S.T.A.G.S.

By: M. A. Bennett

Narrated by: Katharine Lee McEwan

Donna Tartt's The Secret History meets Pretty Little Liars in this propulsive, edge-of-your-seat novel that explores just how far the elite at an English boarding school will go to maintain the social order.

One deadly weekend.

At St. Aidan the Great School, or S.T.A.G.S., new things - and new people - are to be avoided. The grandeur of the boarding school and the prestige of the students' bloodlines seem surreal to Greer MacDonald. A scholarship student who recently transferred to S.T.A.G.S., Greer is ignored at best and mocked at worst by the school's most admired circle of friends, the Medievals.

Greer is taken by surprise when the Medievals send her an invitation to an exclusive weekend retreat at the private family estate of their unofficial leader, Henry de Warlencourt. It's billed as a weekend of "huntin' shootin' fishin'."

As the weekend begins to take shape, it becomes apparent that beyond the luxurious trappings, predators are lurking, and they're out for blood.

©2018 M. A. Bennett (P)2018 Listening Library

Critic reviews

"Reinvigorates the boarding-school thriller." (The Guardian)

"Bennett creates a chilling atmosphere on every page. Reads like a Sir Arthur Conan Doyle or an Agatha Christie mystery for modern teens...[a] suspenseful study of British Aristocracy." (SLJ)

Excellent, Engaging, Couldn't put it down!

I came across S.T.A.G.S in a recommendation ad from a page I follow on Facebook. I was taken in by the short synopsis, and I really love the character name Greer. I downloaded the audio book and I felt that the narrator had the perfect accent that reflected Greer's character. I was immediately taken in by the story. It moves quickly, but there is still so much detail. I enjoyed that every time I thought I had the plot figured out, something would happen and I would have to reevaluate all over again. I am so glad this is being made into a movie, and I can't wait for the sequel!! This is a fantastic debut novel for M.A. Bennett!!

A Social Commentary and Dark Humor Delight

The story itself was fun. A bit obvious but still engaging and entertaining. Think “Pretty Little Liars”, “Gossip Girls”, and a non-fantasy version of the “Order” and you get S.T.A.G.S. It’s got high society elites, a murder mystery, and some secret society action. I won’t spoil it for you, but the ending felt a little rushed and obvious to me.

My sticky points: Greer claims to be a film buff but then doesn’t seem to pickup on a lot of the clues as to what is happening. And I wish there was more explanation about Greer’s mom. All that said I liked the characters. M.A. Bennett did a great job with their development throughout the story.

I rate this really high though for the voice actor. Her delivery had me rolling! Her accent made the character funnier in someway. I don’t see the sequels available on audible yet but when they are I hope she is the voice actor again. Two thumbs up on her performance.

The clique but make it a cult

I really enjoyed the story. I thought that it was different than a lot of young adult fiction I read. The only thing that I didn't fully enjoy was that the ending felt too quick.

Fantastic!

I loved this title and it worked so well as a standalone. Listening to the book rather than reading it myself and hearing the accent of the narrator gave me greater perspective. The environment of S.T.A.G.S. became more tangible and sharper in my mind. There was a great depth in each character although I would have liked to have had read more interaction with Nell. Overall it was very well done!

honestly a waste of time, boring

narrator was okay, but overall the story kist kept repeating unnecessary points that didn't need to be pointed our more than once, or even at all, half of the story didn't make sense, just not a good book overall

Use of unnecessary curse words

I’m not at all pleased with all the foul language used in this “young adult” book.
It’s a pretty interesting story and it had no need for that to be added. Especially when teens will be reading it.