once again, raven guron can do no wrong!!! i had absolutely no idea how this was gonna end but i loved it. binged this in a day with no regrets <3

Kay leaves her hometown with her parents after her best friend Ivy dies, and her beloved aunt - who taught her how to solve puzzles and investigate mysteries - becomes ill and passes away.

Still reeling from those losses, the last thing Kay wants is to return there to visit her still-grieving widower uncle and her cousin Nikki while her parents are away on a trip.

Things get decidedly worse after she is targeted by someone who appears to be Ivy's murderer, and threatens Kay with a series of disturbing events culminating in her death unless she can figure out his or her identity...

This is an entertaining YA read about two cousins belonging to an Indian-American family, and the secrets and tensions of adolescent small town life. It gets 3.5 stars.

After a year-long absence Kay returns to her small hometown to stay with her uncle and cousin for a week whilst her parents are away on an anniversary cruise. Straightaway Kay receives the first of a series of threatening anonymous letters which promise something progressively worse each day culminating in her murder on Monday. The letter writer (a person calling themselves Monday) knows so much about her, even has photos of her new home in London, her parents and her new friends so when the letters threaten to murder her friends and family if she tells the police, Kay decides to try to work out the identity of Monday by herself with the help of her cousin Nikki.
Mondays are Murder is an action-packed YA thriller with lots of twists in the plot before the identity of Monday is revealed. The mystery which is central to the plot is driven by the mysterious letters written as riddles which send Kay and Nikki all over their small town trying to pick up clues and work out who will be the next victim.
There is a backdrop of grieving to this story as Kay lost her aunt and her friend Ivy a year ago and hasn’t really talked about how she is feeling to anyone. The dynamics within families and with friendship groups is also explored: Kay is critical of her parents whilst holding on to a close relationship with her aunt who died a year ago and over the course of the book, begins to review her ideas on those relationships as well as how she felt about her friends.
This book has plenty of appeal for teenagers plus intrigue and jeopardy for murder mystery fans.

Mondays Are Murder is an action-packed YA thriller that starts off with an intriguing mystery that soon becomes all the more serious as the stakes increase. Kay is left sinister, anonymous notes from the mysterious 'Monday', promising increasingly fatal threats. The premise very much reminded me of Pretty Little Liars!

Once I got past my frustration at the protagonist's refusal to get the police involved, I was in! By the end I was speeding through, heart pounding, desperate to know what was going to happen. There are lots of red herrings, twists and turns to keep you guessing.

A very satisfying thriller for YA fans.

3.5 starts rounded up to 4. It's between 2.5 and 3 stars from me but I can see it being popular with my students, who are the intended audience, so have increased my rating for that.

I was quickly drawn into this story and the author did a great job at the start at getting me to keep reading. It flagged a little in the middle when the protagonist kept going off in the wrong direction and I just wanted her to figure things out. Kay is not a good detective and often ignores things she knows about Monday's prior actions. Once she has decided someone is involved she goes all in on it being them, despite evidence to the contrary, and is rather dramatic about it.

The latter leads to one part in particular that I wasn't a fan of. Kay makes a declaration about the future of a character connected to the killer, essentially stating that they too will become a monster because of that connection. Adult readers know that isn't certain, can acknowledge that those are the words of a naïve, dramatic teenager, and know not to take everything they read to heart. Younger readers lack those skills. Authors writing for young people had a responsibility to choose their words carefully and that line could be damaging to a vulnerable reader.

That aside, I can see the appeal to teenage readers as this book is full of conflicts in friendship groups and families. There is intrigue and criminal activity as well as a romantic sub-plot. Plenty for them to enjoy, even if I found it a little ridiculous.

A great fast-paced murder mystery with an authentic cast of relatable characters and plenty of twists and turns which kept me on the edge of my seat throughout.
This third outing for Ravena Guron will delight her growing army of fans and cement her as a worthy challenger for Holly Jackson's crown as queen of UK YA thrillers. Five stars.

Mondays are Murder follows Kay, who, after losing her best friend and aunt—both tragically on a Monday—moves away from Longrove to escape the painful memories. When her parents go on an anniversary cruise, Kay is sent back to Longrove to stay with her grieving uncle and cousin. But the past quickly catches up with her, and what she thought were the worst memories to resurface turn out to be nothing compared to what’s coming. Someone wants her dead.

The cover alone is stunning, and the entire book gave me strong Holly Jackson and Karen M. McManus vibes—two authors I really enjoy.

As I followed Kay through the twists and turns, I found myself suspecting everyone. Honestly, I didn’t expect the story to get so tangled up, and that's exactly why I’m not a fan of small towns! Guron does a brilliant job of weaving multiple layers into the story, keeping you hooked with every page turn while also tackling other teenage struggles and dilemmas.

A key element of Kay’s emotional journey is her relationship with her parents and her aunt. She holds her aunt in high regard, but she’s often critical of her parents. Over time, Kay begins to realize that her idealized view of her aunt, as well as her negative perception of her parents, might not be as straightforward as she thought. This personal growth is so relatable.

Another powerful theme in the book is how difficult things are often kept buried. The characters don’t talk about the painful experiences they’ve had, and instead, only the worst aspects of their lives surface. This leads to a deeper reflection on how avoiding hard conversations can affect relationships and our healing process.

I’m definitely going to check out more of Ravena Guron’s books in the future!

This is an incredible mystery, one that has many twists and turns as well as constant suspicions being bandied about at different characters.

When Kay returns to her hometown for a week, it becomes the most sinister week of her life. Staying with her Uncle Dara and cousin Nikki, she settles into the attic room but quickly finds a note threatening her life on a Monday!

Kay and her parents moved to London after her Aunt Sandra passed away, and also because Kay’s friend Ivy was murdered. Both events happened on a Monday.

Kay and Nikki begin a murder board, trying to find out who “Monday” is before they can cause havoc or danger to the family- however as each day looms, a new and sinister situation arises. From a dead rat to a car crash and to murder. Monday is not afraid of risks or danger themselves and there are a few questions around who this person is!

I was casting suspicions alongside Kay and must admit, it wasn’t until the big reveal that I cottoned on, which is just how I like my mysteries to be. I love discovering in that key moment of “oh”!

Another brilliantly written mystery from Ravena Guron!

Kay has received a death threat and is now scared and anxious. Her parents are on a cruise celebrating their anniversary and her best friend and dear aunt are both dead.

The death threats come in the form of riddles and Kay sets about trying to decipher them amd find out who is behind the sinister activity,

This is a good YA thriller. It has twists and drama and it cover a lit of reenage angst.

I really enjoyed it .. even though my teenage years are far behind me. \it was an enjoyable mystery and I loved it

Guron turns up the heat a little in her latest YA crime thriller, with the main character, Kay, legitimately fearing for her own life after receiving a death threat from a mysterious and unknown adversary.

Kay moved away from Longrove following the deaths of her best friend and her aunt; unrelated but tragically close together, her best friend died ‘accidentally’ after a fall, while her aunt died from terminal cancer. When Kay’s parents go on an anniversary cruise, Kay is sent back to Longrove to stay with her bereaved uncle and cousin, and the traumatic memories that begin to resurface are not the worst thing Kay will have to deal with. Someone wants her dead. Kay starts getting death threats in the form of hints and riddles which she must investigate and figure out to identify her would-be-killer who calls themselves Monday.

Guron deftly weaves the many twists and turns of Kay’s story, keeping you on the edge of your seat and dealing with multiple other teenage issues along the way. Although I had correctly guessed who Monday was, I changed my mind several times along the way.

Fans of Guron’s previous books will not be disappointed as the characters are realistic and relatable, and the threat itself feels feasible enough to sustain the suspense throughout. A fantastic choice for KS4+ and confident KS3 readers.

Thanks to Usborne for sending me a physical proof of this, and for netgalley for the digital proof.

I loved Ravena's previous two books and she is fast becoming one of my favourite YA thriller authors! This one was no different. Love the concept. Whilst her debut is still top for me, I would still recommend this book!