The Turnoff

by Meg Gerritson

Josephine ("Jo") Hayes is in her final year at Westgate University, a prestigious school tucked within the mountains of New England. As a journalism major and lead media liaison for the Westgate District Attorney, she remains on track to finish school and start her career.

Everything spirals when a fellow Westgate student goes missing, and the search brings to light the university’s troubling history. As Jo finds herself at the center of a massive investigation, she is haunted by the secrets around her, a cult-like fraternity, and the unsolved murder of her mother.

Genres: Fiction

408 pages, Paperback

First published February 14, 2023

Reviews

[Thrillerswineandchill · Rating 4 out of 5]

M O N D A Y ☕️ M O R N I N G book review: “The Turnoff” by Meg Gerritson

🖤🖤🖤🖤/5

Jo Hayes is a journalist student in her final year at Westgate University in New England. She has also been working as a communications liaison for the Westgate District Attorney and is destined for a career with them after graduation!

When a student goes missing from a frat party on Campus, Jo finds herself deep into the investigation. She has partied with a lot of the same people involved in the fraternity. This fraternity goes WAY back in the school’s history and has many dark and twisted secrets of its own 😳…

I really enjoyed this book and found it hard to put down! Lots of twists and turns, great characterization and the New England school campus/mountain setting added an eerie vibe to this thriller!

Thank you kindly to Meg Gerritson for my gifted copy in exchange for my honest review! Looking forward to the next Slopeside Mystery 👀

[Jenn Moe · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great read! Kept me guessing until the end!

[Krissy (books_and_biceps9155) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to @meggerritson for sending me a copy! I cannot believe this is a debut first and foremost! I really enjoyed this one! The setting of New England and the mountains and college campus gave me the perfect eerie vibes. You know I love a good dark academia and this one involved a very sus frat!

The pacing and short chapters made the reading smooth and quick. I enjoyed all the little red herrings and twists throughout the way. I did not really guess the “mystery” until the very end which is also a bonus for this arm chair detective!

Jo made for a good main character. She felt real. In fact, all of the characters seemed realistic and true to life. Their actions and the things they did seemed very fitting for someone of their age and I appreciated the realness of it. I can’t wait to see what’s next in the Slopeside Mystery series!!!!

[Cindy Kasper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book! Everything flowed great and the storyline moved along at a very nice pace. No boring sections that I had to skim over. Fantastic characters. Nice twists and turns. I did figure out the killer before the end but I didn't want to believe my assumption...I was in denial! 😆 This would make a great series!

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved The Turnoff! Great character development and engaging mystery plot. The short chapters make it a wonderful choice for a summer read on the beach or vacation companion.

This first book by Author Meg Gerritson has me wanting more.

[Marla Vincent · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this first novel by Meg Gerritson! The descriptions of the New England atmosphere really make the reader feel present. You get to know and care for the characters, especially Jo. Looking forward to reading more of this author’s work 😊

[C M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book! Quick read and has you guessing until the end. Characters are relatable. I felt like I was part of their story. Great first novel for this author. I hope to see more! A sequel would be amazing….

[Peter Hussey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! Many twists and turns made it hard to put down.

[Kim Walker O'Flaherty · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Turnoff was a fast pace intriguing book that made you want to keep reading. Good character development along with a lot of twists and turns!

[aud · Rating 4 out of 5]

I LOVE NEW ENGLAND IMAGERY

[Kera’s Always Reading · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25-4.5 stars for this incredible debut!

I quite literally flew through this one, starting at 8am and finishing it at just after noontime… I could not put it down!

We follow quite a few people in this story, but Jo is our narrator. She is a senior in college and a media liaison for the DA’s office, with the goal of going into investigative journalism.

We are immediately pulled into the case of a missing student attending Jo’s same college, leading the investigators including Jo into an underground world of the school’s elite secret group.

Aside from the case, we get a lot of Jo’s personal life. Her friend group is solid and there is a budding romance forming with a man sought after by almost every woman in town. We also learn about Jo’s painfully tragic past, which affects her in ways she never imagined.

This book felt very realistic. The characters did things that made me mad at times, but it felt very organic and very much like how things would play out in real life considering all the people involved.

Jo was strong and incredibly capable and if this became a series, I’d 100% be here for it!!

[Renee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this on audio book and really enjoyed it. The characters were very down to earth and relatable. There were several twists to the plot. Although I had some of it figured out towards the end, I was still surprised at the parts I didn't figure out. If you're looking for a fast paced read, I recommend this one.

[Robert Muir · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although I appreciate the time and effort it takes to write a novel, particularly a first offering, unfortunately this one fell short for me. I believe that the largest disconnect for me is that this novel is not of the genre in which I usually partake but it also had some issues for me with plot jumps that lacked foundation and character dialogue that lacked authenticity.

[Krista lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great character and setting development. You could really envision the New England settings. The story line involved many characters with different involvements that kept you guessing until the very end. A must read!

[Marisa Dottore · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a local author from Scituate, MA who is coming to our book club in a few weeks to talk to us! Was fun to read about local sites like the Kangamangus Highway and North Conway. The ending was fun and surprising!

[Charity Jackson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this for book club a few weeks ago. It’s the Authors first book. I am really into mysteries so my notes are mainly for my memory sake. I enjoyed the short chapters. I liked the book until it got close to the end; then it just didn’t make much sense to me. I also felt the main character had too important a role for her field. I wish the Author chose a different villain or did character development differently.

[Rhu Dutch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to Meg garritson for a copy of this audiobook
I loved this book kept me gripped right to the end

[Daniel Toland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun read and the pages turned effortlessly. I think the best part of the book is the endearment to the characters. It leaves you wanting the next book to find out how Jo’s path continues. Mix of short and shorter chapters is definitely appreciated. Very good.

[Elizabeth Erwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I only grabbed this book because it was on a bookshelf at Salve and written by a Salve alum. The ending was excellent! An unexpected great read, wish she had more books!

[Katherina Carriere · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic! Keeps you engaged til the very end!

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. There was one spot, though, where a name was messed up (Arthur) James), and a few times where they jumped from one thing to another without you knowing it (like, going from standing to sitting down across the room ordering a drink). However, it wasn't so bad that I didn't want to finish reading. I'll definitely be reading more by this author!

[Makayla Nichols · Rating 5 out of 5]

I could not put this book down! It immediately draws you in and keeps you hanging on until the very end!

[PNWbooklife · Rating 4 out of 5]

A classic, well paced Missing Girl story in a beautiful New England setting!

[Katy Kreiger · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, it was a page-turner. I finished it in 1 day (albeit it was a weekend that I had off). I appreciated the suspense and intrigue- as well as short chapters, there is something so encouraging about flying through chapters- wanna thank the author for that.
Coming from Vermont and living in New England most of my life, I connected with the characters and the environment.
I was pretty sure I knew 'who done it' early on, but was compelled to find out if I was right- I was, which added to my enjoyment honestly, the world made sense. But it was a nice change of pace to find that I could empathize with the 'villain' and they weren't a completely horrible person in the end.
The author does a great job conveying the impact grief has on all of us, and how we all react in different ways.

[JB Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is actually a 4.5 for me. I really enjoyed Meg Gerritson’s book. It kept me up a few nights in a row not wanting to put it down. For a lesser-known author everything about this debut reads like a big five! She kept me intrigued. The writing is tight. The characters are fully fleshed out and the plot is full of twists and turns. I became really invested in Jo and her relationships. This book had some good subplots too although I don’t feel like I got all the answers to those. In particular, we never learn what happened to Chloe freshman year and I think we should have. That said, over all this was a gripping mystery thriller and I definitely recommend it.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great story, fun twists! The transitions between scenes could use some work - I kept finding myself going back a paragraph or two to figure out how Jo got where she was because the transitions were choppy. I also had a hard time keeping some of the characters straight and could have used some reminders about who was who and how they connected to the story. I felt like Joe the reporter deserved more attention than he got. Overall, well written and I would read the authors next book!

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a wonderfully written novel with several storylines and many twists and turns. I could not put it down. I loved how each of the characters had such diverse personalities. The language the author used was so vivid and precise that I could visualize each place. I encourage others to read this intriguing mystery.

[V C · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I was hooked from beginning to end. It was a real page turner. Great description of characters and setting. I never expected the outcome. Look forward to reading another book from this author.
Highly recommend it!

[Carol Bowers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Twists aplenty

Story was well written. Sometimes when there are many facets to story, there is no continuity. There were many twists and turns in this truly suspenseful story.
Look forward to next book.

[DJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great read. I was surprised at the ending. The author kept me guessing throughout the book. The book was a real page turner! I would definitely recommend it.