The One that Got Away with Murder by Trish Lundy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I had so much fun reading The One that Got Away with Murder. I read it in a 24-hour period and clearly, it hooked me.
It was drama-filled, fast-paced and compelling. Exactly how I like my YA Mystery/Thrillers. I can’t believe this is a debut!? How is that even true?!
In this story we follow Lauren. a high school soccer star, just about to enter her Senior year. Sadly, she’s going to be doing that at an all new school, as she has recently moved with her Mom from California to Happy Valley, Pennsylvania.
Her Mom’s long-distance boyfriend lives in Happy Valley, so following a scandal at Lauren’s old school, they decide it would be best for them to make a fresh start there.
Lauren understands the reasoning behind the move, but it’s still a difficult transition and her new teammates won’t be making it any easier on her.
Prior to the school year beginning, Lauren meets a boy, Robbie Crestmont, and the two begin spending time together. Hooking up, may be the most accurate term for their relationship.
Once she begins hanging out with her teammates though, when soccer season begins, she learns that Robbie isn’t the most liked guy in Pleasant Valley. In fact, some of the girls are downright hostile towards him.
In fact, they blame him for the death of their teammate, Victoria, Robbie’s one-time girlfriend. The story is that Victoria died during a late night swim at the Crestmont’s lake house. Her friends and teammates aren’t buying the story that it was an accident. They suspect foul play.
Not helping is the fact that Robbie’s brother’s girlfriend also died a mysterious death about a year after Victoria. Two brothers, two dead girlfriends. That can’t be a coincidence. Even Lauren can admit that doesn’t seem right.
After agreeing to go visit Robbie’s family lake house over Labor Day weekend, Lauren vows that will be the last weekend she will spend with him. While there, however, she discovers some evidence that may just confirm Robbie’s involvement in Victoria’s death.
Lauren is scared. Does anyone know she found what she found at the lake house? She hopes not.
With dangers around every corner, Lauren is unsure who she can trust. As she navigates between the the powerful Crestmont family and her soccer teammates, Lauren begins to piece together the truth of the two dead girls.
As mentioned above, I had a blast reading this. It’s so compelling. It drew me in from the start.
There was something about Lauren’s character that vibed well with my tastes. I loved reading from her perspective, and learning about her. She can be a little harsh, a little cold, a little angry, but I like that…
You could tell that something fairly significant had happened in her past, but it was slowly revealed to you over the course of the story, instead of laid on you all at once.
I enjoyed how that was done. I like that Lundy took her time revealing Lauren’s full-self. She’s a tough girl, but she definitely struggles with a lot over the course of the story.
I also liked Robbie and his brothers. They were extremely wealthy and powerful in this town, but instead of being the revered golden boys, as would typically be the case in these type of circumstances, they were more like social pariahs.
Lauren looking into their family, and others in the town was very interesting and if kept me on my toes. There were plenty of suspicious actors floating about.
It’s funny, when I was about halfway through this book, I was having so much fun, I thought, I need to go read this author’s previous books! With this in mind, I went to Trish Lundy’s author page here on Goodreads and discovered, THIS IS HER FIRST BOOK!?
I was seriously shocked. This is such a well-constructed and thought-out Teen Mystery, IMO. If this is her debut, I cannot wait to watch her career over the next few years.
If you enjoy YA Mystery/Thriller authors such as Jessica Goodman, Karen M. McManus, or Kara Thomas, you have to check this out. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
Thank you to the publisher, Henry Holt & Company (BYR) and Macmillan Audio, for not only providing me with copies to read and review, but also for introducing me to a talented new author to obsess over!!!