The Sorority Murder

by Allison Brennan

Amy McFadden (Narrator)

• ISBN10: 1665105089
• ISBN13: 9781665105088
• Publish Date: 28 December 2021
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Mira Books
• Format: Audiobook (CD)
• Duration: 12 hours and 11 minutes
• Language: English

Reviews

[Quirky Cat]

Has anyone else been craving a new thriller? I don't know what it is about the cold, but I just can't get enough thrillers in the winter. My latest thrilling read (pun intended) was The Sorority Murder by Allison Brennan.

Podcasts are all the rage – even in novels. So when Lucas Vega comes across vital information regarding a sorority murder from years past, he knows what to do. To be fair, he did try to take the formation to the police first. They just didn't care.

So now he is taking things into his own hands. This information has to get out; it's the only way to solve this case before it grows too cold.

I'm starting to learn that I have a weakness for media revolving around true crime podcasts. The irony is that I don't even listen to true crime podcasts. Apparently, those are too real for me, but books/shows about them not so much.

Anyway, moving on. The Sorority Murder was an overall pretty interesting read. I love the choice to have Lucas Vega be a college student, as opposed to a tired and jaded criminal expert taking up the last resort. Though Lucas is ironically still going the last resort route, which feels painfully real in ways.

This mystery is one of those slow-burning stories, where so much time is set introducing us to the characters and setting the scene. Personally, I felt that all of this paid off in the end, but I can see how not everyone would love this slower-paced beginning.

Other than that, I don't really have any complaints about The Sorority Murder and would highly recommend it to any thriller/mystery/podcast lovers in the audience.

Thanks to Mira Books and #NetGalley for making this book available for review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Read more reviews over at Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks

[Nadz@Totally Addicted to Reading]

Allison Brennan is quickly becoming a favourite author of mine. Therefore, when the opportunity to read her latest novel came my way, I didn’t hesitate to pick it up. The Sorority Murder delivered an intriguing, complex and slow burn mystery which held me captive from start to finish.

The Sorority Murder introduces Lucas Vega, a student of forensic science. He started a podcast, intending to garner more information regarding the three-year-old murder of nursing student Candace Swain. She was found murdered after mysteriously disappearing a week before  said murder.

On the recommendation of his college advisor, Lucas teams up with former US Marshall Reagan Merritt. With Reagan’s help and expertise, new information came to light and more clues revealed. Soon danger comes knocking as someone is determined to stop the truth from coming to light.

Lucas and Regan made a great investigative team. The concept of using a podcast in solving a cold case intrigued me. Not everyone was on board with the podcast as it opened up old wounds. Despite this, it proved to be an excellent concept as it propelled persons with information to come forward.


Although it didn’t take long to figure out the identity of the villain, putting down the book proved a challenge. Learning about the events leading up to the murder and the motive of the villain drew me in.

I liked how the author portrayed Lucas and Regan. Her portrayal made it easy to understand their motivations and relate to their pain.. Despite dealing with personal tragedies, Regan’s confidence and strength shined throughout the story. Lucas was like a dog with a bone. Even with the threat  of danger, he was determined to uncover the truth. However, in doing so, he ruffled some feathers. I have to admit; I didn’t like the fact he hid the true motive behind the podcast. He had a personal stake in finding the truth, however, he failed to inform Regan of this fact.



Narration

I enjoyed Amy McFadden’s narration. I would listen to anything she narrates. She brought each of the characters to life and her tone for each was distinct. Her narration enhanced my enjoyment of the story.

Conclusion/Recommendation

If you are looking for an engaging mystery, then The Sorority Murder will be a great addition to your reading list. 

[Jeff Sexton]

Solid Mystery That Could Have Used Better Pacing. Reading through the other Goodreads reviews on this one, a common complaint is the pacing and bloat of this book - and I tend to agree, to a point. There was in fact a lot of going over the same facts of the case, and that probably added a solid 20 pages to the length of this book just in that fact alone. But it wasn't something that I particularly noticed while reading, and indeed while reading I thought this was a truly solid use of an emerging technique to solve cold cases. And while the body count may seem a bit high for a town with less than 80K (real-world) people, a quick Google shows that it actually isn't outside the realm of reality, even this Millenium (when until recently, violent crime was plummeting across the nation). It does in fact read a bit as a setup for a potential series with our former US Marshal investigator here, and it could actually be an interesting series if that is the case. Overall an interesting and compelling mystery that will keep you guessing until it wants to reveal it secrets - and then transitions into a bit more of an action/ suspense tale to finish up the case. Very much recommended.