DNF I couldn’t get into this at all. Didn’t either main character 3 s3 comments ReadingwithCaz 132 23

I did not see this coming. A brilliant whodunnit murder mystery with a little sapphic twist.

I received an advance copy from Netgalley and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Lyla is broken. She watched her twin sister Dalia drown in the waves of Lake Erie, unable to prevent her death. To escape her new reality she accepts a nannying job at the island of her very rich great aunt and the rest of the family Payne. She will be babysitting little Rock while his mom, her cousin, Charlotte is away for college. Once on the island the past keeps haunting her. The households manager Ms. Eldonforth runs a tight ship, until at the first family dinner in the island, great aunt Chrystal Payne is murdered. Lyla and her cousins are lost at what to do. Who had it out for Mrs. Payne and will they come after them next? Atop of it all, Lyla has a few secrets of her own that are threatening to bubble up to the surface.

I’m not one to gravitate towards murder mysteries, but I am so glad I got the opportunity to read this one. Seen as I am no expert on the subject, I must go with my own feelings and boy, did this story enrapture me. The Payne’s are one messed up family with a lot of skeletons in their closet. One after another is revealed and the plot keeps thickening. As a reader I was kept in the dark for a deliciously long time.

The story is told from Lyla’s point of view and it’s a very intimate way to live in her head that. You know something doesn’t add up, but it’s so well done you keep being thrown into the wrong direction.

I won’t reveal more about the story, where’s the fun in that, right? But take it from me, read this! Even if you’re not a murder mystery lover, me, read it, it is so good!!

1 Sue Plant1,858 20

would to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

lylas twin sister had died... she had drowned even though layla had tried to save her

now she was about to spend some time with her extended family looking after rock whilst his mom charlotte went to uni to finish her course...

and layla was dreading it.... she was no good with rules and this was going to be full of them....

but on her first night at the family dinner the matriarch of the family died right in front of their eyes.... and it wasnt a normal death.... oh no she was poisoned....

and everyone was a suspect....

not a bad storyline kept me guessing right to the end whodunnit....1 Aleana630 18

Lyla is still grieving her twin sister while blaming herself when she comes to Great Lake Island to be a nanny to her five year old cousin Rob hoping to help her heal. While there having family dinner which was becoming intense the head of family Crystal drop dead and everyone becomes a suspect as Lyla tries to uncover the secrets in her family she has to overcome her own before she becomes the next victim. Enjoyable read about loss, resilience and what shapes us into who we are.

I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and voluntarily leaving my review.1 Ashley Gillan635 10

After Lyla’s twin sister died in a freak drowning accident in Lake Erie, she feels lost. So, in an attempt at finding some stability, she decides to take her sister’s old job as a nanny for some distant relatives on their private island near Sandusky, Ohio. But things go sideways quickly when the families domineering matriarch drops dead at the dinner table. With only a limited number of people on the island, everyone is a suspect. And Lyla can’t trust anyone she’s trapped there with, including herself….

I was really hooked from the beginning of this story because we’re really dropped in the middle of the action. Lyla is arriving at the island as the book opens, so to say that things develop quickly is an understatement. And they don’t slow down from there. We really just start meeting the characters and the action kicks in immediately. As I said, I was hooked.

And it didn’t take long for the main mystery to develop and suspects to emerge. But then, some aspects of the “twists”/ending became pretty apparent. It was fairly obvious. But there were still some surprises left in the ending that made it worth sticking around for. I didn’t guess everything, not by a long shot, and I’m glad I didn’t skim or anything thinking I had it all figured out!

This book has some Agatha Christie-type vibes, paired with some good thriller elements that make it well worth reading for fans of the genre.

I recommend it to anyone looking for a quick summer mystery. Alex250 6

I received an ARC through NetGalley from the publisher.

This book is tough to rate. I enjoyed most of it, then part of the ending kind of ruined it for me and dragged it down at least a full star. But let's go chronologically and talk about the things I enjoyed first.

And Then There Was One is both a murder mystery and an LGBT romantic mystery (not clear whether bisexual or lesbian). Lyla is the poor cousin of one of the richest families around, who is working as a nanny on their private little island when the family matriarch is murdered. I especially d Lyla's perspective because she is part of the family and an outsider at the same time. And this family has enough secrets to fill an island.

I enjoyed the characters, who all felt their own real people, and I especially d the little ocean-obsessed great-grandson, Rock. I d that the matriarch dying actually came with relief for the adult grandchildren, because they could finally figure out how to live their own lives without the toxic pressure.

And then there was that twist at the end. It was a secondary twist that didn't really affect the main plot, so I feel it didn't add anything to the story except being the biggest cliché that happens in every book with this topic. So it kind of soured the book for me, especially because I actually found the main plot interesting, so this just felt unnecessary. Kaye3,657 52

Intriguing mystery. Llya Smith is 18 and comes to a remote Great Lake island to be a nanny to the five year old child of her cousin. She is still grieving the loss of her twin sister, for which she blames herself. The Payne side of the family is very wealthy with their grandmother (Llya’s great aunt) ruling the family and its business. There are only seven on the island for a family dinner when the matriarch mysteriously dies. Police are investigating everyone.

Lyla is the narrator and stumbles upon secrets from the past. The story has good twists and turns, the biggest I suspected fairly early. I was genuinely surprised that there isn’t more finger pointing about a possible killer by the family. I mysteries and zipped through this one quickly.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for the ARC and I am leaving a voluntary review.lgbtqia mystery netgalley ...more3 s Jamie 117

A really good sapphic mystery thriller!

As I was reading this book I found myself forgetting the main protagonist wars a teenager. She seemed wise for her years.
The story was intriguing and kept me entertained throughout. I found the characters likable, especially Rob, the 5 year old cousin of Llyla Smith. Llyla is grieving from the death of her identical twin sister and takes a job being a nanny to Rob on the family estate on Great Lake Island. When her Great Aunt and matriarch of the family mysteriously dies during dinner, everyone is shocked. The investigation into her aunt’s death begins and Llya decides to stay on to care for Rob. No one knows that Llya is carrying a secret of her own.
Lots of mystery to keep the reader guessing and a couple of twists to surprise you.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for the arc. I leave this review voluntarily. Michelle Parker44 2

Thank you to NetGalley, author Michele Castleman and publisher Bold Strokes books for the ARC and opportunity to review this book.

While I found this book to be more so geared to the Young Adult fiction it was very well written. The characters were realistic and the storyline was intriguing and somewhat suspenseful.

While I figured out the twist early on, it was still a page turner to see how it would all play out.

The writing style was easy to read and will keep readers attention from the beginning to the end.

This was my first book from this author and I would recommend this book to those looking for a fast paced young adult read.

4???????? MG125

This one was a bit of a mixed bag for me. There were a lot of things I d. It's fast-paced and atmospheric. The mystery was intriguing, though I did see the big twist coming.

The ending was where it lost me a bit. There was a lot of build up and there were a lot of things going on. It just didn't come together as much as I would've d it to.

That said, I did enjoy the book all in all though. It's definitely a moody, twisty kind of read.

I read an ARC of this book from NetGalley. All comments are my own.netgalley Michael Wells794 3

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