Murder Land is a YA thriller by Carlyn Greenwald which is scheduled for release May 6, 2025. I had the opportunity to review the book as part of an advanced reader program. The book originally caught my interest because of the premise. How often do you hear the words ‘amusement park slasher thriller’ in a sentence? The plot of the book is deliciously simple – a young woman is going to work at a true crime-themed amusement park. Then bodies start dropping. It’s up to her and her friends to solve the murders and catch the killer before they’re picked off.
I love the concept. True crime theme park? Sign my morbid ass up. Solving murders at a true crime-themed park? That sounds even better. I also really liked the characters. There’s Billie, the bisexual protagonist who’s looking forward to attending Northwestern in the fall. There’s Grace – the filmmaker best friend who loves true crime and conspiracy theories and can’t wait to solve the mysteries of Murder Land Park. Sawyer is the on-again, off-again girlfriend of Grace. They’re “on” when the book starts, but it’s clear they’re on the way to “off”. Her characterization is especially fun and helps build tension even before the murders start. Last but not least there is Leon, Billie’s love interest and a friend from the group who has been busy with school but made the effort to join in this evening – big mistake.
Greenwald is especially good at building tension and setting scenes. You get a strong sense of who the characters are and who they are to Billie. That gets you invested in them and who they are early which really amps up the tension. Another thing I liked was how real and relatable Billie felt as a character. Her thoughts and feelings, her motivations, and drive all felt incredibly genuine. The high level of tension meant that this YA novel felt as stressful as any other thriller I’ve read recently – it didn’t feel like a Scooby Doo episode. (That was admittedly an unfounded fear of mine when I initially considered ‘amusement park slasher thriller.’)
I liked the way Greenwald wove the story together. Billie connected the dots at a reasonable pace and the solution didn’t jump out at me until the final big reveal. I really appreciated the interwoven bits of documentary that appeared throughout the novel. They added context without detracting from the main plot.
Overall I give Murder Land 5 stars and would encourage you to pre-order it if you’re in the mood for a thriller you won’t want to put down.
Content Warnings I can give that aren’t spoilers – Drug use (off-screen, not a main character), panic attacks, suicidal ideation (not prevalent, but mentioned), death of characters, dead bodies, blood, physical injuries, grief and loss depiction, gun violence, knife violence.
