Suddenly a Murder

With everyone going off to college, Kassidy wants to make an ever-lasting memory before they all part ways. So, she gathers everyone for an all expenses paid 1920s getaway at Ashwood Manor. Along with Kassidy, there's her best friend Izzy, her boyfriend Blaine, and four other friends from school. Kassidy is living her dream with no phones and a true 1920s feel. But what's more accurate for this time period than adding a murder mystery to the party? While everyone is in their rooms getting ready for bed, Blaine is murdered. Stabbed with a knife.

Most of the story is told from Izzy's POV, but we do get some flashbacks from encounters the other characters have had with Blaine. Everyone has a motive and it's understandable why Blaine is dead, but it leaves the question of who did it? It seems like most of them are better off without Blaine, but murder is still murder. Investigators are called in and morals are put to the test as they try to track down the real killer.

SUDDENLY A MURDER is a 1920s murder mystery full of suspense and teenage angst. It's very intriguing reading the book from the murderer's POV. It threw me off and still left me guessing throughout the entire book. All of the characters suffer from their own problems and secrets that they attempt to hold close to their hearts. But there's nothing like death to bring the worst out of people and we get to witness it firsthand. And that ending... I don't even have the words.


Final Verdict: I would recommend this to teens aged 14 and older who enjoy mysteries and time period pieces because for a moment, the author takes us back to the 1920s. This is a unique murder story since we get the killer's POV and I wouldn't mind more like this.

The Prologue threw me off track for several chapters. I was surprised that I would know who the killer was and see a story from their perspective in a murder mystery book. Then once we get to meet the cast of characters and realize they all had motives and several interactions could have led to the murder I had to put my sleuthing skills to work.
I love the premise that seven recent grads from a rich prep school use their money and connections to live out Kassidy’s dreams of living in the 1920s just like her favorite movie. The setting was perfect for this drama. To live out their fantasy and stay true to the 1920s theme the friends go to a remote island to live in a historical house and leave all modern technology behind for a week. Then when one of them winds up dead there is no place to escape and the media cannot intrude on them as the guilt rises and they move inexorably to uncovering the murderer.
Every interaction is spot-on and carefully crafted to make this a gripping believable thriller. It also leads to morally gray thinking. Murder is a crime but isn’t everyone better off with the victim dead? I am not sure I blame the person responsible which proves what a great story Lauren Muñoz has created.