Most Likely to Murder

by Lish McBride

Yearbook superlatives turn deadly in this darkly funny young adult thriller.

The rumor mill has never been kind to Meadowvale High seniors and best friends Rick and Martina, labeling them outcasts (sure), stoners (no comment), and pranksters (okay, this one’s fair). But for the most part, they have successfully flown under the radar.

That is, until they’re targeted in a prank that replaces yearbook superlatives with grisly forecasts of student and faculty deaths. Sure, Rick and Martina were never going to be voted Most Likely to Succeed . . . but Homecoming’s Cutest Corpses? Thanks for the cute, no thanks on the corpse.

At first, the senior class is annoyed by the prank. But when the body of Mr. Stephens, Most Likely to Sleep with the Fishes, is dredged from the bottom of a lake, suspicions arise that something truly sinister is going on. And as more people turn up dead in the exact ways the yearbook promised, it becomes clear someone’s killing off the student body one page at a time.

Now Rick and Martina must find the yearbook killer before their vicious superlative comes true. So much for surviving high school without drawing attention. Now Rick and Martina just want to survive.

For fans of Holly Jackson, Karen M. McManus, and Danielle Valentine!

Genres: Young Adult, Thriller, Mystery, Horror, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, High School

313 pages, Paperback

First published March 24, 2026

About the author

Lish McBride is the author of funny and creepy Young Adult books such as Hold Me Closer, Necromancer; Necromancing the Stone; Firebug; and Pyromantic. She has published short stories in the Normal School, Tor.com, and the anthologies Cornered, What to Read in the Rain, Freaks & Other Family, and Kisses & Curses. She got her BFA in creative writing from Seattle University and her MFA from University of New Orleans. Lish is also currently a bookseller and event host at Third Place Books, a giant thriving indie bookstore just outside of Seattle. Her first book, Hold Me Closer, Necromancer, was an ALA Best Book for Young Adults title, Morris Award finalist, and won the Scandiuzzi Children’s Book Award. While she has no long term goals for world domination, she would like her own castle.


http://us.macmillan.com/author/lishmc...

Reviews

[Sharon Anastasya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Murder mystery with a side of sass? Absolutely yes. This book had me grinning one moment and trying to piece together clues the next. The characters are delightfully quirky, the dialogue is snappy, and the mystery keeps you guessing without ever feeling too heavy or dark.

It’s fast-paced, funny, and full of charm, the kind of story that makes you want to keep flipping pages just to see what ridiculous or shocking thing will happen next. Perfect if you like your mysteries with plenty of humor and personality mixed in.

[anovelaccount (Kayla) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️ rounded up

This was such a fun thriller! I loved the concept of deadly yearbook superlatives as a foreshadowing tool by the k*ller, and I will say it kept me anxious the whole book long 🤣

While I actually think I would have liked a bit more of the teen detective work actually, the romance between Rick and Nika was so sweet and felt very, very authentic to high school crushes or love. I enjoyed them figuring their relationship out in the midst of everything going on, I just would have liked more of the friend group trying to solve the crimes.

The deaths of the victims are creative and very well written. I really liked the shift in perspective during these scenes, and I found that I actually got a little creeped out, especially for one of them. They gave slasher movie vibes without being gratuitously violent, which is the perfect balance for my sensitive self. 🙃

I actually did guess the k*ller, but to be fair I thought it was a long shot to be this person. My biggest issue with this book is that I thought the motive behind the k*ller’s actions was weak at best. I understand the rage, but not why everything was done how it was…which was ultimately what I was excited to find out.

But if you like AGGGTM or One of Us is Lying, pick this one up! It has similar vibes and is a solid YA thriller!

[Stacee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm always down for a Lish book, but there's no way I was going to miss this one.

I really liked this group of friends. They're supportive, snarky, and smart. Rick and Martina are delightful BFFs. I really enjoyed reading them as they navigate high school and find a way to stay alive.

Plot wise, it's fun. It's part murder mystery, part teenage drama. I don't want to give spoilers because it should definitely unfold the way Lish planned it.

Overall, this is probably my favorite Lish book and I can't wait to see what she's going to do next.

**Huge thanks to the publisher for providing the arc free of charge**

[MissAllieReads · Rating 2 out of 5]

”The days ticked on. Things went back to normal. The fear, the horror of it all, started to ebb away. No one can stay on alert forever.”

I had difficulties reading and I usually enjoy books like this. I loved the characters but had a hard time connecting with them.

I was invested to figure out who could the killer be.
Did I know who the killer was? No, but it also wasn’t surprising because I expected it to kinda relate towards that ending.

Thank you to Lish McBride, Penguin Young Readers Group and NetGalley for the chance to read and review this e-arc in exchange for an honest review! All thoughts and opinions remain my own.

[Sue Miz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think something is wrong with me because why did I enjoy the death scenes of teenagers????



seriously! Those chapters were the best thing about the book, and I wanted all the characters to die so I could read the masterful writing the author has described their moment of death.

So thank you to Netgalley, the author Lish McBride, and the publication company for this eARC.

I also think that one more tag should be added, which is romance, cause the cute courting between Rick and Nika is what I wish to read in every YA Romance, even though this is a crime thriller

So imagine this:
You get your yearbook, but instead of the "most likely to get famous" or "most likely to get married first", you see a death sentence under your name: "most likely to sleep with the fishes"
Then, people are murdered according to their "most likely..." and the yearbook becomes a murder list.
Who is doing this? why are they targeting these teenagers?

⚜ rating 🌟🌟🌟🌟
⚜Genre: Thriller
⚜Theme: YA Romantic Crime Thriller
⚜Targeted audience: 15+
⚜Characters: Rick - Martina - Nika - the yearbook club
⚜Representation: LGBTQ+, Mental Disorder, POC
⚜ driven: Plot driven
⚜Pace: Medium
⚜TW: child abandonment, mental abuse, violence, murder
⚜ POV: multiple third person, mostly Rick
⚜standalone: yes
⚜Ending: resolved (but that epilogue is something else)
⚜Book read: eARC

What I liked

The mystery stays until the big reveal. There are no clear clues given as to who is committing the crimes
The tight friendship relationship between Rick and Martina is a breath of fresh air. I love seeing platonic friendship in books.
The side romance between Rick and Nika was so cute
The juxtaposition of the parent figures
The masterful chapters of the death scenes were truly interesting.

What I didn't like

The lack of clues: usually in thrillers, when the big reveal happens, you go "oh I should have seen this coming because of this and that". We do not get that here.

As much as I loved the romance, I thought it overshadowed the main theme of the thriller

It was still a very enjoyable read

[luisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you so much to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons for this ARC!

The cover and the premise are very Karen M. McManus. That made me want to read it immediately. And I'm so glad I did! If you're a fan of One of Us is Lying and McManus' other books, pick this up immediately!

The story is fast-paced, funny and interesting. The premise is really good, kudos to Lish McBride's son for thinking of it lol. The writing is good, easy, and kept me hooked. Rick and Martina's friendship is adorable and so so special. I'm obsessed with how they're always so casually affectionate with each other; they're always touching and I feel like it's really important to showcase that physical touch can be platonic and can be such an important part of friendship. They ground each other, they push each other forward, they keep each other sane. Their friendship (and their families' friendship!) is definitely a high point of the story. The romance is also on point, super sweet and genuine, but the friendship!!!

One thing that really made me chuckle was how in the loop the adults were! They always know what's going on, even if it's scary and creepy. It's a big change from whatever else I've seen of the genre (YA mystery); usually the kids always do everything they can so the adults won't know anything about what they have going on. Also, the way the scenes roll out... everything is so cinematic! It plays out the way an episode of Criminal Minds or Bones would go lol, it was a nice touch! And Rick's dreams are so creepy, so vivid, so interesting and well written.

I did guess the next targets, like, who would be next on the hit list, but I don't see it as a bad thing. Honestly, it was really fun like "There it is! Called it!". The big, final reveal though... I had absolutely no idea, it took me completely by surprise. And it made sense, like... I had a suspect in mind, but it seemed too obvious, then turns out I was wrong, but not really.

One thing that did bother me was how little we get of Martina's voice. The POV is mostly always Rick... because there are other POVs here and there, and because of how close they are, I expected Martina to have as many as Rick had. Unfortunately, that is not the case. However, Rick is a good main character and it's really interesting to be inside his head. He's so oblivious, and he loves Martina and his family so much. That said, I wish Martina was more of a main character. Also, one of Martina's POVs (finally! I thought) near the end is... underwhelming (oh, no! I thought). Things are starting to Happen with a capital H, and I expected some deep, on-the-edge-of-my-seat tension, however, things felt a bit flat... even the romantic parts don't feel as deep as Rick's, for example. It feels rushed. His scenes, the creepy ones and the romantic ones, are intense! But Martina's just isn't the same. I feel like there was space and opportunity to delve into her more that's kind of wasted. Made me a bit sad because she is very interesting and sweet.

The ending is chilling. I had a huge smile on my face and then... oh no. Damn. Very Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen M. McManus. If you've read it, you'll know. I'll definitely be reading more of this author.

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Most Likely to Murder has a premise I should’ve absolutely devoured, a prank yearbook filled with gruesome, fake superlatives that suddenly start coming true, leaving seniors and teachers dying in the exact ways their “awards” predicted. Rick and Martina, longtime best friends, outcasts and occasional pranksters themselves, get pulled into the chaos when the first body turns up. What starts as a joke quickly becomes a kill list and the two of them have to figure out who’s behind it before their own deadly superlatives catch up with them.
It’s clever, it’s darkly funny and it has all the elements for a twisty YA mystery. But despite that setup, the story dragged for me. Scenes felt longer than they needed to be and instead of building tension, the pacing kept losing it. I normally inhale books like this, so it was disappointing to feel myself slogging through chapters that should’ve been sharp and suspenseful.
And the reveal… I really struggled with it. A good mystery twist should feel surprising and inevitable once you see the full picture. Instead, the killer here felt like they came out of nowhere, not in a satisfying “wow, I missed the clues” way but in a “wait, how does that make sense?” way. It didn’t feel connected to the emotional threads or the character dynamics that the book spent so much time on. Honestly, I would’ve loved a more impactful twist, something involving Nika, or even one of the other kids caught up in the mess. That would’ve landed harder and made the whole story feel more cohesive.
The concept is fantastic, and there are definitely moments that shine but overall, the execution didn’t quite match the promise. I’m bummed because this should’ve been exactly my kind of book and instead it left me more frustrated than thrilled. Be a judge for yourself, though, when Most Likely to Murder is released March 24, 2026.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for the e‑ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[♡Heather✩Brown♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

#ad much love for my finished copy @penguinteen + @storygramtours #partner

🅼🅾🆂🆃 🅻🅸🅺🅴🅻🆈 🆃🅾 🅼🆄🆁🅳🅴🆁
< @lishmcbride >
ʏᴀ | ᴛʜʀɪʟʟᴇʀ

It’s all fun and games until people start turning up dead, in this unputdownable thriller by Lish McBride - Most Likely to Murder

I had so much fun reading this one! If you like thriller reads that also have a pinch of humor, then this is the book for you. And while the pacing is a little more slower-paced, it doesn’t take away from the thrill you’ll feel while reading it.

It’s school superlatives gone all the way wrong. (𝑆𝑤𝑖𝑝𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑒𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑀𝑜𝑠𝑡 𝐿𝑖𝑘𝑒𝑙𝑦 𝑙𝑖𝑠𝑡 —>) I really enjoyed this one and getting to know these characters - they read like a cast straight out of kids you went to high school with. But the murder/mystery was also fun too.

I also enjoyed the writing. McBride crafts a story you’ll never want to end. This would make an excellent movie or limited series - seriously!

✨
🔪 𝙵𝚘𝚛 𝚏𝚊𝚗𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝙷𝚘𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝙹𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚜𝚘𝚗, 𝙺𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚗 𝙼. 𝙼𝚌𝙼𝚊𝚗𝚞𝚜, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙳𝚊𝚗𝚒𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚎 𝚅𝚊𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚎
📸 𝙳𝚘𝚎𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚢𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚜𝚞𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚜 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝙾𝚗𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚄𝚜 𝙸𝚜 𝙻𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚍𝚒𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚍𝚎𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗
🩷 𝙵𝚞𝚗𝚗𝚢 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝙷𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚂𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚖 𝚏𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚏𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚙 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝙱𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚔𝚏𝚊𝚜𝚝 𝙲𝚕𝚞𝚋
✨

👆🏻 All of these are true!

[tiana ♡]

pre-read notes:

I got the ARC for this book! 🩵 excited to see what this mystery/thriller has to offer 👀💫
As always, manifesting a good book! ✨ it’ll be my first book by this author 🌤️

[Fizah(Books tales by me) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actual Rating 3.5
Thanks to the G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers and Penguin Teens for this early copy

Most Likely to Murder is marketed as a darkly kinda funny YA thriller.  Rick and Martina are best friends and outcasts at school. They have a story of pranking (sometimes taking it that far). So when the senior yearbook gets hacked, the usual superlatives are replaced with creepy death predictions. Naturally, Rick and Martina were initially the prime suspects in the students' eyes, at least until those predictions started to come true.

The story is fresh, and teenage chaos was fun to read. I loved the added touch of family involvement, which made the characters feel grounded and real. Dynamics among all characters, both adults and teenagers, were so natural and fun to read. I rarely say this, but the character development carried this book rather than the story. Rick and Martina’s friendship stood out to me, full of sarcasm, loyalty, and care. Their banter made even a dark situation better. Rick and Nika's romance was slow-burning (One in YA books is so rare nowadays), and they were awkward, which made them teenagers and real.

The story seemed like just going on without much development, then everything started to happen at the end. Killer was entirely unpredictable, which, surprisingly, wasn't a positive thing here. The killer’s motive didn’t completely click for me. I wanted proper reasons and clues throughout the book to make sense of it. The suspense builds nicely, but toward a lackluster ending.

Overall, I'd recommend it if you like teen drama with some mystery.

[Corinne’s Chapter Chatter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had not come back and edited my review!! I ended up consuming the audio and it was a great example of the format making all the difference!

I ended up enjoying this so much more the second time! The twists and turns, the side romance, the investigation, high school quirkiness and so much more! I can see why so many enjoyed this one as I was sucked in from start to finish.

Andrew Eiden did a fabulous job with the narration. I actually prefer him with his thrillers even though I love his romance narrations. His voice was perfect for this and added to my experience.

I thought it was so well written and plotted. It just took the write format for me to unlock it!

** Ask and you shall receive! Yesterday when I wrote the review there was no audiobook.. today, guess what popped up!! So here I go, take two! It’s already starting off well as Andrew Eiden aka Teddy Hamilton is the narrator!

I’ll
Come back to update but definitely liked it a lot better on audio!!
Arrggh! Why can’t I connect with this book?!

This is exactly the kind of story I should have devoured, and yet… I just couldn’t get there. I’ve been sitting here trying to figure out what didn’t click, and the frustrating part is that I genuinely don’t have a clear answer.

I actually started this book back in November. November! It took me three months of picking away at it before finally finishing—and if you know me, you know that’s wild considering I regularly read two books a day. That alone tells you something just wasn’t working for me.

The strange part? It’s well written. I can absolutely see why so many early readers are loving it, and honestly I want to be one of those readers. All the ingredients are there… but for whatever reason the connection just never happened for me. Can you feel my frustration?

I’m really hoping the audiobook becomes available before publication because I’d happily give this another shot. An immersion read sometimes makes all the difference, and I’d love the chance to revisit it and see if the story finally clicks the second time around.

I am thankful to have received a complimentary eARC from Penguin for Young Readers via NetGalley, which gave me the opportunity to share my voluntary thoughts.

[Rebeccah Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

All opinions are my own! Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin, and G.P. Putnam’s Sons for the ARC!

Martina and Rick are in no way popular; the best friends have managed to skate through school mostly under the radar. They are, however, known for their pranks. So when someone messes with the yearbook, all eyes go to them.

Certain yearbook superlatives have been changed, now foretelling the ways certain classmates will die. “Most Likely to Die Poisoned by School Spirit”, “Head-less of the Class”. The best friends swear they had nothing to do with it. Especially when they see they were chosen as “Homecoming’s Cutest Corpses”.

What seemed like a joke becomes all too real when the singular staff member nominated dies in the same way the yearbook stated (“Most Likely to Sleep with the Fishes”).

Rick and Martina (along with their fellow nominees) are determined to find the identity of the killer and keep everyone alive. But as the other students start dying in the ways it was written, they find themselves racing against the clock to prevent their own superlative from coming true. Suddenly, surviving high school just got ten times harder.

I enjoyed this book a lot! The blurb does suggest that fans of Karen M. McManus would enjoy this, and I agree! It was a fun thriller that definitely gave me similar energy to a few of McManus’ books!

The yearbook being the catalyst and set up was unique, and I actually quite enjoyed it. It’s something we see in many a YA novel, but being used in a sinister way was definitely a nice choice!

I really loved the way Rick and Martina were written, though I’ll admit I would have rather had a dual POV than just having Rick.

They do feature chapters that give a third person “fly on the wall” perspective of the victims as they meet their ends, which I also enjoyed a lot. It was very fun to determine how, exactly, the superlatives would be used in certain cases, as some of them were a bit broader than others.

I loved the adults in this novel too! In many YA thrillers, the adults are not very helpful or basically absent, but not in this one! I loved that especially Rick and Martina’s families played such significant roles and did their best to help as much as they could.

I will say the twist at the end absolutely floored me, and I was definitely not expecting it! It was a really great twist, and McBride did a great job of not giving it away, and allowing the twist to be a complete surprise.

Did I enjoy this book? Yes. Do I recommend it to anyone who loves a YA thriller? Definitely.

[Sarah - All The Book Blog Names Are Taken · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to love this one because I absolutely positively was obsessed with Red in Tooth and Claw and it’s one of my most favorite YA books ever.

Unfortunately, this one didn’t grab me like that one did. The beginning was so slow and I feel like the main characters were meh. Once the murders started happening, things picked up, but overall it ended up feeling kind of rushed at the end and there were no clues about who the murderer was so the ending seems to come out of left field.

[Meredith · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC review
4.25 stars

Rick and Martina, best friends and united social outcasts in high school are just trying to get by. But when the late yearbooks for the previous year finally arrive and contain threatening superlatives (Most Likely to Swim with the Fishes!), they’re thrust into the spotlight. Not only are they suspected of the “prank”, they’re listed as slated to die at Homecoming. Now they’re forced out of their comfort zone and into teaming up with the other students who are on the list.

This YA murder mystery was a fun, quick read for me. There’s elements of 1990’s slasher fun as well. Rick was such a delightfully oblivious teenage boy and I loved when Martina described him as “gas station hot” and how he never ever clues in when people hit on him. Martina is such a fantastic character too. She’s sharp, witty, has an amazingly dynamic family, and has neuroses of her own. These two may not have much money, but they have a lot of love for each other and their families.

The side characters are just as well done. Rick’s love interest Nika, Martina’s crush Camryn…. Even Paxton, the boy we all hate. They’re vibrant and really build out the world of this high school and town.

The plot moves quickly as the murders start to stack up with clues on who the killer is. And I loved the path that the gang’s investigation took to get to the end. These are smart kids and they’re determined to stay alive. The writing and plot are tightly done.

Thanks to Penguin Young Reader’s Group for the advance copy. All opinions are my own.

[Zahra (Bookish_Platypus) · Rating 2 out of 5]

What if someone put their hit list in the yearbook?

I really love a collaborative team of teens investigating something kind of Stranger Things style. There is a bit of that in this book but we're mostly following Rick who's best friends with Martina. They've both been targeted by the hit list and also accused of being behind the hit list as some sort of prank.

I liked when there was some actual investigating going on with the group of teens on the hit list, it made things a little more interesting. The investigation felt very sporadic though. It wasn't really a constant and there were some random scenes that were kind of boring and long that almost seemed like filler.

As a thriller I was a little underwhelmed in this book as a whole. I'm not sure if there was just too much time where nothing was happening or I wasn't invested in the characters or something else. I do think the deaths were maybe too spaced apart, there were a couple of threats but things didn't really escalate or dial up. I think my interest in the story stayed pretty lukewarm and I was never on the edge of my seat.

The best part of this book for me was the premise: creative hit list in a highschool yearbook. But the actual story didn't live up for me this time. I will say that I also enjoyed the dedication and acknowledgements - the author's personal writing was great, but unfortunately her voice didn't shine through the meat of the book.


Thanks to G.P. Putnam Sons for the advanced copy!

[Samantha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC. Pains me to say but DNF at just about 50%. This one started off solid, with clear voices for Rick and Martina, snappy, witty dialogue, and an intriguing mystery. But then once the group of students decided to team up to figure out the culprit, things started to feel far fetched. Every student feels like their own caricature of a high school stereotype—the jock, cheerleader—that it really took me out of the immersion. And while I love the banter, it didn’t feel very on par in a novel with such high stakes.

I do think the premise here is great, two students being framed as they’re the usual suspects for these kind of “pranks,” but I’m not very invested in finding out who is actually responsible yet. I might come back to this one, but for now I’m going to painfully call it quits. Bummer.

[Janine · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you could find out how you’re going to die, would you do it? I know I certainly wouldn’t, and when a group of students see their impending deaths outlined in the high school yearbook, they didn’t feel too good about it either.

This was everything a YA thriller should be. There were intricate characters, hilarious commentary, and a murderer that I couldn’t figure out. Rick and Martina’s friendship was refreshing and fun to read about, and it made me miss my high school friendships.

My only complaint was who the killer ended up being. While the author gets points for making it unpredictable, it also ended up being very unbelievable. The killer’s motive just didn’t convince me.

Overall, this was a page-turner that gave me chills and made me laugh all at the same time.

Thank you to Penguin Teen Canada for my gifted copy!

[Ayeley &#x1065a; ·˚ · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭑ ⭑ ⭑ ⭒ ⭒
3.0 stars


ꨄ︎ Okay, so I’m a bit surprised at how low-key good this book actually turned out to be. Because that very first chapter had me thinking I was about to suffer through one of the worst reading experiences of my life. But thankfully, that weird writing style disappeared almost immediately, and things honestly got pretty good.

ꨄ︎ That said, somewhere along the line, the book started to get a bit boring. I expected the characters to actively try to solve the murder (collecting clues, piecing things together, following proper threads ) but the investigation felt scattered. The reveal felt a little disconnected, like something you really have to stop and think about to “get,” which isn’t necessarily the book’s fault, but it did take me out of it.

ꨄ︎ And the ending scene lost a few points for me. After all the build-up, the final moment felt way too hasty. Like… that’s it? It needed more weight, more time, more something.

ꨄ︎ But overall, I actually liked the book. I had fun reading it. And honestly, sometimes that’s all that matters.

Thank you Penguin young readers group for a copy of this arc

[Jine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book so much!
First off it’s a ya mystery type of book involving high school students when their yearbook is hacked and predictions of their deaths posted!
The storyline is so good and you warm up to the different characters ver quickly! This is my first book by this author but will definitely read more and I love that the ending opens it up for a sequel which I would love because of the characters alone!

[Lauren | Wordsbetweenlines · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

I love a YA murder mystery. This was fun and felt fresh in the sense that it gave us a m*rder list out of a year book.

I found this to be an easy read and the story was wild enough to keep me keen.

The one thing that kept coming up for me was that the main characters were in their senior year but read like they were early teens and that kept pulling me out of their characters.

Pub date: March 24

Thank you penguinteenca for the arc 🤍🤍

[Trisha]

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

[Emma Coffey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loveeeee a young adult thriller, and this was no disappointment. Most Likely to Murder has such a fun premise to it and it kept me hooked. It was the perfect length - not too long to where I got bored but also not too short. This is hilarious & dark & I had the best time. The characters are great too! 4 ⭐️

Thank you to Penguin/G.P. for the advanced copy. Out Mar 24!

[Danae Mckain · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley. Overall this book was very similar to others written like it, but I did really enjoy the main characters and their development throughout. The author also did a good job of putting in some red herrings to throw you off the real killer.

[Meaghan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Most Likely to Murder has an intriguing premise, but unfortunately a lackluster execution. We follow Rick and his best friend Martina as they navigate the murder "predictions" listed in the school yearbook as disturbing superlatives for them and a few other classmates.

Honestly, the stakes didn't feel high enough and the pacing of the story was very slow. There were too many characters in the "Survivor Club" with not enough depth to any of them to make me care about the threat of their impending murder. The ending, although exciting and more fast-paced, wasn't incredibly satisfying because the killer came out of left field, since no real breadcrumbs were left for the reader to piece it together. It was definitely an interesting motive but it felt a little half-baked, in the context of the rest of the story.

The actual murder scenes were the best part of the novel, where the descriptions were disturbing and impactful. Unfortunately, they didn't really hit until closer to the halfway mark and the rest of the novel didn't match the tone, in my opinion. I feel like this book needed to decide if it was going to go the darker route or the more lighthearted, but sort of lost it's footing trying to balance the two.

Overall, this book was entertaining enough, but not really for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers for providing this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Gina Malanga · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this one, and I did really like the characters they were quirky and interesting. The problem was is that nothing happened for the first almost half of the book. And there were so many other storylines and details that just really didn’t need to be there and took away from the Pace of the murder mystery. I understand that the details were maybe there to help the reader connect with the characters more but honestly, it didn’t achieve that for me.

[Emma VanOrd · Rating 2 out of 5]

ARC provided by Net Galley andPenguin Young Readers Group | G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers. I DNF'ed this at 31%. I was bored and had a hard time picking it back up. There are a lot of extra details that do not pertain to any of the story. I was skimming through them. I understand you need to paint a picture, but it just didn't work for me. The main plot is that the yearbook "prank" has certain teachers and students pinpointed for a hit list. Nothing really happened until 1/4 of the way in. Too slow for me to continue. Less detail=more fast paced.

[Evie Oliva · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hate writing reviews on my phone but will right now state for the record that I LOVED this book, great thriller ode to classics from Christopher Pike and R.L. Stine. McBride hit it out of the park with this one. In-depth review goes up tomorrow afternoon.

My thanks to Netgalley, Penguin Young Readers Group, G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers and Lish McBride for the eARC of this book in exchange for a review.

A long time ago, nearly a dozen years maybe, I picked up a book called . The title made me chuckle because of the connection to the song and while I didn't grow up when the song was popular, I had eventually found my way to Elton John so I could appreciate the fun the title was having with it's rhyme. Then I started reading the book, about a young man named Sam who discovers he is a necromancer and I slowly became a fan for life of Lish McBride. What truly sold me on that first book was the name of the main character. You see, Sam was born on Samhain, the pagan holiday, and his mother decided to give him that for his name. And at first the fact that he was called SAM was making me a little disappointed until Sam explained that his name is pronounced SOWIN, he was only called Sam because his Dad wanted to get back at his mom for giving his that name.

SOLD!! Seriously, it might be insignificant but I knew, from that sentence forward, I would read everything that McBride wrote from then on out. I have read several books that have Samhain pronounced Sam-hane, actually going to the trouble to explain that is how it is pronounced and it would just bug me so much. So Lish McBride gained my admiration and full devotion as a reader with that sentence alone. Obviously it helped that the book was amazing. I've bought copies of ALL of them since (still waiting on word of a new Uncanny Romance, fingers crossed), so this was automatically added to my cart when it was available to order. I jumped at the chance to read it when I found it for review and I'm happy to report that it was exactly what I expected as a teen slasher written by Lish McBride. Dark and funny, filled with memorable characters and creepy deaths, I devoured this book in a day.

Most Likely to Murder follows two seniors and best friends, Rick and Martina, two teenagers happy enough with their lives on the fringes at school and the supposed culprits behind a few big pranks (never proven). When the school yearbook gets passed out at lunch, the layout for the "Most likely to..." page has been redone, listing certain classmates and faculty with macabre titles, the words coming off as threats as they hint at ways these specific people will die. Rick and Martina are automatically suspected of the prank, despite the fact that they too are featured on the page. When their school counselor is pulled out of the lake, the same way his picture and its title predicted he'd die, the whole school is on edge. Then more students end up dead the way the layout predicted and now Rick and Martina and the surviving members of the layout page have to come together to figure out who the killer is and why they are on the list before another one of their ranks ends up dead.

The story drew me in from the start. The idea of it was enough to draw me in, being a former member of my own school's yearbook staff, so the logistics and the image it made in my mind made me eager to give the book a try. The plot is perfect for the readers who grew up reading Christopher Pike and R.L. Stine, just like McBride states on the acknowledgements page, and if you're familiar with those books, you'll see the inspiration easy. The book was exactly what I wanted, creepy enough to keep me reading with characters I cared about, and I was invested from the start. I loved Rick and Martina, their families and their interests.

I admired Rick, a young man trying his best to pick up the slack for his mom and sister after his father abandoned the family. I wanted a best friend like Martina, who kept her head when the adults at the school suspected she and Rick were behind the prank, and who fought back and protected Rick when some students pushed back too hard about being targeted even though they had no proof that Rick and Martina were behind it. They were easy to love and I wanted to keep these two safe from harm. As their group expanded to include the other kids targeted in the yearbook, I slowly came to care for each character. A book becomes a great book when you have a group of teenagers on a page and are able to name each one and what their interests are without any trouble. Sometimes characters bleed together but not with this book.

In terms of plot, the reveals worked with keeping me hooked to the story. Add in chapters that fill in background story, things happening off the center stage of the story, and I am completely invested. Those extras caught me a little off guard but if you're familiar with slashers, it is par for the course and a must need to keep your attention. It was creepy and the descriptions made my eyes widen in surprise and I was constantly either smiling because of the banter between the teenagers or dropping my jaw a little when another character bit the dust.

I was trying to figure out who the villain was and while my prediction was right, I was not in any way disappointed by figuring it out early. I've just read a LOT of these kinds of books. It's a point of pride to be able to figure these out but it does not in any way detract from the experience of reading this story. It is a quick read and that is in thanks to the way it was written and the way the story unfolds, all plusses in my opinion. Nothing drags or feels out of place, everything just adds to the story and to the world in general. If McBride decides to set other books in this world, expanding this into a kind of series, I would be first in line to read those books.

I want to talk about so much more about this book but to do so would veer into spoiler territory and this book deserves the reveals it earned. The story unfolded the way it needed to, the characters earned their place as kids that deserved to live and breathe and survive and be happy, and when I got to the end of the book, I wanted to see more. Read this book if you loved teen slasher stories filled with good scares and smart teens. I'll be here waiting to see what Lish McBride writes next.

Rating on my scale: 9.5 Stars. I LOVED this book but it is a short book/fast read kind of deal. Some people might only like the book because of that but this is a very respectable read. If you've kept up with Lish McBride books, this is exactly what you'd expect a teen slasher from McBride to be. If this is your first time reading Lish McBride, believe me when I say you should go back and read other books by McBride. Everything I've read by McBride has kept me coming back for YEARS, and I will continue to read her books for as long as she writes.

[Nae · Rating 5 out of 5]

HAPPY PUBLICATION DAY
4.5 stars 🌕🌕🌕���🌗

Thank you to NetGalley & Penguin Young Readers Group for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Genres, settings, categories, themes: YA, thriller, murder mystery, high school, amateur sleuths, friends/friendship, side romances, lgbtq

💗 Tropes: 💗
> Circle of Friends
> Coming of Age
all about tropes here

POV: 3rd person, mostly Rick's perspective

Series/Sequencing Style: standalone, complete story, very tiny leading-style cliffhanger

Format: ebook (e-ARC)

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Overall ratings

Heat level: 🍓 0/5 sweet 🍓
(from Ampersand’s guide to heat levels in romance novels – (0) sweet, (1) mild sizzle, (2) sensual steam, (3) spicy seduction, (4) red hot, (5) erotic)

~ Characters ~ 4/5 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑 a fun cast, but some were left underdeveloped

~ Plot ~ 4.5/5 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗 It’s a little far-fetched, borderline ridiculous if you really reflect on it in the end, but it’s fun, escapist fiction, and it covers a lot of ground.

~ Pacing ~ 4/5 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑 fast-paced in a way that kept my interest and kept me engaged, although it dipped a little around the 70% mark and the ending was perhaps a little rushed

~ Mystery/suspense ~ 4/5 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑 At least I never guessed the murderer, but also not sure the motive made 100% sense?

~ Writing ~ 5/5 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕

~ Reading enjoyability & fun ~ 5/5 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕

~ Depth & tone (1 light & fun --> 5 more serious, addresses heavier topics?): 2.5
~ Diversity & representation: queer MCs, POC MCs, contemporary gender role portrayals & inversions (e.g. female football player dating male cheerleader)
~ Sadness level: 1.5/5

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❗CW/Triggers:❗arson, attempted murder, blood, bullying, gunshot wound, murder, parental abandonment, poisoning, PTSD, slit throat, trauma, waterlogged body

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📝 Review/Notes 📝

Stayed up way too late reading this one.

Sassy & fast-paced, there’s a lot to like with this one. It’s YA and set in high school, so of course some of the dialogue and emotional growth was a bit young for me. Just some of the stuff focusing on them growing up, parents leaving, and the kind of finding yourself coming of age stuff that totally fits in this genre–nothing wrong with it (just not something I totally connect with, but that’s okay). Younger readers might connect better with some of the more emotionally-focused parts?

Some cute and light side romances, where each of the best friends gets to end up with their crush. Not as heavy a focus as a romance novel, more in the sense of teenagers having crushes and being consumed by those feelings. Not an epic love story, nor meant to be. Just something sweet on the side of the murder mystery.

Characters were killed off in a way where all our favorites got to survive, so it didn’t end up being sad or emotionally taxing (which I prefer, although others might note it as being less realistic / a little too neatly tied up?)

Strengths
• positive friendship representation
• diverse & fun cast of characters
• sass/character quips and attitudes
• different representations of family
• platonic, familial, and romantic love all represented

Weaknesses:
• some of the background and emotional scenes behind the characters sometimes felt a little random

• I could have done with more non-Rick perspectives

• I liked all the characters, but aside from a heavy focus on Rick, they weren’t all super developed (I couldn’t tell you a thing about Landon and Alexis other than that they played football and cheered)

• not sure the killer 100% made sense...it felt like a long shot, other readers have mentioned a lack of clues left for us

• a little too teen for me at times (mostly when I started drifting while Rick & Nika were bonding over their parents who left them)

• the epilogue was a little odd to me–Is that foreshadowing that she might be back? And why would she send the yearbook to Rick, who was basically the least related to her daughter / the weakest reason for being targeted?

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🤠 Recommended for: fans of Holly Jackson

[Get Your Tinsel in a Tangle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I need you to picture me mid-rant, talking too fast, forgetting what I already said, because that’s the exact mental state Most Likely to Murder put me in. This book fully decided senior year wasn’t stressful enough and said, cool, what if we also add a body count and emotional damage. No easing in. No grace period. Just immediately asking, what if your yearbook hated you personally and also wanted you dead. Incredible behavior. I was in.

The premise alone deserves a little slow clap. Yearbook superlatives get swapped out for extremely specific death predictions. Not metaphorical. Not spooky vibes. Literal how you’re going to die, printed forever next to your school photo. Everyone’s annoyed, because teenagers are nothing if not deeply convinced nothing bad can actually happen to them, until a teacher turns up dead exactly the way the yearbook said. At which point the entire school has to sit there in stunned silence and realize they laughed at the murder foreshadowing.

Rick and Martina are our emotional life raft, and without them I would’ve just been stress reading with my jaw clenched. They’re best friends in that very specific way where they communicate mostly through sarcasm, shared panic, and unconditional loyalty. The school already thinks they’re the problem, because of course it does, so now they’re suspects and potential victims at the same time. Which is a truly rude place to exist during finals.

Their friendship is the heart of this book and I will not be quiet about it. It’s affectionate, chaotic, deeply platonic, and completely believable. No forced tension. No will they won’t they nonsense. Just two people who would absolutely show up for each other at 3 a.m. with a shovel and no follow-up questions. Every time the story got too dark, their dynamic dragged it back into something human, which I appreciated while clinging to the pages like a Victorian child.

And then there are the deaths. Listen. Some of these scenes are upsetting in a way that works. McBride occasionally throws you directly into a victim’s POV right before everything goes wrong, and it is deeply unfair and extremely effective. It adds weight. It makes you sit with the fear instead of just ticking off another body. I did not enjoy it. I absolutely respected it. I had to stare into space afterward.

Now. The mystery part. This is where I start yelling with love. Because while people are very much trying not to die, the actual investigation energy is mostly frantic vibes and emotional spiraling. Clues exist, but they are hiding. Actively. So when the reveal hits, it’s surprising, but not in a smug way. More in a wait, let me rewind my entire brain kind of way. I didn’t hate it, but I did want just a few more breadcrumbs so I could feel clever instead of briefly disoriented.

There’s also a romance subplot that is sweet and awkward and very YA, and sometimes it felt like it wandered in from a different book where people were not actively being murdered. I liked it. I did. But occasionally I was screaming internally, now is not the time for yearning, someone is literally on a hit list.

That said, once the back half kicks in, things go off the rails in the best way. The tension ramps up, paranoia spikes, bodies start stacking, and suddenly I was reading like I was also named in the yearbook. The ending moves fast, emotionally and literally, and while I wanted a little more fallout, I still closed the book feeling stressed, entertained, and weirdly fond of this entire disaster group.

So yeah. Did this book reinvent the YA thriller? No. Did it grab me by the collar, make me laugh, stress me out, and keep me reading? Absolutely. This is a messy, darkly funny, high-concept thriller that mostly sticks the landing and has enough heart to cover its stumbles. I had fun. I yelled. I would absolutely hand this to someone with a warning and a snack. 3.5 stars, given with affection, side-eye, and a nervous laugh.

Whodunity Award: For Making Yearbooks a Public Safety Hazard

Thank you to Penguin Young Readers Group and NetGalley for the ARC, for trusting me with this delightful little bundle of teen chaos, murder, and yearbook-related emotional damage. I had a great time.

[Raji · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars
Find this review and more on my blog at Worlds Unlike Our Own .

Thank you to the publisher, Penguin Teen Canada, and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

When the year’s yearbooks arrive at Meadowvale High, they include something unexpected – a page replacing the usual superlatives for students and staff with macabre predictions of their deaths. It’s initially written off as a tasteless prank that nearly everyone is certain Rick and Martina are behind given their track record (even though the two of them also feature on said list), but things quickly change when the body of the school counsellor is found at the bottom of a lake – and his superlative just happened to be Most Likely To Sleep With The Fishes. It becomes clear that everyone mentioned is a target, and they’re being killed off one by one, just as the yearbook described. Rick and Martina just wanted to survive high school, but now they must find the killer before they’re the next ones targeted.

💭 Initial Thoughts: This is one of the few genres in YA that still manages to consistently hold my attention, and the premise was so reminiscent of Karen McManus that I knew I had to pick this up.

🌎 Plot, World building & Atmosphere: The way the story began was unique and attention catching, drawing the reader into the plot immediately. There were plenty of suspects to consider and it kept things interesting until the end.

Reading this book definitely required some suspension of disbelief – you would expect that people on a murder list would know better than to go off by themselves or stay home alone. A plus point on the other hand was that unlike most YA novels, the parents were present, aware and involved in what was going on, which helped it feel a bit more realistic.

As for the villain, I don’t know if the issue is that I didn’t notice the breadcrumbs or there simply weren’t any, but it felt like the reveal just came out of the left field. I also felt that there were a few too many subplots at times that I couldn’t bring myself to care about, especially as the focus was often diverted from the main plot for it.

✍🏻 Writing & Narration: This was a pretty fast paced read, a good thing given how short the book, and the narrative was also easy to follow even with multiple POV switches. Despite the more serious nature of the plot, there was plenty of humor and the banter was on point.

I’m not sure how I feel about certain characters having POVs just so we can get a glimpse at their murders from their perspective as it kind of killed the suspense after the first time it happened and became a pattern – when the POV switches to one of the secondary characters, they’re probably next on the list.

That said, though fast paced, there was a lot of page time when I felt not much was going on. The investigation was pretty passive, and not along the lines of what I expected which was actively gathering clues and finding suspects.

👥 Characters: Rick and Martina’s friendship was so adorable and I loved how they were so affectionate and were always there for each other. Their families were also so supportive of them and it was a lovely depiction of a platonic relationship. In the limited time the plot allowed for character development, I think the author did a great job with the two of them in particular and I found it easy to get invested in their stories.

The secondary characters remained peripheral, though to be fair, that’s more or less what I expect in this genre- it’s a rare thriller that has the time to focus on extra characters. The romance was not bad, quite sweet, and the foot in the mouth moments were hilarious, but the mystery definitely took center stage over it as it should.

🎬 Ending: The author did a great job of maintaining the suspense until the very end, and though I was paying close attention throughout, I didn’t manage to guess who was behind it all. The motive felt a little weak and hasty but given the twist in the epilogue, there might be another book in store. Or maybe not, I do like it when mystery novels don’t completely close the door.

❓ Final Thoughts & Recommendation: Most Likely To Murder was a good mystery, and despite the more technical issues I found with it, it was still a genuinely enjoyable read which is all that really matters in the end. I would recommend this book for fans of the genre!