Murder on the Upper East Side

by Gigi Waldorf

Paperback

Reviews

[Becca Wheeler]

I really enjoyed this book. If you love the TV series Gossip Girl then this book is a must read for you! Think Gossip Girl meets murder mystery. It is sexy, glamorous, characters are well developed and the motives and back stories leading up to the murder(s) all make sense. I got so caught up on this book and felt fully immersed as if I was watching Gossip Girl and the appeal of the Upper East Side. It had all the scandal and gossip which was expected. Flickers between 2016 to 2026 so the high school grads are now in adulthood. I like the dual timeline as well as the mixed media elements – i.e. ‘The Upper Edge’ Instagram posts, plus the odd text conversation. Only thing I would say is the whole UPenn/ NYU predicament for Hannah is interesting, and helps develop her character, however I feel this could have been slightly more developed in the dynamic between her new friends and old friends, although I guess it helps explain why she remained in NYC rather than go elsewhere as her prior plans suggested.

[Chloe Ditchfield]

honestly just felt like it went on and on and on for no real reason, overly descriptive and just wasn’t the fast paced crime / thriller I hoped it would be! clearly v gossip girl inspired though which was cute 👋🏻

[✨Lauren✨]

3.75 stars

The best way to describe this book is Gossip Girl if someone murdered Blair Waldorf at a gala.

It went back and forth between the characters’ senior year at high school and the present day when the murder took place. Time jumps can make a story - especially a murder mystery - confusing if they’re not done right, but this book did it well. The time jumps were at the right places and included relevant information which answered questions I had in previous chapters and for future ones too. I genuinely didn’t know who to trust throughout the book either (apart from Hannah of course) because everyone had such good motives to want Madison dead.

I have to say though, that the ending was slightly disappointing for me. I won’t spoil it, but the book could’ve done with an extra chapter or two to offer more of a resolution to it. Apart from that, Murder On The Upper East Side was a decent book that kept me hooked throughout.

[sorrel_reads]

3.75⭐️ If Gossip Girl met Mean Girls and had a killer on the loose it would be this book 📱🌸🎀🔪🩸 I want to start by saying thank you so much to Simon and Schuster for sending me a finished copy of this book 🥹 we follow Hannah who is just starting Prescott Academy for her last year at school and trying to find in (this was giving me Katy in Mean Girls vibes). The story is dual timeline from her last year at school and then 10 years later at the school reunion and what a crazy we are taken on 😳 I definitely didn’t see the twists and turns at the end and kept me on the edge of my seat 👏

[L Simpson]

Ugh, not great. Just went on and on. And on.

[Leeanne Andrews]

Overly descriptive, lacklustre storyline, felt like it was written by chat gpt!

[Hillorie Monsour]

This book was a complete disappointment- there were many characters flatly introduced and the plot was a total bore. I dnf even though I purchased it.

[powerlireads]

⭐️ 3.5 Stars ⭐️
 
As a lifelong fan of Gossip Girl and upper class scandals, this book was right up my street. It did actually feel a little too close to Gossip Girl at times, especially with the anonymous, gossip‑fuelled website targeting Manhattan’s elite. It made it all feel very familiar, even the characters!

Told in dual timelines, we follow Hannah, first as a scholarship student navigating the halls of Prescott High, where she’s unexpectedly accepted into the inner circle of Queen Bees Madison DuPont and Elle Harrington; and then ten years later, at a glamorous charity gala where Madison is found dead moments after her speech. With fingers pointing squarely at Hannah, she has to clear her name by uncovering the real killer and, of course, everyone had a reason to want Madison dead.

I found this a genuinely entertaining read. The dual timelines worked beautifully, and I loved watching the inner circle operate with all the shifting alliances and whispered threats. Secrets unravel slowly, revealing not just what Madison was up to back in high school, but also the mess she’s created in the present day.

And in true Upper East Side fashion, Madison wasn’t the only one with skeletons in her closet. Everyone had something to hide, and Madison pulled the strings like a puppet master. I enjoyed piecing together how each character connected to her, what she held over them, and what they were desperate to keep buried.

Some characters did feel a little under‑developed, which made a few revelations land with less impact than they could have, which was a shame, but I still enjoyed being swept along in the drama of the rich, young, and privileged. I think I’ll always have a soft spot for this kind of Socialite Drama!

Overall, Murder on the Upper East Side is a fun and engaging look into Manhattan’s elite, even if the Gossip Girl parallels are hard to ignore. For me, it definitely hit that nostalgic sweet spot and left me wanting to finally pick up the original Gossip Girl series.

[Juli]

Murder on the Upper East Side was reminiscent of Gossip Girls, Pretty Little Liars-rich, privileged teenagers, secrets, drama,an anymous gossip account,and, in this case, murder.

Hannah Miller is a scholarship student, in 2016, at the Prescott Academy of New York, very elite. Fast forward to the present, ten years later, and at a charity gala reuniting the alumni, one is murdered. Hannah was the last person seen talking to the victim, Madison. Hannah sets out to find the culprit and clear herself.

The plot is told in dual timelines. In the past, we see the high school dynamics of all involved. Interspersed we get Instagram posts and text messages relating to the group dynamics. I felt the book had an identity issue, did it want to be more female centric, teenage drama ala Mean Girls, or a murder mystery. I, for one, would have liked more of the later.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Atria/SImon Schuster, for an ARC. The opinions in this review are my own.

[Lily Painton]

Easy read — I loved that it reminded me of one of my favourite shows, Gossip Girl, just with a big murder thrown in 😂 I wasn’t overly shocked by anything, but it definitely kept me guessing about who the murderer was. I loved that the story jumped back and forth between when they were at school and the present day.

I do feel like there should have been a few more chapters about Oliver getting his name cleared and being released from prison after being wrongly accused. I was also genuinely baffled by how similar this book was to Gossip Girl! It’s set in New York, there’s an anonymous gossip site, they find out who runs it, the characters are part of New York’s elite — even two of them aren’t originally from that world. There are SO many similarities! 😂

[Nena Taylor]

Thank you to net galley, Gigi Waldorf, and AtriaBooks for letting me read and review

I actually enjoyed this book alot!!! I thought it was well written and I loved the characters. Yes it was similar to Gossip Girl, but to me it felt more similar to Pretty Little LiArs and I ate this book up. It had all the troupes I loved. I loved the who dunit aspect. To me, this book brought back memories of one of my favorite shows. I recommend this book

[Shannon Fry]

2.5⭐️

This had so much potential but it just fell flat for me, I was expecting gossip girl vibes but the only similarities it gave me was just replicating a lot of the characters and character relationships of gossip girl. This book was also longer than it needed to be, I feel like there was a lot of unnecessary descriptions of what designer clothes people were wearing and useless descriptions of the setting that added nothing to the plot.

[Joe Meyers]

Well written but the plotting leaves much to be desired. We cut back and forth between schooldays at Upper East private school ten years ago and a murder at a reunion in the present. The characters tend to blend together and the back and forth in time narrative doesn’t really build suspense. The reveal of the killer in the final chapter is not terribly exiting. Some good insights into the way the one percent lives but lacking in strong mystery elements.

[shayaps🗣️]

so so good omg ! I bought this a while ago in summer on a whim because it seemed super interesting & I’ve only just gotten round to reading it but it was amazing! I finished it in a few days & have been hooked from start to finish. I would definitely recommend if you like teen drama , murder mysteries (nothing gets revealed until the VERY end !! Super mysterious!) , time jumps (past + present) & the lifestyle troupe of rich entitled teens - you’d adore this book 🌟

[Grace Fisher]

This is a cross between Gossip Girl and Mean Girls.

I did enjoy this as it was full of Gossip and drama and of course a murder or two.

It did transform me back to Gossip Girl and some of the characters emulated those from the TV show which was fun.

The flashbacks to the school days worked well alongside real time events in trying to figure out the murderer. I enjoyed the first half, then lost my momentum with it a bit to then be engrossed at the end as everything began unravelling.

I felt that the anonymous online posts could have been jucier. I was bored by them until around half way through if not further in.

If you want some easy Gossip murder reading then this is the book.

XOXO

[Abi W]

Interesting premise absolutely butchered. I never watched Gossip Girl or any of those shows so I probably wasn’t the right audience but regardless this was full of stilted dialogue, repetition and an inconsistent narrative voice. Painful to get through and I almost DNF’d.

[Laura Reads 📚]

I read it.
Still don't know what happened.
I don't know what to think. There was a lot happening and then nothing happening at all. Which is a shame as I love Gossip Girl and I really did think it would be Gossip Girl inspired, it was only a little bit.

2/5

[Ellie]

I really enjoyed this book. There was enough mystery and intrigue without loosing the gossip girl esc part of it!

[Venus Adeyeye]

3.5 stars

[Jo Bullen]

This was so obviously inspired by Gossip Girl, even down to the pseudonym, and yet not a whisper of acknowledgement anywhere in author's notes etc. And not a patch on GG.

[Hannah-Daisy]

It felt like it dragged! I didn’t really get into it until towards the end!

[sarah dear]

basically just gossip girl, but a bit worse. wheres my emo icon jenny humphrey :(

[Chyns Campbell]

Wasnt all that good to be honest, was very boring

[Zoe Crowe]

I mean it was ok… not amazing just ok. Definitely had a gossip girl feel to it. Wasn’t expecting the twist at the end, the ending did feel very rushed to be honest. Would have been nice to see what the characters did after, felt like the author got to the last few pages and thought I need to finish this book now.

[sami ♥]

dnf’d. i can’t get into it. something about this book feels off…..