Name: Aimee :)'s review of Suddenly a Murder by Lauren Muñoz
Item: Suddenly a Murder
Rating: 5
Author: Aimee :)

Lauren Muñoz

Seven friends throw a 1920s–themed party, where it's all pretend—until one of them is murdered. One of Us Is Lying meets Knives Out in this killer locked-room mystery. Someone brought a knife to the party. To celebrate the end of high school, Izzy Morales joins her ride-or-die Kassidy and five friends on a 1920s–themed getaway at the glamorous Ashwood Manor. There, Izzy and her friends party in vintage dresses and expensive diamonds—until Kassidy’s boyfriend turns up dead. Murdered, investigators declare when they arrive at the scene, and now every party guest is a suspect. There’s the girlfriend, in love. The other girl, in despair. The old friend, forlorn. The new friend, distressed. The brooding enigma. And then, there’s Izzy—the girl who brought the knife. To find the killer, everyone must undergo a grueling interrogation, all while locked in an estate where, suddenly, the greatest luxury is innocence.

Suddenly a Murder

Aimee :)

But of course I didn't sleep. I lay in my cold bed, without Kassidy's warmth beside me, and cried. All I could see was her face, smiling at me one last time, looking like a lost, rain-soaked angel in her silver gown. Maybe she hadn't jumped at all; maybe she'd flown away.

She wipes away her tears and stands tall, her graceful head held high, as if steeling herself for what she's about to do. "Don't tell anyone what happened," she says. "Let it be a mystery." It takes everything I have to give her one last loving smile and then to turn and walk back to Ashwood Manor, my tears mixing with the rain pouring endlessly from the sky. I walk until I reach the terrace outside the drawing room. Then I look back at the sea.

"It's like in the movie," she says. "When Marla Nevercross discovers Cara Ashwood is the killer. She watches Cara walk toward these cliffs, and a single tear rolls down her cheek, because she knows she'll never see her sister again." Kassidy waves her hand toward the water. "It's my turn to walk away, Izzy."

Pilar de León stares at us with eyes full of reflected fire. "The washbowl was the murder weapon," she announces. "Someone bashed in Blaine's head with the bowl before they stabbed him.

The knife wounds would have killed him, but he was already dead."

"You do think I might have murdered Blaine," I whisper.

"I know the romantic thing to say is no, that the girl Im falling for could never do something like that," he says. "The honest truth is that I find you perfectly capable of murder.

You're driven and ambitious and brilliant, and protective of the people you love."

But they're wrong. I am a threat. And I'm going to burn them all down to save myself.

The laughter dies out slowly, and I can almost taste the catharsis, the release of pent-up emotions from a terrible twenty-four hours.

"To Blaine," says Marlowe, holding up his glass.

"To Blaine," says Kassidy, "who would have laughed the loudest."

It's strange how you can know someone so well and still not know the secret desires buried deep in their heart. I hope more than ever she doesn't find out what I've done. It would kill me to see the soft look in her gray eyes turn to disgust if the detectives discover my knife with Blaine's blood on it.

"Ms. Morales, one more thing," calls Pilar de León. "Why do you love the Jazz Age?"

I grimace. "It's when all my favorite murder mysteries were written."

"Now you find yourself in one of your own." She tilts her head like an inquisitive bird. "What are the chances?"

emily

I didn’t think this book would be too good, which allowed for surprise. I was a bit disappointed when it was obvious who the murderer was at the beginning, but then there’s this whole plot twist which i did not expect. I fell in love with all the characters, and even found myself crying.

Katie Roberts

I definitely did not see that ending coming! This book is filled with plot twists and I really enjoyed the 1920s theme. However, it did take quite a while to get into the actual plot and I do feel that the ending was quite rushed. I enjoyed the relatively short chapter and the flashbacks throughout. I also found out that this is a debut novel, so very impressive! 

Olivia 

Kassidy has invited her best friend Izzy and five other friends onto the island for a week of 1920s inspired fun. Until Blaine, Kassidy's boyfriend, is murdered, and everyone has motive. With flashbacks and reveals galore, can the killer be caught before the teens have to return to the mainland?

I really liked this. It's a bit of a slow-burn, in terms of mysteries, but the flashbacks really help put things in perspective. Someone seems very, very guilty right out of the gate, but looks can be deceiving. The characters were interesting, but a couple characters of color were kind of stereotyped. Ellison, the only Black rower on the team, is a star athlete, and Chloe Li is the valedictorian of the school. Both fall into common tropes which wasn't ideal. 

While the 1920s aspect plays a major role, I didn't connect with it as much because we only see Izzy and Kassidy watch one movie together and are told that they love the movies. I would've liked to see more references or more to do with the times. I did not see most of the twists coming, but I wasn't the biggest fan of the ending. Izzy trades one guilty thing for another. And I think the inappropriate relationship could've been handled with some more depth. 

Overall, a great locked-door mystery with a compelling protagonist!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review!:)

Holly

Very good debut!

Kassidy has invited her best friend Izzy and five other friends onto the island for a week of 1920s inspired fun. Until Blaine, Kassidy's boyfriend, is murdered, and everyone has motive. With flashbacks and reveals galore, can the killer be caught before the teens have to return to the mainland?

I really liked this. It's a bit of a slow-burn, in terms of mysteries, but the flashbacks really help put things in perspective. Someone seems very, very guilty right out of the gate, but looks can be deceiving. The characters were interesting, but a couple characters of color were kind of stereotyped. Ellison, the only Black rower on the team, is a star athlete, and Chloe Li is the valedictorian of the school. Both fall into common tropes which wasn't ideal. 

While the 1920s aspect plays a major role, I didn't connect with it as much because we only see Izzy and Kassidy watch one movie together and are told that they love the movies. I would've liked to see more references or more to do with the times. I did not see most of the twists coming, but I wasn't the biggest fan of the ending. Izzy trades one guilty thing for another. And I think the inappropriate relationship could've been handled with some more depth. 

Overall, a great locked-door mystery with a compelling protagonist!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review!:)

I love a murder mystery, so I was excited to check this one out. I loved the 1920s vibe; it felt so fun. I also thought the setting of the island worked nicely and added a level of tension and a feeling of isolation. I liked our main character Izzy and her friendship with Kassidy. They come from different worlds, but their friendship felt so genuine. One of my issues was that the extreme lavishness of these kids felt so absurd. I get that they're all stupid rich, except for Izzy, but even so, it felt like too much. Another thing was that I predicted a few of the reveals, but one caught me off guard. Other than that, I found this pretty entertaining.

Heather Harrington

This book is a young adult take on the classic murder whodunit. A group of friends goes to a mansion alone, but not all of them survive the night.

I will say I really enjoyed the concept of the book, but I had some issues with the execution which led to the whole experience coming up a little short. The book is described as being a mixture of One of Us is Lying and Knives Out. While this is true to some extent, I will say it didn't feel as suspenseful. Despite being in a house with a murderer, no character seemed worried about it. They all seemed nonchalant about it or were too dramatic.

Not only that, a majority of the book and the information about other characters is learned through police interviews that are being eavesdropped on by the main character. I was disappointed that the main character was not trying to actively be a detective. After the second round of interviews, I was bored of the format. The police were also not very realistic. At a certain point there were too many coincidences that they stumbled upon which made me think they weren't actually detectives, but alas they were. It was just not good character development ... or maybe there wasn't enough research in police procedure?

I will say, I liked how each character was described and how their personality was shown. Each character got a chapter (if not more) that was a flashback. In this way, you could learn about current relationship tensions and what they were really thinking. I enjoyed these parts of the book most, but this largely could be because these chapters had the most action. My only slight complaint is that the chapters weren't labeled with the characters names. This made it difficult to immediately know who was speaking.

As for the actual murder and killer, I was surprised as to who it was in the end. While I wasn't a fan of the ending (no spoilers!), I will give points for being able to hide who it was for so long.

Overall, a book about a friend being killed should shock me and make me tense, but the bite of this book was taken out by the odd format and lack of suspense building. It wasn't an awful book, but it wasn't the best either.

Special Thanks to BookishFirst for the ARC

Kendall V

This book is a young adult take on the classic murder whodunit. A group of friends goes to a mansion alone, but not all of them survive the night.
I will say I really enjoyed the concept of the book, but I had some issues with the execution which led to the whole experience coming up a little short. The book is described as being a mixture of One of Us is Lying and Knives Out. While this is true to some extent, I will say it didn't feel as suspenseful. Despite being in a house with a murderer, no character seemed worried about it. They all seemed nonchalant about it or were too dramatic.
Not only that, a majority of the book and the information about other characters is learned through police interviews that are being eavesdropped on by the main character. I was disappointed that the main character was not trying to actively be a detective. After the second round of interviews, I was bored of the format. The police were also not very realistic. At a certain point there were too many coincidences that they stumbled upon which made me think they weren't actually detectives, but alas they were. It was just not good character development ... or maybe there wasn't enough research in police procedure?
I will say, I liked how each character was described and how their personality was shown. Each character got a chapter (if not more) that was a flashback. In this way, you could learn about current relationship tensions and what they were really thinking. I enjoyed these parts of the book most, but this largely could be because these chapters had the most action. My only slight complaint is that the chapters weren't labeled with the characters names. This made it difficult to immediately know who was speaking.
As for the actual murder and killer, I was surprised as to who it was in the end. While I wasn't a fan of the ending (no spoilers!), I will give points for being able to hide who it was for so long.
Overall, a book about a friend being killed should shock me and make me tense, but the bite of this book was taken out by the odd format and lack of suspense building. It wasn't an awful book, but it wasn't the best either.

Special Thanks to BookishFirst for the ARC

emily &
Suddenly a Murder by Lauren Muñoz

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