Win Lose Kill Die by Cynthia Murphy

The quick cut: A series of murders starts taking out students at a high achievement private school. Chaos ensues as everyone tries to figure out who's behind the killings. 

A real review:

 Thank you to Delacorte Press for providing the arc for an honest review. 

 Achievement in high school tends to be a common focus for many because it can lead to better opportunities for the future. How much of your life are you willing to risk to get the most? For the students at Morton Academy, it may be too much when a string of murders begin. 

 Everyone at the exclusive Morton Academy is a high achiever, especially since entry is based on academic excellence. However, the title of Head Girl is one that comes with prestige and success. When students start dying for it though, it seems one among them is willing to kill for it. Who could be killing the student body? 

 I really found the premise of this story interesting, especially since it combines thriller and elite school stories together. Unfortunately, I got to the end and felt frustrated instead. The killer reveal is one I definitely should have seen coming, but the story failed to properly engage me from the start. Its the only way that plot twist works. 

 This is another one of those stories where it feels like they drop you into it as a reader in the middle. Due to that lack of foundational setup, you really don't get to know any of the characters well from the start. This leads to them all blending together and not really standing out on their own. In the end, without that caring about the characters as individuals, you end up uninvested as a reader. 

 The story here also isn't helped by the fact that there's a lot of private school stories, many of which were written far better than the one here. I found myself comparing a lot as a read, which only highlighted the flaws here. When it takes getting two thirds of the way through to pique my interest, that's not a good sign. 

 A story with unrealized potential. 

My rating: 3 out of 5