Scenes of the Crime

A Novel

By: Jilly Gagnon

Narrated by: Eileen Stevens

An ambitious screenwriter tries to solve her friend’s disappearance by re-creating their fateful final girls’ trip in this riveting locked-room mystery from the author of All Dressed Up.

“Twisty and utterly bingeable . . . Each page will leave you gasping for more.”—Disha Bose, author of Dirty Laundry

It should have been the perfect spring break: Five girlfriends. A remote winery on the Oregon coast. An infinite supply of delicious wine at their manicured fingertips. But then their center—beautiful, magnetic Vanessa Morales—vanished without a trace.

Emily Fischer was perhaps the last person to see her alive. But now, years later, Emily spots Vanessa’s doppelganger at a local café. At the end of her rope working a lucrative yet mind-numbing gig on a network sitcom, Emily is inspired to finally tell the story that’s been percolating inside her for so long: Vanessa’s story. But first, she needs to know what really happened on that fateful night. So she puts a brilliant scheme into motion.

She gets the girls together for a reunion weekend at the scene of the crime under the guise of reconnecting. There’s Brittany, Vanessa’s cousin and the inheritor of the winery; Paige, a former athlete, bullish yet easily manipulated; and Lydia, the wallflower of the group.

One of them knows the truth. But what have they each been hiding? And how much can Emily trust anything she learns from them . . . or even her own memories of Vanessa’s last days?

Suspenseful, propulsive, and interspersed with scenes from Emily’s blockbuster screenplay, Scenes of the Crime is an unforgettable mystery that examines culpability, the shiny rearview mirror of Hollywood storytelling, and the pitfalls of female friendship.

Critic reviews

“The Gothic setting of Jilly Gagnon’s Scenes of the Crime—an isolated, exclusive winery on the Oregon coast—provides the perfect backdrop for this absorbing, meta-fictional variation on a locked-room mystery, full of pointed observations about class, money, and the inherent competition that lies beneath many female friendships. Scenes of the Crime is the ideal choice for readers of Ruth Ware and Megan Abbott.”—Joanna Margaret

Couldn't wait to be finished with it...

I really struggled to finish this one. I was annoyed by most of the characters. I didn't love the style of writing either -- going back & forth between angle-by-angle screenwriting scenes, & normal, happening in the moment things. I wouldn't say the book was too hard to follow, but if you were ever listening too leisurely, you'd have to go back to make sure you knew exactly what was happening.

Clever & darkly funny

I was hooked on this story by the end of the first sentence: "..... when a ghost walked into the coffee shop." And was smiling by the end of the first chapter, feeling like I was in the head of the screenwriter and enjoyed her humor. I really liked the screenplay-within-the-story if that's a thing, and I like how Jilly's books (All Dressed Up esp.) have many layers. I like having to pay attention to clues along the way - and wondering if I'm right (I'm usually not). In addition to the mystery, I was interested in the friendships - and could relate to knowing people so intensely at one part of your life, and then knowing nothing about them. #toxicfriendships The setting was perfect for this murder mystery. Highly recommended.