Earlier this year I did a Will I Like This Book post on This Book Kills. It was a book that I was curious about, though I wasn’t hugely excited. But when I saw it available to review on NetGalley… Well, I just had to, didn’t I? I knew I wanted to read it for certain, and I wanted to see whether I was right about my opinions.

Jess Choudhary is a scholarship student at a well-esteemed boarding school and is under strict rules to behave herself. Jess always has, but one day when Hugh Henry Van Boren winds up dead, she receives a text message thanking her for the inspiration for how he was murdered. Jess knows she didn’t do it, but she also knows that if she wants to live, she needs to solve this mystery herself.

I said in my sample review that this book started before the murder. And it did, but fortunately, it didn’t take too long for the murder to happen. The story builds up a narrative of who Hugh was and why he might have wound up dead. But the actual reason isn’t revealed in this section. I understand why this was done, and it introduces the characters and story pretty well.

The writing was very much something that I enjoyed. The style is quite chatty, and the reason is that this book is supposed to be Jess writing down the events of what happened. There was one specific paragraph that I can think of where that really shined. But a lot of the time, I did forget that this story was being told that way. Still, I found this book super easy to read when I did pick it up.

But that’s where the problems begin. I didn’t really want to pick this book up during the first half.

The stakes in this book felt so low. Jess was receiving death threats, and yet it didn’t feel like she was really at risk. At least, not during the first half. The reasons for that are explained by who the killer is later on, but that was still a major issue. Thrillers are supposed to be exciting page-turners. They’re supposed to be heavy on intrigue. But it just felt like nothing was happening.

Around halfway through, the book did get better. I found myself wanting to carry on. There was also a pause in the proof, just before the killer was revealed, where you’re encouraged to guess who the killer was. That was a pretty fun addition, and I liked that Usborne did that. You could even get the opportunity to win some swag with your guess if you wish. I got it right, as it was obvious by that point. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. There were some good red herrings throughout and some side mysteries. But honestly? I was very meh over who the killer turned out to be.

So, this book was very much a mixed bag. I didn’t mind it, and, okay, this was a debut, so it didn’t need to be perfect. It’s nice to come across some new UKYA. and I definitely need to be reading more of it. So I will be picking up whatever Ravena Guron comes up with yet. But I don’t think I’ll be quite as excited.

This is an ingenious story bringing a new angle to murder mysteries. A boy with the ostentatious name Hugh Henry Van Boren is murdered at his posh, mixed sex boarding school. One of his group is a scholarship student from a quite different background, Jesminder Choudhary, a girl from an African family, known as Jes. She becomes an early suspect because there is an apparent connection between a short story she wrote in school and Hugh’s murder. This leads her to start investigating for herself. As the story unfolds, surprises await the reader. The conclusion to the murder is well handled but even better is the emergence of Jes as a confident adult. This is an unusual book which challenges the reader to get to the solution first. I recommend it.

A scholarship pupil at boarding school finds herself under suspicion when one of her fellow pupils is murdered using her short story as inspiration. Jess's best friend Clem was the new girlfriend of Hugh Henry Van Boren, one of the most popular rich kids at the school and there seem to be a few suspects who may have wished harm on Hugh, who is found dead on the school field, having being bludgeoned to death with a sports trophy. Jess starts to receive mysterious messages and threats, as the killer thanks for her 'inspiration' as Hugh is killed in the same way she creatively described in a short story she wrote for a school assignment. Jess and Clem take it upon themselves to try and find the killer, but more pupils find themselves attacked and threatened, the police are no help at all (which Jess finds out is because Hugh was involved a hit and run which was covered up by his family) and there is a mysterious private investigator on campus who seems to be both a hindrance and help to Jess's own pursuit of the truth, There's plenty of good twists and turns and the reveal of the killer is pretty good and quite unexpected unless you've really been paying attention! There's a few cliched moments including the usual Scooby Doo villain trope where they confess directly and explicitly everything they did and why, and it doesn't quite sustain tension and mystery all the way through but overall it's very entertaining and has good teen appeal.

This book was not for me. I love a good murder mystery, and, unfortunately, this was not one. The characters were flat and unlikeable, the plot was filled with holes, and it was overall an unenjoyable read. I can see what the author was aiming for and there were moments of good writing and a few interesting takes on stereotypical boarding school murder mysteries, but overall this book would not be one I would recommend. Perhaps a younger audience (13-15 years old) would enjoy it more!

A decent YA thriller, very reminiscent of One of Us Is Lying. It has a solid cast of characters that we actually get to know, which isn't always the case. Jess is a great protagonist who really keeps the story rooted. The one thing I didn't like was the break before the twist. I can see how the idea seemed good but it completely jolted me out of the story. Overall, fans of the genre will find a lot to enjoy here.

Read in one day. Really good and clever story. A story within a story. I do love a boarding school book. And a thriller. So mixed together is brilliant. But this has something additional. A twist of mammoth and original portion. Fabulous

I hadn’t realised this was a YA book when I picked it up, and must admit that it wasn’t really my cup of tea due to the immaturity of the characters. That being said, viewed through the eyes of the right age range reader, this book is quite interesting with a murder mystery, and a moral story to it also. I think this is aimed at teen girls in their mid teens, especially those feeling like misfits, and these readers would enjoy this story

Excellent fun guessing the murderer at a preppy boarding school.

Jess is telling us this story from the present, after it's all over. So there are touches that bring us out of the immediacy of the murders and remind us that the narrator already knows the solution, and often does this with humour.

It's a murder plot in a school, done before maybe, but this YA was hugely enjoyable, with a two-timing murder victim, a secret society, love interests, detectives and police involvement, and a scholarship student caught up in a fight for her education.

Jess is at Heybuckle School on her merits, one of very few students who aren't there due to hereditary or new money family wealth. Her best friend is called Clementine-Tangerine Briggs, for heaven's sake. She's from a poor family and determined to keep her head down, make the most of every opportunity this school will give her, and not rock the boat. But when a popular and privileged student is murdered, she finds herself instantly involved, as best friend to the victim's second secret girlfriend. But more because features of her own short story were used at the murder scene as part of his death.

With her scholarship on the line and the police seemingly making no headway, Jess feels forced to investigate herself.

I really liked Jess, who grows in bravery through the book, and takes to 'detecting' and the usual clues/rounding up/guessing like a duck to water. Other characters have a chance to shine, there are several well-defined characters that you can't be quite sure you can trust.

A favourite moment is when Jess pauses the narration to ask if the reader has solved the murder yet, with a spare note page for you to write down your thoughts before a Big Reveal.

Lots of moments where you do question motives, alibis, stories and characters. Great teenage introduction to the murder mystery genre.

With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample reading copy.

If you enjoy Karen McManus then you'll love this book. A teen murder mystery set in a British boarding school, it has everything you would expect: murder, horribly snobbish rich teenagers and a feisty underdog determined to discover who the killer is.

Definitely an addition to my school library.

I wasn’t really sure what to expect going into this but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I’m going to bullet this review and try not to give anything away.

Heybuckle is full of rich students, who have more money then anything and often use their wealth as a means of superiority. That is everyone apart from Jess and Summer who earned scholarships to be there. However, amongst an array of wealthy students and their families, Jess find themselves in hot water over their scholarships when a fellow student is found dead in the woods.

Determined to try and help solve the murder, Jess and her best friend Clem take on an investigation of their own. However the investigation sends them on a wild chase of suspects, neither of which seem to fit the profile of a murderer. When Clem is attacked, Jess continues her search for the murderer with Summer and Tommy. Although they soon realise they may be looking in the wrong direction… Jess feels that they are closing in on helping to solve the case one and for all.

The twist was something else! I definitely didn’t see it coming.


Things I enjoyed:
* The book was quite fast paced and got into the good stuff really quickly.
* I thought the build up of characters was done really well and actually felt like you got to know each character as the story progressed. This can usually feel overwhelming but this was spot on.
* The twist! 😮 I was not expecting that twist at all and genuinely was surprised.
* I loved Jess and Tommy, I had a huge soft spot for them from a very early stage of the book.
* I loved that Jess stood up for herself at the end of the book it made me feel proud of her 😂.

Things I wasn’t a fan of:
* Just before the murderer is revealed there is a chance for you to go and ‘log’ who you think the murder is. Kind of ruined my flow of the book a little.

When I read the synopsis for this YA murder mystery, it grabbed me, and – for the most part, I really enjoyed it. The characters are well rounded and believable, although some of the names less-so (I mean, come on – Clementine-Tangerine, the daughter of upmarket greengrocers!). The plot is well thought out and we are thrown numerous red herrings along the way. I will say that I struggled with the middle of the book, I felt that things were going round in circles with no real progress being made on solving the murder, therefore adding very little to the tale.

I thought that the solution to the mystery was a clever piece of writing, and right up to the last minute, I had not guessed the killer’s identity correctly. I would recommend this book for the reader who wants a well written yet light-hearted mystery with lots of atmosphere, but which doesn’t take itself too seriously.

Jess, a scholarship student, finds herself the target of a murderer in a very prestigious boarding school. After writing a short story for one her classes a student is murdered, the murderer using her short story as inspiration.

This book is a quick easy read, with many red herrings thrown in to keep you off the scent of the real killer.

About 89% of the way through you find a QR code and note pages where you can jot your notes and suspects down. I had never seen a book have this before, so thought this was a great marketing ploy. I feel like the publishers could have utilised this through out the book rather than the section where you find out who the murderer is. A more interactive novel would be a great selling point.

Was I surprised when I found out who the murderer was? No. But then I think this book is aimed more at teens than a 34 year old who has read ALOT of thrillers in her time.

Thank you to Netgalley and Usborne for a copy of the review in return for an honest review.

Loved this book! Great plot, great characters. It held my interest and was really well written. I cannot recommend it enough!

This Book Kills... was one I started before I had to go to work which was a mistake as it killed me to put this book down, I just wanted to read more of it and find out who did it. It's a great read full of mystery and suspense. The characters are all very different in terms of their characteristics and likeability which gives the entire story depth. A fantastic read.

Following in the footsteps of Holly Jackson’s ‘A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder’ and Karen M. McManus’s ‘One of Us Is Lying’, This Book Kills is one of the biggest UKYA releases of 2023.

At Heybuckle School, Jess Choudhary is surrounded by entitled kids from old and new money. She, however, is not rich, and attending Heybuckle hasn’t been her family tradition for generations: she was offered a scholarship.
When one of the most popular rich kids in Heybuckle is murdered, exactly the same way that Jess wrote in a short story a few days earlier, she begins to uncover a web of lies. As one murder leads to another, Jess questions everything she knows about the school and its students.

This Book Kills is perfect for young teen readers as well as YA murder mystery fans. The plot thickens in every chapter and we’re left guessing at every twist and turn. Right before the mystery is solved, the reader is offered bonus content to draw up suspects and summarise their findings, right before the big reveal. It’s a witty mystery that will go down well with YA readers, while highlighting issues of wealth divides, class and privilege.

I’m excited to see the anticipation build for this killer novel that eagerly awaits YA bookshelves in January 2023.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

**Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Usborne YA, for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.**

Surprisingly smart and with clever depth of characters.
Requested as I'd seen some buzz on Twitter but was apprehensive as it sounded very much like any other YA novel.

Pleasantly surprised to find it had good pacing, serveral red herrings and just enough believable moments to keep you engrossed.

This book Kills is a very fund and thrilling read!
I hope to read more from this author because I did not see that twist coming!

Love this book and can't wait to buy in the new year once it is released. I got a copy of this through Netgalley for a review. If you like thrillers/mysteries and like the constant guessing games as you read along with the book this is for you. I didn't guess the killer which I was glad and annoyed at the same time as I normally guess right.

So I really wasn’t sure when I started this book, it was a very slow start but it gave way to a fast paced enjoyable story.

This book perfectly depicted private school life and how money allows you certain privileges that aren’t available to others.

I loved the representation in this book as well, having a main FC that has Indian heritage was brilliant and we also got some LGBTQ+ representation too!

The book was a perfect YA Murder mystery book, it had the useless police officers, the cult clubs, the students solving the crimes and the perfect amount of twists and turns to keep it exciting!

I can’t wait to see what other books this author releases in the future.

A YA murder mystery set in a boarding school? Sounded like fun. I was a bit put off at the beginning though when a character is named Clementine-Tangerine (because her parents made their money in organic supermarkets). This seemed a bit on the overly wacky side of not-too-serious but luckily the rest of the book, while certainly not taking itself too seriously overall, managed to avoid further forays into the too absurd. (There are silly names but none as bad as that!)

It was a fun read, set in an expensive boarding school where most of the pupils seem to be fearful snobs. (I don't know if boarding schools are really like this, it all seemed a bit extreme.) Anyway, Jess Choudhary is one of the very few not-white, not-rich pupils, and aforementioned Clementine is her only friend. When someone is murdered in a manner suspiciously similar to a story Jess wrote, she finds herself the subject of unwelcome attention... not to mention at risk of having her scholarship taken away.

The "solve it yourself!" element near the end is a bit gimmicky but I'd probably have liked it as a young teenager. Happily we do get to find out the solution and don't just have to work it out for ourselves!

As said it doesn't take itself too seriously and I did laugh out loud a few times, including at the description of the fantasy book Jess was reading (titled A Chariot of Flames and Empires and featuring a heroine who's Not Like Other Girls).

Thanks for the opportunity to read and review!