*This review contains spoilers*

I really wanted to love this book, but several aspects fell flat for me. I did like the setting and the Goosebeary mystery aspect. I enjoyed the theme park confidential excerpts threaded in the narrative. The cover also was beautifully designed and drew me in.

However, most of the characters just felt flat and the relationships weren't developed enough for me. I wasn't invested in the Grace/Sawyer or Billie/Leon romances. We're told that Grace and Billie are best friends, but that feeling never leapt off the page for me, so Grace's demise didn't have much of an impact on me as a reader. I also really disliked Sawyer's confession that she never loved Grace because she liked Billie the whole time. It made her character very hard to care about. The ending also felt extremely drawn out, and I felt the book could have been shortened a decent amount.

The murders and other mysteries involving the park itself were compelling, so I would recommend this book to those who are looking for a more action driven book, rather than those looking for strong character development. Thank you to netgalley for providing me with this arc!

Let’s say 2.5 rounded up for this book. I was really looking forward to it because Fantastic Land was such a memorable book in this same vein. This book was just…scattered. There were incomplete sentences. Maybe that was just to show the thought pattern of a teenage girl but it didn’t translate well for me. There was also just too much going on. An ill timed romance being thrown in with murders, lots of jargon without enough world building. Look! Now I’m writing incomplete sentences on the heels of finishing this book! None of the characters were developed enough for me to really picture them or care too much. Overall, this book was a miss for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for early access to this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Murder Land by Carlyn Greenwald is a YA thriller set in a true crime-themed amusement park. Billie lands a summer job at the park, but things go south fast when a coworker mysteriously dies on her ride. Everyone thinks it’s an accident—until clues point to murder, and Billie looks like the prime suspect. She’s got one wild night to clear her name, uncover the truth, and figure out who’s hiding what. Think murder mystery meets theme park chaos with a touch of queer rep.

I really wanted to love this book, but it just didn’t quite land for me. The plot was hard to follow at times, and honestly, some of the characters came off a bit cringy. The transitions between the different parks felt abrupt and confusing, which made it harder to stay engaged. That said, the cover is absolutely stunning—if I had seen it in a store, I definitely would’ve picked it up.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the opportunity to read this ARC!

Unfortunately, I ended up DNFing this book at 10%. The characters definitely grabbed my attention but the plot of the book fell flat for me! The writing just didn't do it for me! I think this book could be perfect for the right reader, but unfortunately, it wasn't me!

Murder Land follows Billie and her friends as they try to solve what at first appears to be an accidental death on the theme park's newest ride! Who will survive opening night?

I was initially excited about this book when I saw it was sest in a theme park. It is YA, but I've read some great YA "slashers" so figured it would be along the same lines. While the characters were good, it didn't feel very "slasher" to me. I even figured out who the killer was early on.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley! This is my first book by this author. It was the typical Young Adult book while set in a theme park, which is a fun place for this book. It definitely kept wanting to know more but was very slow in some parts

I have always had a fascination with theme parks and what it would be like if they were closed or abandoned, so I loved the setting in this book.
I loved the murder mystery element and I was kept guessing.

This was an interesting idea and I really enjoyed the concept of this book. I loved the murder-mystery vibe and enjoyed trying to guess who did it. This is definitely a YA book and I found some parts very hard to get through because I felt bored. I understand the importance of the theme park confidential transcript but I also found the beginning entries to bore me a lot. The second half of this book picked up for me and I enjoyed the ending. Overall 2/5 stars but I think it’s because I’ve outgrown a lot of the YA writing. I think my middle/high school self would have really enjoyed this book.

Short and Sweet Review

Billie is living her best life, she works at an amusement park and got a promotion for ride operator. The night starts off well but when one of her coworkers dies on a ride when Billie shouldn’t have been operating it things start to go downhill. It looks like her coworker just had a heart attack but when Billie comes back with help it looks like his neck was snapped. Billie thinks someone is trying to frame her for murder and now she’s determined to find out what really happened. Billie only has one night to figure out what happened and avoid being another victim.

I love amusement parks and mysteries that take place there or just anything that happens there mainly because of my love for Nancy Drew and the Haunted Carousel. Anyway when we meet our main character Billie she’s pumped about her new promotion as ride operator and a few of her friends are there for the opening night including her best friend Grace, Grace’s girlfriend Sawyer, and Billie’s crush Leon. When her friends show up at her ride she decides to operate it and go along with them but then her weird coworker also wants to go with them and Billie relents. When the ride is over Billie notices that her coworker is dead and at first a heart attack seems plausible but when she checks again she notices that his neck was snapped. So instead of running her ride she ends up going on the hunt for a murdered. I did like seeing Billie go around to different places in the park especially after closing and also having her friends around. The plot was pretty straightforward we follow Billie around the park trying to find a killer and also there’s a bit of a twist with a conspiracy theory surrounding the park which her friend Grace has been doing her research on. We eventually see another murder and that really rattles Billie and makes her want to work faster. Billie was an okay character she didn’t think before she acted most of the time and the other characters helped her see reason. I wasn’t really into the romance because something traumatizing just happened and it was not the time to be having romantic conversations.

Overall, this was a good book, it kept me entertained and I loved the setting. I found the twist of the conspiracy theory intriguing and was interested to see how everything played out. If you want a quick mystery thriller in a fun setting check this book out.

Really loved this book! A creepy atmosphere that was chilling and very vivid. Great characters, that I was really emotionally invested in. Great plot that was fast paced and easy to read. Really really loved it!

I was looking forward to this book. I love true crime, theme parks and mysteries. This book seemed like it would have it all.
This book follows Billie who was just promoted to a ride operator in Murderland as she investigates what happened to her coworker who died on the roller coaster ride, she was operating. Billie's best friend Grace, Sawyer (Grace's girlfriend) and Leon join Billie as she races around Murderland to see if she can solve what happened to her coworker.
It was a decent read. The story kept moving forward. I could have done without the going on about how she was going to have sex that night with Leon in the beginning of the book. I felt they could of put more build up to what was going to happen verse that. How many times she kept bring it up seemed like overkill. I did enjoy the characters but sometimes was thinking omg what are they thinking. I wished it had a little more thrill in it than it did.

Thank you Sourcebooks and Netgalley for the arc copy.

This was fun, fast-paced mystery that totally pulled me in from page one. It follows Billie on opening night at the horror-themed amusement park she works at—a night that quickly turns deadly when a coworker dies on a brand-new ride. What first looks like a freak accident quickly spirals into something more sinister, and Billie and her friends sneak around the park after hours to uncover the truth… while a killer lurks close behind. The setting was incredible—I loved the behind-the-scenes look at the park and how atmospheric it all felt. The mystery was really well-paced with reveals that kept me constantly guessing. The twist? Genuinely surprising. Absolutely adored the characters. Billie is a great lead, and her grief is explored with surprising depth. Her friendship with Grace was so wholesome and real, and Sawyer brought a grounded logic that balanced the group dynamic so well. Watching Billie and Sawyer’s relationship grow was such a sweet bonus.

If you love theme parks, murder mysteries, or stories with both heart and horror, definitely give this one a read!

Billie’s life is thriving. She has great friends, a rekindling with her crush, and she has received a promotion at work to be a theme park ride operator on their newest attraction, Murder Land.
On preview night, her friends and her cannot wait to try all the new rides, so they decide to take an unauthorized run on the ride Billie operates. The only problem is, one of the passengers ends up dead. At first it appears to be a heart attack, but wait, why is his neck hanging at an odd angle like that?
What ensues is a face-paced race to figure out what is going on at this park, and why do more people keep dying? Are her friends hiding more than they are letting on, or is this all just one big coincidence?


This book was such a fun YA thriller, and would be perfect to read over the summer. There is something about YA thrillers that I love, and this one checked all the boxes for me. The mystery was solid, and the gore wasn’t too gory to me, and I thought the deaths were well timed in the plot. The intertwined friendship/relationships drama can bring anyone back to their teenage years and relate to those issues as well. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a more “light hearted” thriller. If I had this book when I was younger, I would have devoured it in one sitting. Thank you @carlyn_gee, @sourcebooksfire and @netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is such a perfect YA book. As I read this, I kept thinking that I would have loved a book like this when I was teen.

One of the first things I loved was that there are different sexual orientations for the characters, but they weren't the characters' entire personality. It was just another part of who they were. Also, the characters had different backgrounds; some that seemed idyllic and others that were not, and yet the friends supported and loved each other.

There is swearing in this book, and some mentions of sex, although there are no spicy scenes in any way. And the sexual talk is not graphic or done in a crass way; it's simply conversational in a couple of scenes. Another aspect I enjoyed: this is a YA book, and the characters act appropriately. There are times when, as an adult, you would think they are making a crazy decision, but as someone younger and still learning about life, it makes perfect sense.

The author did a really good job at keeping me so engrossed in the story that I never once was actually thinking about who the villain was. I knew I wanted to know, but this book was fast paced enough that I didn't even want to stop and ponder, and the characters kept my attention so that I didn't feel like I needed a break from them.

Overall, this is a great read. If you're a teen, I think you'd enjoy this story a lot. A carnival setting, a possible love connection, and a mystery that will keep you guessing.

2.75/5

I received this digital ARC via Netgalley and was so looking forward to it when I came across it.

The setting and plot intrigued me and I was throughly looking forward to reading it. It went in a different direction than I expected but it still kept my attention overall. I did have to force myself to finish it because I guessed the outcome within the first half.

My biggest critique would be the lack of consistency when referencing the real world and California’s history. I completely understand taking creative liberties but I believe it would make more sense to follow the accurate history of theme parks if some of it was being used.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Murder Land by Carlene Greenwaldnn, 17-year-old Billy couldn’t be happier she got a promotion at work and is going to start in one of the most anticipated parts of the park, thanks to her boss Connor Murderland. If only there wasn’t so many hiccups along the way; it’s opening night and her mom couldn’t bring her and so her best friend Grace does, grace and Sawyer are fighting again and finally when she gets there the ride wouldn’t work and afterSawyer fixes it they all go for a ride including the janitor 90 year old Randy who Billy initially thought Grace found weird but after the rides over they find Randy dead and he won’t be the last one. because soon Grace is dead as well. The park closes in Sawyer along with Billy‘s first crush Leon tried to solve who did it but find their self being hunted by the murderer as well. it seems like the closer they get the more dangerous it becomes. Let me start by saying this is one of my most anticipated books and although I wasn’t disappointed it didn’t turn out the way I thought it was going to. I really liked the great detail she put into describing the park the rides and the key players but when her best friend just died not to mention her crush who also likes her is with her she starts entertaining thoughts of being with her dead best friends girlfriend Sawyer. I thought that it was not only a pointless sub plot awkward to say the least but also too soon and highly inappropriate. I still was shocked by the culprit because OMG didn’t see that coming so I will still recommend this book for the great park details and I did find Billy Leon and Sawyer to be very likable and the mystery to be a good one just could’ve done without all the potential too soon romance. it’s not a conspiracy theory if it’s true. I do recommend this book but just don’t go into it expecting splatter punk Tapo because it is far from that. It should’ve been called the mystery and left at that but I digress I still recommend that they have great details and the great mystery to be solved so those who like books like that will enjoy this one. #NetGalley, #TheBlindReviewer, #MyHonestReview, #CarleneGreenwald, #MurderLand,#SourceBooks,K

I enjoy a YA book and was excitied to read this as based in an amusement park. I had really high hopes for this book but it was just OK. The story follows Billie and her friends trying to survive opening night of Murder Land. Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Fire for ARC.

I would like to extend my gratitude to Carlyn Greenwald, SOURCEBOOKS Fire, and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

The premise of this book is intriguing. Billie works at a theme park and has recently received a promotion to a new section as a ride operator. The situation becomes precarious when a deceased individual is discovered on the ride. Convinced that there are malevolent activities occurring within the theme park, Billie embarks on a quest to solve the murder.

The premise is compelling; however, there were instances of confusing and contradictory writing. I found it challenging to discern what the main character was wearing—was it a jacket, a hoodie, or perhaps her ride uniform complete with heels? While not insurmountable, these discrepancies proved distracting. Additionally, there were several instances of cumbersome writing with superfluous information, which further detracted from the core narrative.

Overall, it was a commendable young adult thriller mystery. It encompasses various elements that are likely to captivate young adult readers, including a murder mystery, awkward relationships, and the challenges of fitting in. I believe that young adult readers may be more lenient regarding the writing style.

Thank you to Carlyn Greenwald, SOURCEBOOKS Fire, and Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange goes an honest review (unpaid).

While the premise of this book was extremely interesting, and it has a ton of potential, the writing is clunky, many details contradict each other, and there are a good number of typos. In addition to that, after <spoiler> Grace's death </spoiler>, I found myself not really caring about any of the characters. A lot of the story and the characters still need fleshing out for me to be really invested. In addition, some parts 9f the book mentioned Disney while others refered to it vaguely as the "Other California theme park" or "the Mouse Overlord" and I think that should be more consistent.

There was so much going on in this book and with so much going on nothing was done right. I wish there was on focus and that one focus would have been amazing