This is definitely a book for true crime aficionados as it dives into the world of amateur sleuths and how the internet will play armchair detective + the possible consequences that may have in false accusations, etc. While I enjoyed the concept, I found the book to be pretty slow especially in the first half and no real action seemed to happen until maybe the final third. It was also fairly predictable and I did not find myself shocked at any of the revelations. I didnt find the MC likable and a lot of the scenarios seemed far fetched? However one of my biggest gripes was i found it weird that the crime in this book is pretty much EXACTLY that of the Idaho College Murders from 2022. Like it wasnt just loosely inspired by it, but it is literally it down to the smallest of details and it felt a little wrong to be fictionalizing/ sensationalizing a crime that is very much still fresh and going through the legal system. Overall not a favorite, however fans of Ashley Winstead may enjoy more than I did!

This is one of my highly anticipated releases of 2025 and I am so grateful to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the opportunity to read this early! I dropped everything to read this and I couldn’t put it down. Even though I predicted some of the ending, it was still a wild ride and true crime fans will definitely be entertained!

This Book Will Bury Me was a slow burn of a good time. Perfect for the true crime, internet sleuths that like to read. Although, it is a predictable and I figured out the twist abut 40% of the way through I still enjoyed it. The family story is sweet. The characters are mostly likeable. I do feel like the book could be 50-75 pages shorter, Especially since the main “murder story” is one we all familiar with. Making the story drag a little in the middle. I did think the internet conversations were well written and brought a lot to the story. Overall I enjoyed this novel and would recommend adding it to your TBR.

Thank you NetGalley, Ashley Winstead and Sourcebooks Landmark for the arc.

This was an intense one. I’m a true crime watcher/podcast listener, (though it often comes with mixed feelings about the genre at times) and I was highly intrigued by this book as a concept.

My brain has a need for understanding what motivates actions and choices and how investigators work to piece together a story from limited evidence available to them. ‘This Books Will Bury Me’ takes that a step further, following the narrative of a young women experiencing an unexpected loss who finds herself as part of a group of internet sleuths doing actual investigating of their own to assist solving crimes. It’s ‘found family’ at its most dysfunctional, which to an extent becomes very endearing and poignant. It also is highly thought provoking in consideration of how armchair detectives can influence a case and the lives of people involved, for better or worse.

There are some direct and some thinly veiled references to real cases, public figures, podcasts, and shows made throughout the book. The main mystery is clearly influenced by the Idaho college student murders. I’m always torn on how I feel about that kind of thing. In a way, it’s creating another piece of ‘entertainment’ out of the tragedy of real people. On the other hand, I felt like the book (intentionally or only in the way I consumed it) highlighted the way victims can get lost in the face of egos and entertainment. The whole narrative plays out in a unique and nuanced way that was as engaging as it was mind-bending.

All in all, this is probably the most invested I’ve felt in one of Ashley Winstead’s books. Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

After the unexpected death of her father, college student Jane Sharp longs for a distraction from her grief. She becomes obsessed with true crime, befriending armchair detectives who teach her how to hunt killers from afar. In this morbid internet underground, Jane finds friendship, purpose, and even glory...”

This is the premise for This Book Will Bury Me by Ashley Winstead. I will say that the premise is great and it had a lot of potential. I wasn’t sure at first where the story was going but then I figured out the main “bad guy” right away. It was not a surprise to me whatsoever and I’m not sure if it was meant to be or just the characters in the story weren’t supposed to figure it out. Jane was deeply mourning her father throughout the book and may have taken it a bit too far in a bad direction but in the end she made herself and him proud. I will say I felt like there was a lot going on in this book and it was longer than it needed to be, it was slow to start but picked up about halfway through. Overall 3 ⭐️ for me. Thank you for NetGalley and Sourcebooks landmark for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This Book Will Bury Me by Ashley Winstead
True Crime, Mystery
Pub Date: March 25, 2025
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book! I couldn’t put it down!! I am a huge fan of Ashley’s books. The wow factor is always there, and this one stands up to the others. It was like being in a real time true crime story.

College student Jane Sharp just lost her father. She doesn’t know what to do with herself. That’s when she hears about a murder near her hometown that sparks her interest. Jane starts digging and finds the world of true crime on the internet. Jane jumps right in and helps solve the case with the help of 4 other ameuter sleuths.

After solving this case the 5 of them become somewhat of a big deal in the true crime world. When 3 college girls are murdered the 5 of them realize they need to step it up and solve this case. But during the process they realize nothing is adding up.
This story is told from Jane’s point of view 1 year after the murders. Jane is about to shock us all.

Read if you like:
True Crime
Found family aspect
Web Sleuths

Ashley knows how to write a good ‘popcorn’ thriller and this one is no different. While I did find it a little slow in the beginning, the last half really makes up for it.

I have seen several reviews saying this book took several graphic details from an ongoing case in Idaho from 2022 and found that to be a bit insensitive. I am a true crime girlie, but to base a fiction book off of a case that isn’t even settled seems tactless. Moreover, the book comes out spring 2025 and the murderer goes on trial that same summer. It gave me a bit of the ICK after I found all of that out so I dropped the rating some.

I love Ashley Winstead’s books and The Last Housewife is one of my top recommended. I really enjoyed this new one and found it unputdownable. However, I was slightly confused as to why the real life details of the Idaho murders were pretty much copy pasted? I understand being inspired as that case is interesting and tragic, but why not put a fictional spin on it? It read a bit as true crime fan fiction but maybe that was the point. Either way, I recommend it!

LOVED THIS ONE. I absolutely love Ashley Winstead! She writes phenomenal thrillers AND romances! I have to admit that I was slightly disappointed by Midnight is the Darkest Hour. I loved The Housewife and In My Dreams I Hold a Knife.

NetGalley Review — my rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

This Book Will Bury Me by Ashley Winstead is a thriller surrounding 5 wanna-be internet sleuths trying to solve crimes all over the country — but can they do it without getting in trouble themselves?

This was a goodie from the Winstead camp! I would def say 4.5 rounded down because I guessed the twistyyyyy but her writing absolutely slays! Her characters are so easy to get in touch with and her stories are ones you can fall right into.

Pick this novel up in stores and online March 25, 2025! Big thanks to @bookmarked for the ARC! ✨

#netgalley #sourcebookslandmark #ashleywinstead #thisbookwillburyme #arc

The way I dropped *everything* I was doing when NetGalley granted me the wish of THIS BOOK WILL BURY ME by ASHLEY WINSTEAD!

It’s no secret that I live for an ASHLEY WINSTEAD book & have been anticipating the heck out of this one since I first heard her talking about it. I stayed up so far past my bedtime to devour it and loved every word!

We’ve got true crime + amateur sleuths + a tell-all + complicated grief + an unlikely found family + Heathers + obsession + a dash of Greek life + fame + infamy.

It’s everything 🙌🏻

Jane Sharp finds herself engrossed in the most famous crime in modern history. Everyone thinks they know the true story of what really happened in Idaho, but one year after the infamous crime, Jane decides to tell the shocking truth.

After her father’s unexpected death, the only place Jane finds solace, or purpose, is in a group of four fellow online armchair detectives. She sinks deeper into the dark and morbid world, finding she has a natural talent for crime solving.

When news breaks that three college girls were brutally murdered in Delphine, Idaho, Jane and her friends are determined to solve the case before any other true crime fanatics. Their obsession brings them together and as the media descends on Idaho and coverage reaches a fever pitch, the dangers surrounding the case escalate.

This book is such a fascinating exploration into the reality, the obsession and the dangers, of amateur sleuthing. It’s dark and powerful and filled with pain and warmth. Bringing justice and building a legacy and paying honor to those we’ve lost. It’s heavy and engrossing and a thoroughly entertaining page-turning thriller.

From the writing to the characters to the twists and reveals I was so invested in this story. ASHLEY WINSTEAD always infuses her books with so much emotion + moments of relatability + raw feelings. I loved the format + the footnotes + the dashes of humor. Can’t wait to tab and dog-ear this book when it hits shelves on 3/25/25.

Thank you to @netgalley & @bookmarked @ashleywinsteadbooks for my dream eARC.

Janeway Sharp, after the unexpected death of her father, is looking for a distraction and becomes obsessed with true crime and the online true crime forums. She quickly is invited into a small group who become her found family, and they teach her the ins and outs of armchair detective work.

When three college girls in Idaho are brutally murdered, the forums go crazy trying to solve the crime. Jane and her friends are right in the thick of it - but things take unexpected turns, and things aren't what they seem.

This book is well written, and although I suspected the twist before it happened, I was engrossed enough to finish in a few days. Very suspenseful, with a main character who is on-again off-again likable. Some of her decisions were maddening.

Although this is fiction and claims any similarity to real life is unintentional, I felt the details were too close to the real-life Idaho case, which has yet to be resolved. For that reason, it made me feel a bit uncomfortable, and I hope the family members of the real-life victims never pick up this book.

I enjoyed the found family dynamic, the slow burn pacing, and the authentic way Jane's grief was written, as well as the crime forum conversations.

There is the closeness to the real-life Idaho case, and there are graphic murder scene descriptions, but I would recommend this book to those who love dark thrillers..
Expected publication March 25, 2025
Many thanks to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the e-arc of this book

This Book Will Bury Me hooked me from the beginning and while the middle was a bit slow at times, I enjoyed reading through the twists and to the end. I felt like it wrapped up nicely. With that being said, there are two MAJOR problems with this book:

1. So much of it was super unrealistic. You can't honestly expect people to believe that internet sleuths' help is going to be welcomed and accepted by the FBI, right? And that they are going to be given special clearance... I'm not buying that.

2. And worse... I found it super gross that so many details about the case in this book were exact copies of the real life Moscow, Idaho murders case from 2022. I did not understand the reasoning for this, felt like it was insensitive to the families, and could have easily been avoided. I read an ARC of this novel and I can only hope the author will address this in some form in either the author's notes or acknowledgements at the end of the book OR (better yet) change these unnecessary details prior to publication.

I really wanted to like this book but simply cannot get past the straight-up copying of very recent real life murders that haven't even been to trial yet. For that, I'm giving 2.5 stars cautiously rounded up.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for an e-ARC of this novel.

OH MY GOSH! Ashley Winstead is truly the best.. I LOVED this book! My heart was pounding and the true crime podcast piece was done SO well! Thank you netgalley!

Wow wow wow. This book absolutely blew me away and may be my favorite Winstead book yet. Or at least tied with The Last Housewife. The amount of depth that went into telling this story - amateur sleuths hunting a killer - was so well developed that I kept wanting to pick up the book. Any time a thriller is over 400 pages I worry that it will be too much filler. But nope! Each chapter had purpose and was organized. I loved how the format was set up with the FMC telling all in a book about what has transpired. Such a clever set up. And I suspected the one twist or maybe that was the whole point but it was so well crafted. Following along with the clues and how these sleuths hyper focus in dissecting information made we want to do a deep dive into reddit. And the found family - did not plan to absolutely adore this team of misfits. Mistress and Lightly are by far my favorites! I also thought the character development of Searcher/FMC was done so well. The focus on the impact of losing her father and how that shaped the entire book was so important.

One of the best thrillers I have read in a long time.

The Last Housewife: 5 stars
This Book Will Bury Me: 5 Stars
Midnight is the Darkest Hour: 4 stars
In My Dreams I Hold a Knife: 4 stars

This is going to be a bookstagram/booktok favorite for sure! I was obsessed with this book! I imagine it would make a great audiobook as well. I loved the way it was written. If I could wish for one thing, it would be to flesh out a little more the part about she who shall not be named and her accusations. Since that was the reason for the book I think it should’ve been discussed more

This Book will Bury Me is written for the true crime lover. It is engaging and fast-paced, and it reads like a true crime podcast. The twist was easy to guess, but still fun to watch unfold. There were some side plot lines I was not a fan of- grieving her dad’s death as she dives deep into the online true crime community. Most of it was entertaining, but I missed having a big shock moment. Definitely worth a read!

Thank you Netgalley and sourcebooks for the advance copy buuuut I will not be reading this. I should have done more research prior to requesting, but saw an author whose books I’ve enjoyed in the past and automatically requested. After reading the initial author’s blurb mentioning several true crime events “inspiring” (if you can even be inspired by that kind of thing) the plot for the book, and digging deeper into other reviews describing how the author used the Idaho murders in explicit gory detail, only changing the victim’s names for “respect”… it felt dirty to even consider reading this. This is a tragedy that has yet to see any closure or justice so to mimic it in a *fictional* novel feels sooooo very wrong to me.

This Book Will Bury Me by Ashley Winstead is a chilling and intricately woven psychological thriller that keeps readers guessing until the final twist. Winstead’s sharp prose and keen insight into human nature create a tense and gripping atmosphere, with layers of secrets and lies gradually unraveling. The characters are flawed yet compelling, adding depth to the story's twists and turns. While the pacing falters slightly in the middle, the tension ramps up in the final act, delivering a satisfying and thought-provoking conclusion. A must-read for fans of dark, character-driven mysteries.

Her best book yet!!! I loved how the story was told in the form of a book as well as forum posts, it made everything so fun to follow! I was hooked from the very beginning and absolutely loved every minute of it. The characters were great and all interacted so well!