There's a really cool tone to This Book Kills. With it's sometimes larger than life, dramatic characters there's an almost light hearted feel to it. It's certainly not comic, this is after all a book about suspicion and murder, but just this sense that it doesn't take itself entirely seriously. It was a little reminiscent of the St Trinian's remakes or Riverdale at times, though definitely not as over the top as that got. I really enjoyed it, and it made a refreshing change to books like the Bayview books by Karen McManus (which I also love, but you want variety, right?) I mean, there's a character called Clementine-Tangerine, because her parents own a fruit company. This isn't a dour, serious book at all! It does have some serious things to say though. Wrapped up in a gripping murder mystery is a novel about wealth and the sense of entitlement that comes with it,. And something I haven't seen so much of previously is the sense of gratitude from those without entitlement. That "Aren't I lucky to just be here among them, and I'd better be extra good and careful" feeling that comes from Jess, the scholarship student at the incredibly privileged boarding school and our main character. As Jess is both from a working class background and from an Indian family, we get to see various prejudices in action. The "Where are you from?" "London." bit that established her ethnicity was very telling. The mystery itself is great! There were so many different elements all tied up together that it was hard to work out what was connected to what and what was just a red herring. Usborne did a marketing thing where the book stopped and they encouraged you to email in your guess as to suspect, motive, etc. I did so, and I got the motive right, but the suspect wrong. Frustratingly I had it right earlier in the book and then changed my mind. But everything made sense after the reveal, and I was easily able to see how all the pieces fitted together and what I had missed. A very satisfying conclusion, which is what you need from a murder mystery. But there are also secret societies, pranks and forfeits, corruption and secrets, friendships and romance and it all makes for a thrilling mystery.

Wow, this was an incredible debut novel! This Book Kills is a fantastic murder mystery set in a boarding school. It follows Jess as one of her classmates is killed but its a murder she planned, her short story was stolen and now she is a suspect. This book is a perfect mystery, if you are a fan of a good girls guide to murder. It is full of twists and turns and I did not see the ending coming at all (I was in shock) The plot is so well written and relationships in general are so well displayed. Thanks to Usborne Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC

A really fun YA mystery with great characters, and a sharp twist that really surprised me. Absolutely brilliant! Great for fans of Karen McManus, Chelsea Pitcher and Holly Jackson. Nice easy read (does read on the younger side of YA) with a band of suspicious characters and great friendships.

I really enjoyed this fun YA murder mystery. The premise was great and stood out from some of the other boarding school based murder mysteries in the bookshops right now. I loved the twists and turns, and the interesting array of characters. As a school librarian, it's so great to have a proper murder story that is not full of more "grown up" content, which means it has to be restricted to older students only.

Brilliantly fun, twisty and dark in all the right ways. I rarely root for characters like I did for Jess - I was totally invested in her story from page one and willing her to succeed. I usually lose patience with mysteries, but This Book Kills had such great energy and pace that I flew through it, and the thrilling ending was the icing on the cake. I can't wait to see what this fresh new YA voice has in store!