Beware the Abbott Boys by Chelsea Ichaso
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
A year ago, the small town of Silver Creek was shattered when popular high schooler, Mariana Flores, was killed in a car explosion. Even though the police ruled out foul play, the local rumor mill tells another story.
Ask anyone in town and they’ll tell you the Abbott boys had to have been involved. Granted, they do work as mechanics and had been working on Mariana’s car just prior to the incident, but still, there’s no evidence.
The Abbott boys, triplets, Henry, Bram and Adam, are used to the town chattering about them, but they were close to Mariana, so her death hit their household very hard, and the allegations didn’t help matters.
Hayden, the girl next door to the Abbotts, knows they’re innocent. She’s Henry’s best friend, but she feels a special connection to each of the brothers and she knows they wouldn’t have done anything to harm Mariana.
When the new school year starts, another popular high school girl is found dead in the woods abutting the school.
When security camera footage reveals a figure seen entering the woods with the victim, it’s clear they’re wearing a special hoodie. One with a giant A on the back. A hoodie all three of the Abbott brothers own, but which one was it?
To clear their names, Hayden begins an investigation of her own, but the deeper she digs the more she starts to question, how well does she really know the Abbott boys?
I had a lot of fun with Beware the Abbott Boys. It’s a great YA Mystery-Thriller, full of drama and all the things that go along with that. The characters were well-imagined and I feel like Ichaso did a great job building up the intensity.
The mystery of it was fairly simplistic, NGL, but that didn’t retract from the enjoyment I had going along for the ride. Clearly, I’m not the target audience for this, but in spite of that, I still really enjoyed my time with it and can appreciate how much a Teen audience would love this.
Honestly though, with this being said, I love YA Mystery-Thrillers and Horror. I don’t think I’ll ever stop reading them. I’ll never age out of the category.
I like all the drama, and how deeply the characters feel their emotions. It reminds me of a simpler time in my own life, and each story feels nostalgic almost in their own way. Also, the stakes don’t tend to get as serious, and frankly depressing, as Adult dramas.
But that’s just me…
I would highly recommend this one to YA Mystery-Thriller Readers. For me, Ichaso’s books are getting stronger and stronger as she goes and I’m looking forward to whatever she writes next.
Thank you to the publisher, SOURCEBOOKS Fire and Tantor Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review. This is one of the most engaging YA Thrillers I’ve read this year, and I’m very happy I made time for it!