🔪┊“ 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.