I liked the plot and the setting. The idea to portrait the main character's point of view via an email to her ex boyfriends was interesting and well executed. I also loved the use of different POVs.
However, I struggled with the slow pacing of this story, and I couldn't relate to the characters.
A good read, but I like my thrillers a bit more gripping.

I really enjoyed this book and the unusual style of writing. That's what i most enjoyed. Loads of surprises and red herrings throughout and loveable and relatable characters.

This story about Anna, a young investigative journalist working undercover and attempting to infiltrate a group of elite and privileged undergraduates in Cambridge in order to investigate a murder didn’t quite hit the mark. The long unsent email from Anna to her ex and the way it was discovered felt very contrived and it seemed unrealistic that Anna was able to maintain her cover for as long as she did in such a closed and well-connected clique. Otherwise it was quite an easy read with good pace and plenty of intrigue.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy.

This book has a different style of writing and concept and once you become used to it, the story takes off. Great pace and a compulsive read. There are plenty of red herrings and dead ends which the author cleverly places and then there an even better twisty,shocking ending which I didn't see coming.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC to review.

I have read and enjoyed previous books by Gytha Lodge but for some reason I really could not get into Dead to Me. The story was so slow that it didn't keep my interest, and I really did not care what was happening or what the outcome was.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC.

I have not read any of Lodge’s prior work but will be going to read them now.

I enjoyed the different way of telling the story through the I sent emails and the multiple POVs. I didn’t guess the ending but it also felt earned and not based on information that you’d only just found out which made it satisfying.

I have absolutely loved all of Gytha Lodge’s previous books so was super excited to read this one. However, it didn’t quite meet my expectation. The format didn’t really work for me especially the never-ending email, I didn’t connect with the characters, and didn’t really get invested in the mystery until closer to the end. That being said, I didn’t solve the mystery before it was revealed and there were some edge of your seat moments towards the end.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in return for an honest review.

Dead to Me is such an interesting take on a mystery/thriller.... as its told in the form of unsent emails... something that for me really did make the book unique and allowed us to be inside Anna's mine (the author of the unsent emails)

Told from various POV's throughout, this book really was captivating right to the very end. I enjoyed learning more about the characters as individuals too as the story progressed.

Thank you to Netgalley, Michael Joseph and Gytha Lodge for providing me with an ARC of this book in return for my honest review.

This story had me totally immersed because of its fast paced and twisty turns.

You follow an investigation based around the death of a Cambridge University student. Our Journalist Anne decides to go undercover and move in with the elite students and she starts to discover some truths. You watch her make notes and email a British detective who is also her ex. then Anna goes missing and the ex is the only one who can help.

In this story you follow Anna's dad while he is looking for her and the detective and the email yo him regarding Anna's account of what has happened. This makes it a very interesting read as your seeing separate characters going through similar situations but also having very different situations because of what they are doing.

The tension within this book is incredible as you watch Anna try go undercover and figuring out the truths and secrets all while being in danger of being discovered.

Overall I really enjoyed this story and the way it was written, I have also since looked into more of this authors books and am very excited to read more works due to the writing style, book structure and the overall story.

Another author new to me, and I loved the style of this plot! Told from dual timelines and narrators, one being Anna, an American journalist (now based in London) writing an email to her ex, Reid, explaining what she is doing and why. The other Reid, angry and not wanting to be drawn back into Anna’s life and investigations.

The reader gets a fascinating glimpse into the couple’s backstory through both Anna’s email and Reid’s thoughts.

There is a wide array of characters, however each is quite distinct and unique, so that it easy to keep up with who is who. The university group are young, intelligent, flawed and deeply troubled with habits that cause concern and suspicion. The wealthy families are depicted well entitled and self-important. The one character who stood out for me (apart from Anna and Reid) was Anna’s father, hopelessly out of his depth in parenting and displays of affection, but so desperate to learn!

Gytha Lodge has the settings depicted so accurately, that it was easy to visualise Cambridge University life amongst the elite. Contrast this with London, Metropolitan Police life and the life of newspaper journalists and you’re in for a treat.

I was suspecting everyone at various points, before being carefully guided to understanding the real mystery behind this intrigue. This story has pace, mystery, excitement and tension! A great read I would recommend.

This is a standalone thriller which will appeal to both readers of Gytha Lodge’s series and new readers alike.

The book structure stands out as one of the three narratives, is mostly in the form of a draft email which was a clever idea.

Anna is the main character of the book and the composer of the draft email which is addressed to her ex boyfriend Reid. She is a journalist who has gone undercover to investigate the death of a university student as well as dig deeper into the circumstances surrounding the death of Reid’s younger sister.

Reid and Anna’s dad Seaton are the other two POV’s in the book. When Seaton realises Anna is missing he contacts Reid who is a policeman to help find her.

An engrossing, slow burn mystery thriller that kept me captivated until the last page.

I really enjoyed this book there was so many twist and turns that I didn't see coming. I honestly thought I had it figured out and was way off the mark with the who it was!
I need to read more by this author a new favourite

Dead To Me is an original thriller in that it's very character-driven, told through the lens of a female journalist who has gone undercover, who is writing to her ex-boyfriend, a detective, after realising she needs help and that he is the only person she can trust.

With a focus on the characters and this relationship being at the centre of it all, it's quite a slow-paced read but deeply engaging. Gytha has chosen not to focus on big twists and shocking revelations, but instead the emotional elements of an investigation, including the desperation to find the truth, the fear of putting yourself at risk, and the regrets as you are forced to look back at your life.

I read one reviewer describe this book as "neat", and that's exactly how I would describe it too. Everything feels so delicately woven and tied together, and it was a real joy to read.

There may not be an explosive finale, but the mystery that runs throughout still comes to a satisfying conclusion.

If you want to read something different this summer, then this is a book you need to pick up!

I found this book super confusing - took me a while to get into it.
I'm not sure if it was the plot or Lodge's writing style.
I didn't feel attached to the characters, and the book overall just didn't do it for me, had no urge to keep reading...

I was accepted to read this book before official publication through NetGalley and below is my honest review.

I liked the premise of this book but I just found it fell flat. The first 20% I enjoyed and I had high hopes for the rest of the book but it just didn’t hit.

The chapters are quite long and the story feels quite choppy. One of the POVs is told most of the time through an email in first person whilst the other POVs are third person so it doesn’t flow as well as I hoped.

I will say though, I really liked the one of the main characters Anna as she is a badass.

The story overall was slow.

Overall, I give this book 3 stars.

Intrigued by the description, I struggled to read this. The anticipated tension and conflict was somewhat flabby at times and the email from the possibly dead Anna to ex-lover, Reid, had a deal of padding. I would have liked some crisper action and more involvement by Reid, although the broken-hearted regret was perhaps overplayed. I wanted to say 'get on with it!'
Very taken with Anna’s father though! Champagne at every opportunity – want him in my life.
It is a good, solid read, but could have been better.

Quite a long and complex novel regarding murder that is heavily disguised by so many other factors. It is full of characters many of whom have a lot to hide. A story of students, drugs, murder and May Balls.
Quite atmospheric.

Anna is a good journalist who makes her assignments particularly personal so when she is tasked with discovering more about the mysterious death of a young Cambridge University student Anna must make herself appear authentic and in doing so she puts herself in grave danger from those who will stop at nothing to prevent her from discovering the truth.

The premise of the story is an interesting one especially as it is written from the differing points of view of Anna, her father, Seaton and her ex-police detective boyfriend, Reid. Each of them have a complicated story to share and it was enjoyable trying to work out the complex relationship Anna had with both Seaton and Reid.

The pacing is slow and takes a bit of getting used to, especially the way that Anna tries to infiltrate a close friendship group. I had to try and remember who everyone was and the role they may have played in the unexplained death of a young woman who, at the height of her university career, had her life taken away in complicated circumstances. The plot picked up pace in the last third of the novel , which I thought gave it an edginess and right until the final denouement I really didn’t know who was going to be responsible.

Dead to Me is an interesting psychological thriller with enough plot twists which kept me guessing until the end.

I absolutely love Gytha Lodge, so I was so excited to receive an ARC of Dead to Me. It is amazing! It drew me in from the first page and I read it in one sitting. With so many twists and turns you don't know who to trust. A must read!

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

Anna Reid split up after Reid loses his sister. They are both grieving differently, and the relationship falls apart. Anna is then approached by an old uni student who is adamant her friend was murdered, and wants Anna to uncover the truth. Anna finds out more secrets than she expected, but also that her life is suddenly in danger.

I really enjoyed this book from this author, as I have enjoyed all of their books. This book navigates the dark side of friendships and academia, and how complex secrets can wreck lives. Anna was a brilliant character, and I spent the whole book rooting for her. Her ex, Reid, was also a great character, very honest and very true to his morals. This book was uniquely written, we read a lot of the story from the point of view of Anna, who is writing an email to Reid. There were many twists and turns throughout, and I wasn't completely sure who was the murderer until near the end.