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Three Drops of Blood
A Good Girls Guide to Murder meets Hitchcock in this novel from celebrated author Gretchen McNeil. A mundane office job takes a dark turn when a girl witnesses a double murder through the window.
Being an actress, Kate is no stranger to drama. And when her chance at a leading role gets cancelled, she is willing to do whatever it takes to get her acting career back on track even if that means getting a boring office job at her best friend's father's law firm so she can prove to her parents she can to support herself rather than go back to high school. Now, rather than living life on the big screen, she is stuck filing mundane contracts and watching the people in the office across from hers live their equally boring lives.
But when Kate sees things heat up between a woman and her assistant, her new source of entertainment take a turn for the worse when she witnesses a double murder. Now, she must get anyone to believe her and find out who this mystery woman is to get answers. But as she learns more and more about the circumstances leading to the gruesome act, she begins to realize there is a bigger mystery under the surface...
In this voyeuristic thriller filled with twists and turns, can Kate get anyone to believe her before she becomes the next victim?
Being an actress, Kate is no stranger to drama. And when her chance at a leading role gets cancelled, she is willing to do whatever it takes to get her acting career back on track even if that means getting a boring office job at her best friend's father's law firm so she can prove to her parents she can to support herself rather than go back to high school. Now, rather than living life on the big screen, she is stuck filing mundane contracts and watching the people in the office across from hers live their equally boring lives.
But when Kate sees things heat up between a woman and her assistant, her new source of entertainment take a turn for the worse when she witnesses a double murder. Now, she must get anyone to believe her and find out who this mystery woman is to get answers. But as she learns more and more about the circumstances leading to the gruesome act, she begins to realize there is a bigger mystery under the surface...
In this voyeuristic thriller filled with twists and turns, can Kate get anyone to believe her before she becomes the next victim?
336 pages, Hardcover
First published March 21, 2023
14 people are currently reading
831 people want to read
About the author
Gretchen McNeil
22 books2,161 followersGretchen McNeil is the author of the YA horror/suspense novels POSSESS, 3:59, RELIC, GET EVEN, GET DIRTY, and TEN (a YALSA Top Ten Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers, a Romantic Times Top Pick, and a Booklist Top Ten Horror Fiction for Youth) all with Balzer + Bray for HarperCollins. Gretchen’s first YA contemporary I’M NOT YOUR MANIC PIXIE DREAM GIRL, also with Balzer + Bray, hit shelves in 2016, and her next novel will be the horror-comedy #MURDERTRENDING for Disney/Freeform in August 2018.
Gretchen’s novels have been published internationally in Chinese, Spanish, Turkish, and Czech. The film adaptation of TEN starring China Anne McClain (Descendants 2, Black Lightning), Rome Flynn (The Bold and the Beautiful), and Callan McAuliffe (Flipped, I Am Number Four), directed by Chris Robert for Rain Maker Films, premiered on Lifetime on September 16, 2017.
Gretchen is repped by Ginger Clark of Curtis Brown, Ltd. You can find Gretchen on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and on her website.
Gretchen’s novels have been published internationally in Chinese, Spanish, Turkish, and Czech. The film adaptation of TEN starring China Anne McClain (Descendants 2, Black Lightning), Rome Flynn (The Bold and the Beautiful), and Callan McAuliffe (Flipped, I Am Number Four), directed by Chris Robert for Rain Maker Films, premiered on Lifetime on September 16, 2017.
Gretchen is repped by Ginger Clark of Curtis Brown, Ltd. You can find Gretchen on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and on her website.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 98 reviews
March 23, 2023
I am a big fan of Gretchen McNeil, and so was excited to read her latest YA thriller. I liked the main character, and I think that the mystery was definitely intriguing as well. It seemed to take a little while to get to it though. But once it did there was so much going on, and so many people making Kate doubt what she saw that it even made me start wondering if she was going to be an unreliable narrator. It also seemed like the mystery, the murder, had nothing to do with Kate other than where she was located. Just that she saw it happen in the building across from where she worked.
However as the story went on, the location had some actual interesting surprises about it. And as the really dangerous part of the story began to unfold we learned that maybe there was more to the whole mystery that did relate more to Kate and her life. I liked how the author had those things sprinkled in at the right moments in the end to make the story even more exciting.
The romance aspect could have used a little bit more detail maybe, and her best friend was not really as great a friend from the way she behaved. Those two characters made it a little bit less of a perfect story for me. But it was obvious how they did fit into the story with the issues they caused. Overall another good book by McNeil, and I do look forward to more in the future!
Review first posted on Lisa Loves Literature.
However as the story went on, the location had some actual interesting surprises about it. And as the really dangerous part of the story began to unfold we learned that maybe there was more to the whole mystery that did relate more to Kate and her life. I liked how the author had those things sprinkled in at the right moments in the end to make the story even more exciting.
The romance aspect could have used a little bit more detail maybe, and her best friend was not really as great a friend from the way she behaved. Those two characters made it a little bit less of a perfect story for me. But it was obvious how they did fit into the story with the issues they caused. Overall another good book by McNeil, and I do look forward to more in the future!
Review first posted on Lisa Loves Literature.
March 16, 2023
I like the plus size rep but that’s about all. The synopsis of this book was super confusing. No murders actually happen for the longest time and she doesn’t do much acting either like girl should focus on being a detective or something instead. I didn’t connect with the romance at all either
June 9, 2024
2.5 sooooo this book is pretty ok. the story line was interesting but the book itself is mid. the only good part about this book is the ending which is why it gets a 2.5
June 28, 2025
[⚠️ Suspicious Content] As a longtime fan of Gretchen McNeil’s thrillers, I was eager to dive into Three Drops of Blood. A murder mystery with a Hitchcock twist couldn’t get much better in my opinion! I was a little dismayed that it took over half of the book until the actual murder happened, but in the long run, I could see why it did. Things had to be setup to lead into Kate witnessing what she did, and there wasn’t meant to be a whole lot of time to try to solve it.
Kate is a Netflix star overnight for the most part, having starred in a teen drama that was based on the hit book series—sound familiar to anyone? I honestly loved this little touch and it had me grinning nonstop. While Kate loved working on the show, what she did not expect was her costar having fling with the married director causing quite the scandal and the cancellation of the show. Kate isn’t quite ready to give up the limelight of Hollywood and when she tries to break it to her parents that she is not attending senior year, already passing her high school equivalency test and is a “legal” adult of sorts, she wants to pursue a career in acting.
Her parents will not have it, but agree to let her be an adult. They basically force her to get a job and she has to pay them rent and buy her own groceries…she’s basically forced to do all the adult things while trying to go on auditions. But it seems there’s some miscommunication going on with her agent that leads to missed roles. Before she knows it, she has to accept an afterhours filing position at her best friend, Rowan’s father’s law firm. The downside is, Rowan’s older brother also works there during the summer. There’s a complicated history between Kate and Ty, in essence he liked her and she turned him down. So naturally, we get a bit of heated tension between them and you can pretty much guess what the outcome will be.
When Kate happens to witness a murder from her file room across the courtyard the one window overlooks, she’s frightened. She tries to call the police and building security but no one believes her, except for Ty. Now it will be up to the two of them to find evidence of the murder by a fellow building tenant without drawing the murderer’s suspicion. Easier said than done, right?
As I mentioned, the beginning of the novel was a little on the slow side. It read very much like a contemporary read, I assume. There was just mundane everyday life problems and drama. I felt like the story wasn’t really going anywhere. Since I knew a murder was going to happen, I kept at it! The book really did kind of move fast from Kate’s day to day activities. It was just very mundane and a little slow. But once we got that moment, the moment where Kate witnessed the murder happening right before her eyes just across a simply courtyard, things got real interesting, real fast! I was hooked!
It’s been a very long time since I saw the actual Alfred Hitchcock film Rear Window, but I knew the gist of the plot and I found McNeil’s take on the story to be very fresh and yet, still paying respectable homage to the original! I also loved the character of Kate! She was a plus side actress of sorts and has to deal with the usual body shaming haters of her career path and I love that she never really lets the haters get her down. She’s a very strong-willed and confident character. I was rooting for her all the way!
There was a bit of a situation at the end of the story that I didn’t quite understand why it happened and it didn’t get explained in the epilogue. So what one character planned to do to another remained unclear. I mean, obviously it was nefarious reasons but I could not figure out what the possible why of the nefarious reasons. I guess that is one mystery that will not be solved in this one. It’s no matter really as it didn’t overly effect Kate and she was the heroine of the story. But it was just a little niggly thing, like why were they doing that to them? Oh well.
All in all, I really did enjoy Three Drops of Blood! I loved how apt the title became in the end of the story too! It’s always fun when you get to actually see the title name being used! True, the mystery itself did take about 2/3 of the book to appear, but it was well worth the wait! McNeil knows how to draw her readers into a good mystery and it was one I fully enjoyed and I cannot wait to read her next thriller! I will pretty much always pick up a Gretchen McNeil title! She’s the queen of YA Thriller/Mysteries and is an author you will not want to miss out on!
Overall Rating 4/5 stars
Kate is a Netflix star overnight for the most part, having starred in a teen drama that was based on the hit book series—sound familiar to anyone? I honestly loved this little touch and it had me grinning nonstop. While Kate loved working on the show, what she did not expect was her costar having fling with the married director causing quite the scandal and the cancellation of the show. Kate isn’t quite ready to give up the limelight of Hollywood and when she tries to break it to her parents that she is not attending senior year, already passing her high school equivalency test and is a “legal” adult of sorts, she wants to pursue a career in acting.
Her parents will not have it, but agree to let her be an adult. They basically force her to get a job and she has to pay them rent and buy her own groceries…she’s basically forced to do all the adult things while trying to go on auditions. But it seems there’s some miscommunication going on with her agent that leads to missed roles. Before she knows it, she has to accept an afterhours filing position at her best friend, Rowan’s father’s law firm. The downside is, Rowan’s older brother also works there during the summer. There’s a complicated history between Kate and Ty, in essence he liked her and she turned him down. So naturally, we get a bit of heated tension between them and you can pretty much guess what the outcome will be.
When Kate happens to witness a murder from her file room across the courtyard the one window overlooks, she’s frightened. She tries to call the police and building security but no one believes her, except for Ty. Now it will be up to the two of them to find evidence of the murder by a fellow building tenant without drawing the murderer’s suspicion. Easier said than done, right?
As I mentioned, the beginning of the novel was a little on the slow side. It read very much like a contemporary read, I assume. There was just mundane everyday life problems and drama. I felt like the story wasn’t really going anywhere. Since I knew a murder was going to happen, I kept at it! The book really did kind of move fast from Kate’s day to day activities. It was just very mundane and a little slow. But once we got that moment, the moment where Kate witnessed the murder happening right before her eyes just across a simply courtyard, things got real interesting, real fast! I was hooked!
It’s been a very long time since I saw the actual Alfred Hitchcock film Rear Window, but I knew the gist of the plot and I found McNeil’s take on the story to be very fresh and yet, still paying respectable homage to the original! I also loved the character of Kate! She was a plus side actress of sorts and has to deal with the usual body shaming haters of her career path and I love that she never really lets the haters get her down. She’s a very strong-willed and confident character. I was rooting for her all the way!
There was a bit of a situation at the end of the story that I didn’t quite understand why it happened and it didn’t get explained in the epilogue. So what one character planned to do to another remained unclear. I mean, obviously it was nefarious reasons but I could not figure out what the possible why of the nefarious reasons. I guess that is one mystery that will not be solved in this one. It’s no matter really as it didn’t overly effect Kate and she was the heroine of the story. But it was just a little niggly thing, like why were they doing that to them? Oh well.
All in all, I really did enjoy Three Drops of Blood! I loved how apt the title became in the end of the story too! It’s always fun when you get to actually see the title name being used! True, the mystery itself did take about 2/3 of the book to appear, but it was well worth the wait! McNeil knows how to draw her readers into a good mystery and it was one I fully enjoyed and I cannot wait to read her next thriller! I will pretty much always pick up a Gretchen McNeil title! She’s the queen of YA Thriller/Mysteries and is an author you will not want to miss out on!
Overall Rating 4/5 stars
March 8, 2023
The setup for the actual conflict of the story was great, and as a young adult reader (aged 16), I really enjoyed it. The plot was incredibly creative, with multiple conflicts throughout that kept the reader hooked. The story was so enticing that I finished the entire book in just two days! The ending of the novel was faster-paced than I expected, and it didn't provide closure, but I think it serves as an opening to a sequel. Nonetheless, I'm not familiar with this author's work; however, because of how invested I was in the plot of this book, I'm very interested in reading some of her other works!
August 13, 2023
Verdict: Very slow to start, but the book's final chapters flew by. Overall more girl drama than murder thriller.
Kate knew something was wrong the moment her phone buzzed.
- first line
This book starts with a mix of Hollywood set drama and teen girl issues. It takes about 75% of the book before you get to the action. The misleading synopsis of the book makes it seem like the entire book revolves around the murders. Once the action starts, the book is very fast-paced, and I couldn’t put it down, but it took too long to get there.
Kate knew something was wrong the moment her phone buzzed.
- first line
This book starts with a mix of Hollywood set drama and teen girl issues. It takes about 75% of the book before you get to the action. The misleading synopsis of the book makes it seem like the entire book revolves around the murders. Once the action starts, the book is very fast-paced, and I couldn’t put it down, but it took too long to get there.
March 10, 2023
I saw the blood on the cover and hoped for another Ten (a Gretchen McNeil horror book that has been a longtime favorite in my library). This was not it. It's a mystery but the mystery doesn't even get started til over halfway through the book. The ending has a lot of action teens will enjoy. Most of the story is about the plus-size main character's struggles with being a young actress in LA.
May 13, 2023
Nope, I found my mind meandering.
October 18, 2024
more romance than murder. still fun, but the thriller aspect was choppy. I probably wouldn’t recommend this
June 12, 2025
I would give this book 0 stars if i could. The murder in this murder/thiller book happened on page 186 out of 318. There was such little time spent on the murders.
October 19, 2024
it’s a murder mystery but the murder doesn’t happen until like half way through. feels like the book just completely changes direction
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 11, 2023
I'll preface this review by saying that I gave this 4 stars because of the helpful reviews I read before reading the book; otherwise I probably would have given this 3 stars. I saw a few reviews mentioning that the murders don't happen until over halfway through the book, so I decided to disregard the book synopsis and just take things as they came rather than impatiently waiting for the murder and mystery to start. Because of this, I was able to enjoy it a lot more than I would have otherwise. I loved Kate's story, seeing her struggle to make it as an actress and dealing with tension with her best friend. The characters were all sweet and I enjoyed reading about them. Also I liked the romance a lot more than I was expecting to.
It is very strange that the mystery doesn't start until halfway through, though. I truthfully don't understand why the synopsis and title and cover art all scream "thriller, murder, blood" when that was only a small portion of the book. The book seems to be a YA romance in the first half and a thriller in the second half, as though it can't decide what it wants to be. And it's just...an odd choice. It's not bad, just very misleading.
I don't want to ramble too much, so the last thing I'll say is that Kate's parents were INFURIATING.
Anyways, I don't know why so many of the things I typed here were so negative, I truly did enjoy the book!
Edit: I cant believe I forgot to say this: at the end, I felt like I still had lots of unanswered questions about how things resolved.
It is very strange that the mystery doesn't start until halfway through, though. I truthfully don't understand why the synopsis and title and cover art all scream "thriller, murder, blood" when that was only a small portion of the book. The book seems to be a YA romance in the first half and a thriller in the second half, as though it can't decide what it wants to be. And it's just...an odd choice. It's not bad, just very misleading.
I don't want to ramble too much, so the last thing I'll say is that Kate's parents were INFURIATING.
Anyways, I don't know why so many of the things I typed here were so negative, I truly did enjoy the book!
Edit: I cant believe I forgot to say this: at the end, I felt like I still had lots of unanswered questions about how things resolved.
Read
March 12, 2023THREE DROPS OF BLOOD was a twisty thriller about a plus size teen actress taking a hiatus from acting due to her involvement in a scandal between herself and a director on her show. Now working at a law firm, she has to prove herself to her parents, lest they send her back to school. When she witnesses a murder, no one initially believes her and she finds herself unraveling a mystery that goes deeper than just the murder she witnessed.
Described as A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder meets Hitchcock, this book was really like a novel in 2 parts. For the first half, we’re given quite a bit of backstory on Good Girl Kate’s life, the highs and the lows, and how her parents support her, yet don’t. Setting up Kate’s life is a good segue to the second half, the Hitchcockian half, as Kate is drawn in to her very own version of Rear View Mirror when she witnesses a murder. Much like RVM, Kate has to convince people she saw what she saw, and her own investigation leads her to a mystery that goes far deeper than this particular murder, which Kate may or may not have seen, which may or may not have happened.
McNeil weaves a good mystery with this book, and I really enjoyed Kate amateur sleuthing in trying to solve the mystery. My only complaint is I wish the murder aspect started sooner than what it did, because the pacing felt a little off. Really slow in the beginning, super fast second half, and I just wanted a bit more balance. Other than that, this is a book I would still recommend, just with the warning that it’s a slow starter. 3.5 stars. Thanks so much to Rockstar Book Tours and Disney-Hyperion for sending me a digital copy for review as part of an Instagram tour.
Described as A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder meets Hitchcock, this book was really like a novel in 2 parts. For the first half, we’re given quite a bit of backstory on Good Girl Kate’s life, the highs and the lows, and how her parents support her, yet don’t. Setting up Kate’s life is a good segue to the second half, the Hitchcockian half, as Kate is drawn in to her very own version of Rear View Mirror when she witnesses a murder. Much like RVM, Kate has to convince people she saw what she saw, and her own investigation leads her to a mystery that goes far deeper than this particular murder, which Kate may or may not have seen, which may or may not have happened.
McNeil weaves a good mystery with this book, and I really enjoyed Kate amateur sleuthing in trying to solve the mystery. My only complaint is I wish the murder aspect started sooner than what it did, because the pacing felt a little off. Really slow in the beginning, super fast second half, and I just wanted a bit more balance. Other than that, this is a book I would still recommend, just with the warning that it’s a slow starter. 3.5 stars. Thanks so much to Rockstar Book Tours and Disney-Hyperion for sending me a digital copy for review as part of an Instagram tour.
May 31, 2023
DNF around 100 pages: Boring, Stereotypical, Don't even get me started on the racial issues, author's personal hang-ups effect characters
To even try to market this book as similar to AGGGTM is an insult to the series.
I don't even know what the plot was supposed to be.
The main character has some SERIOUS inner misogyny going on, or this is the author's personal views affecting the character. (Also felt like the mc was suffering from Mary Sueism)
The author seems to have had some really bad experiences with certain people and parts of this book felt more like it was for a revenge story against her past bullies.
The way race was handled in this just straight up gave me the ick. It was so abundantly clear that it was a white author too. (iykyk)
Don't even get me started on Kate's inner monologue about her privilege, and random thoughts regarding race.
I also then proceeded to look into the author and some of her books, and saw she wrote a book starring a Filipino character. That really explained a lot for me.
I also feel like getting out my soap box about the fact that just saying a character is such and such race, doesn't mean they are going to read that way. (And if you took out the race part would you even be able to tell?)
Seriously y'all. Don't read this. Save yourself.
To even try to market this book as similar to AGGGTM is an insult to the series.
I don't even know what the plot was supposed to be.
The main character has some SERIOUS inner misogyny going on, or this is the author's personal views affecting the character. (Also felt like the mc was suffering from Mary Sueism)
The author seems to have had some really bad experiences with certain people and parts of this book felt more like it was for a revenge story against her past bullies.
The way race was handled in this just straight up gave me the ick. It was so abundantly clear that it was a white author too. (iykyk)
Don't even get me started on Kate's inner monologue about her privilege, and random thoughts regarding race.
I also then proceeded to look into the author and some of her books, and saw she wrote a book starring a Filipino character. That really explained a lot for me.
I also feel like getting out my soap box about the fact that just saying a character is such and such race, doesn't mean they are going to read that way. (And if you took out the race part would you even be able to tell?)
Seriously y'all. Don't read this. Save yourself.
March 31, 2023
A thrilling YA read with the bonus of a plus-size teen as the main character that is endearing as one can get. Not only was this filled with fast-paced action & suspense but also a mystery that felt like I was witnessing firsthand. I loved the budding romance that added light to the darkness at the end of the tunnel.
The beginning is slow going with a complicated storyline involving the main character, Kate, her acting career and her diminishing relationship with her best friend Rowan. That’s a whole story of its own.
Kate has the best intentions and wants to begin a journey of independence with her future of acting and school. Unfortunately, her parents have their own opinions and it seems as if no one truly has her back.
But all that is put on standby when she witnesses a murder but can’t get anyone to believe her. Her best friend’s brother is seemingly the only person who she can turn to and together they form a plan to gather evidence that will ultimately capture the killer. They both end up in the crosshairs as their plan doesn’t go according to plan. Now they may just have become the killer’s newest victims.
The beginning is slow going with a complicated storyline involving the main character, Kate, her acting career and her diminishing relationship with her best friend Rowan. That’s a whole story of its own.
Kate has the best intentions and wants to begin a journey of independence with her future of acting and school. Unfortunately, her parents have their own opinions and it seems as if no one truly has her back.
But all that is put on standby when she witnesses a murder but can’t get anyone to believe her. Her best friend’s brother is seemingly the only person who she can turn to and together they form a plan to gather evidence that will ultimately capture the killer. They both end up in the crosshairs as their plan doesn’t go according to plan. Now they may just have become the killer’s newest victims.
May 12, 2023
*Source* Publisher
*Genre* Young Adult / Thrillers & Suspense
*Rating* 3-3.5
*Thoughts*
Gretchen McNeil's Three Drops of Blood is being sold as A Good Girls Guide to Murder meets Hitchcock. Three Drops of Blood reimagines the classic Hitchcock film Rear Window with a fresh perspective. A mundane office job takes a dark turn when a girl witnesses a double murder through the window. Being an actress, 17-year-old Kate Williams is no stranger to drama. She has one of the lead parts in a drama called "Dirty Pretty Teens" and the only minor who plays the part of the slightly overweight teen.
*Full Review @ Gizmos Reviews*
https://gizmosreviews.blogspot.com/20...
*Genre* Young Adult / Thrillers & Suspense
*Rating* 3-3.5
*Thoughts*
Gretchen McNeil's Three Drops of Blood is being sold as A Good Girls Guide to Murder meets Hitchcock. Three Drops of Blood reimagines the classic Hitchcock film Rear Window with a fresh perspective. A mundane office job takes a dark turn when a girl witnesses a double murder through the window. Being an actress, 17-year-old Kate Williams is no stranger to drama. She has one of the lead parts in a drama called "Dirty Pretty Teens" and the only minor who plays the part of the slightly overweight teen.
*Full Review @ Gizmos Reviews*
https://gizmosreviews.blogspot.com/20...
September 7, 2022
This was such a fun read! Rear Window vibes meets the actresses of Pretty Little Liars in the mysterious dungeon of Ty and Ro’s father’s law firm. When their friend Kate, an out of work actress, finds herself needing to make money to pay rent to her parents, she will jump at nearly any job. But snooping through the office window into a women’s office gets Kate much more than she bargained for. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to be an early reader in exchange for my review.
July 16, 2023
This writer is really good at getting the suspense down and drawing the reader it. The premise, however, just didn't interest me that much and I wonder if it would teens. It reminds me of the LA Candy series more than this author's other books and that isn't bad it was just unexpected. I guess I also wonder at some of the comments of the Asian characters when the author is white.
February 13, 2023
What a good book I liked the characters, plot and storyline I couldn't put it down.
July 31, 2023
This was weird and it took forever for the summary of the book to actually happen. The window reveal did blow my mind but overall, it was just an okay read.
September 18, 2023
2 stars
This story clearly wanted to be a contemporary novel about Hollywood and friendship but the author had to throw in a murder to spice things up.
This story clearly wanted to be a contemporary novel about Hollywood and friendship but the author had to throw in a murder to spice things up.
December 3, 2023
Real-life treachery and drama were exploding from a teen drama series following the social media scandal posted by one of the stars. A lead on the same show, Kate Williams was not going to let the show’s cancellation stop her from becoming a serious, full-time actress, even if it wrecked her parents’ college plans for her. But because of the star’s scandal and her audition prospects being put on hold for 4 – 6 months, her 5-year acting plan was over before it even started. The only damage control Kate had was in the form of a fixer that would cost her $15K. Where would she get that kind of money?
With her options minimal, Kate soon gets a job at an entertainment law firm. This is where the narrative seems to drag on with nothing really to show for it. Seriously, halfway into the book and not much was happening. I mean, a teen actress’ attempt at “adulting” was fairly interesting, but I needed MUCH more than that.
About 60% in is when we get a shot at a double murder and Kate was a witness to it. Finally, a dead body! You’d think I’d be more riveted at this point, but all Kate does is try to prove that what she saw really happened. It’s a very long and mild read. Eh, just okay. This will be the last book that I read from this author.
With her options minimal, Kate soon gets a job at an entertainment law firm. This is where the narrative seems to drag on with nothing really to show for it. Seriously, halfway into the book and not much was happening. I mean, a teen actress’ attempt at “adulting” was fairly interesting, but I needed MUCH more than that.
About 60% in is when we get a shot at a double murder and Kate was a witness to it. Finally, a dead body! You’d think I’d be more riveted at this point, but all Kate does is try to prove that what she saw really happened. It’s a very long and mild read. Eh, just okay. This will be the last book that I read from this author.
October 13, 2024
I have enjoyed McNeil's books in the past but this one was just ... bad. Really bad. I don't think she had an editor, or, if she did, the editor was poor. This took FOREVER to get to any point, and it couldn't decide what it wanted to be. A thriller? A muder mystery? A teen relationship drama? A statement about the entertainment industry? A feel-good, anti-fat-shaming screed?
Instead of focusing on any one, or even two, of these themes, McNeil tried to cram it all into one story. This ended up a mishmashed, scattershot story that had no real plot or arc, it was confusing, no reveal, no motivating factors, and, in the end, I have NO IDEA what happened or why anything happened. This needed someone who loves her to tell McNeil to go back to the drawing board. Blech.
Instead of focusing on any one, or even two, of these themes, McNeil tried to cram it all into one story. This ended up a mishmashed, scattershot story that had no real plot or arc, it was confusing, no reveal, no motivating factors, and, in the end, I have NO IDEA what happened or why anything happened. This needed someone who loves her to tell McNeil to go back to the drawing board. Blech.
October 4, 2025
This book was hard to rate. I've always enjoyed Gretchen's writing previously, but I was well past the halfway point and still wondering what the plot was supposed to be. And what genre I was reading. Having finished, I'm still not sure how to describe it...
I still enjoyed it, and never considered DNFing, so I'd still call it a good book. I'm simply unsure what I just read, and who I'd recommend it to.
⭐ 3.5
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😭 0
🤢 0
Won't read again, but will read more by the author.
Might recommend, if you like YA and enjoy listening to the internal monologue of a teenager (I occasionally had trouble stomaching it).
I still enjoyed it, and never considered DNFing, so I'd still call it a good book. I'm simply unsure what I just read, and who I'd recommend it to.
⭐ 3.5
🌶️ 0
😂 1
😭 0
🤢 0
Won't read again, but will read more by the author.
Might recommend, if you like YA and enjoy listening to the internal monologue of a teenager (I occasionally had trouble stomaching it).
Read
October 26, 2023DNF @ 25% In fairness to the character, I guess, every single adult in this kid's life has utterly failed her. But it's genuinely hard to tell if her excessive self delusion is going to be plot point later or if the author simply does not understand the entertainment industry or teen girls, like at all. That aside this is just a meandering mess. If it is a thriller I should have been able to tell by 15% but so far I'm not even sure what the story is. And I don't care, because if it's going to be endless self delusion and absent adults then I'm already super bored of it.
August 15, 2023
I love YA thrillers and I generally like Gretchen McNeil, but this one missed the mark for me a little. First of all, we were almost to the halfway point before any murders actually happened. I also didn't really like Kate. I love the plus size representation and I liked reading about her struggle with trying to make it as an actress and not just a plus size actress, but I didn't really like her.
August 22, 2023
The mystery part of this book was solid. It seems like so much time was spent discussing Kate's time on the show and the pervy producer when they didn't really have a whole lot to do with the overall mystery. It was almost like there were two stories competing for space in the same book. I also think the Shakespeare references will seem irrelevant to teen readers.
December 30, 2023
I got this book for review
I thouht this was a fun take on the classic story that this bok was inspired by. It def had a stronger contempory sub plot and i liked how the book dealt with the acting world. I also liked how the romance trope was turned on its head but the story did not wow me as a thriller
I thouht this was a fun take on the classic story that this bok was inspired by. It def had a stronger contempory sub plot and i liked how the book dealt with the acting world. I also liked how the romance trope was turned on its head but the story did not wow me as a thriller
January 2, 2025
This book told two stories, one about a teen trying to break into the acting world and one rear window mystery. Both would have been good books on their own but together it was disjointed and lacking
August 29, 2025
So many Cliches it was annoying, same story told a million times same scene over played.
Only original thing was that the main character was a bigger sized women, which the author reminded the reader of several times throughout the book, any chance it was there.
Only original thing was that the main character was a bigger sized women, which the author reminded the reader of several times throughout the book, any chance it was there.
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