I throughly enjoyed reading this. I loved all the characters, the plot was so cleverly done especially with the twists and turns. I also really like the friendships that were formed. It definitely was an exit stage death!

When I was teaching, I very often felt as though I were putting on a performance. Although each lesson was driven by a plan, much of what I would say would be improvised in response to my audience of learners, where there might be a few fans and hecklers thrown into the mix, and when the curtain came down, I would go away to examine how I could improve and what went well. While I was always happy standing up in front of a class of primary school-aged children, the prospect of being an actor and standing on a stage is one that I would find terrifying but there are those who feel compelled to perform and who attend classes or clubs to hone their craft. In this new YA thriller from author Ava Eldred, we join protagonist Livi and a group of other teenagers at a summer camp that they hope will be a steppingstone in launching their careers as future stars only for things to go wrong when there is a murder which they reluctantly find themselves investigating. Our story opens as the coach carrying Livi and some of the other students heads towards Camp Chance. Reflecting on the loss of last year’s older students, Livi is distracted when old-hand Louis tells her that this year they are to be joined by two celebrities – son of Hollywood royalty Aaron Wilson and vlogger Juliet Stone – which Livi takes as a prompt to work harder than ever to gain one of the lead roles in what will be her final end-of-camp performance. After being greeted by Head Counsellor Celestia, Livi and the others listen to the welcome speech before she heads to her cabin to unpack, where she meets newbie Daisy and the pair of them chat briefly before Juliet arrives to complete the trio that will be sleeping there. Leaving the cabin to join the other attendees who are partying in the woods, Livi chats with old friend Sam and the pair of them arrange to meet up after the gathering has finished to rehearse, with a view to them both acing the camp’s classes. Following camp tradition, Sam arranges a secret party for the following night, but the next morning it’s clear that one of the girls from the camp, Chloe, is missing and after deciding to search for her, Livi, Sam, Daisy, Juliet and Aaron come across her body at the site’s lake. All thoughts of Chloe’s death being a tragic accident are put aside when Livi discovers a note close by claiming to be from the killer, telling the group to tell no one and that they must solve the murder or one of them will be next. As Livi and the others search for clues as to what has happened, rehearsals continue, and they soon find themselves trying both to play detective and land their dream roles. But with a killer on the loose and very little to go on, will all five of them make it to the end of camp performance or will the murderer steal the show? Many teenagers will be familiar with being pushed in a certain direction by their adults and here, Livi is attending her final camp, with her parents hoping that this will get performing out of her system and she will then pursue an alternative career that they feel is more suitable. Determined from the off to gain the female lead in the end-of-camp performance to prove that her destiny is most definitely to be on the stage, Livi goes all out to do all she can to boost her chances and – like those around her – isn’t going to let the small matter of the death of a fellow student put her off. As a result, what could otherwise have been a very dark thriller is in fact a light-hearted read as we try to keep track of the action to enable us to work out just who the killer is. Perfect for teen readers who enjoy a murder story but don’t want one that is overly gory or violent, this is great fun and a book that I very much enjoyed.

I am incredibly grateful to both NetGalley and Fox & Ink Books for the opportunity to read and review Exit Stage Death. Being selected to explore this captivating story before its official release has been such a treat, and I can’t wait to share my thoughts on it with all of you. A huge thank you to the teams at NetGalley and Fox & Ink Books for their generosity and for making this advanced reading experience possible. Let me just start this review by saying that I am a HUGE theatre kid (well, adult… but still, you never really stop being a theatre kid just because you technically aged out) and I am also a massive crime junkie so this book was the literal book of my dreams. Exit Stage Death is a completely unputdownable book. I loved each and every page of it and even when it neared the end, I didn’t want it to be over. This was a book I just wanted to keep reading forever. I really hope that Ava Eldred writes more books in the future. The characters were relatable, the plot was THICK, there’s twists, turns and revelations throughout. I just loved it. I don’t have a single point of criticism to give, this for me was a perfect book. I’m not one to toot my own horn but I sussed it all out before the end of the book, and let me tell you… the author didn’t make that easy! Exit Stage Death is easily one of the best books I’ve read this year.

This murder mystery is just perfect for fans of the murder mystery genre who have a love of musicals too. The musical references all felt like little inside jokes and love notes to the industry. The murder mystery itself was layered and kept me guessing right to the end! I was holding my breath in certain parts as new suspects revealed themselves. What I love most about Ava Eldred's writing is she writes real, flawed characters - some likeable, some not so likeable. I loved it.

I thoroughly enjoyed this, anything involving musicals and the stage will grab my attention. I loved the set up, with different POVs, ‘scripts’ and musical references, this is really bingeworthy. The characters were all interesting and I loved how some were linked through previous camps. Livi was my favourite character, I’d love to read more on her in the future. This had the perfect mix of mystery, friendships, romance and secrets. I thought I had it all figured out, but I was so wrong