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The Murder Hypothesis
The gripping new YA thriller from the author of FOUR GOOD LIARS, and the perfect read for fans of A GOOD GIRL’S GUIDE TO MURDER.
Grace and her dad have just moved to a tiny, sleepy Devon village, desperate to put tragic events from their old life in London behind them. But their fresh start is derailed when the second-hand Echo in their new house comes alive at midnight, and tells I'm going to murder you.
Grace works out it’s an old recorded message, and the Echo has previously been used by four people in their village – all of whom are now dead. And Grace’s passion for science and statistics comes alive. She knows within these accidental deaths, there must lie a murder – and she’s going to work it out, using the methodology of a chemistry experiment. Observation; hypothesis; experimentation; results.
No one believes her – except for her best friend, Maddy, who’s desperate for Grace to face up to an agonising truth. And soon it’s clear that whoever the murderer is, they’ve noticed Grace, and will do anything to keep her quiet…
Grace and her dad have just moved to a tiny, sleepy Devon village, desperate to put tragic events from their old life in London behind them. But their fresh start is derailed when the second-hand Echo in their new house comes alive at midnight, and tells I'm going to murder you.
Grace works out it’s an old recorded message, and the Echo has previously been used by four people in their village – all of whom are now dead. And Grace’s passion for science and statistics comes alive. She knows within these accidental deaths, there must lie a murder – and she’s going to work it out, using the methodology of a chemistry experiment. Observation; hypothesis; experimentation; results.
No one believes her – except for her best friend, Maddy, who’s desperate for Grace to face up to an agonising truth. And soon it’s clear that whoever the murderer is, they’ve noticed Grace, and will do anything to keep her quiet…
464 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 7, 2024
71 people are currently reading
803 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 97 reviews
October 7, 2024
If A Good Girl's Guide to Murder and We Were Liars had a baby, Sarah Wishart's The Murder Hypothesis would be the by product. The story follows Grace and her Dad, who uproot their London life following a tragic event to make a fresh start in the sleepy Devon town of Roseford. However, the town isn't as sleepy as it first seems. When the Alexa from their rental comes alive one night, spewing murderous threats, Grace's passion for science and statistics takes over. Riddled with "accidental deaths" and town squabbles, Grace uncovers the town's dark past.
This book is everything you could want in a YA thriller - built with drama and romance at a 60:40 ratio. It really was a total rollercoaster. As we follow the investigation Grace undertakes, we are slowly fed the information. The 'drip-drip' style of storytelling, along with the involvement of an AI tool in a suspected murder, made for a fresh, exciting plot line. And though STEM was never really my forte, I really liked the different approach to the investigation that Grace followed. Her passion for science was not something I could relate to, but I could appreciate. Unlike other YA thrillers, there was nothing predictable about this book either. Of course, there were moments where I connected the dots - in a good thriller you should be able to - but I was equally left speechless at the multiple plot twists. I really appreciated the subtle inclusion if important topics and common scenarios too - it gave the book an air of maturity, making it perfect for older YA readers. The visual elements scattered throughout, such as the Venn diagrams and transcripts, was an excellent addition too. Plus, Grace was the perfect mix of being stubborn and determined, which I always love to see in a female main character.
The Murder Hypothesis is truly going to make waves in the YA thriller world and is this perfect read for this autumn.
ad/pr - I was kindly gifted an early copy of this book in manuscript form in exchange for an honest review, all opinions are my own.
This book is everything you could want in a YA thriller - built with drama and romance at a 60:40 ratio. It really was a total rollercoaster. As we follow the investigation Grace undertakes, we are slowly fed the information. The 'drip-drip' style of storytelling, along with the involvement of an AI tool in a suspected murder, made for a fresh, exciting plot line. And though STEM was never really my forte, I really liked the different approach to the investigation that Grace followed. Her passion for science was not something I could relate to, but I could appreciate. Unlike other YA thrillers, there was nothing predictable about this book either. Of course, there were moments where I connected the dots - in a good thriller you should be able to - but I was equally left speechless at the multiple plot twists. I really appreciated the subtle inclusion if important topics and common scenarios too - it gave the book an air of maturity, making it perfect for older YA readers. The visual elements scattered throughout, such as the Venn diagrams and transcripts, was an excellent addition too. Plus, Grace was the perfect mix of being stubborn and determined, which I always love to see in a female main character.
The Murder Hypothesis is truly going to make waves in the YA thriller world and is this perfect read for this autumn.
ad/pr - I was kindly gifted an early copy of this book in manuscript form in exchange for an honest review, all opinions are my own.
June 20, 2025
3.5 stars
October 30, 2025
OH WOW THAT ENDING WHAT
June 7, 2025
Thrilling
October 31, 2024
|| Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for providing me this arc in exchange for an honest review ! ||
I will try to be honest and clear on the reasons why I didn't liked this book while being part of the "targeted audience" (I really love YA murder mystery!).
First of all, there is 2 tropes I really dislike in any mystery/thrillers I'm reading, may it be adult or YA, which are:
1) the "there were something really important happening before the beginning of this book but while we'll mention it a lot of times you won't get any explanation before the very end of the book" trope. Okay, while I've finally read the explanation in the very last chapter before epilogue (yes!), I do get the reason why it has been used. But still, it's frustrating as a reader.
2) hidden identity. It totally leaves us reader outside of the guessing who did it, you can try and guess the guilty characters because you have no possibilty to guess at that hidden identity until brought by the MC herself...
I know it's personal but it really didn't helped me appreciate the book.
I really didn't liked Grace. She's selfish, manipulativ, reckless, and let's be honest stupid while herself saying she's an adult and a scientist (she's 16 years old let's stop with that "we scientist we do that" please). The way she's investigation is really reckless, too direct, and she's obsessed. You get to understand that obsession with her past (yet here again we get it at the end, so you spend the whole book disliking her obsession), but it's still very frustrating and unpleasant. She's hurting everyone around herself (and herself) without much realizing it, or at least with little care about it.
I only liked the idea of all the investigations and searching for which accident was truly an accident and which one was actually a murder. The results and explanations were interesting (while being easily given away when confronted). I also really appreciated Shelby and Jem, and I wanted to give my support to Gracie's dad.
I will try to be honest and clear on the reasons why I didn't liked this book while being part of the "targeted audience" (I really love YA murder mystery!).
First of all, there is 2 tropes I really dislike in any mystery/thrillers I'm reading, may it be adult or YA, which are:
1) the "there were something really important happening before the beginning of this book but while we'll mention it a lot of times you won't get any explanation before the very end of the book" trope. Okay, while I've finally read the explanation in the very last chapter before epilogue (yes!), I do get the reason why it has been used. But still, it's frustrating as a reader.
2) hidden identity. It totally leaves us reader outside of the guessing who did it, you can try and guess the guilty characters because you have no possibilty to guess at that hidden identity until brought by the MC herself...
I know it's personal but it really didn't helped me appreciate the book.
I really didn't liked Grace. She's selfish, manipulativ, reckless, and let's be honest stupid while herself saying she's an adult and a scientist (she's 16 years old let's stop with that "we scientist we do that" please). The way she's investigation is really reckless, too direct, and she's obsessed. You get to understand that obsession with her past (yet here again we get it at the end, so you spend the whole book disliking her obsession), but it's still very frustrating and unpleasant. She's hurting everyone around herself (and herself) without much realizing it, or at least with little care about it.
I only liked the idea of all the investigations and searching for which accident was truly an accident and which one was actually a murder. The results and explanations were interesting (while being easily given away when confronted). I also really appreciated Shelby and Jem, and I wanted to give my support to Gracie's dad.
May 10, 2025
This was a pretty terrible wannabe version of a Good Girl’s Guide to Murder. The main character is awful. Arriving in a village with her dad after some ‘terrible’ incident meaning they had to up sticks and move. I got 75% the way through and DNF’d the whole thing so I am still none the wiser as to this elusive incident.
The annoying dialogue between Grace and Maddy where they replace words with chemical elements WTF?! That was just dumb and irritating. Grace just randomly texting and nosing around people she’d never met before and expecting all the answers. Give me strength.
Even Shelby the dog couldn’t save this book.
I enjoyed the authors debut Four Good Liars but doubt if I will seek out future reads from her.
The annoying dialogue between Grace and Maddy where they replace words with chemical elements WTF?! That was just dumb and irritating. Grace just randomly texting and nosing around people she’d never met before and expecting all the answers. Give me strength.
Even Shelby the dog couldn’t save this book.
I enjoyed the authors debut Four Good Liars but doubt if I will seek out future reads from her.
January 30, 2025
The characters were likable and there was a good twist at the end. The book felt really slow though and the ending wasn't surprising.
January 31, 2025
2.5 stars
Although I found the writing super easy to read, the actual content was just cringey. I had so much second hand embarrassment for the main character that it spoiled the book for me. Surely this whole village, wouldn't have tolerated Grace for that long and I doubt would have entertained her for as long as they did.
I predicted majority of the "twists" and found the ending quite underwhelming.
Although I found the writing super easy to read, the actual content was just cringey. I had so much second hand embarrassment for the main character that it spoiled the book for me. Surely this whole village, wouldn't have tolerated Grace for that long and I doubt would have entertained her for as long as they did.
I predicted majority of the "twists" and found the ending quite underwhelming.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 18, 2024
An entertaining YA thriller, though the strategic withholding of information leads to a rather frustrating reading experience. I can see this book being an instant hit with some readers, while others will find fault. Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review it before publication.
Our main character Grace has moved with her dad to a sleepy Devonshire village. Rather stereotypically people are not the most amenable, but when Grace starts hearing threatening messages coming from the Echo installed in their home her investigations rub a number of people up the wrong way.
Without giving important plot details away there are a high number of accidental deaths in the village. Grace is convinced that someone is behind these deaths so she conducts her own murder investigation. Suffice to say, she’s onto something but the continual allusions to her past - without telling us of its relevance - made a rather unsatisfying experience.
Our main character Grace has moved with her dad to a sleepy Devonshire village. Rather stereotypically people are not the most amenable, but when Grace starts hearing threatening messages coming from the Echo installed in their home her investigations rub a number of people up the wrong way.
Without giving important plot details away there are a high number of accidental deaths in the village. Grace is convinced that someone is behind these deaths so she conducts her own murder investigation. Suffice to say, she’s onto something but the continual allusions to her past - without telling us of its relevance - made a rather unsatisfying experience.
March 30, 2025
This book wants to be a good girls guide to murder so badly. Don’t get me wrong it was a cute read and some of the twists were fun but people don’t talk like that. It felt like it was trying too hard to do the whole stem thing which was fun but got boring after a while. Gracie was also very frustrating at times and jumped to a lot of conclusions which kinda defeats the object of the rational thinking and hypothesises. I found it quite predictable and the purpose concealing of information about Gracie’s past was very frustrating and takes up the whole book which felt unnecessary when some of it could’ve been easily revealed sooner. Gracie as character was really annoying and I just got annoyed or confused by some of her choices and her disregard for those around her. Her actions get explained but you don’t know until the end so it’s just painful to read.
Overall very easy to read and quite fun just didn’t get invested as much as I would’ve liked to. Jem, Shelby and Dad stole the show.
Overall very easy to read and quite fun just didn’t get invested as much as I would’ve liked to. Jem, Shelby and Dad stole the show.
November 5, 2024
Grace moves to the country in Devon with her dad. They have moved for a fresh start after Grace suffered some (unspecified) trouble. They have an ex-service dog called Shelby who has also undergone a trauma of her own. The village is very quiet, too quiet for Grace but it seems that may not be the whole truth. One night Grace is downstairs having trouble sleeping when the smart speaker (Alexa) in their rented house suddenly switches on & tells her "I'm going to murder you."
When it happens again the next night, Grace realises the speaker has been pre-programmed & that the threat was aimed at one of its previous owners. When she starts to investigate, Grace uncovers four mysterious accidental deaths linked to the device. Her dad won't believe her so Grace treats the deaths like a science experiment, gathering evidence & testing her hypothesis that one of the deaths was in fact a murder.
Unfortunately this didn't quite live up to the early promise for me. It deals with mental health, trauma, & PTSD not only for the main character but for little Shelby too. The mystery itself wasn't bad (although the twist was pretty obvious) but the main character was a problem. Basically she is annoying as hell. Would all these adults really spill their guts to a nosy 16-year-old who just arrived in the village? No, they'd tell her to take a hike. Shelby is an absolute sweetheart though so I'm going to up the rating to 3 stars just for her.
My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, HarperCollins UK Childrens'/Harper Fire, for the opportunity to read an ARC.
When it happens again the next night, Grace realises the speaker has been pre-programmed & that the threat was aimed at one of its previous owners. When she starts to investigate, Grace uncovers four mysterious accidental deaths linked to the device. Her dad won't believe her so Grace treats the deaths like a science experiment, gathering evidence & testing her hypothesis that one of the deaths was in fact a murder.
Unfortunately this didn't quite live up to the early promise for me. It deals with mental health, trauma, & PTSD not only for the main character but for little Shelby too. The mystery itself wasn't bad (although the twist was pretty obvious) but the main character was a problem. Basically she is annoying as hell. Would all these adults really spill their guts to a nosy 16-year-old who just arrived in the village? No, they'd tell her to take a hike. Shelby is an absolute sweetheart though so I'm going to up the rating to 3 stars just for her.
My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, HarperCollins UK Childrens'/Harper Fire, for the opportunity to read an ARC.
September 9, 2024
This book has everything you could want from a YA thriller. It’s well written. You get a great plot with no holes or lulls. You get the visuals throughout as well as a science element to it. Didn’t want to put this down.
March 7, 2025
Disappointed…
This book was so slow and it feels so disjointed! When I think of it now, it feels like the book was about nothing, obviously that’s not the case but it was just so underwhelming. The writing isn’t special, the characters were kinda bland (mostly the main character herself).
The main character…oh boy.
Grace is just so annoying and stupid and the way she keeps thinking she has evidence which bothered me the most. There never really was any strong evidence on who might be the murderer up until the very end. It’s like the main character just made things up. No decision of hers was smart, I don’t even know how she made is this far by the end.
The ending was also kinda meh, I don’t think the plot twist was that good it actually felt extremely random, like???
This book was so slow and it feels so disjointed! When I think of it now, it feels like the book was about nothing, obviously that’s not the case but it was just so underwhelming. The writing isn’t special, the characters were kinda bland (mostly the main character herself).
The main character…oh boy.
Grace is just so annoying and stupid and the way she keeps thinking she has evidence which bothered me the most. There never really was any strong evidence on who might be the murderer up until the very end. It’s like the main character just made things up. No decision of hers was smart, I don’t even know how she made is this far by the end.
The ending was also kinda meh, I don’t think the plot twist was that good it actually felt extremely random, like???
March 6, 2025
I didn’t like it. Firstly, I hated grace. I personally can’t stand science, so the fact that she studied the periodic table to help her relax really riled me up. I know that’s a me problem, but the only thing that the periodic table makes me want to do is stick my head into an oven. Secondly, I hated the tropes. One of my favourite parts of reading a murder mystery is guessing who the murderer is, so how am I supposed to do that when the supposed victims are always changing? Grace is also reckless and annoying. “Let’s go report this to the police when we have no real evidence” and then is surprised when no one likes that. I completely related with dr marsden- I too wanted to drown grace in a bathtub. I also didn’t like the plot twist. It was bad, and gave me similar vibes to “it was all a dream” at the end of a novel, which is another plot twist that makes me want to throw the book out of my window. The reason I gave it one star is because it helped me with chemistry revison, but if the book wasn’t one I was borrowing I might have been tempted to burn it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 26, 2025
WHAT WAS THAT PLOT TWIST, HER FRIEND WAS DEAD. I was not expecting that. I did not guess the murderer at all, I was a bit confused because there was a lot of characters but I still enjoyed it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 5, 2025
that is a damn good plottwist.
the rest of the book is a bit repetitive.
the rest of the book is a bit repetitive.
April 13, 2025
Nej men ganska tråkig faktiskt. Också alldeles för ”barnslig” för min smak. Den får därför 2,5 ⭐️/ 5⭐️.
September 27, 2025
While reading: That … isn't how Venn diagrams work?
After reading: I stand by my initial claim. I enjoyed the actual plot of this book and the twists and turns in it. But everything it contains that's to do with science is laughably bad (try and make sense of those equations if you dare). And the use of random elements in place of words that sound a little bit like them genuinely made me cringe.
It felt like a serviceable thriller with a poorly done veneer of scientific nonsense painted over it because the author and/or publisher had noticed that STEM is having a bit of a moment currently.
After reading: I stand by my initial claim. I enjoyed the actual plot of this book and the twists and turns in it. But everything it contains that's to do with science is laughably bad (try and make sense of those equations if you dare). And the use of random elements in place of words that sound a little bit like them genuinely made me cringe.
It felt like a serviceable thriller with a poorly done veneer of scientific nonsense painted over it because the author and/or publisher had noticed that STEM is having a bit of a moment currently.
December 30, 2024
Twisty, verry twisty (too twisty?)
A strong (sad) emotional arc as well.
A strong (sad) emotional arc as well.
April 22, 2025
A brief spoiler free(ish) review. May contain some mild mentions to later plot!
Main Ratings:
Characters: 4/5 (extra star just for Shelby!)
Setting: 3/5
Plot: 4/5
Genre Ratings: Murder Mystery
Plot Twists: 4.5/5 (That one at the end just GOT me!)
Layout: 2.5/5 (More on this later.)
Overall:
18/25 =72 % — Good
Review:
This book goes along the lines of:
‘Welcome to Rosewood! The safest village in the country! Nothing ever happens here! Just please ignore:
• The cursed musical.
• The arson at the fields.
• Our friendly neighbourhood Drug Dealer(s)
• And the four totally not suspicious deaths within a span of four months.
Yup, nothing is wrong here!’
Grace (who literally just moved to Rosewood) : ‘Hrm, this is just a thought, but… Something seems wrong here…’
Overall, I found the book quite enjoyable, with an array of characters, each with their own personalities and backgrounds taking stage. I particularly enjoyed Shelby, the cute little traumatised ex-work dog.
I felt like I could relate to Grace, but only in the ways in that we share a name, and we both love science, but the similarities end there.
We mostly spend the whole book in denial of WHIL (What Happened In London), which may make some readers more invested in the story, others perhaps not, finding it hard to truly understand a character without knowledge of their backstory. The only things we are told about Grace is that she loves science, has a dog, a dad and a best friend called Maddie, and she used to live in London and also has anxiety from WHIL, which plays a major role in this book, displayed through her reactions to certain events.
In conclusion, the book was enjoyable and I would reccomend.
Now, onto the negative aspects…
I mentioned in the rating section above that i found the Layout quite bad, this is that the evidence was displayed in Venn Diagrams, which I am not against, only it was a bit confusing at times, such as a connection between reads simply ‘in love with’ or ‘did not like’, and I am left wondering who was in love with who out of the two who were connected. I feel as though this may have been better presented through another format, or at least made the areas where the two circles overlapped more specific.
I also found the book quite unbelievable at times, such as when questioning something towards the end of the book, Grace hands them £40 and he oh-so-conviently just tells her everything she needs to know to solve the murder, not much evidence needed, and I’m left wondering: why not visit them sooner? Because the suspect was introduced pretty early on.
Okay, final grievence: it was pretty predictable, Grace has four possible murders to investigate, so the real murder certainly won’t be the first two to three she investigates, as the author will not want the murder solved so early on in the book. Therefore, we are left partially bored through the first half or so of the book, waiting for the real investigation to begin.
So anyway, if you do read the book, I hope you enjoy it, and if you don’t, I hope you find another great book to read!
(I just typed this entire review with a French keyboard I didn’t know how to turn off, so I apologise any spelling mistakes!)
If you enjoy(ed) the book, I would recommend:
A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson
Similarities: A powerful female lead takes centre stage in order to solve a long past murder against all odds.
Main Ratings:
Characters: 4/5 (extra star just for Shelby!)
Setting: 3/5
Plot: 4/5
Genre Ratings: Murder Mystery
Plot Twists: 4.5/5 (That one at the end just GOT me!)
Layout: 2.5/5 (More on this later.)
Overall:
18/25 =72 % — Good
Review:
This book goes along the lines of:
‘Welcome to Rosewood! The safest village in the country! Nothing ever happens here! Just please ignore:
• The cursed musical.
• The arson at the fields.
• Our friendly neighbourhood Drug Dealer(s)
• And the four totally not suspicious deaths within a span of four months.
Yup, nothing is wrong here!’
Grace (who literally just moved to Rosewood) : ‘Hrm, this is just a thought, but… Something seems wrong here…’
Overall, I found the book quite enjoyable, with an array of characters, each with their own personalities and backgrounds taking stage. I particularly enjoyed Shelby, the cute little traumatised ex-work dog.
I felt like I could relate to Grace, but only in the ways in that we share a name, and we both love science, but the similarities end there.
We mostly spend the whole book in denial of WHIL (What Happened In London), which may make some readers more invested in the story, others perhaps not, finding it hard to truly understand a character without knowledge of their backstory. The only things we are told about Grace is that she loves science, has a dog, a dad and a best friend called Maddie, and she used to live in London and also has anxiety from WHIL, which plays a major role in this book, displayed through her reactions to certain events.
In conclusion, the book was enjoyable and I would reccomend.
Now, onto the negative aspects…
I mentioned in the rating section above that i found the Layout quite bad, this is that the evidence was displayed in Venn Diagrams, which I am not against, only it was a bit confusing at times, such as a connection between reads simply ‘in love with’ or ‘did not like’, and I am left wondering who was in love with who out of the two who were connected. I feel as though this may have been better presented through another format, or at least made the areas where the two circles overlapped more specific.
I also found the book quite unbelievable at times, such as when questioning something towards the end of the book, Grace hands them £40 and he oh-so-conviently just tells her everything she needs to know to solve the murder, not much evidence needed, and I’m left wondering: why not visit them sooner? Because the suspect was introduced pretty early on.
Okay, final grievence: it was pretty predictable, Grace has four possible murders to investigate, so the real murder certainly won’t be the first two to three she investigates, as the author will not want the murder solved so early on in the book. Therefore, we are left partially bored through the first half or so of the book, waiting for the real investigation to begin.
So anyway, if you do read the book, I hope you enjoy it, and if you don’t, I hope you find another great book to read!
(I just typed this entire review with a French keyboard I didn’t know how to turn off, so I apologise any spelling mistakes!)
If you enjoy(ed) the book, I would recommend:
A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson
Similarities: A powerful female lead takes centre stage in order to solve a long past murder against all odds.
September 6, 2025
3.25⭐️/5 (rounded down)
My first foray into YA since I was, well, a YA. As a 32-year-old woman, I’m probably not the target audience for this book. However, I actually was really excited to dig into my inner nerdy teen while listening to this book, and had high hopes.
Starting with the good:
I really liked the main characters in the book, as well as the overall premise. Our protagonist Grace has recently moved with her dad and dog to a small English village after a traumatic experience happened in her hometown of London. Trying to get away and put the past behind them, her father puts their house up for rent while they lease a furnished home in Rosewood.
Upon arriving, they notice the home has an Amazon Echo (a smart speaker) and they ask it to give them fun facts about Rosewood. Along with things to do in the area, they learn that Rosewood has an extremely low crime rate and her father is relieved to hear they will be safe in their new village after What Happened In London.
That night, the speaker utters death threats unprompted and Grace begins to spiral. Her father doesn’t believe her and so she sets her mind to theorizing why the Echo is saying it’s going to murder her and whether the message is for her. This sets scientifically-minded Grace into researching, creating a hypothesis, and analyzing the data she finds about the previous 4 people who interacted with the Echo, who all died under accidental circumstances.
Together with her best friend Maddy, and her doggy Shelby (undoubtedly one of my favourite literary pups to date), she questions the villagers and collects data for her research. She meets a boy and their romance is very cute.
What I didn’t like:
#1) This should not be available as an audiobook. I love audiobooks, especially because they’re an accessible medium for consuming books and I like to be able to clean or walk my dog while reading.
However, attempting to understand the narration of venn diagrams is next to impossible. I feel like a lot of the charm of the book is probably in seeing Grace’s findings, as she is a budding scientist and using the scientific method to solve this mystery.
#2 a)What Happened In London is kept secret the entire book, until the very end, and trying to work out What Happened In London was very distracting.
b) Because we don’t know What Happened In London, Grace is a bit of an unreliable narrator. She has PTSD from What Happened and so everyone in her world also considers her to be an unreliable narrator (which is perhaps quite unfair).
#3) Obviously Murder Mysteries have multiple potential killers but rarely are there multiple potential victims. I liked this a lot more in theory than in execution. It made it a bit difficult to follow (because every potential victim had different possible motives/suspects) and it was just not as enjoyable as it could have been. Too many variables, if I may say.
Overall it was a cute read, but not a favourite.
My first foray into YA since I was, well, a YA. As a 32-year-old woman, I’m probably not the target audience for this book. However, I actually was really excited to dig into my inner nerdy teen while listening to this book, and had high hopes.
Starting with the good:
I really liked the main characters in the book, as well as the overall premise. Our protagonist Grace has recently moved with her dad and dog to a small English village after a traumatic experience happened in her hometown of London. Trying to get away and put the past behind them, her father puts their house up for rent while they lease a furnished home in Rosewood.
Upon arriving, they notice the home has an Amazon Echo (a smart speaker) and they ask it to give them fun facts about Rosewood. Along with things to do in the area, they learn that Rosewood has an extremely low crime rate and her father is relieved to hear they will be safe in their new village after What Happened In London.
That night, the speaker utters death threats unprompted and Grace begins to spiral. Her father doesn’t believe her and so she sets her mind to theorizing why the Echo is saying it’s going to murder her and whether the message is for her. This sets scientifically-minded Grace into researching, creating a hypothesis, and analyzing the data she finds about the previous 4 people who interacted with the Echo, who all died under accidental circumstances.
Together with her best friend Maddy, and her doggy Shelby (undoubtedly one of my favourite literary pups to date), she questions the villagers and collects data for her research. She meets a boy and their romance is very cute.
What I didn’t like:
#1) This should not be available as an audiobook. I love audiobooks, especially because they’re an accessible medium for consuming books and I like to be able to clean or walk my dog while reading.
However, attempting to understand the narration of venn diagrams is next to impossible. I feel like a lot of the charm of the book is probably in seeing Grace’s findings, as she is a budding scientist and using the scientific method to solve this mystery.
#2 a)What Happened In London is kept secret the entire book, until the very end, and trying to work out What Happened In London was very distracting.
b) Because we don’t know What Happened In London, Grace is a bit of an unreliable narrator. She has PTSD from What Happened and so everyone in her world also considers her to be an unreliable narrator (which is perhaps quite unfair).
#3) Obviously Murder Mysteries have multiple potential killers but rarely are there multiple potential victims. I liked this a lot more in theory than in execution. It made it a bit difficult to follow (because every potential victim had different possible motives/suspects) and it was just not as enjoyable as it could have been. Too many variables, if I may say.
Overall it was a cute read, but not a favourite.
December 28, 2024
THE MURDER NYPOTHESIS is a fun murder mystery about a girl who thinks there might be a murder everyone's overlooked - except she doesn't know who.
It is a good hook and I liked how confusing and tricky it was to work out the mystery given you started not knowing the victim. In that way, it was a double mystery, which was a really nice angle on it. As a physicist, I liked the scientific method framing of this book. The hypotheses and data gathering were interesting ways to structure the investigation, with added tables and venn diagrams. I also loved all the science puns!
One interesting thing about this book is how much one section felt like watching a train wreck in slow motion and being unable to stop it. Gracie cannot seem to keep her mouth shut and just makes situations worse. It is heavily suggested by the adults around her that she is struggling with a mental health condition related to the (heavily hinted at and not revealed until the end) "incident" in London. Reading from that perspective, it felt like her inability to stop herself was linked to whatever condition she was struggling with. However, being in first person narration, it was written off as the adults "overreacting" and "not listening" to her.
I found myself in the position of both wanting there to be an actual murder (and thus Gracie was technically right even if her approach was terrible!) and also somewhat interested in there not being one . The reason for the first was knowing that, given this was billed as a murder mystery, I knew it would be unsatisfying to not have one. However, my reasoning for the second was that I wanted this paranoid spiral of hers to be broken (so she could start the path to recovery) and not reinforced by being right in the end.
In the end, there was a murder and a solution, but it did feel like there was an intervention and it was working. The best of both worlds, there!
It is a good hook and I liked how confusing and tricky it was to work out the mystery given you started not knowing the victim. In that way, it was a double mystery, which was a really nice angle on it. As a physicist, I liked the scientific method framing of this book. The hypotheses and data gathering were interesting ways to structure the investigation, with added tables and venn diagrams. I also loved all the science puns!
One interesting thing about this book is how much one section felt like watching a train wreck in slow motion and being unable to stop it. Gracie cannot seem to keep her mouth shut and just makes situations worse. It is heavily suggested by the adults around her that she is struggling with a mental health condition related to the (heavily hinted at and not revealed until the end) "incident" in London. Reading from that perspective, it felt like her inability to stop herself was linked to whatever condition she was struggling with. However, being in first person narration, it was written off as the adults "overreacting" and "not listening" to her.
I found myself in the position of both wanting there to be an actual murder (and thus Gracie was technically right even if her approach was terrible!) and also somewhat interested in there not being one . The reason for the first was knowing that, given this was billed as a murder mystery, I knew it would be unsatisfying to not have one. However, my reasoning for the second was that I wanted this paranoid spiral of hers to be broken (so she could start the path to recovery) and not reinforced by being right in the end.
In the end, there was a murder and a solution, but it did feel like there was an intervention and it was working. The best of both worlds, there!
August 6, 2025
This book was one of the most annoying, infuriating, and just downright bad books I have read in a long time.
Let’s start with our main character. Why is she the most unlikable person to ever have existed? And why is she always talking about her dog’s trauma? Like I get it she has PTSD that’s sad, but it quite literally does not add a single damn thing to the story, so can you please not mention it every 2 pages??
Also: the way she talked with Maddie?? I can’t believe anyone ever thought that wasn’t the most cringeworthy type of dialogue to have ever been written. Let’s also not forget the way she asked intrusive questions non-stop. Like girl if you’re running a murder investigation maybe don’t be so damn obvious about it??? She pissed me tf off if I’m honest. Now, obviously, in like the absolute final pages we finally know why she’s kind of the way she is, but I don’t think that fully justifies just how crazy she was acting in the book, and this explanation should’ve come sooner than in the absolute end of the book.
Then in terms of pacing I found the book to be way too long. It could’ve been at least 150 pages shorter if not more with the same outcome. Also, the idea of having these scientific interludes with diagrams and stuff was fun in theory, but in the end way too much information was constantly repeated and I ended up skipping over most of those sections as they were usually kind of pointless.
So overall: did I enjoy this book? No actually, not one bit. The beginning got me hooked as I thought it was going to be filled with suspense, mystery and even a bit of thriller, but none of that ended up coming true, leading to a very dissapointing book.
Let’s start with our main character. Why is she the most unlikable person to ever have existed? And why is she always talking about her dog’s trauma? Like I get it she has PTSD that’s sad, but it quite literally does not add a single damn thing to the story, so can you please not mention it every 2 pages??
Also: the way she talked with Maddie?? I can’t believe anyone ever thought that wasn’t the most cringeworthy type of dialogue to have ever been written. Let’s also not forget the way she asked intrusive questions non-stop. Like girl if you’re running a murder investigation maybe don’t be so damn obvious about it??? She pissed me tf off if I’m honest. Now, obviously, in like the absolute final pages we finally know why she’s kind of the way she is, but I don’t think that fully justifies just how crazy she was acting in the book, and this explanation should’ve come sooner than in the absolute end of the book.
Then in terms of pacing I found the book to be way too long. It could’ve been at least 150 pages shorter if not more with the same outcome. Also, the idea of having these scientific interludes with diagrams and stuff was fun in theory, but in the end way too much information was constantly repeated and I ended up skipping over most of those sections as they were usually kind of pointless.
So overall: did I enjoy this book? No actually, not one bit. The beginning got me hooked as I thought it was going to be filled with suspense, mystery and even a bit of thriller, but none of that ended up coming true, leading to a very dissapointing book.
October 10, 2024
I am still absolutely REELING after finishing this book and it completely had me in a chokehold.
I was addicted from the very start and it had no problem at hooking me whatsoever. This book had all the elements within to make it an absolutely amazing detective YA, suspense murder mystery. I don’t think I could have loved it more if I tried.
First off, Grace was an amazing character to follow and her insights and perspectives made the book so so interesting. You can feel the vibes are off and everything deliciously begins to come together as you read on. She’s a credit to STEM and her methodical investigation of the cases were remarkable. Shelby, her little anxious dog too also had my heart.
Grace and her dad (+ adorable dog) escape to a seemingly quiet village with one of the lowest reported crime rates in the country. She’s escaping London with hopes to start anew. But quickly sees that the spate of unexplained deaths may not quite be as innocent as they seem but when she begins asking questions, she starts to ruffle more than a few feathers…
As a woman in STEM I really loved Grace’s approach. The whole book felt so novel, engaging, exciting and addicting. I really couldn’t put it down and annilihated 300 pages in one day. No regrets. It was so so good!
Thank you to the author and publisher for this book on NetGalley in return for my honest thoughts and review.
I was addicted from the very start and it had no problem at hooking me whatsoever. This book had all the elements within to make it an absolutely amazing detective YA, suspense murder mystery. I don’t think I could have loved it more if I tried.
First off, Grace was an amazing character to follow and her insights and perspectives made the book so so interesting. You can feel the vibes are off and everything deliciously begins to come together as you read on. She’s a credit to STEM and her methodical investigation of the cases were remarkable. Shelby, her little anxious dog too also had my heart.
Grace and her dad (+ adorable dog) escape to a seemingly quiet village with one of the lowest reported crime rates in the country. She’s escaping London with hopes to start anew. But quickly sees that the spate of unexplained deaths may not quite be as innocent as they seem but when she begins asking questions, she starts to ruffle more than a few feathers…
As a woman in STEM I really loved Grace’s approach. The whole book felt so novel, engaging, exciting and addicting. I really couldn’t put it down and annilihated 300 pages in one day. No regrets. It was so so good!
Thank you to the author and publisher for this book on NetGalley in return for my honest thoughts and review.
January 4, 2025
3.5/5 ⭐️
Gracie and her dad, along with their rescue dog Shelby, have moved to a small town to try to get away from problems Gracie had in London. However, on their first night there, Gracie hears the Amazon Echo the landlady has in the house announce an ominous threat about murder. She becomes convinced that one of the previous owners must have been murdered and sets out to find out who the culprit is.
I really liked this one until about halfway through (and I still liked it, but to a much less degree). At a point, Gracie just starts to become annoying for lack of a better word. I think part of it is that she is just over the top obsessed with the mystery? You find out why (a little) more toward the end, but it was still a lot. I think part of it too was that the suspects and most "victims" were adults. Maybe if the other suspects and potential victims had all been teenagers too it would have made more sense? Also the "twist" was glaringly obvious. Once a character comes on the scene, I was like 100% this is the situation (and I was correct). I did love her relationship with Shelby - as always the dog was one of the best parts of the book! It was also pretty fast-paced and easy to read.
I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Gracie and her dad, along with their rescue dog Shelby, have moved to a small town to try to get away from problems Gracie had in London. However, on their first night there, Gracie hears the Amazon Echo the landlady has in the house announce an ominous threat about murder. She becomes convinced that one of the previous owners must have been murdered and sets out to find out who the culprit is.
I really liked this one until about halfway through (and I still liked it, but to a much less degree). At a point, Gracie just starts to become annoying for lack of a better word. I think part of it is that she is just over the top obsessed with the mystery? You find out why (a little) more toward the end, but it was still a lot. I think part of it too was that the suspects and most "victims" were adults. Maybe if the other suspects and potential victims had all been teenagers too it would have made more sense? Also the "twist" was glaringly obvious. Once a character comes on the scene, I was like 100% this is the situation (and I was correct). I did love her relationship with Shelby - as always the dog was one of the best parts of the book! It was also pretty fast-paced and easy to read.
I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
January 21, 2025
I will provide reasoning for my rating, however, I stand by what I've said throughout this book - it could have and should have been a lot shorter.
I like that this book was focussed and based on 2024, which is nice - it references a lot of difficulties and challenges faced in the past few years. Additionally, the final 8 - 10 chapters picked up and I thoroughly enjoyed reading them, however the other 40~ chapters were a challenge and a drag to read.
Overall, I would not recommend reading this book. I like the concept of murders and conspiracies in a tiny village in Devon, but it was uncomfortable at several points. Not in ways that it should be uncomfortable (i.e. discussing mental health, death, etc), but in the way that the main character - a child - was clearly very ill and focussed solely on her "experiments". It is something that could be expected of a child of a younger age, but she lacks so much that a person of the age of 16 would have.
Anyway, this might just be me. The last 2 chapters hit me like a shit tonne of bricks and all the dots connected.
Cannot recommend.
I like that this book was focussed and based on 2024, which is nice - it references a lot of difficulties and challenges faced in the past few years. Additionally, the final 8 - 10 chapters picked up and I thoroughly enjoyed reading them, however the other 40~ chapters were a challenge and a drag to read.
Overall, I would not recommend reading this book. I like the concept of murders and conspiracies in a tiny village in Devon, but it was uncomfortable at several points. Not in ways that it should be uncomfortable (i.e. discussing mental health, death, etc), but in the way that the main character - a child - was clearly very ill and focussed solely on her "experiments". It is something that could be expected of a child of a younger age, but she lacks so much that a person of the age of 16 would have.
Anyway, this might just be me. The last 2 chapters hit me like a shit tonne of bricks and all the dots connected.
Cannot recommend.
March 1, 2025
I read this book a while back but somehow forgot to write a review. I’m finally correcting that wrong. Unfortunately it’s not necessarily a good thing.
I’ll begin by saying that the writing itself was entertaining and I would definitely read the author again. The story, however, did not work that well for me. The formatting in my copy was a little off and made reading difficult but that didn’t impact my experience as much as I expected. There was a twist in the tale that I expected almost from the very beginning, it was only the reasons behind it that I needed more details to complete the picture.
Grace does not fit into the ‘ normal’ of her age group. She manages stress and other anxieties in different ways. When the Amazon echo in their new rental place starts to spew threats nightly, Grace knows something is wrong. The plot is well done and I would never have guessed the culprit (although the readers do not have the entire picture to reach the conclusion easily). I found the going slow. The conversations were a little abrupt and not something I enjoyed. Since a lot of the investigation involved conversations, I ended up not liking the book overall. There were parts I liked but not enough.
It’s still a book I’d recommend to fans of the genre because it is well thought out.
I received an ARC thanks to Netgalley and the publishers but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.
I’ll begin by saying that the writing itself was entertaining and I would definitely read the author again. The story, however, did not work that well for me. The formatting in my copy was a little off and made reading difficult but that didn’t impact my experience as much as I expected. There was a twist in the tale that I expected almost from the very beginning, it was only the reasons behind it that I needed more details to complete the picture.
Grace does not fit into the ‘ normal’ of her age group. She manages stress and other anxieties in different ways. When the Amazon echo in their new rental place starts to spew threats nightly, Grace knows something is wrong. The plot is well done and I would never have guessed the culprit (although the readers do not have the entire picture to reach the conclusion easily). I found the going slow. The conversations were a little abrupt and not something I enjoyed. Since a lot of the investigation involved conversations, I ended up not liking the book overall. There were parts I liked but not enough.
It’s still a book I’d recommend to fans of the genre because it is well thought out.
I received an ARC thanks to Netgalley and the publishers but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.
July 21, 2025
This book was lowk boring. Had all that rubbish made popular by AGGGTM where the author tries to make the book authentic by adding in ‘notes’ and ‘diagrams’ that the character has made. The main character was not incredibly likeable, which doesn’t make a book bad, but it does in this case because the main character isn’t supposed to be unlikable.
THE PLOT TWIST WAS SO BAD. Plus it didn’t add anything to the story? I worked it out as soon as the character it involved was introduced, and that’s saying something because I don’t usually work out plot twists.
The story was predictable and is basically a rewrite of every other YA murder mystery where a girl moves from the big city to a small countryside village.
I still read it all the way through and was somewhat hooked at certain parts, but it was still not very great.
Soz for hating but I didn’t enjoy.
THE PLOT TWIST WAS SO BAD. Plus it didn’t add anything to the story? I worked it out as soon as the character it involved was introduced, and that’s saying something because I don’t usually work out plot twists.
The story was predictable and is basically a rewrite of every other YA murder mystery where a girl moves from the big city to a small countryside village.
I still read it all the way through and was somewhat hooked at certain parts, but it was still not very great.
Soz for hating but I didn’t enjoy.
November 7, 2024
Have you ever had to relocate your life? Have you struggled to move on from past events? Have you become obsessed with something that has nothing to do with you? Gracie has and this is her story. She's moved to a new location far away from her old life and she falls into researching recent deaths in 'the safest village'. Unfortunately, this research doesn't go without problems and Gracie eventually realises what happened to make them move away.
The whole way through, I was guessing who the murderer was and several times I was convinced I'd got it. I never did! There so many twists and turns that I didn't see them coming. The final reveal at the end was both terrifying and heartbreaking. This is a great read for anyone who loves a murder mystery.
The whole way through, I was guessing who the murderer was and several times I was convinced I'd got it. I never did! There so many twists and turns that I didn't see them coming. The final reveal at the end was both terrifying and heartbreaking. This is a great read for anyone who loves a murder mystery.
December 14, 2024
Really enjoyed this book! I read it because of a review saying it reminded them of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder. I would say that is very true.
The twist at the end with her friend never truly being there was actually wild, and now thinking on it, I can see how it kind of adds up. She was never present in any of the big events like the party, or the police office (not being physically inside). The migraine incident was definitely something I should’ve picked up on.
I don’t know how I feel about them moving back to London at the end, I feel like by the end it seemed as though she was starting to accept her life there. I wish they had maybe stayed, but potentially this could be explored in a future book.
The twist at the end with her friend never truly being there was actually wild, and now thinking on it, I can see how it kind of adds up. She was never present in any of the big events like the party, or the police office (not being physically inside). The migraine incident was definitely something I should’ve picked up on.
I don’t know how I feel about them moving back to London at the end, I feel like by the end it seemed as though she was starting to accept her life there. I wish they had maybe stayed, but potentially this could be explored in a future book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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