I absolutely loved this book. I'm majorly into mystery stories and this one really kept my attention throughout. The characters were well written and realistic. The pacing was great. I want to read more from Lauren!

I don’t think I can say anything about this that would not spoil something but I just throughly enjoyed the story and highly recommend it to anyone who wants a good mystery with twists and turns.

~Rating~ : ⭐4.75/5

For decades, J Everett High School has conducted an annual murder mystery game to test its criminology students. But when Xavier Torres—the student playing the victim—ends up dead for real, all the evidence points to Sierra Fox, his ex-girlfriend. Desperate to prove her innocence, Sierra turns to her ex-best friend, Dulce Castillo, for help. After all, no one knows J Everett High better than Dulce.

This was my first thriller of the year, and I’m so glad I picked this one! While the mystery itself wasn’t overly complicated, the author had me hooked, constantly second-guessing who the killer could be.

I really liked Dulce Castillo. All she wanted was to uncover the truth about the car accident that killed her mother, and her determination was truly impressive. Initially, she wanted nothing to do with Sierra—she still hated her for betraying her—but in the end, her curiosity and thirst for the truth won out.

One of my favorite things in a murder mystery is when the protagonist is proven wrong—when all their theories turn out to be mistaken. It keeps the story so engaging! What made this book even more interesting was how Dulce had a moment to suspect the real killer but lacked solid evidence. When she finally put the pieces together and figured it out, it was so satisfying.

If you love a solid mystery that will keep you hooked, definitely pick this one up!

Thank you @netgalley and gp putnam sons for the book❤

Very Dangerous Things is a teenage thriller/mystery full of twists and surprises for a very good read. J. Everett High plans for its annual murder mystery game down to the tiniest detail. When this year’s victim is found dead in the greenhouse dead by poison, the game seems to be in order but Xavier is really dead by poison. A knitting needle full of poison points to Xavier’s ex, Sierra as the main suspect. Dulce gets pulled in to the investigation by her best friend even though she doesn’t like Sierra. Sierra used to be Dulce’s best friend until she betrayed Dulce but Dulce cannot let her go down if she’s innocent. Digging in and breaking a few laws to get the evidence she needs, Dulce stumbles her way into danger and love as she solves an unpredictable case before the police. I enjoyed the characters, especially Dulce who is a relatable in her insecurities and naivety while maintaining an impressive ability to investigate. The story threw in enough twists and suspense to keep things interesting until the very end. My voluntary, unbiased, and non-mandatory review is based upon a review copy from NetGalley.

Dulce goes to a prestigious school that specialises in criminology, a place she feels she truly belongs, having solved many a (pretend) crime before. The one thing she hasn't solved yet though, is why the local sheriff would lie about the death of her mother.

The annual murder case ends in being an actual murder and Dulce's former BFF is accused of the crime, and truth been told, all arrows do point in the direction of Sierra.

It is, hands down, a great YA mystery book. Who-dunnit with lots of twists and a good overall plot to keep the reader hooked. I thoroughly enjoyed the characters, the search and the overall vibe.

Agatha Christie lovers will love this one, no doubt.

I received an eARC from NetGalley in return for my honest opinion

Very Dangerous Things takes place at J. Everett High, a school that hosts an annual murder mystery event for its criminology students to help them put their skills to the test. But this year, the lines between fiction and reality blur when a student turns up actually dead. All eyes turn to the victim’s girlfriend, Sierra, as the prime suspect. But is she really guilty, or is she just a convenient scapegoat?

This was a fast-paced, addictive YA whodunit. The mystery itself was solid. I didn’t guess the twist, and I appreciated how everything came together in the end. The writer did a good job weaving the clues throughout and keeping things moving at a brisk pace. The final reveal was surprising without feeling completely out of left field.

That said, I didn’t feel much real tension or danger until much later in the story. While the stakes were technically high, the tone for most of the book felt more like a fun scavenger hunt than a true thriller (and I say that as someone who generally enjoys YA mystery thrillers). It leaned heavily into the YA vibe—sometimes a bit too much for my taste—especially with some of the characters feeling a little tropey. But as the story went on, they grew on me. Zane in particular stood out—he and Dulce had great chemistry, and their romance added some cuteness to the story.

Overall, while this book didn’t totally wow me or keep me up at night, it was definitely enjoyable. I’d recommend it for fans of YA mysteries who like their thrillers on the lighter side.

I could not put down Very Dangerous Things! This is the perfect YA murder mystery, with adolescent journeys through friendships, romance, loss, guilt, and all of the growing pains humans go through while set against the backdrop of a detective-focused high school. The characters drew me in, the mystery had me coming up with new theories and guesses every chapter. Highly recommend!

I read this via NetGalley. This book had a lot of flaws in the storyline. It definitely was trying to be like One of Us is lying but it missed the mark in my opinion.

The highschool murder mystery I’ve been waiting for! Very Dangerous Things, by Lauren Muñoz, has everything I want in a read: estranged friends, a cool new student, a school with an annual murder mystery game, a real murder takes place, and everyone is a suspect! I loved this read. It was fun, it was mysterious, it was perfectly ya. I need Muñoz to write more in this series immediately. For fans of Maureen Johnson’s Truly Devious series and a Knives Out for teens vibe, Very Dangerous Things is for you!

This was a really engaging, fast-paced mystery, and I really enjoyed it! I loved the range of characters and all their different motivations and secrets--it wasn't too straightforward, but also wasn't too confusing, and I was really invested throughout the whole book. I had a strong guess as to who I thought was the culprit, but was proven wrong, which I always enjoy in a mystery.

Wow! This was such an exhilarating experience!! ai literally love EVERY book that involves a boarding school (for the most part), and this one was extra cozy because it was a detective school! The fact that it was a fake murder, and ended up being a real murder was so cool! (not a spoiler, happens in the prologue lol) Very YA, so fun!

First off big thanks to the publisher as well as to the author and Netgalley for the invite to read Very Dangerous Things, at first I was kind of hesitant to read it but I'm glade I decided to give it a try because it turns out that I ended up like it as well as enjoying it a lot more then I thought I would , though out my entire time reading it I realized that it kind of remind me of one of my favorite books which is Truly Devious because of the concept of kids going to special special school that was all for criminology . And a group of friends going there and solving a crime . And saying to myself now that is.school I could get behind , as for the characters there was some I liked more then others but overall it's definitely a book I would gladly re read again.

Definitely a fun mystery romp! (Can you call a murder mystery fun? Well, I just did, so we're rolling with it.)

I'm a sucker for weird niche schools, and while I couldn't quite figure this one out (why did this elite criminology school seem to only recruit from the local town? why doesn't it ever come up that this is a town crawling with criminology-obsessed teenagers?), I'm not going to question it too much because it was exactly my vibe. And a weird niche school plus a campy fake-murder-turned-real-murder, with major Clue vibes? Count me in.

As with Clue, the characters were the one thing that really made the book stand out. While they tended toward the tropey—cough, just like Clue, cough—they were endearingly lovable and fun to follow, and it was hard not to root for all of them (even the ones who might or might not have done it, sorry not sorry). Parts of the book were definitely over the top, but the characters are what pulled it all together, and if the possible sequel/series that was teased* happens, it's the characters who will keep us reading, I'm sure.

* Don't worry, this 100% still reads as a standalone!

THIS BOOK IS FOR YOU IF...
• You, like me, love books about hijinks at oddly niche schools
• You want a not-too-serious murder mystery that will keep you guessing (but still has a satisfying, solvable conclusion)
• You love to love the characters in your YA

THIS BOOK MIGHT NOT BE FOR YOU IF...
• Tropes or cliches bug ya
• You need everything to be 100% realistic all the time
• Petty dramas and miscommunications are your book pet peeves (this book is about high schoolers...but sometimes, it feels like everyone in this book's town is in high school!)

One thing to note: The book is currently being promoted with a blurb calling it dark academia, but it's decidedly not! It's a book that takes place in a high school (academia) where a murder happens (a dark event), but that's not what dark academia is, and the book doesn't really have any(?) of the hallmarks of the dark academia genre. And to be clear, that's not a bad thing! This book was well suited by its light, fun approach to the topic, its trope-y characters who don't take anything too seriously, and its sometimes absurd twists. The world has ample place for fun, unserious books!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the eBook copy of the book! All opinions are, of course, my own.

I really enjoyed Very Dangerous Things. This book was impossible to put down, I was at the edge of my seat the entire time and stayed up way too late trying to finish it. The school the main characters attend sounds like something I would have loved when I was in high school - minus the murder, of course. The characters are all so interesting and different, I even loved the side characters. The plot snagged me immediately and I never guessed the twist - I was so surprised! Overall, this book was lots of fun and the author's writing style made it super easy to read. I can't wait to read more of their books!

This was such a fun read! Anyone who liked thrillers and murder mysteries should give it a read. Each year, the school that Dulce goes to hosts a murder mystery that the students compete to solve. This year the murder is real. In this captivating story, full of twists and turns you follow Dulce and her friends trying to solve the murder and prove innocence for another student. This book is a YA and a very interesting read. Kept me on my toes!

What a very fun premise!
This is high school level criminology, and the students are clever and motivated. The annual murder mystery is an exciting way to learn and, since the murder must be solved by a team with various skills, it is like a practical exam on analytic thinking, evidence gathering and analysis, and teamwork. The students all look forward to the kick off of the competition, waiting for someone to find the body. However, when the victim is found actually dead, the competition becomes a personal quest for our little investigators. Student detectives clash with school management and local police, risking their grades and safety to find clues to the death of their classmate. This book was very exciting and fun, with the best elements in a whodunit! In a mystery where literally anyone could be the culprit, the switchbacks in this story will keep you rooted within the pages. I wish my high school had offered these types of classes! I thoroughly enjoyed the premise behind the book and thank NetGalley for granting me an ARC copy to enjoy. The mystery, young romance, and family drama blend together to give you a solid page-turner!

Very Dangerous Things takes us on an exhilarating journey into the world of mystery and criminology. I was genuinely surprised by how much I enjoyed this book, especially after not connecting with Suddenly a Murder—this one feels like a complete step up in every way.

The story centers on Dulce, a sharp and intuitive protagonist whose brilliant mind reminded me of Spencer Reid from Criminal Minds. Dulce’s intelligence and insight drive the plot forward, making her an engaging character to follow. What stood out most was how each character carried weight in the story—no one felt like a filler. Everyone seemed like a viable suspect at some point, which kept me second-guessing the whole way through. Even when I thought I had it all figured out, the narrative would twist just enough to keep me questioning.

One of the strongest aspects of the book is the tension and unpredictability. The sense that no character was truly safe heightened the stakes and made the mystery feel more real and immediate. Even though some of the twists felt a little predictable in hindsight, the way Muñoz executed them kept me hooked.

My only complaint lies with the pacing and length. While I appreciated that the story moved quickly and didn’t linger too long on unnecessary details, there were moments where it felt too fast. Some scenes—particularly those building the backstory and exploring relationships between characters—felt rushed. A bit more room to develop the side plots would have elevated the story even more.

Overall, Very Dangerous Things delivers a gripping mystery with a compelling protagonist, a well-constructed cast of characters, and enough twists to keep you engaged until the very last page. It’s a major improvement from Muñoz’s previous work, and I can’t wait to see what she writes next.

2.75 rounded up. Cute-ish but left me wanting a lot more.

As an adult, I really enjoy YA thrillers. They're usually easier to digest than the often unnecessarily fibrous books of adult authors and often have better twists. Unfortunately, every now and then I come across a YA thriller that probably would be better-received by a teenager rather than an adult, and this is one.

It's a confusing narrative from the jump, as we immediately start from a third-person perspective but switch to a first-person perspective and go back and forth a few times throughout the book. It's jolting, doesn't make much sense and is tricky to follow. To further complicate the narrative, our lead character is a perceptive little teen detective and makes deductions of characters throughout the book. These are little italicized paragraphs that aren't explained as such, thus, I was left scratching my head for the first few chapters as to what was going on. Don't get me started about how our *allegedly* perceptive heroine is wildly oblivious to so, so much throughout the book. Add in a wild conspiracy theory that comes out of nowhere about her mother's death, a sharp antagonism to technology that leads to her only using a flip phone, and the quote from p. 48 that says, "I always score off the charts on the hearing test that the school nurse administers every year," and we are introduced to quite the unhinged MC.

The other characters aren't much better. The best friend is quite an abusive gaslighter, the principal is wildly inappropriate with his students (eating lunch with them, showing off crime scene footage, etc.) - this is just the surface of the crazy iceberg that is our cast of characters.

We definitely lean into the drama for this one. I was constantly shocked by how much petty drama in which our MC and her inner circle were constantly involved. It was a constant reminder that this is a high school book that cannot be taken too seriously, despite the murder. No spoilers but even the solution to the murder involves some very shaky legality.

It's not all bad, though. The fact that our MC is involved in so much high school drama ensures that we have a very atypical antagonism among our MC's team. It was an interesting dynamic to have a murder-solving gang not quite like each other that much.

The murder was also fun! (Or as fun as a fictional killing can be.) The how and why were rich and interesting, though I thought whodunnit was glaringly obvious from the beginning.

We're left with an ending that is cute-ish and sets the novel up quite nicely for a sequel, though I must admit that I wouldn't be interested in reading it. Its flaws made reading it a bit of a slog, and the redeeming qualities just weren't enough to really ignite a fire in me to see what happens next. It will probably be far better received by its target (teen) audience, but it just wasn't for me.

Munoz's Very Dangerous Things is a fun take on the classic whodunit murder mystery. Having the setting be a criminology high school provides a funny environment for the murder to take place and the dry humor in the prologue sets the tone for the rest of the story.

The heart of the novel are the characters and their relationships with each other as the novel progresses. Nuance and depth are given to all of the high schoolers so they don't feel flat or stock. The adults are a little more one-dimensional, but I feel that is allowed in a teen YA book.

Like every good mystery there are some twists at the end, with some more surprising that others, but all in all, a very fun read.

Thank you to the author for sending me this ARC on NetGalley! This book is perfect for fans of "Truly, Devious" by Maureen Johnson (except Dulce is more likeable than Stevie). The beginning of this book was a bit too slow for me, but I got hooked a few chapters in.

I loved the confrontation scenes between Dulce and Sierra, because who doesn't love tension? Also, the chapter 31 Dorothy quote??? I was ready for Zane to be the accomplice. The epilogue was definitely cry-worthy, and I love that Dulce can now have some inner peace.

I thought that the plot twists were somewhat predictable, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, especially because there were so many of them that I couldn't keep up! Every time I thought I had the mystery figured out, Lauren would switch things up.

All in all, a great read that kept me on my toes until the very end. Highly recommend!