**Thrillers are great to read around Halloween and the colder months, but what about the warmer months? There is something about reading a spooky book on a spring day that is just as good. I glance out the window and see the sun struggling to be seen behind the heavy clouds that block it. A storm must be coming. I bundle tighter in my blankets even though it’s already warm and continue turning pages, eager to see what comes next.**

Today we will be reviewing Win Lose Kill Die by Cynthia Murphy. This is a book set at an elite school where the best and brightest students attend. These kids are handpicked and follow courses based on their skills and interests. Our main character Liz had a bad head injury at the end of the last school year at the same time one of her classmates died. This year, after a long summer of recovering, Liz is excited to be back at Morton Academy and the secret society she is part of. However, someone keeps killing off the head girls in the society and Liz and her friends work to figure out who is killing off the girls.

This book seemed interesting enough. Honestly, most thrillers have potential as long as they’re suspenseful. But with this one, I spent the first maybe 70% bored. Nothing was really happening and, while the girls were dying, it didn’t really feel like a thrilling story. There wasn’t much suspense in this time and I was having a hard time getting into it. I also suspected pretty much everyone during this story, which we will get back to later, so while I still experienced some shock, I wasn’t fully surprised at the reveal. It wasn’t until closer to the end where I was actually feeling some of that thrilling aspect and I started to enjoy it a bit more, but I don’t like to say I liked it because only the ending picked up for me.

Looking at the mystery itself, I have mixed feelings. I suspected just about everyone and did guess who did it at some point before changing my mind and thinking it was someone else. The reveal was a bit weird to me. I did have this character as a suspect and did figure out some things with it, but parts of it just didn’t make sense. I feel like we didn’t fully see the crazy side of this character (or any of them really) even though they were always like that apparently. I also feel like the perspective of the killer didn’t always match to the killer in the story in terms of personality and reasoning. There are parts where the killer perspective thinks something but then it doesn’t make sense for the character in the actual story. It felt like the killer wasn’t chosen until the end where it could be revealed for a shock factor.

Sorry for being so vague, but it is SO HARD to discuss feelings on a mystery/thriller without saying too much and giving it away. As for my final thoughts, I thought this one needed something more. I was not invested and just wanted some more thrilling moments throughout the book and not just at the end. I also don’t know how I feel about the reveal. It didn’t always make sense with the way the killer’s perspective was written so it made it hard to fully appreciate the ending. The book has stuck with me since finishing last week, but it wasn’t really for me overall. And it clearly isn’t considering I got the title wrong originally, so sorry if anyone saw that. 😂

What’s your review of the book?

xoxo,

Just another reader