so heavily on real crimes to write this novel that supports (?) true-crime amateur sleuths. (Or maybe she was really taking down interfering true-crime enthusiasts, and it's all too meta for me?) Why not make the crime less based on a true story? Set the story in Alabama or something? And why oh why have the FBI invite untrained amateurs to join the investigation?!

The characters were pretty despicable to me. The writing, however, was fine, and the plot kept me reading. I liked a previous book by this author, but this one was not my cup of tea.

I received this review copy from the publisher on NetGalley. Thanks for the opportunity to read and review; I appreciate it!

Thank you publisher for the eGalley!

I am a huge fan of Ashley Winstead. I have read all her previous novels, so I was so excited to get my hands on her upcoming release.

Unfortunately, this one was a miss for me. The horrific Idaho murders, down to details, heavily inspired this book. It felt uncomfortable reading it and is distasteful of Ashley to choose to write this. There was also commentary and generalizations made of people that are from Idaho that had me side-eyeing this book. When are we going to stop stereotyping people? The plot twist didn't make matters better. I see what Winstead tried to do and if people aren't looking close enough, it will go over their head. On that same note, I know people who aren't aware of the real life murders that Winstead copy and pasted from will highly rate this book. I read the author's note, although that does not dismiss her use of that event and make it okay.

I did like the parts of our fmc processing grief, and her journey to healing.. that felt authentic. the rest of the book did not. The more I sit with this book, the more I dislike it.

2.5 stars

Jane Sharp is a college student obsessed with true crime when 3 college girls are killed and Jane goes online to help solve the murder.s. The book starts a year later and Jane is finally ready to break her silence on what really happened. I have mixed feelings about this book. The story was good and I liked the social media excerpts, true crime forum conversations and online chats . That was very well done. However, I felt that too much of the story of her father was included and unessential to the main plot. I think this part needed more careful editing. I think it was way longer than it needed to be. I know it was based on true murders that happened in Idaho and because that case is unresolved many people have issue with this story. The romance aspect to it feels forced and there was not enough to it to add to the story. As a whole it feels unrealistic. This missed the mark for me.

This Book Will Bury Me was exactly what I needed to get out of a reading slump. This highly entertaining thriller was a unique take on “true” crime that had me engaged from start to finish.
Loosely based on the 2022 Idaho massacre, Winstead takes us through the point of view of 24 year old Janeway Sharp, a recent UCF dropout who finds herself immersed in a world of armchair detectives. After being surprisingly helpful with solving a local murder near Orlando, Jane finds herself invited to join a tight knit group of four other internet sleuths. When tragedy breaks out in Idaho and they feel they have reached their limits from afar, the group travels from all over the country to meet up and solve the nation’s biggest crime mystery of the year.
If you’re a fan of true crime (and don’t mind the author taking the liberties of putting a fictional spin on it!), then you should definitely check out This Book Will Bury Me by Ashley Winstead. (Pub 3/25/2025)
Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this arc.
Sadly this did not work for me. It took me forever to finish. It was definitely too long for what it was. I thought this had a strong and promising start, then I got to the part where author took real life Murder and made it fictional, and everything went downhill from there. Huge chunk of the book dragged, and I honestly think this should have been 150 pages shorter. My review is on Goodreads @JR

This Book Will Bury Me followed a woman in the immediate aftermath of her father's death - a rudderless ship looking for a wagon to hitch to. Jane Sharp is a college student who is deep in the throes of grief, looking for a distraction. She finds solace and purpose in true crime, and finds a group of like-minded folks on online forums who invite her to join their small group of amateur sleuths. Three college girls are killed in Delphine, Idaho, and many online sleuths find it their mission to solve the mystery. Nobody knows what happens, and everyone is racing against not only the clock, but each other, to solve the mystery. Then, three more girls are killed and the questions outnumber the answers.

The story was interesting and I thought both the writing and pace were done well - I just wish it wouldn't have been loosely based on an actual crime. This book will forever be compared to the actual Idaho College Murders and I think many people will be turned off from reading it based on that fact alone. Coming up with a fresh, fictional storyline would likely have saved some face for the author.

Overall, the ending was fairly easy to decode once I was about 3/4 of the way through the book, but it did leave me guessing for long enough to keep me interested in what was happening. For fans of true crime, thrillers, and crime stories who can overlook the premise of the story being based in real life, I would say to try this book on for size!

I don’t know how to rate this. On the one hand, it’s incredibly well-written, complex and with twists and turns and the father storyline is both heartbreaking and comforting.

On the other hand, the similarities between this and the case of the 2022 murders of Kaylee, Madison, Xana, and Ethan are FAR too intense to be coincidental, and it feels… icky. This is a case that is horrific and has not reached its conclusion, and the irony of this book leaning heavily on the wrongness of gawking at the tragedies of others while also leaning heavily on a real-life tragedy was a bit of a shock to me. I’ve always been a fan of Ashley’s, so I am not sure how I feel.

MAJOR TWs for this one, for obvious reasons. I’m conflicted about the morality of it, I guess.

𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬:
This is for all the true crime fans out there! Winstead sure knows how to write an amazing gripping and suspenseful thriller that keeps the reader at the edge of their seat. This one totally reminded me of the University of Idaho college murders that took place a few years ago. I loved the suspense, the characters, and the nod to true crime sleuthing. Winstead slowly built up the suspense and intensity throughout, which had me flipping through the pages because I needed to know what would happen next! This was a fun, entertaining, and wild ride which I absolutely loved every minute of. I did not guess the twist early on, but towards the end I was able to guess the ‘whodunit’ aspect, but the ride was still a fun one. I also really liked the MC, Jane, who was fun and quirky. Although this book is on the longer side, I appreciated the short chapters and was able to breeze through this book.
Three college girls are found dead, and the internet sleuths are set and determined to find out who the killer is-that is until things slowly unravel and fingers start to point to those they least expected.
BRAVO Ashley, you knocked it out of the park (yet AGAIN!) with this fab-tab-ulously gripping, twisted, and suspenseful nod to true crime junkies and sleuths alike🙌🏻


𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗜𝗳 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗘𝗻𝗷𝗼𝘆:
✦True crime
✦An entertaining, suspenseful, gripping, and twisty thriller/mystery
✦A fun and quirky MC
✦Short chapters

𝐌𝐲 𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫4.75/5

this book was interesting and kept me engaged throughout it. however, i guessed the twist, and i also didn’t like the end of “this book will bury me.” the main characters actually had depth to them, though, and i enjoyed getting to know each of them. thank you to netgalley and the author for this ARC!

Ashley Winstead does it again! The book is a creepy, mind-twisting thriller that looks at true crime, the public's reaction to it, and how we consume content.

Jane is looking for purpose after her father passes away unexpectedly. She ends up on a true crime forum, and gets sucked into the world of citizen detectivery. When she decides to take the plunge and solve a grisly murder with the help of her internet friends, she could never imagine the places it would lead her.

The way Winstead tells this story is masterful. The entire book is tense because of how she starts it, and the whole time you're dying to know WHAT HAPPENED. I don't want to say much and spoil anything, but it was such a fun and crazy read. The characters were great, and Winstead did an excellent job of describing how insular internet communities can be. It's a story within a story, and what could come off as confusing is done masterfully.

THIS BOOK WILL BURY ME is the fourth thriller novel I’ve read by @ashleywinsteadbooks and as usual, her writing immediately sucked me in and kept me glued to the pages. It was a gripping story that elicited even more conversation long after I finished reading.

After Jane unexpectedly loses her father, she becomes obsessed with true crime and the online community that is determined to help (or hinder??) unsolved cases. Along with her newly made true crime friends, she finds herself tracking down clues in a horrific murder of three college students in Idaho. Jane inadvertently takes on a more prolific role in the case as the events become more and more shocking. A year later, Jane is ready to break her silence and tell her side of the story of one of the most famous crimes in modern history.

The fact that I started and finished this book while on a very packed vacation means something. It didn’t help my jet lag but I stayed up late reading a few chapters every night. Winstead’s writing is gripping and I was completely lost engrossed in the story. She has a personal note before the book begins and you can tell a lot of her emotions were written into this story when it came to the relationship between Jane and her dad. I really connected with this part of the storyline and Jane’s growth and overarching journey to understand her father was deeply moving.

Finally, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that this book self-admittedly took inspiration from the University of Idaho murders in 2022. I do not know much about what happened but read up on it after reading some reviews and found some of the details to be uncomfortably similar. This story had so much to say about people’s troublesome obsession with true crime and its exploitive nature that I felt very conflicted once I learned of all this. So while I really enjoyed reading this book it ultimately begged the question - should I have?

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for a copy of this ARC! This twisting mystery was a fun and suspenseful read!

Occasionally a cover will draw me in, and a premise will seal the deal. When I came across this book in NetGalley, I knew immediately I wanted to read it. I am unfamiliar with Ashley Winstead’s other works and was thrilled when the publisher approved my request.

This book follows Jane, a college student in the wake of her father’s unexpected death. Desperate for an escape, she drops out of college and stumbles into the world of true crime forums, where she joins in helping investigate a local murder. Jane’s escapism soon evolves into obsession as a newer and more high-profile murder occurs.

As far as mixed-media “true crime” books go, this was definitely one of the better ones. The books I’ve read in the past were more podcast-focused, so I appreciated the different take using Internet forums as a medium instead. The blend of forums and main character perspective felt smooth and immersive and made this nearly 500 page book a quite quick read!

This book was really fun to read. The beginning of the story immediately pulled me in and I found Jane was intriguing as a main character. I enjoyed the other characters as well, though they were definitely a bit more cliche’ armchair detectives. Another thing that pulled me in was that this novel had a murder that strongly paralleled a very much real-life murder that happened not too long ago so having that real life parallel was also interesting to read.

This book also does a great job of using the unreliable narrator trope, and left me guessing for most of the story. Surprisingly, I actually liked that this story was somewhat predictable towards the end. Usually I see predictability as a drawback but I prefer it in mystery/crime-solving books because I can get a “huzzah, I was right!” moment (which I personally find very satisfying).

My only complaint was there was a part of the book that I didn’t quite understand its purpose but was cleverly reintroduced later in the novel and it wrapped up the story a little too nicely. I think this is one of those books where I would have preferred an ambiguous ending but I may be alone in that feeling.

Overall I really enjoyed this book! The fantastic pacing kept me hooked from start to finish and I definitely want to pick up more of Ashely Winstead’s works now. If you are a mystery or True Crime-esque fan, I highly recommend this one!

This book releases on March 25th, 2025

Rating: 4.25/5
Review will be published on my website on March 17th, 2025 at the following url:
https://mishmashedmagic.com/bookblog/this-book-will-bury-me-by-ashley-winstead