I honestly thought that I would love this book so much. A YA murder mystery is right up my street, but I've not been having much luck with them of late. I enjoyed this one to a degree, but it wasn't groundbreaking, and it felt like it had already been done before. I'm not sure if I had read a book with the same plot at an earlier time, or if all of the YA mysteries I read are just combining into one at this stage. I am still interested in this author's previous book, and I may still give it a go, regardless of how I thought about this one.

DNF @10% I really was hoping to enjoy Murder High since I enjoyed Suddenly a Murder but I just couldn’t gel with this book and found it silly and not for me. Which is unfortunate.

Really captivating YA thriller that kept me guessing right until the end.

A murder game becomes all too real when the chosen victim actually gets killed and we follow the investigation. So many red herrings along the way and flashbacks to the past to flesh out the story. I really enjoyed this and the authors previous book Suddenly A Murder so I will definitely read their future work.

Murder High built on its phenomenal premise to deliver a tight and enthralling YA mystery with plenty of great twists and turns.

Between this and Suddenly a Murder, I would love to know what other twisted ideas Muñoz has cooking up! This has such a fantastic premise – an infamous murder mystery game at a specialist school turns deadly when the intended victim dies for real. Instantly, you have to know more and the stakes are crystal clear. After all in a criminology school, you have a pool of suspects that know all about investigations and how to undermine them. They know the theories for how to get away with murder but one of them is now putting them to the test. It is a unique spin on Dark Academia and refreshingly, the studies actually play a crucial role in the overall story.

This is such a well-plotted story with great pacing and twists and turns in store. It is enthralling and intricate, particularly in terms of the various plot strands that come into play. At the centre of it all, we follow Dulce. She is driven and intelligent with fierce passion and loyalty to boot – she is respected for her smarts but ostracised because of the events surrounding her mother’s death. This is a poignant theme throughout as Dulce grapples with grief and wanting to untangle the truth of that night. It adds a drive to her investigation as she wants to live up to her mother’s dreams. For me, this was well-handled and I loved the way it intertwined with the central plot. No spoilers here but it is a fantastic pay-off in the mystery. I really enjoyed my time in this world with these characters and I’d love a sequel or spin-off.

Murder High delivers a heartfelt YA murder mystery that does not scrimp on the twists, turns and revelations.

A deadly game, a dazzling façade, and the kind of elite pressure that turns ambition into bloodstained strategy.

Loved this book. Very good plot. Loved the characters. Im a sucker for a ya book
Thanks Netgalley for letting me read this book for an honest review

Murder High is a murder mystery that kept me reading until the very end!

I will admit it was a little slow to start but once the murder happened, I had to keep reading to know what happened.

The crime fiction lover Dulce Castillo is determined to win her schools murder mystery game but it falls through when Xavier, the student appointed to play the victim, is actually killed. Despite Dulce's differences with the prime suspect, Sierra, she puts them aside and starts investigating.

I really liked how realistic the investigating was. It would've felt unbelievable if Dulce and her friends were able to find clues and hack into records without being caught all the time so it was refreshing to see them deal with the consequences of some of their investigating.

The characters felt very real too. I loved Dulce's relationship with her friends and dad, I wish there was more of him in the story because he was such a sweet endearing character.

I was a little put off at time with some of the flashback chapters revealing why some characters had a motive for the murder, I would have preferred something different but I understood why they were included because it would have been difficult to reveal certain things a different way.

Oh and the ending made me gasp! I couldn't believe it when it was revealed who the murderer was!

Murder High is generally a great murder mystery!

Thank you Chicken House ans NetGalley for the e-arc in exchange for a free, honest review.

I loved suddenly a murder so I was ready for this! It kept me on the edge of my seat and I couldn't put it down.

Murder High is the new YA murder mystery by Lauren Munoz, the author of Suddenly a Murder. The initial set up for this story is very clever- we begin in a high school that hosts a murder mystery event every year for the criminology students. One victim pretends to die whilst people compete to solve their murder and catch the killer. This usually goes smoothly, but this year the murder is real. Working to prove her ex-best friend’s innocence, our main character Dulce has to solve the case herself.

I love how binge-able Munoz’s stories are! I, like many young girls, started reading because of YA murder mysteries like A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder. Novels like Murder High are the new version of AGGGTM for the new generation. Staring an intelligent and keen young girl, these kind of stories give readers a strong character to admire.

The plot of this book also seemed to be stronger than Suddenly a Murder. Because there isn’t a claustrophobic setting and a close set of frenemies, this novel complicates the murder mystery set up. So many people in the school could have committed the murder and, as we find out, there are many secrets to uncover at J. Everett High.

I would recommend this book to fans of Holly Jackson, Kathryn Foxfield and Karen M. McManus. If you’re an avid reader of whodunnit stories, you will love this!

Annual murder mystery turns into a real life case when the pretend victim is actually killed.

I loved the setting of this - the criminology school was so atmospheric and really set the tone. It was a twist on the ‘school’ setting and fit the vibe so well.

I also enjoyed the timeline jumps from present day to the past, this was a great was to incrementally add information to the timeline from different POVs. This made the overall mystery more intriguing as it was slowly pieced together. We had a few concurrent events happening that all converged into the main story.

This has so many twists and turns and I didn’t see that ending coming at all! I’d definitely recommend this one as a quick to read, fun YA mystery.

ARC copy provided by Hot Key Books & NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Such a charming concept and this was pulled off really well, the characters had great depth and the storyline is brilliant - I really didn't know where it was going, in the best way, and it was one of those thrillers were there were so many suspects! A genuinely very enjoyable read, very well written.

✨4 stars✨

Every year J. Everett High stages a fake murder mystery in order to test its students. This year Dulce and Emi are determined to win (as the prize is $30,000 dollars which is enough to go to England and see all the places where Lord Wimsey solved his murders in Dorothy L. Sayers’ books). The fake body is set to be Xavier Torres, yet when he is actually murdered, Dulce ends up investigating on behalf of her ex-best friend Sierra. Sierra who happens to be Xavier’s ex-girlfriend and prime suspect in the murder.

I really enjoyed this book and honestly I was kept guessing throughout. As soon as I thought one of the characters must have done it, Muñoz was able to switch it and keep me guessing.

I rated Muñoz’s first book Suddenly Murder 3 stars but I could really tell how this author’s writing had improved and the plot in this book was more engaging, so if you liked that book I think you’ll definitely enjoy this one. Furthermore, if you enjoy YA murder mystery books then you should definitely give this one a go. I look forward to reading whatever she publishes next.

I received an ARC from the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

Firstly, I’d like to say thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for gifting me a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I absolutely loved suddenly a murder by Lauren Muñoz so couldn’t wait to get stuck into this one and I also really enjoyed it!

it has a very unique set-up and plot with a very intricate mystery which overall creates a super intriguing and consuming read. I thought the initial idea of the game the school plays was such a cool idea and the way it was utilised in this plot was done very well.

there were multiple red herrings and i found myself torn between suspects and different outcomes multiple times but never once guessed what had actually happened! the twists truly shocked me and were again executed very well.

I also loved the character relationships and dynamics in this book. I feel like YA mystery/thrillers always do a good job of developing characters as well as plot and this was no different. we had a lot of depth to certain characters, with well thought-out backstories etc.

this was super fun and I had a great time reading it! I would definitely recommend!

At J Everett High there is an annual murder mystery event for the students, but when the intended games victim ends up really dead, Dulce had to decide if she will use her skills to solve what happened.

Dulces ex best friend Sierra is the main suspect given the victim was her boyfriend, Xavier. But Dulces friends, Emi and newcomer Zane, need to try and convince Dulce to put their history behind them and help Sierra out.

With twist, turns and constant guessing throughout as to who is behind it all... and also the added tragedy of Dulces mums death a few years before, I really was wanting to keep reading this one to find out more.

Out July 29th so plenty time to preorder! Thank you to NetGalley and Bonnier/Hot Key Books for the review copy, all opinions my own.

Every year a pretend case opens up for the students, but this year the murder is real!
Xander is found in a greenhouse - the exact location and posion described by the case brief given out but he is all too dead.
When her ex-best friend Sienna is accused of the murder and convicted, she must decide if it is worth putting away a grudge to put the murderer behind bars.
It was fun and enjoyable, to be honest her best friend really annoyed me but that was a me thing! It hits mystery YA (probably lower YA, in my opinion, and i think it would be great if 12+ wanted to read some mysteries because it doesn’t delve into any darker topics beyond murder).
Romance Rating: Sweet
Violence Rating: Level 3

This was a hard one for me to get into. I loved the premise, but it dragged and then got a bit confusing in the timeline and who is who. However, it is solidly written and would be a good rec for teens or people into YA and not as into Dark Academia but love light crime fic. Bonus that my former married name was Everett (or should that take away points?) :)

Firstly thankyou to NetGalley, Bonnier books uk and Lauren Munoz for approving me to receive this e-arc.

Once again, just like ‘suddenly a murder’ I couldn’t put this book down. I love a good YA mystery and this didn’t disappoint.

The story is filled with plot twists to keep you turning those pages, hoping you’ve figured out who’s done it before another twists proves you wrong. I enjoyed the fact that while Dulce and her friends were trying to solve a mystery at school she was also trying to figure out a personal mystery of her own at the same time.

For those who enjoyed A Good Girls Guide To Murder, i think you’d love this.

I really enjoyed the premise of this book and the high school which seemed like the school of my dreams! A school for those interested in mysteries? An annual game that goes wrong? Sign me up!

Beyond the central mystery, there was a really beautiful depiction of friendship breakdown between Dulce and Sierra which added a great touch to the typical murder mystery plot.

An enjoyable read though at times it could feel like it was a bit too slow and it certainly took a while before we get to the actual murder. Saying that, the finale was great!

I was a really big fan of Lauren Muñoz other book and this one didn’t let me down. I would recommend going in blind, but had all the thing twists that you want from a murder mystery.

Thank you to Bonnier Books UK and Netgalley for approving me to read this book, I’m rating it 3.5 stars.

I really enjoy YA mystery, it’s always so devoted to a good twist and a likeable detective who really follows the clues. This book had a good plot, I liked the unique school setting and I like the way there was a separate background mystery our FMC tries to piece together while she’s in the midst of a murder mystery at her school.

Highly recommend for fans of A Good Girls Guide to Murder.