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Liar's Beach #2
Hemlock House
Set in the aspirational world of the Ivy-League, this follow-up to the critically acclaimed Liar’s Beach sees the return of iconic detective Holiday Proctor and her childhood friend Linden, as they work to uncover a mysterious murder on campus.
They did some bad things.
More than a year after childhood friends Michael Linden and Holiday Poirot solved a headline-making murder on Martha’s Vineyard, Linden is ready to start over as a freshman at Harvard—and, he hopes, to reunite with his old girlfriend, Greer. But just as things start to heat up between them, a friend is found dead in Greer’s dorm, Hemlock House.
The police believe the death is the result of an overdose, but Linden suspects there’s more to the story. The victim was wearing Greer’s clothes and sleeping in Greer’s bed when she died . . . and Greer has a long list of enemies. Was this a case of mistaken identity? Was someone trying to kill Greer? Is she in danger? Is he?
Nearly everyone on campus has something to hide—and some mysteries are better left buried. . . .
They did some bad things.
More than a year after childhood friends Michael Linden and Holiday Poirot solved a headline-making murder on Martha’s Vineyard, Linden is ready to start over as a freshman at Harvard—and, he hopes, to reunite with his old girlfriend, Greer. But just as things start to heat up between them, a friend is found dead in Greer’s dorm, Hemlock House.
The police believe the death is the result of an overdose, but Linden suspects there’s more to the story. The victim was wearing Greer’s clothes and sleeping in Greer’s bed when she died . . . and Greer has a long list of enemies. Was this a case of mistaken identity? Was someone trying to kill Greer? Is she in danger? Is he?
Nearly everyone on campus has something to hide—and some mysteries are better left buried. . . .
225 pages, Paperback
First published August 13, 2024
About the author
Katie Cotugno
28 books2,407 followersKatie Cotugno is the New York Times bestselling author of seven messy, complicated feminist YA love stories, as well as the adult novel Birds of California (Harper Perennial, 2022). She is also the co-author, with Candace Bushnell, of Rules for Being a Girl. Her books have been honored by the Junior Library Guild, the Bank Street Children’s Book Committee, and the Kentucky Association of School Librarians, among others, and translated into more than fifteen languages. Katie is a Pushcart Prize nominee whose work has appeared in The Iowa Review, The Mississippi Review, and Argestes, as well as many other literary magazines. She studied Writing, Literature and Publishing at Emerson College and received her MFA in Fiction at Lesley University. She lives in Boston with her family.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 180 reviews
August 28, 2024
Okay I hate Linden so much Holiday is way too good for his wishy washy ass but by the end I did care a little bit about the crime and their relationship. Once I caught myself thinking “okayyyyy I’ll probably read another book in this series” I decided to round up. The narrator is great and I like his girl voice. But I must reiterate, I really wish holiday would find a really hot dude who reads books and only loves her and is actually part of the brain possessing community. But I am a slut for a romance so here I am anyway! (I hate myself.)
I really wish the book was from Holiday’s perspective bc there’s nothing in Lindens personality that has me convinced he’s worth any time so I’d at least like to see her reasoning!
To be fair, Linden is like 19 or something so he is canonically Dumb™ but I’ve read YA mysteries with better MCs. I do believe however, he just wasn’t the best narrator and made decisions people of ALL ages would find suss.
Spoilers: Also both books ended with the criminals kinda just turning themselves in which was anticlimactic? Also why did the bracelet end up in his underwear drawer like who planted that and why ??
⭐️⭐️.5/5
I received an ALC free audiobook from PRH Audio. All opinions are honest and my own.
I really wish the book was from Holiday’s perspective bc there’s nothing in Lindens personality that has me convinced he’s worth any time so I’d at least like to see her reasoning!
To be fair, Linden is like 19 or something so he is canonically Dumb™ but I’ve read YA mysteries with better MCs. I do believe however, he just wasn’t the best narrator and made decisions people of ALL ages would find suss.
Spoilers: Also both books ended with the criminals kinda just turning themselves in which was anticlimactic? Also why did the bracelet end up in his underwear drawer like who planted that and why ??
⭐️⭐️.5/5
I received an ALC free audiobook from PRH Audio. All opinions are honest and my own.
September 4, 2024
The only likeable character was Holiday - Greer sucked the whole book.
The plot was okay - this book was a book and it was not bad or good for my tastes.
The plot was okay - this book was a book and it was not bad or good for my tastes.
August 30, 2024
A follow up to last summer's Liar's beach, this latest sees the return of Michael and Holiday as they get caught up in a campus murder of Michael's girlfriend's roommate. What initially appeared to be an overdose turns out to possibly have been a mistaken case of identity murder meant for Greer. Another amateur detective story featuring teens that was good on audio and perfect for fans of the Good girl's guide to murder series. This book can be read as a standalone but for better context would best be read after Liar's beach.
December 27, 2024
I came into this book with no expectations and I was still disappointed
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August 25, 2024i had a good time reading this!! SO many boston/cambridge references and even though i am not a big fall person, dare i say that hemlock house made me miss fall in boston… also i will NOT take this andala slander… a coffee shop in central with mismatched mugs and crappy couches? those couches are lovely!!
i complain about obvious love triangles and while this one wasn’t super obvious i was still pissed because linden is a dumbass. i would’ve liked for him to reflect and process more… for him to be in his folklore era if you know what i mean… wait is this book betty james august coded??
i complain about obvious love triangles and while this one wasn’t super obvious i was still pissed because linden is a dumbass. i would’ve liked for him to reflect and process more… for him to be in his folklore era if you know what i mean… wait is this book betty james august coded??
April 29, 2024
I started my reading journey with Hemlock House excited. I had read Liar's Beach the year prior and was looking forward to revisiting our two main characters, Linden and Holiday. I thought the book started off promising--you get an introduction to Linden's life at Harvard (though he had no idea what he wanted to do with his life, so why on earth would he need to go to Harvard??), see what problems he's dealing with (hazing from frat bros, pining after Greer AGAIN, etc.), and have the murder take place pretty much right off the bat.
However, this book could have been a stand alone not even remotely related to Liar's Beach and you wouldn't even know. You could have changed the names of the characters and it would not have made a difference. Linden is dealing with the exact same insecurities as from the first book: he's ashamed that he's poor, he's kind of obsessed with Greer even though we don't know much about her other than she's rich and average and her parents expect better, he's confused about his feelings for Holiday. But none of those things are unique to Liar's Beach or Hemlock House.
Linden and Holiday jump to conclusions then jump away from those conclusions immediately about the who and the why of the murder, and in the end, Holiday is somehow able to give a monologue about the who and the why exactly as it happened. The murderer doesn't make sense, every character takes the news calmly and in stride, and none of Linden's problems have been resolved by the end of the book either. This was such a disappointment, not to mention a mediocre book in general.
The two stars are for the promising premise at the beginning of the book. Thank you to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
However, this book could have been a stand alone not even remotely related to Liar's Beach and you wouldn't even know. You could have changed the names of the characters and it would not have made a difference. Linden is dealing with the exact same insecurities as from the first book: he's ashamed that he's poor, he's kind of obsessed with Greer even though we don't know much about her other than she's rich and average and her parents expect better, he's confused about his feelings for Holiday. But none of those things are unique to Liar's Beach or Hemlock House.
Linden and Holiday jump to conclusions then jump away from those conclusions immediately about the who and the why of the murder, and in the end, Holiday is somehow able to give a monologue about the who and the why exactly as it happened. The murderer doesn't make sense, every character takes the news calmly and in stride, and none of Linden's problems have been resolved by the end of the book either. This was such a disappointment, not to mention a mediocre book in general.
The two stars are for the promising premise at the beginning of the book. Thank you to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
May 6, 2025
*Sigh*...I'm honestly not sure why I read Hemlock House, the second book in Katie Cotugno’s Liar’s Beach series, considering I didn’t particularly enjoy the first one. But hey, we all make questionable choices—mine just happened to be reading 200+ pages of upper-class teen drama (again) and hoping for character development that never came.
Much like its predecessor, Hemlock House delivers another round of murder mystery mayhem starring a cast of characters I would absolutely ghost in real life. The new additions to the ensemble? Somehow just as unlikeable as the originals. In fact, I think some of them studied at the Michael Linden School of Being The Worst™ . Speaking of which—his ex, Greer? Completely insufferable. If I had to hear one more self-important, holier-than-thou comment from her, I might’ve tried to escape into the pages of another book entirely.
Once again, the only character who made this even remotely bearable was Holiday. Our sweet, smart, observant queen. She deserves better. She deserves more. Much more page time, more depth, more plot centered on her, and honestly, her own spin-off where she solves mysteries and leaves these pretentious people behind.
If there’s a third book in the series—and I say this with love—I kindly request we cut our losses and just remove Linden altogether. Let Holiday take the lead, solving mysteries while living her best life, far away from everyone else.
Final verdict: Two stars. One for Holiday. One for my perseverance.
Much like its predecessor, Hemlock House delivers another round of murder mystery mayhem starring a cast of characters I would absolutely ghost in real life. The new additions to the ensemble? Somehow just as unlikeable as the originals. In fact, I think some of them studied at the Michael Linden School of Being The Worst™ . Speaking of which—his ex, Greer? Completely insufferable. If I had to hear one more self-important, holier-than-thou comment from her, I might’ve tried to escape into the pages of another book entirely.
Once again, the only character who made this even remotely bearable was Holiday. Our sweet, smart, observant queen. She deserves better. She deserves more. Much more page time, more depth, more plot centered on her, and honestly, her own spin-off where she solves mysteries and leaves these pretentious people behind.
If there’s a third book in the series—and I say this with love—I kindly request we cut our losses and just remove Linden altogether. Let Holiday take the lead, solving mysteries while living her best life, far away from everyone else.
Final verdict: Two stars. One for Holiday. One for my perseverance.
December 1, 2024
Another fun YA Thriller, that was short and sweet! I really enjoyed the fast pacing of this book but found that I didn’t really like any of the characters except for maybe Holiday. Greer was a strange girl from the get-go and I found that her attitude sucked! She started out as down to earth and a potentially likeable character to someone that seemed quite selfish and unlikeable. Michael was a very boring MMC. He had zero personality traits, seemed to just be a walking mess of a person with no regards for those around him unless it benefited him (like his friendship with Holiday). Holiday really was the glue in this book, it was like all the personality was distributed to just her and not given out to the other characters.
I did overall enjoy the writing style and flow of the plot. It wasn’t super complex which was perfect for me right now as life has been quite overwhelming recently and I needed something that didn’t require too much brain power to understand. Overall, this wasn’t the most in depth YA Thriller I’ve read this year but it was fun, easy, quick, and generally a great read!
April 14, 2025
First of all: JUSTICE FOR THE GOLDFISH!
Second of all: this entire book was trying to do way too much.
Just all around disappointed
Second of all: this entire book was trying to do way too much.
Just all around disappointed
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September 24, 20242.5/5
As Michael is trying to reconnect with his high school ex Greer, they find Greer’s roommate dead in their dorm room, and even though the police are trying to declare the case as an obvious overdose, Michael’s gut feels like there’s more to the story. In this twisted sequel, amateur detectives Michael Linden and Holiday Poirot team up again to figure out a murder, this time at Harvard.
Although I didn’t particularly enjoy the first book of the series very much, my love Ivy League thrillers is so extreme that I still wanted to try this, but I sure wish I would have just skipped it.
Once again, the book would have been more interesting and captivating from Holiday’s perspective. Holiday has more personality and excitement in one strand of hair than Michael has in his entire body, and Holiday lights up every scene she’s in. Michael shouldn’t have, and never realistically would have, been accepted into somewhere like Harvard and is as dry and shallow as a character can get.
What was even more incomprehensible was the ending. The murderer doesn’t fully make sense, and the way the murderer is revealed is anticlimactic and had very unrealistic reactions from surrounding characters.
Overall, this was a letdown, and I would recommend readers to pick up something else to get their Halloween/spooky fix.
As Michael is trying to reconnect with his high school ex Greer, they find Greer’s roommate dead in their dorm room, and even though the police are trying to declare the case as an obvious overdose, Michael’s gut feels like there’s more to the story. In this twisted sequel, amateur detectives Michael Linden and Holiday Poirot team up again to figure out a murder, this time at Harvard.
Although I didn’t particularly enjoy the first book of the series very much, my love Ivy League thrillers is so extreme that I still wanted to try this, but I sure wish I would have just skipped it.
Once again, the book would have been more interesting and captivating from Holiday’s perspective. Holiday has more personality and excitement in one strand of hair than Michael has in his entire body, and Holiday lights up every scene she’s in. Michael shouldn’t have, and never realistically would have, been accepted into somewhere like Harvard and is as dry and shallow as a character can get.
What was even more incomprehensible was the ending. The murderer doesn’t fully make sense, and the way the murderer is revealed is anticlimactic and had very unrealistic reactions from surrounding characters.
Overall, this was a letdown, and I would recommend readers to pick up something else to get their Halloween/spooky fix.
July 19, 2025
This character is a lesson in why you shouldn’t hang around bored rich kids lol. Also why was there literally like no mystery??
November 12, 2025
Til å være en thriller på under 300 sider var det veldig mye trekantdrama og veldig lite mysterie 💀
May 22, 2024
I got this book as an ARC from NetGalley and after noticing it was #2 in the series, I picked up Liar’s Beach. I read Liar’s beach and found it exciting and couldn’t wait to get into Hemlock House as a continuation of Linden & Holiday’s investigating. However, this book could have been a standalone with how little it had to do with Liar’s Beach. I mean Linden & Holiday were still in it, and we got to meet the infamous Greer and learn what really happened in Linden’s accident that was alluded to over and over in the first book but never discussed.
I enjoyed the friendship that bloomed more between Holiday & Linden and I liked that we finally got to know how Linden hurt his ankle and what caused the crash but that’s where the redeeming qualities end.
The ending was really unbelievable - that the three suitemates just accepted that Greer killed her roomie and then “okay we’ll talk to the police- the end”???? It didn’t seem like all the things we were building up to and the issues everyone was having were solved but it also didn’t leave me wanting to know more about Linden and Holiday.
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
I enjoyed the friendship that bloomed more between Holiday & Linden and I liked that we finally got to know how Linden hurt his ankle and what caused the crash but that’s where the redeeming qualities end.
The ending was really unbelievable - that the three suitemates just accepted that Greer killed her roomie and then “okay we’ll talk to the police- the end”???? It didn’t seem like all the things we were building up to and the issues everyone was having were solved but it also didn’t leave me wanting to know more about Linden and Holiday.
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 3, 2024
This book felt like it was written by ChatGPT or the like. It was painful.
November 15, 2024
like 3.5-4 stars Linden is just STUPIIIID
November 9, 2024
2.5/5
Taking place after the events in LIAR’S BEACH, we’re back with Michael Linden heading into his first year at Harvard. Things seem to be looking up; Linden was somehow able to keep his lacrosse scholarship, is in close proximity to his best friend Holiday, and is hopeful he can reconnect with his ex-girlfriend, Greer, until they find a student tragically OD’d. But something about the death doesn't sit right with Linden as he wonders if it could be a homicide and if they’re still in danger. Unable to resist poking into it further, he enlists Holiday back to their sleuthing days. But is there even anything for him to figure out? And will he ruin the relationships he has in the process?
I understand Cotugno is known for her open ended books, but the fact that there are multiple open plot threads left in this book was insanely irritating. I didn’t love LIARS BEACH, the previous book in this series(?), so I didn’t have a whole lot of hope here, but I love a thriller and was curious. I simultaneously thought this was a better mystery while also disliking it just as much, it’s really hard to fully get into it without spoilers. Linden is just as dumb here as he is in the last book and the best sections of this book continues to be any moment he’s with his friend, Holiday. But it seems like his stupidity is catching this book as he’s even starting to bring her down, as much I was still kind of rooting for them. The other characters are a little more likable than book 1, but like BARELY, and I think it’s mainly because we know even less about them, if that’s even possible. The mystery, while more interesting, is even more forced and the reveal is just as poorly done and incredibly stupid. And I simply cannot believe there are so many unanswered things, I was genuinely left with more questions than I had after the inciting incident and one moment that I truly cannot believe was never explained. So similar to the first book, I was entertained enough?? But I definitely don’t think it’s worth it. I think Cotugno needs to scrap this entire world and start fresh with some actually likable characters. I know she’s more than capable of it and I’m still curious to see her keep attempting other genres than a contemporary YA romcom, but this series just really isn’t it.
SPOILERS FROM HERE ON
Did I have faith this book would be better than book 1? Mm, no not really if I’m honest. Cotugno is extremely hit or miss in general, even with her ‘good’ books. But did I hope it would be? Yeah, but I think I was mostly here out of pure curiosity to see what the heck she could do to continue this world and so I was simultaneously unsurprised and disappointed.
Basically Linden has somehow clearly managed to keep his lacrosse scholarship, if you recall that was the entire premise of last book is after a car accident with Greer he broke his leg and the big fear was he wouldn’t be able to keep his scholarship and go to college because he’s poor, at least compared to these crazy rich fucks, and wouldn’t be able to afford it otherwise. This FULLY glosses over all that because clearly he’s fine, though I feel like there’s like one lacrosse scene this entire book other than constantly attending lax parties and being hazed by his older teammates, but I feel like y’know the actual game would be a bigger part of a student athlete’s life, but whatevs. Oh also he attends fucking Harvard of all places, because of course he does lol. The other cliffhanger of last book was that Greer, his ex, called him up saying she really needed to talk to him about something and now they both conveniently attend Harvard and Linden spends half this book hoping they’re going to rekindle and get back together. That’s when they come home after a party and find one of Greer’s roommate’s OD’d. But something about it feels off which sends Linden back into spy mode, because he fully has learned nothing from the last time, and he’s convinced it wasn’t an accident and she was actually murdered. Of course he turns out to be correct, because y’know, it’s a thriller, but damn the journey we took to get there was fucking wild.
First let me say, in the process of this book let me list the multitude of unanswered questions I STILL have and will probably never get an answer to. What the fuck did Greer even call him about in the cliffhanger of book 1? That’s right, it’s the LITERAL cliffhanger of book fucking 1 and yet WE NEVER FIND OUT WHAT SHE WANTED TO SAY!! They mention it in passing and her call was she had something to tell him about the accident, but straight up nothing is learned. She plays it off like she’s so guilty for what happened / fears that’s why they broke up, which it def wasn’t, and we never find out. I truly could not fucking believe we never find out, I was so irritated. Going off of what, why had she lied about driving and why was the entire accident so sketchy to begin with? Linden took blame and claimed he was the one who was driving because Greer didn’t want to be blamed for what happened to his leg and this boy is a loser simp for this girl for no reason, but we never really find out why! There’s a stupid subplot at this lake house with Greer and a handful of her dumb friends and during it Linden sees a text from a number titled ‘boy genius’. First off, who the fuck is boy genius? We never find out. I could assume it’s her friend’s cousin James, but it’s never confirmed much to my annoyance. Then the text says if Greer went ‘blabbing’ they’d be fucked. What does Greer know that would cause them to feel threatened? We LITERALLY NEVER FIND OUT! Similar to the cousin, we find out later her friend is fucking the same cousin, her first cousin, so that’s gross, but Greer seemingly finds out when Linden tells her so theoretically, that wasn’t the info, so while it kind of works, IT’S NOT CONFIRMED! Who stole all the shit in their dorm? We find out later Greer is the one who took her own watch (I’ll get back to it later), but there was a bunch of other shit that also went missing. Did Greer take it all to create confusion?! AGAIN! JUST FUCKING TELL ME!!! And finally, was it truly always Greer’s plan to frame Linden or did she decide to do it because he wouldn’t stop digging and let it the fuck go?? I could definitely see the latter being the case especially since she clearly got away with it if it wasn’t for Linden being incapable of letting shit go and that’s why she was so beyond irritated with him, but again…just. TELL ME!!! The entire purpose of reveals and leads are to find out the truth as you fucking go, the amount of plot threads created that just went nowhere was so irritating I literally was shrieking ‘IS THAT IT?!’ by the end because so fucking little was answered!!! I couldn’t believe it!
OK so let’s go through this insane mystery. It was pretty clear to me the roommate was going to die since she was kind of annoying and had one nice moment with Linden before she died so it made him a bit more invested in finding out what happened to her. The majority of his theory is that whoever killed her was actually after Greer since they found the roommate in her bed and apparently this chick had zero enemies where Greer had a few unsavories. Linden was especially hopeful in pinning this on one of Greer’s ex hookups who conveniently is one of the older lax bros who bullies Linden incessantly. They find he still has a naked pic of Greer in his room (this is never relevant or brought up again, it was clearly from when they used the fuck and the perv just kept it, I guess) so he's the worst, but innocent of murder. Everyone else writes off the death as a suicide because an accidental overdose on campus looks better than a murder and there aren’t a lot of hints to it being murder other than Linden just feeling weird since the roommate didn’t seem the type to OD and wasn't suicidal. Then random things in the building go missing, tbh I can’t remember if this started after Greer found out Linden was poking around or it was just convenient timing because like I said above, other than what Greer used to frame him, it’s never brought up again. So Greer keeps getting super pissed at Linden for being unable to let this shit go and on the one hand I’m like, yeah I get it. Especially since he already had a reputation from doing incredibly amateur sleuthing and not being very good at it and if she did just OD, I wouldn’t want my best friend’s memory desecrated anymore than it already was. But then she got like SUPER mad to the point of it being really sus, but then she’d continually come crawling back for no reason. From what I recall in the first book, their relationship had little substance so I really didn’t understand what it was about this flimsy at best relationship that had these two so hooked especially when Linden just continually realized how much better Holiday is for him, it’s weird. And at some point Greer just realizes Linden will never stop snooping so she attempts to frame him for stealing her watch which could potentially get him kicked out of school, but out of her hair, I guess. Again I just wish I knew her plans and if Liden was always this disposable to her. I don't love an end thriller monologuing, but I needed more information than this! And conveniently this is when Holiday decides to forgive Linden and save his ass solving the case and getting Greer to confess.
So this whole book Greer was like crazy flipped out about classes, always stressing about grades and how much harder it is than she expected and how much pressure she’s under, etc. There’s been this one sketchy girl looming around the dorm, there was legit a moment at the beginning of this book where this girl mentioned leaving the dorm and it felt so random and out of place I was like, ‘bet she’s important somehow’, here we are. Turns out for a price she takes tests for rich kids who are too scared of failure and she straight up took the SATs for Greer so she could get into Harvard and I’m pretty sure has been doing some of her essays too. She’s been blackmailing Greer for more money or else she'll expose her, and that’s what the roommate stumbled in on and for some reason this was so disgusting to her she flipped out at Greer and threatened to go public with it too. So Greer decided to smother her and stage it as an overdose. Feels like there could’ve been a lot of other solutions other than murder, but here we are. The craziest thing? When she confesses this to everyone, her roommates just envelop her in a hug and are like ‘it’s gonna be ok, let’s tell the police together’ LIKE WHAT?! It was the most bizarre reaction and Holiday and Linden just left like, whelp that’s that, like what’s what?! Nothing is fucking solved!! It was absolutely bonkers!
Just like the last book, Holiday is really the only reason to read this shit, she is quite entertaining and the only really likable one. But what annoys me is Linden is somehow even worse to her here and yet I ship them even more?! So apparently leading up to this year they spent like ALL summer together and go back to being super close and now both attend college in Boston so they pop around to see each other all the time. Linden is so bizarrely tunnel vision on Greer (again for truly reasons unknown, like I cannot grasp his obsession with her it makes zero sense, the dude has the worse taste) and leads to him being a fully a horrible friend to Holiday. He forgets when they made plans to hang, he doesn’t even show up to support her with her showcase despite what an honor it is, he doesn’t ever ask her how she’s doing, and he literally only contacts her to use her for her superior intelligence with his bullshit theories and tinfoil hat rabbit holes. Holiday helps him because she’s a FAR better friend than he is, and again, he’s wrapped around Greer’s finger but he also cannot STAND the idea of Holiday with anyone other than him. Straight up everyone is like, oh so you like her, she’s your girlfriend, and he’s like no, ew that's weird, we're just friends, but then his friend has a huge crush on her and he’s like BACK OFF SHE’S MINE! Or all his lax bros are like, damn she’s fine as hell, and he’s like, whaa I never realized how hot she is, now I must have her but I won’t actually act on it, you just can’t either. HE’S SO ANNOYING! And then he’s insanely hot and cold like throwing her onto a bed and jumping on her to pretend they were just hooking up when caught snooping or constantly running off together and doing date-like things. But then despite constantly being like, I just want to hang with her, I just want to be with her, no one else makes me feel this way, he’ll hear those thoughts but then ACTIVELY choose not to listen to them and ditch her. He even leaves a high voicemail gushing about his feelings only to take it back the next day, like this boy is so fucking annoying! Holiday rightfully calls him on his shit and what a terrible friend he is and how he’s just fucking with her and it’s unfair, but she still can’t let him go and I’m just as bad because I want them to be together!! It’s incredibly toxic, but she’s the best part of this book and he’s only likable when they’re together, but she deserves so much better, it’s a complete mess all around, but that’s this book I guess.
So yeah, that’s this ridiculously frustrating book. I don’t hate it, it kept me engaged for the most part, but damn is it irritating with its lack of answers and shitty characters, I just don’t fully get the point. I can’t even really say it’s better or worse than the last one, just kind of more of the same? I just hope Cotugno lets it go. While it’s not terrible, it’s just not really that good either, it’s missing something and left me rather dissatisfied.
Taking place after the events in LIAR’S BEACH, we’re back with Michael Linden heading into his first year at Harvard. Things seem to be looking up; Linden was somehow able to keep his lacrosse scholarship, is in close proximity to his best friend Holiday, and is hopeful he can reconnect with his ex-girlfriend, Greer, until they find a student tragically OD’d. But something about the death doesn't sit right with Linden as he wonders if it could be a homicide and if they’re still in danger. Unable to resist poking into it further, he enlists Holiday back to their sleuthing days. But is there even anything for him to figure out? And will he ruin the relationships he has in the process?
I understand Cotugno is known for her open ended books, but the fact that there are multiple open plot threads left in this book was insanely irritating. I didn’t love LIARS BEACH, the previous book in this series(?), so I didn’t have a whole lot of hope here, but I love a thriller and was curious. I simultaneously thought this was a better mystery while also disliking it just as much, it’s really hard to fully get into it without spoilers. Linden is just as dumb here as he is in the last book and the best sections of this book continues to be any moment he’s with his friend, Holiday. But it seems like his stupidity is catching this book as he’s even starting to bring her down, as much I was still kind of rooting for them. The other characters are a little more likable than book 1, but like BARELY, and I think it’s mainly because we know even less about them, if that’s even possible. The mystery, while more interesting, is even more forced and the reveal is just as poorly done and incredibly stupid. And I simply cannot believe there are so many unanswered things, I was genuinely left with more questions than I had after the inciting incident and one moment that I truly cannot believe was never explained. So similar to the first book, I was entertained enough?? But I definitely don’t think it’s worth it. I think Cotugno needs to scrap this entire world and start fresh with some actually likable characters. I know she’s more than capable of it and I’m still curious to see her keep attempting other genres than a contemporary YA romcom, but this series just really isn’t it.
SPOILERS FROM HERE ON
Did I have faith this book would be better than book 1? Mm, no not really if I’m honest. Cotugno is extremely hit or miss in general, even with her ‘good’ books. But did I hope it would be? Yeah, but I think I was mostly here out of pure curiosity to see what the heck she could do to continue this world and so I was simultaneously unsurprised and disappointed.
Basically Linden has somehow clearly managed to keep his lacrosse scholarship, if you recall that was the entire premise of last book is after a car accident with Greer he broke his leg and the big fear was he wouldn’t be able to keep his scholarship and go to college because he’s poor, at least compared to these crazy rich fucks, and wouldn’t be able to afford it otherwise. This FULLY glosses over all that because clearly he’s fine, though I feel like there’s like one lacrosse scene this entire book other than constantly attending lax parties and being hazed by his older teammates, but I feel like y’know the actual game would be a bigger part of a student athlete’s life, but whatevs. Oh also he attends fucking Harvard of all places, because of course he does lol. The other cliffhanger of last book was that Greer, his ex, called him up saying she really needed to talk to him about something and now they both conveniently attend Harvard and Linden spends half this book hoping they’re going to rekindle and get back together. That’s when they come home after a party and find one of Greer’s roommate’s OD’d. But something about it feels off which sends Linden back into spy mode, because he fully has learned nothing from the last time, and he’s convinced it wasn’t an accident and she was actually murdered. Of course he turns out to be correct, because y’know, it’s a thriller, but damn the journey we took to get there was fucking wild.
First let me say, in the process of this book let me list the multitude of unanswered questions I STILL have and will probably never get an answer to. What the fuck did Greer even call him about in the cliffhanger of book 1? That’s right, it’s the LITERAL cliffhanger of book fucking 1 and yet WE NEVER FIND OUT WHAT SHE WANTED TO SAY!! They mention it in passing and her call was she had something to tell him about the accident, but straight up nothing is learned. She plays it off like she’s so guilty for what happened / fears that’s why they broke up, which it def wasn’t, and we never find out. I truly could not fucking believe we never find out, I was so irritated. Going off of what, why had she lied about driving and why was the entire accident so sketchy to begin with? Linden took blame and claimed he was the one who was driving because Greer didn’t want to be blamed for what happened to his leg and this boy is a loser simp for this girl for no reason, but we never really find out why! There’s a stupid subplot at this lake house with Greer and a handful of her dumb friends and during it Linden sees a text from a number titled ‘boy genius’. First off, who the fuck is boy genius? We never find out. I could assume it’s her friend’s cousin James, but it’s never confirmed much to my annoyance. Then the text says if Greer went ‘blabbing’ they’d be fucked. What does Greer know that would cause them to feel threatened? We LITERALLY NEVER FIND OUT! Similar to the cousin, we find out later her friend is fucking the same cousin, her first cousin, so that’s gross, but Greer seemingly finds out when Linden tells her so theoretically, that wasn’t the info, so while it kind of works, IT’S NOT CONFIRMED! Who stole all the shit in their dorm? We find out later Greer is the one who took her own watch (I’ll get back to it later), but there was a bunch of other shit that also went missing. Did Greer take it all to create confusion?! AGAIN! JUST FUCKING TELL ME!!! And finally, was it truly always Greer’s plan to frame Linden or did she decide to do it because he wouldn’t stop digging and let it the fuck go?? I could definitely see the latter being the case especially since she clearly got away with it if it wasn’t for Linden being incapable of letting shit go and that’s why she was so beyond irritated with him, but again…just. TELL ME!!! The entire purpose of reveals and leads are to find out the truth as you fucking go, the amount of plot threads created that just went nowhere was so irritating I literally was shrieking ‘IS THAT IT?!’ by the end because so fucking little was answered!!! I couldn’t believe it!
OK so let’s go through this insane mystery. It was pretty clear to me the roommate was going to die since she was kind of annoying and had one nice moment with Linden before she died so it made him a bit more invested in finding out what happened to her. The majority of his theory is that whoever killed her was actually after Greer since they found the roommate in her bed and apparently this chick had zero enemies where Greer had a few unsavories. Linden was especially hopeful in pinning this on one of Greer’s ex hookups who conveniently is one of the older lax bros who bullies Linden incessantly. They find he still has a naked pic of Greer in his room (this is never relevant or brought up again, it was clearly from when they used the fuck and the perv just kept it, I guess) so he's the worst, but innocent of murder. Everyone else writes off the death as a suicide because an accidental overdose on campus looks better than a murder and there aren’t a lot of hints to it being murder other than Linden just feeling weird since the roommate didn’t seem the type to OD and wasn't suicidal. Then random things in the building go missing, tbh I can’t remember if this started after Greer found out Linden was poking around or it was just convenient timing because like I said above, other than what Greer used to frame him, it’s never brought up again. So Greer keeps getting super pissed at Linden for being unable to let this shit go and on the one hand I’m like, yeah I get it. Especially since he already had a reputation from doing incredibly amateur sleuthing and not being very good at it and if she did just OD, I wouldn’t want my best friend’s memory desecrated anymore than it already was. But then she got like SUPER mad to the point of it being really sus, but then she’d continually come crawling back for no reason. From what I recall in the first book, their relationship had little substance so I really didn’t understand what it was about this flimsy at best relationship that had these two so hooked especially when Linden just continually realized how much better Holiday is for him, it’s weird. And at some point Greer just realizes Linden will never stop snooping so she attempts to frame him for stealing her watch which could potentially get him kicked out of school, but out of her hair, I guess. Again I just wish I knew her plans and if Liden was always this disposable to her. I don't love an end thriller monologuing, but I needed more information than this! And conveniently this is when Holiday decides to forgive Linden and save his ass solving the case and getting Greer to confess.
So this whole book Greer was like crazy flipped out about classes, always stressing about grades and how much harder it is than she expected and how much pressure she’s under, etc. There’s been this one sketchy girl looming around the dorm, there was legit a moment at the beginning of this book where this girl mentioned leaving the dorm and it felt so random and out of place I was like, ‘bet she’s important somehow’, here we are. Turns out for a price she takes tests for rich kids who are too scared of failure and she straight up took the SATs for Greer so she could get into Harvard and I’m pretty sure has been doing some of her essays too. She’s been blackmailing Greer for more money or else she'll expose her, and that’s what the roommate stumbled in on and for some reason this was so disgusting to her she flipped out at Greer and threatened to go public with it too. So Greer decided to smother her and stage it as an overdose. Feels like there could’ve been a lot of other solutions other than murder, but here we are. The craziest thing? When she confesses this to everyone, her roommates just envelop her in a hug and are like ‘it’s gonna be ok, let’s tell the police together’ LIKE WHAT?! It was the most bizarre reaction and Holiday and Linden just left like, whelp that’s that, like what’s what?! Nothing is fucking solved!! It was absolutely bonkers!
Just like the last book, Holiday is really the only reason to read this shit, she is quite entertaining and the only really likable one. But what annoys me is Linden is somehow even worse to her here and yet I ship them even more?! So apparently leading up to this year they spent like ALL summer together and go back to being super close and now both attend college in Boston so they pop around to see each other all the time. Linden is so bizarrely tunnel vision on Greer (again for truly reasons unknown, like I cannot grasp his obsession with her it makes zero sense, the dude has the worse taste) and leads to him being a fully a horrible friend to Holiday. He forgets when they made plans to hang, he doesn’t even show up to support her with her showcase despite what an honor it is, he doesn’t ever ask her how she’s doing, and he literally only contacts her to use her for her superior intelligence with his bullshit theories and tinfoil hat rabbit holes. Holiday helps him because she’s a FAR better friend than he is, and again, he’s wrapped around Greer’s finger but he also cannot STAND the idea of Holiday with anyone other than him. Straight up everyone is like, oh so you like her, she’s your girlfriend, and he’s like no, ew that's weird, we're just friends, but then his friend has a huge crush on her and he’s like BACK OFF SHE’S MINE! Or all his lax bros are like, damn she’s fine as hell, and he’s like, whaa I never realized how hot she is, now I must have her but I won’t actually act on it, you just can’t either. HE’S SO ANNOYING! And then he’s insanely hot and cold like throwing her onto a bed and jumping on her to pretend they were just hooking up when caught snooping or constantly running off together and doing date-like things. But then despite constantly being like, I just want to hang with her, I just want to be with her, no one else makes me feel this way, he’ll hear those thoughts but then ACTIVELY choose not to listen to them and ditch her. He even leaves a high voicemail gushing about his feelings only to take it back the next day, like this boy is so fucking annoying! Holiday rightfully calls him on his shit and what a terrible friend he is and how he’s just fucking with her and it’s unfair, but she still can’t let him go and I’m just as bad because I want them to be together!! It’s incredibly toxic, but she’s the best part of this book and he’s only likable when they’re together, but she deserves so much better, it’s a complete mess all around, but that’s this book I guess.
So yeah, that’s this ridiculously frustrating book. I don’t hate it, it kept me engaged for the most part, but damn is it irritating with its lack of answers and shitty characters, I just don’t fully get the point. I can’t even really say it’s better or worse than the last one, just kind of more of the same? I just hope Cotugno lets it go. While it’s not terrible, it’s just not really that good either, it’s missing something and left me rather dissatisfied.
October 26, 2024
A follow-up to Liar’s Beach where Holiday and Linden get caught up in another investigation, while trying to navigate the ups and downs of college life.
Linden has got to Harvard on a lacrosse scholarship and is spending most of his time trying to get on with his team-mates. He has reignited his friendship with Holiday, though there’s a curious tension between them that indicates things aren’t quite what they’ve always been. He’s also developed an on-off relationship with Greer.
When Greer’s roommate is found dead after a party it seems to be a pretty straightforward case of overdose. Linden and Holiday are not convinced, and decide to carry out their own investigation.
From start to finish the dynamic between our three key characters felt off. Linden is a character that in real life would probably frustrate you beyond belief, and I really can’t see what Holiday finds so appealing about him.
Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this.
Linden has got to Harvard on a lacrosse scholarship and is spending most of his time trying to get on with his team-mates. He has reignited his friendship with Holiday, though there’s a curious tension between them that indicates things aren’t quite what they’ve always been. He’s also developed an on-off relationship with Greer.
When Greer’s roommate is found dead after a party it seems to be a pretty straightforward case of overdose. Linden and Holiday are not convinced, and decide to carry out their own investigation.
From start to finish the dynamic between our three key characters felt off. Linden is a character that in real life would probably frustrate you beyond belief, and I really can’t see what Holiday finds so appealing about him.
Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this.
September 5, 2024
well, I tried.
I tried to like these books at all. I tried to give the first one a chance by reading the second, in fact.
But when the protagonist is so extraordinarily shallow and led around by his dick, it’s difficult to like him.
He’s shallow. He’s like Adrian Mole, only hornier. He’s a frat boy whose only redeeming quality is that he can quote his mother sometimes.
I loathed every second I spent reading these.
I hated the entitled rich kids and their entitled rich parents. I hated the shallow snobbery and the constant repeat of boring phrases, which - to be fair- is how many adolescents talk, but for the sake of my eyeballs, couldn’t the author have varied the dull, teenage ennui mask even a LITTLE bit?
It was like reliving my freshman year in college, with even meaner hazing games.
The murders were uneventful and pointless.
The characters even more so.
I can’t believe I spent two days reading these books.
I tried to like these books at all. I tried to give the first one a chance by reading the second, in fact.
But when the protagonist is so extraordinarily shallow and led around by his dick, it’s difficult to like him.
He’s shallow. He’s like Adrian Mole, only hornier. He’s a frat boy whose only redeeming quality is that he can quote his mother sometimes.
I loathed every second I spent reading these.
I hated the entitled rich kids and their entitled rich parents. I hated the shallow snobbery and the constant repeat of boring phrases, which - to be fair- is how many adolescents talk, but for the sake of my eyeballs, couldn’t the author have varied the dull, teenage ennui mask even a LITTLE bit?
It was like reliving my freshman year in college, with even meaner hazing games.
The murders were uneventful and pointless.
The characters even more so.
I can’t believe I spent two days reading these books.
August 28, 2024
Read if you're in the mood for: adventurous, mysterious, tense, & medium-pacedPlot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Book Rating 2.5 stars
Well, I didn't enjoy it more than the previous book, and I don't think I'll continue the series. Liden was more present in this book and Holiday took a backseat, and was almost non-existent at points, and the book suffered for it. Liden by himself is kind of a jackass in this book, but he does at least get called out for it.
I didn't see the murderer coming, I was clueless on that front. However, the unlikable cast of characters made it hard to enjoy. Plus an unnecessary romance, which is a pet peeve of mine in mystery thrillers.
Narrator Rating: 3.0 stars
This is a hard one to rate, while he did a good job on the tonal changes, he also made Linden sound like a douchey sports-bro, which I guess he kinda is. It made it harder to enjoy the book.
Content Warnings
Non-Plot-Related spoiler note on a content warning!
October 20, 2024
3⭐️ This book was easy enough to read but i am currently in a reading slump so it's not the best time for my ratings but I thought that it was a fun fall read for a fun murder mystery set at university in the October December months, I read it in practically a couple of sittings. I did guess who the killer was and thought the mystery wasn't mind blowing, I thought the vibes were merely the best part of the book! I would recommend if you love autumn or in a reading slump or both haha...
August 22, 2025
3/5 Stars
I actually enjoyed this book more than the first one! I felt like the plot was a little bit better. I enjoyed the whole murder mystery story in this one better as well.
Linden was still insufferable at times, but not as bad as the first book.
This is not something I would suggest to someone to read if they asked for a recommendation, but I’m not upset at spending my time reading it either.
I actually enjoyed this book more than the first one! I felt like the plot was a little bit better. I enjoyed the whole murder mystery story in this one better as well.
Linden was still insufferable at times, but not as bad as the first book.
This is not something I would suggest to someone to read if they asked for a recommendation, but I’m not upset at spending my time reading it either.
February 15, 2025
I love KC’s writing style 4everrrr. I didn’t really know a lot about the plot going into this one, so I wasn’t expecting this kind of ending - and the twist kind of had me a little bit confused at first. But a fun read and a super quick read! (We’re back to reading books in two days like when I was a kid)
November 10, 2024
Worst mystery I have ever read. Absolutely no suspense or intrigue
December 8, 2024
Vil segja svona 3,5⭐️. Elska alltaf að lesa eitthvað öðruvisi en eg hef lesið aður, lika plus að hun se stutt og fljott lesin svona þegar maður vill bara dvona henda i eina bok, og actually alveg skemmtileg, myndi nu ekki segja spennandi (sem lækkar rating) en þust sagan bara skemmtileg… u know
January 4, 2025
This one really didn’t do it for me. I really disliked Greer and was happy with how it ended but man this will be the last book I read with Linden and Holiday.
January 17, 2025
Not bad for YA, but also it's YA.
January 29, 2025
It was a quick read, but the plot went in and out. Some parts were interesting and i wasnt expecting the ending but it wasn't very organized.
April 9, 2025
[2.5 stars] Linden was really icky in this one.
October 30, 2025
I didn’t think they were so focused on the mystery but I liked what was going on
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