This Book Kills
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“At once fun, twisty and insightful, This Book Kills is a gripping murder mystery that will keep you on the edge of your seat.” Adiba Jaigirdar, YA Book Prize winning author of Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating
There’s a murderer on the loose in an elite boarding school… But who is going to be next? This Book Kills is the YA thriller of 2023, perfect for fans of Holly Jackson and Karen McManus.
“I’ll make it clear from the start: I did not kill Hugh Henry Van Boren. I didn’t even help. Well, not intentionally.”
When Hugh Henry Van Boren, one of the most popular and richest kids in Jess Choudhary’s school, is found dead, the student body is left reeling and wondering who the murderer could be… Jess, a student under strict instructions to keep her record clean or risk losing her scholarship, finds herself at the centre of the investigation when it’s revealed that Hugh died in the exact same way as a character in a short story she wrote.
And then Jess receives an anonymous text thanking her for the inspiration.
With time running out, Jess knows if she doesn’t solve this mystery she’ll finally have something in common with Hugh Henry.
She’ll be dead too.
Latest reviews
A story set in a posh private school where the main character feels out of place - and that is even before a gruesome murder happens. Jess starts to understand that everybody has their secrets and many things are not what they seem to be...
Excellent upper middle grade dark academia murder mystery. Set in a boarding school, our main character Jess Choudhary is working hard to keep her head down and prove herself worthy of her scholarship. In her Gifted and Talented class, she co-authors a short story about a murder. But then, a student is murdered and her story seems to mirror the details of the murder. Can Jess prove she is beyond suspicion, and persuade the governors not to force her off the scholarship program?
I loved this book because it brought me into a new genre of books ' murder mysteries . ' I used to primarily enjoy diaries and comedy books however this left me on the edge of my seat and kept me guessing. Such an amazing book! I would highly recommend this to anybody, whether they like murder mysteries already or are looking for a new genre to dive into.
This book is really interesting because it gives very mysterious thoughts and suspicions about the different characters and makes us think who is the killer in the story and who will die next.
Loved the story, the characters were believable. I fell for the red herring and was sure the murderer was someone who it was not. The book certainly keeps you reading to the end I was desperate to find out who the murderer was. Jess was a very convincing character worried about her place in school and concerned her mum would have made the sacrifices in vain to fund her place. I would really recommend this book to Y9+
I read the paperback edition of this novel. It was a twisty murder mystery that kept me guessing.
This book gripped me instantly, from the moment I saw the title. It is set in a boarding school and the protagonist (Jess) writes a wacky murder story for one of her classes. When a murder happens at her school, Jess is shocked to find out that it happened in the same way she wrote in her story. She is confused at first but then channels her curiosity into a investigation. As a reader, I enjoyed playing detective with her as there were some unexpected twists along the way (especially the outcome)! I would definitely recommend.
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