Thank you Netgalley and Sourcefire books for the ARC!

Billie has just landed a promotion at her local theme park. It's opening night and everything is going to be perfect. Until she finds the custodian dead on the new ride. She's sure he died of a heart attack and not from a broken neck on the ride she's supposed to be operating. But more weird things start to happen and she's left to fight for not only her job, but also her life.

I really enjoyed Murder Land. I love theme park thrillers and this was a fast paced book that didn't let up. From the beginning, there was tension building up to the climax and I found myself rooting for Billie and wanting to know what was going to happen and what was really going on.

Murder Land is an absolute thrill ride for theme park lovers—and anyone who enjoys a good, heart-pounding murder mystery! Imagine a twisted, almost-too-real amusement park backdrop, where dark secrets lurk behind every cotton candy stand and roller coaster. From the very first page, this story had my pulse RACING, and it didn't let up.

Meet Billie, an employee at Murder Land, who seems to find herself ensnared in a web of secrets, lies, and—yes—murder. What makes this story even more gripping is the colorful ensemble of characters that each add depth and intrigue to the plot. The author’s brilliant pacing gives us time to focus on select characters, peeling back layers of hidden motives, secretive pasts, and shocking twists—much like a vintage Agatha Christie novel or a high-stakes Knives Out mystery. Each chapter keeps you guessing, narrowing down the suspects while opening up more questions.

The plot itself is a non-stop sprint. It kicks off at full speed and doesn’t slow down as the body count rises and the stakes get higher. What really kept me hooked, though, was the fascinating backstory of the theme park itself. It’s easy to draw parallels to real-life theme parks, but the inspiration behind Murder Land adds a whole new layer of fun (and a little bit of darkness) to the mystery. Stick around for the acknowledgements, too—you’ll get a fun tidbit that sheds more light on the park’s twisted origins!

That said, I did feel one death came a bit too out of left field. While it definitely pushed the plot forward, it felt almost rushed compared to the carefully built tension leading up to it. It was shocking, yes, but I would have loved to see just a bit more buildup to make it land with the impact it deserved.

In the end, this book is a wild, rollercoaster of a read, and I’d recommend it to fans of Hide by Kiersten White and anything by Natasha Preston. Murder Land delivers the thrills, chills, and whodunit intrigue that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very last page!

Murder Land is an almost 90’s style murder mystery with a setting of a theme park as they try to figure out who is killing people.

I wanted to like this book, I really did but it was hard to follow, there seemed to be a lot of weird information that didn’t really help the plot and it seemed to jump around from idea to idea like the writer didn’t really seem like they knew how they wanted the story to go.

I figured out who the killer was fairly fast let’s just say through pattern recognition and a love for 90’s thrillers I won’t say more than that because I don’t want to ruin the book for others who might enjoy it.

Overall this was a miss for me but I also expect a lot from thrillers I read so this thriller might be better suited for people just getting into the genre.

Thank you Netgalley and sourcebooks Fire for the arc

As a theme park nerd, I was super excited to read Murder Land! I read it in just under 1 day. I enjoyed the story, the relationships, and documentary flairs. There were some grammatical errors, some sentences inorganically broken up, and some lines that I had to re-read several times to get the meaning. As a theme park nerd, I was a bit put off by the storyline that seemed to parallel the Buzzy/Hypothalamus mystery at WDW. It seemed kind of like the novel was loosely based off of that scandal and therefore wasn't as creative as it could have been. Overall, I really did enjoy this read and would recommend it to others. The author created a world that I was glad I got the chance to visit.

Book:
MURDER LAND by Carlyn Greenwald
Thank you SourcebooksFire and Netgalley for the Earc May 6)

Review:
4⭐
It's opening night at Murder Land and Billie is excited to start her new job at the park she's been working at for the past few summers. When the ride breaks down, and is inevitably fixed, Billie takes that as and opportunity to test the new addition to the ride with her friends and one of the other workers. When he d*es, Billie and her friends embark on a nights long journey trying to prove what they know and stay alive.
MURDER LAND was a fast-paced thriller with an ending and whodunit it reveal.that left me shocked. Yes, I thought something like that was happening, but the person involved, and their reasons for being involved was something I didn't piece together. It was like the clues didn't add up, but I guess plot twist. And who doesn't love a never-would-have-seen-it-coming plot twist/whodunit???
Now, I did find MURDER LAND intriguing, and it was quite thrilling. There were points that kept me on my toes---that I found crazy. From page one, the action never stopped, but neither did the cringe. OMG, this was so cringey: Billie's inward thought, some of the conversations, and some of their actions. Nonetheless, this is mystery within mystery within a mystery, begging to be solved.
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The set-up for this book felt very intriguing, and I enjoyed the initial details provided on the theme park setting. However this book lost me with it's characters unfortunately: too many introduced at the same time without clear characterization for each, resulting in me having to flip back and forth to remind myself who was who.

Thank you Sourcebooks Fire and Netgalley for this eARC, these opinions are my own. This one has a fun setting! Billie just got promoted to Californialand’s new park Murder Land. She’s finally going to be able to operate a ride. The parks preview is tonight and she got tickets for her best friend Grace, Sawyer, the best friend’s girlfriend, and her crush Leon. This will be a perfect night for their little queer friend group. Only the Billie’s ride stops working, her first night is off to a disaster but then Sawyer to the rescue. Because they had to shut the ride down it’s just the four of them, Billie shouldn’t, but the ride is quick and this is their chance to check it out. Before the set off a janitor comes in and asks to join them, she can’t say no so she lets him on. The ride is a little exhilarating and when it’s over the get off her friends promising to meet up with her after her shift. It’s only after they’re gone that she realizes the janitor never got off, as she gets closer she realizes it cause he’s dead. It looks like he had a heart attack. She gets help but when they get back the body looks different and he seems to have a broken neck. Did she just imagine the way he looked after the ride? In order to save her job she has to prove he died of a heart attack and it wasn’t her fault. To do that she’ll have to sneak around the park looking for clues. Luckily her friends are here to help. But Grace starts acting strange, she’s keeping something from Billie. As more people die and they have a run in with an ex-employee with a knife they may be in more danger then they realized. Can Billie figure out what is going on? Will the make it through the night alive? And what isn’t Grace telling her? I enjoyed the theme park vibes and them running around an empty park with the somewhat spooky vibes! Had me hooked and was a thrill from start to finish! Great for mystery lovers and theme park enthusiasts!

As soon as I read Greenwald's announcement of "Murder Land", I was hooked. This book's suspense did not let me down! An amusement park's thrills and excitement are aptly conveyed in Greenwald's writing. The attractions, the food carts/restaurants strewn throughout the several zones, and the animatronics were all very clear in my mind. I thought Sawyer and Billie's developing friendship was particularly interesting, but all of the primary characters were well-developed. The adolescent anxiety that accompanies approaching change was brilliantly portrayed by Greenwald.Without many twists and turns, it wouldn't be a theme park or a thriller, and this story did not disappoint. I was just as interested in unraveling the mystery surrounding Randy and Grace's relationship as Billie was. As the transcripts revealed the background upon which the park was founded, I adored the Theme Park Confidential interludes. The climax was satisfactory and brought all the plot lines full circle. Readers who enjoy a little romance, mystery, suspense, and history together will appreciate this narrative!

The premise of this book was cool- a California themed theme park one of which is called Murder Land about the famous murders in California. Then on opening night 4 people end up murdered! A great plot but this book was all over the place. There was so much extraneous information that I really didn’t even understand what we were trying to solve for 3/4 of the book. Are we solving a mystery about people dying at the park, a missing animatronic, generation old murders? It was hard to know that there was a lot of reflection on the same issues that felt unnecessary. I really did like the premise and I think a different reader might be more of a target audience.

🔪┊“ you can't hurt people and get away with it. ”

Murder Land follows seventeen-year-old Billie, a ride operator in the newest section of the theme park Californialand. After the mysterious death of her coworker on the buzzworthy new ride she operates, she teams up with her friends to sneak through the park after hours in search of the truth.

PROS:

- from the opening sentence, i was enraptured by this book. seriously, i stayed up reading until three am because i didn't want to put it down. i held my breath like i was actually hiding from the killer(s) along with them during certain key tense moments.

- the main character was refreshing, i loved that she actually stood up for herself and expressed what she wanted.

- i LOVED the inclusion of the interview interspersed throughout the novel, as well as the video with the comments at the end. it really fit the tone of the novel, and made it feel much more realistic.

- i suspected literally everyone but the actual killer(s) but that may be because i suck at solving mysteries.

CONS:

- while this is more something neutral, all of the brands + pop culture references throughout the novel kinda threw me off/pulled me out of the story.

- the messy love square stressed me out trying to keep track of everyone's feelings.

I really really really enjoyed this book. A murder-mystery like none other I’ve read before, I truly had no idea what would come next and how the story would resolve. I was really excited for this book, and it certainly lived up to my expectations.

I did knock off a star for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, I felt the thru-line was a bit confusing. Lots of moving parts and names of people the audience barely knows but needs to remember for the sake of the story. I worry that since this is YA, it might go over some younger people’s heads. I honestly felt like this book would’ve been a 5-star read if it wasn’t YA. My second reason for knocking off a star was the romance aspect. There are murders happening and our main character is focused on how heated she gets when literally anybody touches her? It just seemed a bit forced.

I still enjoyed the hell out of it and I would read a sequel if there was one. I feel like there’s so much potential with a story like this one, and I’d be interested to see what happens after this story.

A huge thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC!❤️

Murder in a theme park about murders - I was hooked from the moment I read Greenwald’s deal announcement. The suspense and secrets in this book did not disappoint!

Greenwald’s writing perfectly captures the excitement and thrills of an amusement park. I could vividly picture the animatronics, the rides, and the food carts/restaurants scattered around the various lands. All the main characters were well-developed, and I especially enjoyed Sawyer’s and Billie’s growing relationship. Greenwald did a great job portraying the teenage angst that comes with impending change.

It wouldn’t be a thriller, or a theme park, without multiple twists and turns, and this story delivered on both counts. Billie’s confusion was my confusion, and I was equally invested in solving the riddle behind Randy and Grace’s relationship. I loved the interludes from Theme Park Confidential, as the transcripts peeled away the history the park was built upon.

The ending brought all the plot lines full circle and provided a satisfying conclusion. This story is sure to appeal to readers who love a bit of history, romance, mystery, and suspense all rolled into one!

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

[arc review]
Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.
Murder Land releases May 6, 2025

An hour into the opening night of Murder Land — a new attraction at the Californialand theme park — the ride that Billie has been promoted to operate has malfunctioned.
When she goes off script and takes a private ride with her best friends and one of the theme parks custodians, the last thing she expects to find at the end of the three minute ride is one of them dead.

To put her mind at ease, Billie is determined to prove that the custodian died of a heart attack, and not by a broken neck from a ride she was operating. But before the night is over, another person close to her dies.
Are these deaths freak accidents? Is a disgruntled ex-employee seeking out retaliation? Or did someone dig too deep into something they weren’t supposed to know about?

I liked that this story was isolated to a time period of just over twelve hours, but I didn’t enjoy how heavy-handed the teen relationship drama was. Having all three of Billie’s friends pining after her made her seem like a not-like-other-girls/pick me.

<i>“To think that I got what I always wanted from you tonight. Your attention.”
I find myself smiling. “No one’s ever wanted my attention that badly.”</I>
Ew. Was I supposed to swoon from reading that? Why would you say something like that when it took your girlfriend/best friend literally DYING to get the attention of another girl? I’d be rolling in my grave.