Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced reader copy.

Mystery/Thrillers can be a good ride: entertaining, suspenseful. But, for me, I have to be able to connect to the main character and feel like the plot has plausibility. I just couldn't connect with Shaw Connolly, as a character. From the opening pages she came across as unformed ; there was nothing that made me feel anything in particular toward her. Then, when the man who allegedly murdered her sister calls, the conversation felt so banal that I couldn't keep going with the book. Shaw felt almost resigned to getting these taunting phone calls and her follow up call to the detective who's been in charge of her sister's unsolved murder seem rote and without any emotion. While her job--as a fingerprint analyst--gave a slight twist on the typical law enforcement job, this one couldn't hold my interest.

Sadly, this book seriously missed the mark for me. It almost seems like we were joining a series of progress. There were unnecessary subplots. The story overall had parts that were predictable, and other parts were all over the place. Characters are one-dimensional. The pace was just too slow to hold my attention.

The synopsis of this book drew me in , but unfortunately it was not for me. I ultimately finished the book because I was interested in the main storyline / figuring out where Thea was. However, the banter in this book drove me crazy. This felt like the middle of a series where I was supposed to already like Shaw before reading (which was not the case - she was my least favourite part). There was an (in my opinion) unnecessary romance subplot that I didn't care for as well.

slow, predictable, maybe a little flat? it felt like i got dropped into a series midway and i think that was the most frustrating part of it. it wasn't bad, per say. Just not for me. i genuinely had no issues with the writing or characters, but again, the story just didn't hit for me.

While Shaw Connolly’s life as a fingerprint analyst in rural Maine places her at the scene of crimes of all types—the tragic disappearance of her little sister Thea sixteen years before still hangs heavily over her. When she begins to receive disturbing calls from Anders Jansen, who claims to have killed her sister, she begins to fear for her life. When Anders puts a tracker on her car and continues to stalk her with threatening phone calls, she begins to fear for her life. Desperate to find out the truth about her sister's disappearance, she continues to take his calls and soon ends up in a life-threatening situation that threatens her ability to get the truth.

I liked the MC and how grief and loss was discussed but overall, this book was not for me. The story felt disjointed. I did not need multiple in depth descriptions of finger printing. The ending was presumed from the beginning and even though there were some surprises, they weren’t enough to keep the book exciting.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for this book I had a hard time jumping into it. I would rate this a 1.5/5 the story was just so boring and I wasn’t interested in it at all.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books for this advance reader’s copy, in exchange for an honest review. “Shaw Connolly Lives to Tell” has an expected publication date of June 17, 2025.
There’s something a little off-putting about sitting down to read a mystery novel when the title has given away at least a portion of the ending. You know who’s coming out on top in the climactic fight scene.
That’s not to say that “Shaw Connolly Lives to Tell” wasn’t an enjoyable and emotional read. But that heavy foreshadowing and a few chapters that seemed to drag a bit kept it from being a top-notch thriller.
Shaw Connolly, the oldest of three sisters, is a fingerprints analyst living in Maine. She lives with her father and her two sons, ages 15 and 10. The disappearance of the middle sister, Thea, sixteen years ago, is a tragedy Shaw carries with her night and day. Her obsession with “knowing” what happened to Thea has driven away her husband Ryan, and created friction with her youngest sister, Madison. And that obsession prompts her to continue taking phone calls from Anders Jansen, a man who all but claims responsibility for Thea’s disappearance.
Anders taunts Shaw, seemingly knowing every aspect of her personal life, and eventually begins stalking her. Despite taking out a restraining order, Shaw can’t stop taking the bait. And her preoccupation begins to impact her work, leading to a temporary furlough.
The story flows smoothly, though a bit slow in spots. A series of seemingly related arsons helps build a suspenseful pace. It’s clear there’s a relationship between the fires and Anders’ escalating taunts; Shaw just needs to put the pieces of the puzzle together and begins to come unraveled when nothing seems to fit. Anders is in her head.
The tension, however, loses just a bit of steam since (as mentioned earlier) the book title gives away a good portion of the ending. It’s still a dramatic, intense encounter. But when you know the outcome in advance, some of the punch has been lost. And the dialogue at times is a bit clunky.
There are some good sections of backstory to help understand Shaw and her relationship with her two sisters. A bit more history on Shaw and her husband Ryan would be helpful, as the latter becomes an almost invisible part of the story.
Overall, it’s a good read that would be made much better with a different title. But that’s just my take on it.
Four out of five stars for “Shaw Connolly Lives to Tell.”
And check out all of my reviews at my Raised on Reading (www.raisedonreading.com) book blog.

DNF this one around the 30% mark. It was very slow and I just couldn’t get into it. The premise sounded interesting but I couldn’t connect to the characters.

This is a difficult one. On one hand it's a fascinating psychological study and on the other it's a really slow moving train wreck ( not the writing, the actual storyline, in which you literally watch unraveling happen over and over again). They're not incompatible by any means but the combination makes for a tough book to read. I feel like a movie version, or possibly even an audiobook, would be easier to manage. I was uncomfortable a lot of the time - and while I get that this is partly the point, it did not make for an engaging or enjoyable read. I kept wanting to look away, and eventually realized that feeling was stronger than my desire to actually see what happened, and I wasn't able to finish. This one wasn't a good fit for me and I'm still not really sure why...

This was unfortunately too slow for my liking. There was nothing truly happening to keep me hooked and engaged which caused me to having to DNF.

Shaw Connelly is a fingerprint analyst for the police department. Her seventeen year old sister, Thea, disappeared without a trace sixteen years ago. Now someone is calling her, goading her, and saying that he was the one who killed her sister. Will she be able to finally know the truth?
I really enjoyed this book. The writing was crisp and the characters well developed. Shaw was a borderline dislikable person, but she had suffered a lot of trauma. Highly recommended.

Amazing! I loved this and couldn't put it down. Shaw was so relatable and I felt so captured by her plight to find her sister's murderer and remains.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!

Thanks NetGalley!

I liked this book!

The thriller elements are undeniably compelling—especially the tension in Shaw’s pursuit of justice—but the story felt more like a family drama than a traditional thriller. I really appreciated the many characters (dad, ex husband, sons, sister) and at times they reminded me of my own family. It was sometimes inspiring to see Shaw chase justice for her sister but there were moments when I wished she had given up because it was greatly affecting her loved ones. The push and pull of those moments stood out to me.

The dialogue at times felt a little cringey, though I do think this was intentional - it seemed that Shaw was meant to be the cringey, out of touch older sister (in more ways than just dialogue).

Overall I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to others!

Shaw Connolly Lives to Tell was SO good! I love a good detective story and was sucked right into this one. I loved Shaw as a character and loved the fast pace of the story. I feel a good way to describe it is captivating and tense. This has prompted me to get my hands on other books by the author.

slow, predictable, maybe a little flat? it felt like i got dropped into a series midway and i think that was the most frustrating part of it. it wasn't bad, per say. Just not for me. i genuinely had no issues with the writing or characters, but again, the story just didn't hit for me.

A page turning, compelling thriller about a woman who will stop at nothing to uncover the truth behind her sister’s disappearance! Great read! This book had suspense, intrigue, action, murder, mystery, a great who done it and a few twists and turns. The storyline was very interesting! I definitely recommend reading this book! Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

Shaw Connolly is my new favorite heroine!!! This was so good!!! I think it’s going to be a big hit. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC!

This was a great suspenseful thriller. There were lots of twists and turns and the crime scenes were so detailed and descriptive. It kept me entertained and I enjoyed reading this book and finding out what happened

Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complementary ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!

Overall a great thriller, lots of suspense and kept me engaged. Some areas were a bit slow which lost my interest a bit, but I loved the twists and the spooky setting. Would recommend!