Помирати в понеділок

by Ravena Guron, Равена Ґурон, Еліна Чуба (Translator)

Після трагічної загибелі своєї подруги Айві сімнадцятирічна Кей покинула тихе рідне містечко, сподіваючись назавжди залишити минуле позаду. Та коли обставини змушують її повернутися, вона отримує анонімного листа, який руйнує її крихкий спокій.

У листі розписано моторошний тиждень: у вівторок — вибух емоцій, у середу — стусанина, у четвер — чорна зрада, у п’ятницю — пожежа, у суботу — саботаж, у неділю — напад із ножем. А в понеділок — погроза її вбити.

Кей має лише сім днів, щоб з’ясувати, хто стоїть за цими погрозами, і розкрити правду, яка ховається за смертю Айві. Та що ближче вона підбирається до розгадки, то очевидніше стає: у цьому містечку кожен має свої секрети, і довіряти не варто нікому.

Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Young Adult, Mystery Thriller, Murder Mystery, Crime, Contemporary

504 pages, Hardcover

First published February 13, 2025

About the author

A born and bred Londoner, Ravena writes MG and YA, usually featuring antiheroines or snarky narrators. She is a lawyer with a degree in biochemistry, and hopes to use the knowledge gained from her experiences to plot her books, whether that's wild MG fantasy adventures, or twisty YA murder-mysteries.

Reviews

[Sarah ♡ (let’s interact!) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This may prove to be a controversial and unpopular opinion but I’m going to say it; Mondays Are Murder turned out to the book that I wish A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder had been. I didn’t dislike that one, but upon reflection, I feel like I forced myself to like it at the time more than I actually did. I may read the follow up books at some point to refresh my mind on that series, as Mondays Are Murder felt like a mix between AGGGTM and Pretty Little Liars.
This was a thrilling and gripping YA mystery novel, with some chilling moments. It’s written in an engaging, page-turning, way.

Who is the mysterious Monday who is leaving anonymous letters for Kay once she moves back to her sleepy hometown, Longrove? A year prior, her friend Ivy died under mysterious circumstances.
According to this mysterious Monday character; There will be a thrill on Tuesday, a wreckage on Wednesday, treachery on Thursday, a fire on Friday, sabotage on Saturday, a stabbing on Sunday - and then Kay’s own murder on the Monday. Can she figure out who is behind this ominous threat… before it’s too late?

4.5 Stars 🖤

[˚⋆Lexy౨ৎ˚⋅₊˚ ⋅ · Rating 4 out of 5]

˚⋆4.25⭐️౨ৎ˚⋅₊˚ ⋅

we really need to make this book famous, it's incredibly good and would deserve much more hype!!

[ahmeeka · Rating 5 out of 5]

ravena guron is light years ahead of her YA thriller peers. I read her debut ‘this book kills’ two years ago and finished it in more or less one sitting.

‘mondays are murder’ follows kay who moves away from her small town after the death of her best friend and aunt sandra. she returns for a week visit a year later when she begins receiving threats from someone under the disguise of ‘monday’. for the next 7 days kay must follow monday’s orders or bad things will happen.

I really enjoyed this and while I’m usually good at predicting who the bad guy is, it left me guessing until the very last minute when it was revealed.

solid 5* read!

[Anna-Lena Fuller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exactly what I was in the mood for. I started reading it and had to stop as I had a flight coming up and it was perfect for the airport and flying. It's propulsive, light enough, and thrilling enough, perfect escapism.
I really enjoyed the characters and the small English town it's set in felt real.
For fans of Holly Jackson
(Disclaimer I got an ARC from YALCC)

[Chelsea · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had higher expectations for this as I enjoyed a previous book by this author. However, I didn’t enjoy the mystery and I felt the thriller aspects were quite lacklustre. My enjoyment of the book was also dampened by how unlikeable Kay was as the narrator. She had an unreasonable arrogance that she could solve this mystery. She was insensitive to her cousin’s grief and perspective. She also found every teen boy to be attractive, wholly unnecessary.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced ARC

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was so good, I‘m just sitting here asking myself…how??? I never would have guessed who Monday was and I suspected each and every one throughout this book!!

And also: Kay is a badass and Mickey a complete sweetheart, I wouldn’t be opposed to read more about them, in a potential second book, pleasee🤭

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.75🌟

[Horror Sickness · Rating 5 out of 5]

4,5*

I knew I was going to enjoy this book. That was a no brainer for me after loving the author’s two previous books. The moment I started this book, I could not put it down. For anyone that loves AGGGTM, this is a book you need to read. What a page turner.


After losing her aunt, Kay and her family left Longrove. Now, her parents are going on a long trip and decide to leave Kay with her uncle Dara. That means, Kay has to go back to Longrove for a week. Something she is dreading.

When she gets to her uncle’s house, they have prepared a room for her and on top of her bed, there is a mysterious note. On that note, a threat. Something is going to happen every day of the week ending with her murder on Monday. Kay assumed this is a joke or someone that wants to play games. The note is signed by someone that calls themselves Monday.

However as the days pass, all the threats start to come true. Will she be able to catch Monday before it is too late?

This is a wonderful story about friendship, how friendships change as we grow older and horrible things like death enter our lives. Losing a loved one is always hard, but losing it at a younger age is something that changes you.

Kay is back to the town where she lost her aunt and the friendships she had, vanished when she moved. The growing pains of being a teenager navigating through all of this are very well explored.

And of course we have an amazing and fantastic mystery that will take us through multiple interesting locations in town. It almost felt like a treasure hunt. The town, the locations, the people, everything was so easy to visualize. Raveena Is so good at creating micro worlds for her mysteries and really keeps you guessing. She truly understands suspense, intrigue, clues, suspects and twists. Her books have been my favorite YA mystery thrillers.

I know it is a long book for being YA but it has a really good fast pacing and it keeps you at the edge of your seat all the time with all the theories and discoveries that you just need to keep reading.

[Nemesia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quotes from the beginning of the book:

1. "I'm not stupid. Someone has sent me a death threat, I'm getting the police involved."
(Yes girl! Smart move.)

2. "I don't have the first clue who left me this message, so what chance would the police have of finding them?"
(Right... I wonder what the police can do better than the average teenager?)

3. "What if I figure out who it is? Then I can tell the police and they can arrest them."
(Sure, because that's how it works! I'm gonna stop reading now.)

[Jia · Rating 5 out of 5]

YAY!!! I FINALLY finished this book (after like more than 3 weeks)!!! Anyways, it was really good and there was a huge plot twist at the end. Basically, a girl died in an accident and the mother of the girl that died tried to kill one of her friends because she thought she had killed her daughter. I have no idea if that made any sense. This is a really good book, though and it is quite popular at the moment, so you should add it to your list. (I also highly recommend the other ones by Ravena Guron as they are equally as good.)

[Jessica Sherlock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly could not get enough of Ravena Guron’s writing!
This A Good Girls Guide to Murder style plot had me fully on the edge of my seat the whole time. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book this size this fast!!! 100% pulled me right out of the deepest slump I’ve ever been in. Following Kay and the mysterious and elusive Monday, along with the excitement and strange occurrences going on in her old town of Longrove, we get a fantastic YA murder mystery. Would 1000% put this on my list of “book I wish I could read again”✨👌🏻

[🎃 suzanne 🎃 · Rating 5 out of 5]

obsessed. loved this so so much.

[books (samaira's version) ~on a hiatus~ · Rating 3 out of 5]

The big reveal was definitely unexpected. It was a bit slow, and I wasn’t too attached to the characters.

[Angela Y (yangelareads) ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. ARC provided by Sourcebooks Fire.

Seventeen-year-old Kay left her sleepy hometown after the devastating death of her friend, Ivy. But when her parents go on holiday without her, Kay is forced to come back to stay with her cousin. And her return comes with a bang. Because when Kay arrives, it is to find an anonymous letter on her bed.

The letter tells her that there will be a thrill on Tuesday, a wreckage on Wednesday, treachery on Thursday, a fire on Friday, sabotage on Saturday, a stabbing on Sunday - and her murder on Monday. And if Kay can not figure out who is behind the threats, the worst day of the week is about to get deadly.

Sincerely, Your Murderer was an okay read for me. It was not the best mystery I have read, but it certainly was not the worst either. I really liked the concept, especially the mysterious letters and the suspense surrounding them. The premise had a lot of potential, and I was intrigued to see how everything would unfold. Unfortunately, the execution did not quite live up to my expectations.

While there were plenty of twists, suspicious characters, and red herrings, I found some of the reveals confusing rather than shocking, which made the overall plot feel a little disjointed. None of the twists particularly blew me away, and I wish the story had offered something a little more unique. Another thing that bothered me was the chapter structure. For such a relatively short book, there were far too many chapters, and it often felt like they were unnecessarily split up just to increase the chapter count. This made the pacing feel choppy at times.

That being said, I still enjoyed the mystery and the suspense of trying to figure out who was behind everything. The small-town secrets, amateur sleuthing, and constant suspicion gave me major Pretty Little Liars vibes, which was definitely a fun aspect of the story. I just wish the characters had been more developed and the ending had delivered a stronger payoff.

Overall, it was a decent YA mystery with a clever premise that did not quite reach its full potential. Although it was not particularly memorable for me, I can see it appealing to readers who enjoy small-town mysteries, secrets, and a cast of characters who all seem to have something to hide. It is also a fitting, quick read for spooky season.

[lwndo · Rating 2.5 out of 5]

2.6 STARS

this book was amazing and awful at the same time. for the first half of this book, i genuinely hated it. and then at the 60% mark, i got so invested and started to love it.

firstly, im going to talk about why i hated this book. characters. the main character kay is extremely unlikeable. she acts arrogant and was really annoying. its worse because im not sure how people, like mikey for example, put up with the way she was acting. she was extremely insensitive to the people around her. she directly accused her old friend of being a murderer without an ounce of guilt, and he didn’t even sound offended. as a whole, kay would say things that made her seem selfish. she barely had any redeeming qualities, either, the only one being her logical way of thinking. there were no like-able characters. most of the characters were flat, and the more interesting ones like liam or ivy were heavily flawed. the only like-able character was mikey, who ran flat it was hard to even imagine him as a real character because other than being nice, he had no personality. his only personality trait seemed to be his lack of intelligence

secondly, mikey and kay’s relationship. their friendship was sweet, but when they started randomly blushing at each other and kay would out of the blue start talking about how attractive it was… i dont think Ive ever been more icked out. im not sure how they even liked each other. for most of the book, kay is actually quite rude and snappy with him, and he stays oblivious. which just made mikey’s character more flat. there was no reason for them to like each other either.

and i think what actually bothered me the most was the pacing. the first half of this book just goes way too fast. it feels like all the events happen over the course of a day. there are no breathing moments or breaks.

⚠️⚠️MILD SPOILERS
anyway, onto the positives of this book. the events that happen after the 60% mark. these are honestly what saved this book from getting a 1 star.

honestly, towards the end this became a really captivating read. i read the last half all in one go. there were so many twists and changes that made me (surprisingly) start to care about what had happened to ivy. also, with everything happening it was easy to tune out how awful the characters were.

i genuinely changed who i thought the murderer was about 5 times. it really kept me guessing, and the revelation was actually a little unexpected. i like how they laid out the ending slowly— revealing the murderer and only then revealing the real events of what happened on the day of ivy’s death.

[Victoria Massingham · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was actually much better than I expected it to be, and I enjoyed the style, of which there were notes written by Monday. It wasn’t confusing and I enjoyed the little scary things that happened each day. It was also really easy to get into, as the character didn’t have a massive backstory that took up half the book. The plot twist at the end was also crazy and I would’ve never guessed that this person was the murderer. Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would DEFINITELY recommend it!

[lorenzodulac · Rating 4 out of 5]

My third Ravena Guron and maybe her best work so far?
It’s so hard to compare them when they’re all so good.
The only negatives, the culprit was a bit easy to guess as the book went on, at least for me.
Also, I don’t really care for romance in my mystery novels (though I should have expected it because it’s not the first time she’d added it to a book) and this one was no exception. I didn’t dislike them together, I just didn’t care, I’m not there for them lol. But that’s not really a negative, it’s a me thing.

[Tishe A · Rating 4 out of 5]

not the best Murder mystery I've read, but still really good, I definitely wasn't expecting the ending at all

[Beau · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Thank you to Sourcebooks for a complimentary arc of Sincerely, Your Murderer. All opinions expressed are my own.*

If I ever tell anyone I’m craving a good young adult mystery, Sincerely, Your Murderer is exactly the kind of story I mean.
Twisty, deliciously deadly, and ridiculously addictive, this was the kind of book that gave me serious problems when it came to putting it down. I saw a review describing it as the story they wished A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder had given them, crossed with Pretty Little Liars, and honestly, I couldn’t sum it up better myself. This book is YA puzzle perfection.

Every new letter Kay received pulled me further into the story, and every twist that followed had me even more hooked. The suspense builds steadily alongside every development, and despite how much the plot packs in, it never becomes overwhelming. Instead, every new piece feels like another part of the puzzle falling into place.

The lyrical threats planned throughout the week were especially fun to try to figure out ahead of time. I managed to guess some, but even when I did, I was still completely satisfied with how they played out - and even more delighted whenever I was wrong.

I also loved how authentically the story portrayed friendship. The way friendships can change shape over time, particularly through grief and difficult experiences when you’re young and still trying to figure yourself and life out at the same time, felt like such an important and natural part of the story. It gave the mystery a layer of depth without ever taking away from the fun of the puzzle.

Guron is an author who understands and delivers when it comes to puzzles, twists, and intrigue, and I genuinely can’t believe I haven’t read anything from her before. While Sincerely, Your Murderer is a lighter mystery, it’s no less compelling or thrilling, making it the perfect entertaining escape for anyone looking for a story to completely suck them in.
Want a good page-turner? Look no further.

[Fizah(Books tales by me) · Rating 1.25 out of 5]

The synopsis gives little beyond anonymous letters predicting a different disaster every day, but I was sold as soon as I read "perfect for fans of Holly Jackson."  Unfortunately, it turned out to be one of the most disappointing reads I've had recently.

Kay and her parents moved to London after the deaths of her aunt and childhood friend. She is back for a week to stay with her uncle while her parents go on vacation. Kay was apparently very close to Aunt Sandra, and they shared a love of solving puzzles and mysteries. This relationship was supposed to be a major part of the story and Kay's character, but the execution was annoyingly flat. Was Aunt Sandra a professional detective? I honestly never got a clear answer. We barely get to know anything about her beyond Kay mentioning Aunt Sandra this and Aunt Sandra that every other page. Give me some actual backstory to make me believe in this relationship instead of repeatedly telling me how important she was. Unfortunately, this was one of the flattest and most dragged-out mysteries I've read recently. It just kept going on and on without much happening. The pacing was all over the place. The first half dragged, and just when things finally started happening, the second half rushed through everything.

I also couldn't stand Kay. She was arrogant, condescending, and incredibly insensitive to the people around her. Her complete disregard for other people's feelings, especially when it came to her cousin's grief, made it very difficult to root for her. The mystery itself was another letdown. There were so many potential suspects, and almost everyone seemed to have some sort of motive. I had my suspicions about the actual culprit because the hints were there, but the reveal was poorly executed and rushed. The circumstances surrounding Ivy's death were never properly explained, and the ending felt incredibly unfinished. Although we got to hear that boring and pointless monologue from the murderer, that entire sequence gave me secondhand embarrassment. After all that dragged-out buildup, I expected a lot more.

The romance was also completely unnecessary and came out of nowhere. In short, just a bunch of stupid people being murdered and playing detective. I wish I'd DNFed it.

[cursedb · Rating 4.5 out of 5]

I think this is a great example of how young adult books should be written. The narration and characterization feel very true to the characters’ ages, especially in the way they think, act, and react to the things happening around them. Nothing felt too far removed from how young people might actually behave, which made the story even more engaging. Reading this felt like watching a young adult thriller movie, and I absolutely loved that. The plot twist was also so good that I couldn’t even predict who was behind everything, which made the whole experience even more exciting. The only thing I wasn’t entirely satisfied with was the ending. I mean, things were more or less resolved, but some parts of what actually happened still felt a little unclear. I really wish we could have had a final chapter from Ivy's point of view, with her telling her own story, or at least some kind of additional narration to help fill in those gaps. Other than that, I loved it. It was engaging, unpredictable, and exactly the kind of young adult thriller I enjoy reading.

[lessvoit · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn’t think it was possible for people to be dumber than the ones in horror movie, but here we are and I love it.
And boy did I have theories and all of them were crushed by another red herring!
A twisty and fun YA mystery with a little bit of everything, great!

[Irene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Een verhaal in de vorm van Moordgids voor lieve meisjes en ik heb me opnieuw erg goed vermaakt met een boek.

[amyvdgbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vanaf het begin zat de spanning er meteen in en dat bleef zo tot het einde. Het las zo vlot dat ik het in één dag uitlas. Ik kon het gewoon niet wegleggen. De plottwists bleven komen en in tegenstelling tot haar andere boek (Dit boek is dodelijk) zag ik ze totaal niet aankomen. Elke wending wist me te verrassen. Het enige minpuntje is dat het tempo naar het einde toe ineens flink werd opgevoerd, terwijl het verhaal daarvoor wat meer de tijd nam. Zeker een aanrader voor iedereen die van YA-thrillers houdt die vlot weglezen.

[wolfchan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I liked how they were left of tight time at the end. I was not expecting that ending.

[Evelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.75 stars
This was my second book I have read by Ravena Guron, and it’s safe to say that I will be reading all of her books!
This book follows Kay, who receives a letter that promises a different crime to happen on each day of the week, finishing with her own murder on Monday.
Ravena Guron’s writing was extremely addictive. It immediately immerses you in the setting of the small English town and the stakes are established right from the beginning. There were moments where my heart was racing for these characters, and I became suspicious of everyone. I also really enjoyed seeing Kay settle back into this town after moving away and reform her connections while investigating not only the current mysteries, but the ones of the past as well. The small sub-plot of romance was really sweet and a lovely addition to the overall story. This book is the perfect YA mystery that you won’t be able to stop reading!

[Avni · Rating 4 out of 5]

really enjoyed this. it was such a plot twist and it was so unexpected with so many twists and turns.

[Freya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to the author, sourcebooks fire and NetGalley for this gifted eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The FMC was naive and always acted without thinking. I feel like everyone around her were the ones that pointed out the obvious and seemed to be solving things. The FMC just put it in motion..sort of. Not to mention she was mean and selfish. You definitely will not expect who the villain ends up being but even that was ridiculous. This book just made me feel icky. Almost all the characters except for maybe 3 or 4 were just terrible people.

[Laney Bunce · Rating 3 out of 5]

this wasn’t a read for pleasure for me but here are my thoughts nonetheless. the end felt like a throw away to me though i think it was a good job making it someone unsuspecting. i do not for any reason believe that a mother who thinks someone murdered their child would leave their five year old alone with that child though that’s a big miss for me

[Leonie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Guron has done it again

I truly ate this book up not wanting it to end because it was so good that I didn’t want to put it DOWN so I read it slowly I really enjoyed this book a lot can’t wait to see what else Guron brings out because she’s an author that never disappoints me all her books have been a whopping five stars!