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The Enigmatic End to Bethany Reed
Evie's sister killed herself three years ago.
Her family hasn't been the same since Bethany's death, and her house has never felt less like home. Stuck in a small town full of judgemental stares and bad memories, Evie lives the same days over and over again in a daze of grief and loss. On the three year anniversary of her sister's suicide, she stumbles across a body.
As it becomes apparent that Evie's sister was keeping secrets and wasn't nearly as innocent as everyone assumed, she takes it upon herself to get to the bottom of what happened three years ago. But as she wades further and further into the dark, dangerous crevices of Eastwood, Maine, she becomes the target of Bethany's worst enemy.
River has lost more people than he wants to admit.
His father is moving him and his sister across borders to start afresh, without the stickiness of grief. It's supposed to be good for River. It's supposed to be a clean, new start. And then they see the girl in the road, covered in blood.
River is quickly sucked into Evie's world of darkness and horror, caught in a dangerous spiral of events that are not going to end well. But the two form an unlikely connection, a bond over their grief. As they grow closer, Eastwood closes in around them and they're forced to face the truth of the enigma that is Bethany Reed's death.
Her family hasn't been the same since Bethany's death, and her house has never felt less like home. Stuck in a small town full of judgemental stares and bad memories, Evie lives the same days over and over again in a daze of grief and loss. On the three year anniversary of her sister's suicide, she stumbles across a body.
As it becomes apparent that Evie's sister was keeping secrets and wasn't nearly as innocent as everyone assumed, she takes it upon herself to get to the bottom of what happened three years ago. But as she wades further and further into the dark, dangerous crevices of Eastwood, Maine, she becomes the target of Bethany's worst enemy.
River has lost more people than he wants to admit.
His father is moving him and his sister across borders to start afresh, without the stickiness of grief. It's supposed to be good for River. It's supposed to be a clean, new start. And then they see the girl in the road, covered in blood.
River is quickly sucked into Evie's world of darkness and horror, caught in a dangerous spiral of events that are not going to end well. But the two form an unlikely connection, a bond over their grief. As they grow closer, Eastwood closes in around them and they're forced to face the truth of the enigma that is Bethany Reed's death.
- GenresMystery
388 pages, Paperback
Published May 31, 2022
5 people are currently reading
412 people want to read
About the author
Ashlea Stannard
6 books34 followersteen author, reader and literature student. i write crime novels, romance and the occasional tragic novella. my debut novel "the enigmatic end to bethany reed" is out now.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
December 13, 2024
i keep rereading i love
July 21, 2022
Dear Ashley Stannard,
I hate you. I think you know what you did.
Kind regards,
Jess xoxo
I hate you. I think you know what you did.
Kind regards,
Jess xoxo
June 26, 2022
The Enigmatic End To Bethany Reed was by far one of the best books I have read. Each character is beautifully written, each with an intricate backstory of their own. The plot was magnificent, the story making me on the edge of my seat with anticipation. I highly recommend reading this if you like a good old murder mystery, and if you liking getting your heart ripped out of your chest with the fabulous emotion that comes with it. Overall, a fantastic read that I would give anything to read for the first time again!
July 20, 2022
i’m in so much sadness because of this. this book decided to single handedly destroy me what. this was perfect. a masterpiece of ya mystery and crime.
evie is a relatable teenage girl. river is a wonderful teenage boy. together, they solve the mystery around the deaths of many people. there is so much loss and grief in this book i cant think of anything else right now. their grief is my grief and when *that one thing* happened, i was crying ugly tears and had to put the book down for a good five minutes.
this book is perfect. what do i do now except for thinking about this??
evie is a relatable teenage girl. river is a wonderful teenage boy. together, they solve the mystery around the deaths of many people. there is so much loss and grief in this book i cant think of anything else right now. their grief is my grief and when *that one thing* happened, i was crying ugly tears and had to put the book down for a good five minutes.
this book is perfect. what do i do now except for thinking about this??
June 23, 2022
WOW- I’m in awe!!! I can’t believe someone so young wrote this masterpiece. Seriously, was not expecting this level of prose from a new author. Yet, Ashlea utterly astonished me with her talent. The writing is phenomenal and truly reads like a wonderful YA mystery. The plot was well thought out and wittingly brilliant. Deeply emotional and heart wrenching yet wonderful. What I loved the most about it was that overall it was a character study. The idea that grief can make people selfish was so well executed. and I could see my own self in Evie and River. I have not read a book in a long time where the characters were written so well that you could see the struggle in their every day actions, words, and emotions. Ashlea did an amazing job writing characters stricken by grief and motivated to solve The Enigmatic End to Bethany Reed! Well done!
July 4, 2022
so glad i stumbled upon this new author on tiktok that’s only 15 and just came out with her first novel! this was so good and finally got me back into reading more murder mysteries. i loved our characters and that even though river had experienced so much grief, he still treated evelyn in such a sweet way. so so good & def recommend. cant wait to see how this author develops over the years!!
June 23, 2022
emotionally scarring
June 27, 2022
This book is so good! I love river and evelyn so much!
July 4, 2022
I just finished this book and, hold crap???? I enjoyed this book so so much and i may or may not have cried at a few points pfft - i would 100% recommend this book, the plot twists are amazing <33.
August 14, 2023
a little confusing at times, repetitive, and i saw the plot twist from a mile away. however, pretty entertaining, the dark rainy winter vibes were immaculate, and river and evie were oh so cute.
August 29, 2022
Oh Damn! What a rollercoaster of emotions this book brought me! I loved it from start to end! Nothing made this book boring! Perfect amount of dialogue and description! But the thing that kept me gripped from the start was the characters (Evie and river) if these people existed in real life I would definitely befriend them both. I loved Evie's attitude to keep on going determined to solve the mystery but it was emotional to see her break down after the reality of the murders. Many heartbreaking scenes in this book so be aware this may cause you to tear stain the pages! But I thoroughly enjoyed the friendship building and murder mystery elements of the book! River! Don't even get me started on talking about River otherwise I will never stop loving him ❤️ what a guy! I wish this dude existed in real life 😭😭😭😭 I love him and his determination to protect Evie at all costs even when the crime could potentially put his family in danger. He was willing to risk it all for his new found partner in crime! I will never stop raving about this book which made my heart almost stop beating. Literally goosebumps and shivers were coursing through my body after every chapter wishing it could have ended differently, wishing nothing ever happened to the other sweet characters of the town! I absolutely adored the chapter names they were so creative! Grief makes people selfish... Is a statement that circled in my mind as I tried to guess who murdered miss Bethany reed ❤️⭐
I finished it a couple of nights ago and I read it deep into the night because it had me hooked dedicated to discovering the truth!
So my review is all over the place and very random but honestly my brain is full of snippets of your book right now!
I finished it a couple of nights ago and I read it deep into the night because it had me hooked dedicated to discovering the truth!
So my review is all over the place and very random but honestly my brain is full of snippets of your book right now!
November 16, 2023
This was such a comfort read I loved all the characters and all the character development and how it was in a small town in Maine like that's sounds so peaceful although everything that goes down in the town was really tragic. It was so good also how they had to work through there grief and pain and work together to solve the crime while also working on graduating school. I have no words this story was just amazing and I cant wait for the next book to come out because this was amazing. also Ashlea Stannard was 15 when she wrote this i am in awe with how beautifully this was written and how it was told.
February 9, 2024
im crying and im screaming and im heartbroken. ashlea you know exactly what you did to me writing this book. this is me telling you to read it.
July 30, 2023
I read this book after it being recommended to me. I was hooked from the first page, the twists and turns kept me so engaged that I couldn't put it down. Highly recommend reading this novel, cannot wait for a sequel.
December 10, 2023
Master piece. Better than shakespeare. Totally not biased.
September 12, 2023
I received an e-copy from Ashlea in exchange for an honest view, and I can wholeheartedly say that this review will be honest. I love supporting self-published books, but they're usually not written with as much empathy and tenderness and skill as this. It's been an hour since I put the book down... and I'm still thinking about Bethany Reed.
TEETBR is a mystery, but that only forms a fraction of the storyline. It's also a romance, and a portrayal of grief and loss and anger, how those emotions can manifest in different people. The two main characters were genuinely loveable and kind, especially River, who's the ultimate book boyfriend. When I think about how popular AGGGTM is... I just want people to know that there's an alternate, similar book, and it's this.
The mystery itself was complex and beautiful and interspersed with other media, such as emails and autopsy reports. I'm going to buy myself a paperback copy because I imagine each element works even better in the flesh. It was characterised so much by its bleak, North American setting, by the river and forest and small town, but also by its frosty mornings and blankets and constant coffee runs, by gorgeous description and the feeling of desolation, of cold. The sub-plots made it even more complicated and captivating, exploring race and sexuality and domestic abuse, and every single twist made me feel physically sick.
I love reading and don't get much time to do it anymore, but you know I like a book when I can't stop reading it, spend days on my kindle, completely captivated. If you're debating reading this book, please do so, and share with your friends. Ashlea deserves so much more success.
TEETBR is a mystery, but that only forms a fraction of the storyline. It's also a romance, and a portrayal of grief and loss and anger, how those emotions can manifest in different people. The two main characters were genuinely loveable and kind, especially River, who's the ultimate book boyfriend. When I think about how popular AGGGTM is... I just want people to know that there's an alternate, similar book, and it's this.
The mystery itself was complex and beautiful and interspersed with other media, such as emails and autopsy reports. I'm going to buy myself a paperback copy because I imagine each element works even better in the flesh. It was characterised so much by its bleak, North American setting, by the river and forest and small town, but also by its frosty mornings and blankets and constant coffee runs, by gorgeous description and the feeling of desolation, of cold. The sub-plots made it even more complicated and captivating, exploring race and sexuality and domestic abuse, and every single twist made me feel physically sick.
I love reading and don't get much time to do it anymore, but you know I like a book when I can't stop reading it, spend days on my kindle, completely captivated. If you're debating reading this book, please do so, and share with your friends. Ashlea deserves so much more success.
September 1, 2023
loved, loved, loved the vibes in this book. But I thought it was gonna be more gripping, like the feeling you get while reading a thriller book and I also saw the big reveal coming and wasn‘t surprised which was disappointing:/
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews