I really enjoyed the latest by Ashley Winstead. The deep dive into the world of true crime was so interesting. The story was gripping and kept me reading straight through.

I also very much related to the secondary story of Jane losing her dad suddenly and trying to find a way to process that and continue to keep moving forward every day. Winstead reveals this came from her own loss of her dad so it’s very personal to her.

If you enjoy true crime and are interested in the inside workings of it while hunting down a serial killer, I think you would enjoy this story. The audio was so good I finished in one day!

As a fan of true crime I really enjoyed this book. The 5 main characters met online and are amateur sleuths trying to solve crimes that have captured the nation. This Book Will Bury Me kept me engaged from the beginning until the very end. It is dark, disturbing, thought provoking and I couldn’t put it down. I like the unique approach that Ashley Winstead took to writing the book - Jane is speaking directly to the audience. Leslie Howard did an excellent job with the narration.

Thank you to NetGalley & Tantor Audio for letting me read this ARC.

2.5 stars rounded up! I'm definitely in the minority, but this book was just very average and could have benefited from cutting 50-100 pages! This book is heavily inspired by the University of Idaho murders, and it felt a little icky while taking me out of the story. If you're really into true crime, you might enjoy this more than me. The second part had better pacing and was much more enjoyable. I was lucky to get an audiobook arc from NetGalley and really enjoyed the narrator!

This Book Will Bury Me by Ashley Winstead is a suspense/thriller that will leave your head spinning. From opening to the very last chapter of the book, you never know what to expect.
This thriller is about a serial killer (and/or a possible copycat) that has the authorities stumped, but some true crime junkies come in to help add their knowledge and expertise. What can it hurt, right? Well things go sideways as the story progresses and plot twists and turns happen at breakneck speed once the case begins to unfold.

Just when I thought I had it figured out, another twist and turn is thrown in and things are turned upside down again!

I definitely recommend this book and the audiobook was a good to listen. The narration was really great!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

Captivating. This story follows five internet sleuths as they try to solve various crimes. This is very current with today’s current social media sleuths and how they try to analyze everything. If you are a fan of true crime I think you’ll really enjoy this one. It’s fast paced and the characters were great. The way the story unfolded and Jane learned to cope with her grief and healing by helping others find healing with the loss of their loved ones in solving crimes. I was hooked from the beginning and just enjoyed the ride. Also highly recommend reading the author's note that gives a little more into why she wrote this story.

The audiobook was narrated by Leslie Howard. She did a great job voicing Jane’s pov and the various voices for other characters. It was easy to follow even with the online forum dialogue.

Ashley Winstead has crafted a masterpiece with "This Book Will Bury Me," a novel that transcends genre expectations and delivers a reading experience that is nothing short of breathtaking. From the very first page, I was ensnared by the atmospheric tension, the complex characters, and the creeping sense of unease that permeated every scene. Winstead's prose is sharp, evocative, and utterly compelling, drawing you into the dark heart of her story with a masterful hand.
The narrative unfolds with a slow burn, meticulously building a web of secrets and hidden agendas. The characters, flawed and fascinating, are rendered with such depth and authenticity that you feel intimately connected to their struggles. The emotional landscape is rich and layered, exploring themes of grief, betrayal, and the corrosive power of buried truths.
And then... the final quarter. Oh. My. Goodness.
I can honestly say my jaw was on the floor for the entire final section of this book. The twists and turns came with such force and precision, completely upending everything I thought I knew. Winstead's ability to orchestrate such a stunning climax is a testament to her skill as a storyteller. The revelations were shocking, satisfying, and left me reeling long after I turned the final page.
"This Book Will Bury Me" is more than just a thriller; it's a deeply moving exploration of the human psyche and the lengths we go to protect the ones we love. It's a book that will stay with you, haunting your thoughts and prompting reflection long after you've finished reading.
It's early in the year, but I can confidently declare that "This Book Will Bury Me" is easily my top book of 2025. Ashley Winstead has delivered a knockout punch of a novel, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. If you're looking for a book that will grip you, surprise you, and leave you utterly breathless, look no further. This is a must-read. Five stars, without hesitation.

Story review- this was a cleverly constructed and well executed story. I loved the ending, especially about her father’s death, it was just beautifully written.

This is a story of a young 24 year old girl who drops out of the university of central Florida in order to work full time at Starbucks and solve murders online in Reddit. She becomes sort of famous because she is very good at it and is driven by her father’s memory. She joins an online team of true crime investigators. This really worked, they had great chemistry and all of them had interesting back stories.

In criticism I do think it was a little long, but other than that I liked the story.

Audiobook- while I did enjoy the narrator’s performance, I had a hard time with volume on this one. For the narrative/internal dialogue sections she spoke so quietly, almost whispering. Then when she would flip to dialogue it was so loud. I have never had this experience with an audiobook. Although I will say I listened on a highway drive so maybe it was just me. If you are going to listen on audio I would recommend you listen while cleaning or in an office.

Thank you to NetGalley and sourcebooks audio for the ALC. book to be published march 25, 2025.

🎧The premise was very interesting to me as I do love a good true crime story. But I still don’t get the connection between the Jane’s father dying and her diving into true crime other than trying to focus on something else. She becomes obsessed and loses her job and lives her life trying to solve true crime, leaving everything else behind. The focus on her Dad was a bit too much for me. I did like the crime chasers aspect but parts were dragging. I gave it 3.5⭐️’s.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for an advanced listening copy of this book.

Thank NetGalley and Tantor Media for this Audiobook!
This book will be love by a lot of people but unfortunately I didn’t like it. It was way too close to the real life Idaho College Murders. It feel super unethical to me, the real alleged killer hasn’t even had a trial yet. The main character’s motivations for joining in the true crime community not convincing and the plot twist didn’t impress me. I was bored because I knew most of the facts and details of the case already because it was the same as real life. It was kinda boring at times and to long.

Whoooaaaaaaaaa. I turned this book on and didn’t turn it off. Through my run and house cleaning… y house is really clean right now. I absolutely devoured this book.

Expect 👉🏼 Thriller, True Crime, A Book About a Book, Bingeable, Found Family

In the wake of her father’s unexpected passing, Jane finds herself searching true crime forums as a way to distract herself. She learns that her instincts are good and she joins a group of sleuths that solve crime.

This book had me on the edge of my seat. Wide eyes just listening to this story unfold. I love a book that once the ending is revealed… you go, “ohhhhhh, I should have seen that coming.” This was my first Ashley Windtead book and now I need to go binge the others.

The narration by Leslie Howard was perfect. I absolutely loved it and the book as a whole.

Thank you Tantor Audio for the #gifted copy

I chose to DNF this book which is something I don’t do often - it was an ethical dilemma for me. This is too close to an actual case that happened 11/2022 in Idaho and hasn’t gone to trial yet and remains active in the news.
I did read the author’s “note on sources” posted on Instagram (which was disappointing) as well as many other comments from readers on social media and the overall consensus is quite negative.
This could potentially have implications in the outcome of the trial. I really feel for the families of the victims and believe the decision to publish this book is in poor taste.
Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to read this complimentary advanced copy. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I'm actually appalled that the author thought she could capitalize off of the Idaho 4 murders. The poor families and the poor roommates that have to live day to day with the trauma of this tragedy and you go and make a book out of it? Nah. DNFing at 40%.

Thank you Tantor for the ALC.

Disclaimer to readers to please check triggers and author note about the premise of this book. It has similarities to real life events and ongoing cases, some fictionalized details are very gruesome, in addition to the MC grieving her father, death details also mentioned. This is a dark true crime themed book, not a light mystery.

With that said, I loved all the commentary about the obsession with true crime. It’s a constantly growing trend, looking at some of the murder cases that inspired this novel, and recent news of the CEO death.

Like many others, I’ve always had a fascination with true crime documentaries and have watched plenty of them. I really appreciated the tone of the book and drive of our main character, Jane, going by the online handle Searcher. The sleuthing and investigation aspects had me at the edge of my seat. It was tense and frustrating, as many of these cases are. Joining a group of online sleuths, they become FBI consultants after Jane discovers new DNA that will hopefully catch a serial killer.

I struggled a bit with the first half of this book while reading but enjoyed it more upon listening to the audiobook. Jane finds out her father died, the in between of grief, shock and moving on, were sad chapters, but I understand this was also the author’s way of coping with her personal grief.

Right after the halfway point when our characters come close to finding the killer’s identity is when the plot finally picked up. There were a few red herrings and many suspects, and I loved predicting what happened.

Audiobook narration by Leslie Howard had me invested and engaged in the story all over again. Her delivery added to the ambience and atmosphere of the novel.

Overall, it was an interesting take on the genre. The last quarter of the book is nonstop revelations and suspense, with a slightly rushed ending, but I recommend it to all fans of gritty true crime.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark and Tantor Audio for the free review copies.

I have such mixed reviews about this one. My knee jerk reaction is to give it a lower star rating as it makes me angry that so much real life information was used to craft a fictional story. On the other hand it’s very well written and would have been really enjoyable had I not known anything about said real events. So I went down the middle with 3⭐️.

Plenty of other people have delved into their own anger with the true crimes used in this book. I’ll leave them for folks to read other than to say that I find it incredibly irresponsible of the author to use real cases and fictionalize them. It would have been just as easy to use that imagination to create made up scenarios even if you wanted to be reminiscent of said true events. That’s the problem here. Because the book is littered with exact details from 2 highly visible crimes in the US of which have not been adjudicated.

However, I am here to review the audiobook itself. First, and I realize it is an ALC so many times there is information missing but it would have been nice to have the authors note included that explains that real events are used. I went searching to see if the author had addressed the situation after getting into 30% of the book as I was disgusted. I don’t knew what the final audiobook will include but I hope it includes that note. While inadequate and makes excuses for using real events it still at least lets you know what you’re getting into since the description does not.

The narrator Leslie Howard, herself did a fine job with the recitation. She spoke with a smoky even tempered vocals to highlight the creepiness of the prose. It was also recorded at a natural speaking pace for the most part, which was refreshing.


As far as the prose itself if I pretend it was all original. It was a decent thriller albeit overly wrong. It also has certain things that are really repetitive and uses buzz words too much. It sounds at times like an info dump. You k so, when a person uses a word or phrase that is uncommon to the masses and keeps repeating it over and over in a “hey look at the word I know”. That’s the impact of many phrases in the book. For example if “Occam's Razor” was said one more time I was going to scream. As it was it got an eye roll each time and now my eyes have had a workout.

So should you read it? That’s up to you. Just go into it with all the information of what you’re getting. An author taking real life events and details and then changing the ending. It’s similar to plagiarizing someone else’s thriller and changing the ending. The only difference is that it’s real life that affects real people and families.

I am thankful to have gotten the audio ALC for free from Tantor Audio through NetGalley to read which gave me the opportunity to voluntarily leave a review.

My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars

⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea (potentially DNF’d or thought about it)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Will circle back and read again

As a huge true crime fan, This Book Will Bury Me by Ashley Winstead was high on my must-read list. The premise immediately hooked me—following a group of armchair detectives as they work together to solve a string of murders? Sign me up! I loved how the story leaned into the internet’s obsession with true crime, showcasing both the thrill and the ethical dilemmas that come with amateur sleuthing. If you're a fan of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, you’ll likely enjoy this one too, as it has a similar mix of investigative intrigue and online detective work.

While the central mystery kept me engaged, I found myself unsure about the inclusion of Jane’s father’s passing and his past. While it added depth to her character, it didn’t feel fully integrated into the main storyline, making it seem somewhat out of place rather than enhancing the overall plot. Additionally, I couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable at times with how closely some of the crimes in the book resembled the real-life Idaho college murder case, which is still making headlines. The similarities made parts of the story difficult to separate from reality, and I wish there had been a bit more distance between the fictional and real events.

I listened to the audiobook and thought the narration was well done, but with such a large cast of characters, a full-cast production would have made it easier to differentiate between them. At times, I had trouble keeping track of who was who, which slightly pulled me out of the story.

Overall, this was an intriguing read with a great premise, but I wanted a bit more cohesion between the different story elements and more sensitivity in how the crimes were depicted.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
**Engaging and Thought-Provoking**

*This Book Will Bury Me* by Ashley Winstead is a captivating thriller that blends dark themes with sharp commentary on the obsession with true crime. The story follows Jane Sharp, a college student drawn into the world of online sleuths after her father’s mysterious death, leading her down a dangerous path. Winstead’s writing is gripping, and she masterfully builds suspense throughout the novel. The characters are complex, and the exploration of online detective culture adds an interesting layer to the plot. While the pacing slows a bit at times, the book remains an intriguing and well-crafted read for fans of psychological thrillers.

This was a nail biting read. I have read from this author in the pass and loved some of her work and liked others but this was definitly a standout read for me. The writing was sharp and witty and also added flair to the true crime lovers out there as well as the conversations on forums and if it is helpful or hurtful to a case. I liked seeing both sides of that argument as well as this extremely talented group of people from all different ages and walks of life working together to write these wrongs. I loved the murder mystery element and watching them piece together the clues sometimes correct and sometimes wrong. Most of all I loved how this story was told in the aftermath of everything happening it added a level of uncertainty to were we would end up. Our main character Jane was a great and also horrible protagonist in I loved her and also loved to hate her witch made her a dynamic character. I felt for her with the loss of her father and the conversations on grief ( I lost my father young and connected with that) also watching her desperate need to understand why these things happen why death takes us and how it leads to her obsession with true crime and wanting to change history. I felt for her wanted to be her at moments and wanted to smack her in others. She was a complicated character in that she was heartfelt and understanding and at moments lacked the understanding of what her part in all this was to the tragedy of these real families. I loved the twists and turns this book took and the ending did shock Me. I will say if anything I felt the ending was a little rushed and I would have loved a more in depth ending then what was given and to find out more where are main characters are as the time has now passed. I really enjoyed this story and will definitely recommend.

Ashley Winstead back with another banger! So many topics were represented in This Book Will Bury Me: grief, mother/daughter, online friendships, college days, true crime. The internet sleuthing guild was an eclectic group that reminded me of Cerulean Sea. The murder cases were realistic and terrifying. As a true crime fan I enjoyed the nods to real life personalities, podcasts and cases. This book is kind to the victims as well. I loved it!

**Audio had hard "s" distortions above a certain volume

Wow. Experiencing This Book Will Bury Me on audio made an already phenomenal story even more immersive. Ashley Winstead delivers a dark, gripping thriller, and the narration takes it to another level.

The audiobook format is perfect for this kind of story. Told from Jane Sharp’s perspective as she finally breaks her silence about the Delphine Massacres, it feels like listening to a true crime podcast unraveling in real time. The narrator captures Jane’s obsession, fear, and determination so well that I felt completely pulled into her world. The pacing is excellent, the tension builds flawlessly, and every twist lands with impact.

Winstead’s sharp take on internet sleuth culture, media obsession, and the blurred lines between investigation and entertainment is just as chilling in audio form. If you love audiobooks that make you feel like you’re inside the story, this is a must-listen.

Highly recommend for true crime fans, thriller lovers, and anyone who wants an audiobook that will completely consume them

What an interesting take on a real-life event like the Idaho murders—while still managing to craft a completely fictional story that doesn’t exploit or disrespect the real victims. Windstead once again delivers a gripping thriller that had me hooked until the very end. The pacing, the tension, and the twists were all executed perfectly, making this an addictive read from start to finish.

What makes this story even more compelling is how the main character embodies the very obsession with true crime that we, as a society, shouldn’t have. Instead of seeing these tragedies for what they are—devastating losses with real victims—she becomes fixated on the case in a way that feels eerily familiar. Windstead brilliantly exposes how easy it is to get caught up in the mystery and the drama while losing sight of the real human suffering behind these crimes. It’s an uncomfortable but necessary reflection on how we consume true crime, making this thriller not just entertaining, but also deeply thought-provoking.