Winsteaded (verb) - 1. To be magically transported to a place where time stands still and the only way to return to reality is to finish the book. During this time, one wants to neither return to reality nor finish the book but becomes physically unable to stop reading.
2. See also 'Five Star Chills'.
3. See also 'Book Hangover'.
Ex: Ashley Winstead winsteaded us again with This Book Will Bury Me.

Mm-hmm. Yep. Go ahead and prepare yourselves to be thoroughly winsteaded in March when this one releases. I’ve been trying to figure out what to say about this book for a week and still don’t have the correct words to express my feelings. Y’all know how much I already love Ashley and her books so what I’m about to say is serious! This book is my favorite of hers. Hands down. I seriously don’t know how she does it but I’m glad she does! If you’re going to preorder one book this year, make it this one!

I had the best time reading this one with friends and we all had the hardest time sticking to our planned reading schedule. I cannot wait to read this one again after pub day!

A strong 4 stars for this.

After the sudden death of her father Floridian Jane Sharp is looking for a place to belong. It’s not back at University of Central Florida for her senior year, but she doesn’t know where it is. Then she finds it among true crime sleuths online, particularly a small group of them who band together and have some success.

The comes the murder of college students in Idaho and the group becomes deeply involved. Can they actually assist in solving this crime?

Obviously the book is based, in part, on the murders of the college students in Idaho (but with significant differences) and is Jane’s story after the events have concluded. I knew there were true crime buffs out there who had websites and such, but I guess, in my mind, they mostly focused on cold cases, but of course that makes no sense, and they certainly follow crimes as they happen as well. One has to be willing to accept a bit of disbelief as to how much inside information the group would be able to get (I assume, but what do I know?). Anyway, I really enjoyed this and I’m willing to bet that if you like thrillers you’ll find something to like here (again, with the disbelief thing.)

This book had a very different tone than the last few works I’ve read by Winstead. It took me awhile to become invested in the story and characters. Once I was, I enjoyed the premise and how it played out. There were some very strange plot elements for me, specifically the one related to the main character’s father. I enjoyed reading this one, but did not find it as engrossing as some of Winstead’s other works.

Ashley Winstead’s newest release focuses on a group of internet sleuths who work together in online true-crime forums to solve murders. Told through the perspective of Jane, a grieving 24-year-old who finds herself drawn to the crime forums after her father suddenly passes away, this novel gives a behind-the-scenes look into how online true-crime forums and everyday people can uncover clues, brainstorm theories, and ultimately influence criminal cases.

In this novel, Jane finds herself drawn to a particular forum after her dad’s untimely death as a means of grappling with her grief and inability to save him. As she interacts with those on the forum, she shows promise in her questioning and tactics, catching the attention of a small group of highly talented internet sleuths. They invite her into their group and work together to solve a murder, becoming famous in the public eye. When a grisly set of murders occurs in a small town in Idaho shortly after their newfound fame, they have no choice but to take on the case. And in doing so, they find themselves in a position where their lives may also be in danger.

This was a fast-paced novel. I enjoyed learning more about online true-crime forums and how they have the ability to spark interest and assist law enforcement in some cases. I did suspect one of the twists in the plot, but I did enjoy how the entire book developed. There’s a human aspect to the novel as well, as Jane is grieving and seeks to find answers about her father’s death, while building relationships online with the members of the crime forum.

The only reason I can’t give this 4 stars is because the murders that serve as the main focal point of the book too closely resemble those of the University of Idaho murders in 2022. I found myself stopping throughout the book to check on the similarities, and there are many. With the delay in the trial and no verdict given yet, that element just doesn’t feel right.

My rating: 3.5/5

Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for this eARC, in exchange for my honest review.

First I would like to thank Netgalley and Sourcebook Landmarks for the ARC of this novel. Initially I was slightly put off by the similarities between the fictional murders in this book and the true life Idaho killings it mirrors. However, in the end I think it was pulled off really well. It says a lot about online sleuthing and arm chair detectives - and really true crime as a genre. It also deals a lot with grief - and it was moving to know the author was processing the loss of her own dad while writing it. I finished this in just a handful of days and I was hooked from beginning to end .

be thinking about This Book Will Bury Me for a long time. Ashley Winstead has crafted a story that is both captivating and deeply unsettling. Inspired by the University of Idaho murders, the novel blurs the line between art and real-life tragedy, sometimes uncomfortably so. While real events often inspire fiction, this story’s close mirroring of those murders left me grappling with a sense of intrusion. Yet, that very discomfort is part of what makes Winstead’s work so compelling—it forces readers to confront boundaries and question their own curiosities.

Winstead’s hallmark grit and boundary-pushing storytelling are on full display here, along with a fascinating cast of characters. However, I found myself longing for more depth in Janeway, the protagonist. The story delves deeply into her relationships—her father, her online sleuthing friends—but skims the surface of who Janeway really is beyond her grief and obsession. Her 24 years before her father’s death are only hinted at, and I couldn’t help but wish for a fuller picture of her character.

At its core, this slow-burn thriller is less about solving crimes and more about the consuming nature of grief. Through short, snappy chapters and darkly humorous footnotes, Winstead immerses readers in Janeway’s spiral as she becomes entrenched in an online sleuthing community investigating a string of brutal murders. It’s both fascinating and frustrating to watch Janeway’s grief dictate her choices, and Winstead portrays that raw, messy process with authenticity. While this book left me unsettled, it’s undeniably a testament to Winstead’s ability to provoke, disturb, and linger in the mind long after the final page.

Thank you in advance to NetGalley and SourceBooks Landmark for this advanced readers copy.

After Janeway Sharps father passes, she deals with grief by throwing herself fully into true crime forums as a way of distracting herself. She becomes involved in this Network (sorta like Reddit) and finds fellow true crime junkies. She quickly makes friends with a few of them and together they help the police solve murders. (Sometimes the police work with them sometimes they don’t)

I loved this book! If you know me you know I just LOVE amateur detective trope and this is literally that. I loved the found family aspect and I loved the way Jane dealt with her grief, because in reality it was totally accurate for how a 24 Yo would.

I loved the writing, the story and the deepness. I also was SHOCKED by the ending and the killer.

This was pure FUN! And this time Ashley replaced the twilight references with Star Trek but it wasn’t totally in your face.

Rating: 4.5 ⭐️
Release Date : March 25, 2025

Special thanks to Source books and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

I was really excited to get this book and was not let down. The characters were fantastic and each one had a purpose. Story fantastic and I learned something, "sleuthing" and well I love to learn and had no idea, had never heard of this. The story was fantastic, well researched and well thought out, in other words, really enjoyable.

I wish I could give it all 5 stars but took 1 star away from the ending, though not altogether a bad ending, just wanted a bit more from it. Highly recommended.

Thank you Netgalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Told from a first person POV, main character Jane (otherwise known as Searcher on Reddit), takes us through her messy journey as an amateur sleuth. When three girls are brutally murdered in Idaho, inspired by the Idaho murders in 2024, a band of misfits team together to find the murder before he or she murders someone else. Will the internet sleuths, Jane included, be able to solve the case before someone else gets hurt?

This is the second book that I have read by Ashley Winstead. After having devoured In My Dreams I Hold a Knife, I had high expectations for this novel. One thing I liked about this book was that Winstead does acknowledge that her research and personal fascination with Idaho murders and other serial killers inspired the book. I think without this note, the book could easily be viewed as classless. Another thing I enjoyed about the book was the setting, being in the present time, and how much technology played a role in the plot. The whole plot in general is very unique and will intrigue most thriller readers.

On the other hand, there were many things about this book that annoyed me as a reader. The main character was not the most likeable. I think this is because Winstead wrote too many details about how Jane dealt with the grief of her father and had the main character continually hint that "if only she had known, soon you will see why I did what I did." In some ways this book was too long and teased the reader to the point of frustration. The killer in the book became very obvious to me about 60% in. I will say, I like how Winstead wrapped up the ending of the book.

Overall, if you are a true crime or thriller readers who is fascinated with how serial killers think, then this is the book for you (just also be prepared for it not to pick up until the 200th page).

This book was fantastic! I really enjoyed the style of writing and the podcast like atmosphere. It felt very present day but had a spin on events. The twist was great and loved to see the character development. 4 out of 5 stars for me!

I was so excited to have received the ebook ARC of this book. I loved so many of her other books that I just had a feeling this one would be amazing. I wasn’t let down in the slightest.

Each character that was written had a purpose. Their story was important for the plot to hit the way it did. I was so captivated by the diversity of the characters. The more you got to know them the easier it was to just root for them.

I’ll be honest, I had no idea what “sleuthing” was prior to reading this book, but now I’m fascinated. The author had definitely done her research when writing this story. It was so well done.

If you’re a true crime lover, this book will be perfect for you. I felt the pacing was perfect, the character development was perfect and the plot twist literally blew my mind. I had no clue how that would end and my jaw was on the ground. This is definitely one you don’t want to sleep on!

My only complaint was that the ending was a bit flat for me, I wish it would have been more developed, but I get why she did it the way she did! Besides that, it was the perfect book for me. I highly recommend!

This is my second Ashley Winstead book and I actually enjoyed this one way more than the first one.

This is definitely inspired by the Idaho murders which still hasn’t been served justice so keep that in mind with this read. Maybe there should have been a change since this will hit home for the families… either way please know there are families still hurting.

I do love a good true crime mystery read for sure! I felt the like the pacing was good for the story. It read like a Netflix show and I had to keep reading. Now the parts with about her father and his sci-fi fanfic I think that could have been omitted it didn’t really add much to the story. There were some parts thar were throwing a lot of details at one time but I kept up with most of it.

If you love mystery, true crime reads this one is for you and won’t disappoint!

Ashley Winstead has done it again!
Obsessive, fast-paced, and hard to put down. This was such a fun murder mystery thriller. I couldn’t put it down once I started it. I will read anything Ashley Winstead writes.

I’ll start by saying- I do hope that by the time this book is published, there will be an acknowledgment of the tragedy that is the real- life Idaho murders, which clearly inspired this story.

That aside, it was a quick and engaging story about the fascination with true crime, and how it differently affects those involved. The big reveal/twist was very obvious throughout, but it didn’t detract from wanting to read about the “why” of it all.

I also really liked how the author portrayed grief, through the lens of Jane losing her father. It was realistic and nuanced.

The book did not disappoint! Will continue to read everything winstead writes! This was amazing. The attention to detail and character building blew my mind

I knew going into the book that it was “inspired” by the Idaho murders, however the crime is almost a carbon copy with SO many similar details. It felt icky and wrong to be reading a book, that will surely be a bestseller due to who the author is, about an ongoing trial. The victims families have not received justice or closure, so it feels very insensitive. I’m honestly surprised this book has not had its publication pushed back.

I also think the book is too long. There is an entire chapter just about her father’s fan fiction that I completely skimmed through, because it contributes nothing to the plot and the book does start to drag for a bit. I appreciated how the author portrayed Jane’s grief and how people grieve differently, but I do think the book could be cut down.

I did guess the twist earlier on and it took awhile to wrap everything up at the end.

Thank you so much for the ARC, I guess the actual crime being SO identical to the Idaho murders was just not my thing. If there were changes made to that crime, it would be a much better book as the concept of the book is interesting.

Rounded up this one from 3.5 stars, This Book Will Bury Me was a dive into true crime groups and very closely followed the Idaho sorority murders that captivated American. I have mixed feelings on this book. I thought it started off great, fast paced then stalled out and just went on a little too long. I also didn’t realize how very close it would be to the actual murders that occurred in 2022 in Idaho that are still under investigation. I was actually quite surprised by that. I enjoyed the perspective the book was written in, the reader reading Janeways memoir. It kept me hooked and into the story, even when I felt it getting a little long. I enjoyed the characters and liked the little family they built from the forum. The relationships Janeway built with mistress and lightly were very sweet as she grieved her father’s death. I also feel like the author did a great job at expressing the grief and emotion one has over the loss of a parent and the change in dynamic it can cause with the surviving parent. All in all, I always recommend this author. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC, as well as the author and Sourcebook Landmark. All thoughts above are my own.

This book took me on a rollercoaster. I’m not sure how I liked the Reddit format, but once it turned into the Idaho murders I was intrigued but then it lost me again when the culprit(s) were revealed. Too much going on

After the unexpected passing of her father a young college student is trying to distract herself and learn the ebbs and flows of grief. While dealing with her sudden life change she begins playing an amateur sleuth online and ends up teaming up with some other true crime amateur sleuths who feel just as lost as she does in her new world. The group decides to meet up in real life and team up together to solve a crime when college students in Idaho keep getting murdered. These true crime buffs put their heads together and track down what the police and FBI seem to constantly be missing.

This book was fast paced and my first by this author. I am looking forward to reading more of her work. I enjoyed the true crime aspect as I find true crime interesting as well as the main character's process of grief and her outlook on life and loss. This book releases in March 2025 and I definitely recommend it being added to your TBR if you are a crime fiction and or true crime fan.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the gifted copy of Ashley Winstead's latest thriller.

WOW🤯
First of all a HUGE thank you to NetGalley, Sourcebooks Landmark & Ashley Winstead for this ARC copy of This Book Will Bury Me!

I’m going to be completely honest here — this book blew me away. I cannot even find the words of how to articulate just how good I thought it was or how much I truly enjoyed it!

I was kind of nervous to read it, since hearing/reading how parts were inspired by the real crime story of the Idaho 4 (and it being an active case going through courts currently). I have mixed feelings on the extreme similarities regarding details in the book that also took place in the real life happenings of the tragically lost college students. In theory this tale Ashley has spun is fiction, but inspired by very real events and aside from changing names (which half even rhymed with the real ones) and adding/subtracting # of real victims, etc., this felt in certain parts, so eerily true to the actual murder events and I don’t know how I feel about that. How should one feel about an author they’ve loved taking a real life tragedy and morphing those storylines & facts into warped versions of a new book? There are definitely complicated emotions there.

All in all, I personally don’t feel like Ashley had negative or ill-regarded motives on the writing of this book. I think like many she was enthralled in the Idaho 4 case, the side stories happening with web sleuths and maybe thought, “what could this have morphed into had xyz been different or went a wildly crazier way?” and ran with it. She weaved a perfectly enthralling web together that left me on the edge of my seat the entirety of the book — I was eager to know everything until the end and cannot stop thinking about every twist and turn! Once again, Winstead has placed a 5⭐️ read in my lap and I devoured it with no crumbs.