The Meadowbrook Murders

By: Jessica Goodman

Narrated by: Sophie Amoss, Jesse Vilinsky

"The perfect dark academia read, filled with murder, twists, a jaw-dropping mystery and very privileged people doing deliciously bad things." —Danielle Valentine, New York Times Bestselling author of Two Sides to Every Murder

From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of They Wish They Were Us and The Counselors, comes a thrilling murder mystery set at a prestigious New England boarding school about how telling the truth can come at a deadly price.

Secrets don't die.

It’s the first week of senior year at Meadowbrook Academy. For Amy and her best friend Sarah, that means late-night parties at the boathouse, bike rides through their sleepy Connecticut town, and the crisp beginning of a New England fall.

Then tragedy strikes: Sarah and her boyfriend are brutally murdered in their dorm room. Now the week Amy has been dreaming about for years has turned into a nightmare, especially when all eyes turn to her as the culprit. She was Sarah’s only roommate, the only other person there when she died—or so she told the police to cover for her own boyfriend’s suspicious whereabouts. And even though they were best friends, with every passing day, Amy begins to learn that Sarah lied about a lot of things.

Liz, editor of the school newspaper and social outcast, is determined to uncover the truth about what happened on campus, in hopes her reporting will land a prestigious scholarship to college. As Liz dives deeper into her investigation, the secrets these murdered seniors never wanted out come to light. The deeper Liz digs, the messier the truth becomes – and with a killer still on campus, she can’t afford to make any mistakes.

©2025 Jessica Goodman (P)2025 Listening Library

Critic reviews

"A fast-paced, attention-grabbing boarding school murder mystery." —Kirkus

"Taut and suspenseful, the academic thriller wields an unexpected villain, revealing the seamier aspects of wealth and privilege and the painful realities of complex friendships. Believable characters with distinct personalities enhance this gripping race to whodunit." —Booklist

"As always, Jessica Goodman hits it out of the park. The Meadowbrook Murders is the perfect dark academia read, filled with murder, twists, a jaw-dropping mystery and very privileged people doing deliciously bad things. If you're looking for a book to curl up with on a cold day, THIS is that book. Come for the boarding school vibes, stay for the cutting commentary on class and journalistic integrity." —Danielle Valentine, New York Times Bestselling author of Two Sides to Every Murder

Boarding school murder mystery

I love a good boarding school book. Add in a murder and you’ve got me. Told from the points of view of Amy, the murdered girl, Sarah’s roommate and Liz, the socially awkward, over zealous school newspaper editor, THE MEADOWBROOK MURDERS kept me guessing.
I enjoy Jessica Goodman novels. She captures the souls of imperfect girls caught up in extraordinarily unusual, negative circumstances whose innocence is questionable.
I wish Goodman had given a little more insight into the personalities and motivations of other students at the school and the townies to give more credulity to potential suspects, but otherwise THE MEADOWBROOK MURDERS is a great read.

Predictable

The plot was predictable. I figured it out well before halfway through the book. I thought the writing was lazy and basic. They tried but did not succeed in giving us this elite world that we were peering into.

Captivating listen

The the pace of the story was good, same with the performance of the people reading the story. Overall a story I would go back to listen over and over again.