YA Mystery

Review: The Cousins by Karen M. McManus

~ megs14malloy

The CousinsThe Cousins by Karen M. McManus
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

The wealthy Story family is practically royalty on Gull Cove Island, a remote vacation destination off Cape Cod in Massachusetts.

They own the largest resort on the island and everyone knows them. Twenty-five years ago, the family matriarch, Mildred, suddenly disowned her four children, essentially banishing them from the island.

These children are now adults and three of them have children of their own. Aubrey, Jonah and Milly, although cousins, hardly know each other, having only met a handful of times.

Seemingly out of the blue, all three Story grandchildren receive invitations from the Grandmother they have never met, to travel to the island for the summer and work at the Gull Cove Resort.

All three teens think that this sounds like a terrible way to spend the summer, but they aren’t really given an option.

Their parents see this as a chance to get back in Grandma’s good graces and possibly back into an inheritance. Money, as we know, can be a strong motivator.

The cousins meet aboard the ferry to the island and begrudgingly begin to get to know one another.

Before they know it, two hours has gone by, the ferry is docking and their summer of scandal has officially begun!

As to be expected with a novel by Karen M. McManus, this was full of twists and turns the entire way through.

The over-the-top drama was compelling and I was so into finding out all of the Story family’s deepest secrets. There was a lot to unpack.

Milly, Aubrey and Jonah were each unique, with their own insecurities and hang-ups. I liked how their relationships evolved over the course of the story, as they began to work together to get to the bottom of why their parents got disowned.

In addition to the current timeline, there was also a past perspective following Milly’s Mom, Allison, in the summer leading up to their being disinherited. Eventually, it all pieces together into a more than startling conclusion.

This is a super quick read and I had a lot of fun with it. What’s not to love about a remote seaside setting, a possible inheritance, decades old family secrets and rich people drama?

Incidentally, I live on a remote island off of Cape Cod in Massachusetts, so can attest to the setting being well done. I loved that McManus even used the actual name of the ferry company that services our island.

Details like that made me feel connected right away.

I am so glad that I finally got around to picking this one up and now can anxiously anticipate her next release, You’ll Be the Death of Me!

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Review: In the Hall With the Knife by Diana Peterfreund

~ megs14malloy

In the Hall with the Knife (Clue Mystery, #1)In the Hall with the Knife by Diana Peterfreund
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

In the Hall with the Knife was so much fun and the exact vibe I was hoping for.

This story brought all of the Clue movie over-the-top drama and I was living for it.

I decided to pick up this novel over Halloween week. I had no idea how perfect that choice would end up being.

Set at a posh boarding school, Blackbrook Academy, on the coast of Maine, this story follows multiple perspectives including Peacock, Green, Mustard, Scarlet and Mrs. White.

When a winter storm hits, the academy’s access to the mainland gets cut off, stranding a hand full of students, the headmaster and a couple of other school employees.

They corral everyone into Tudor House, which seems to be a highpoint and therefore escaped major flooding and damage.

The manse generally acts as a girls boarding house, with Mrs. White at its head, but they manage to find room for everyone.

The house includes all of the stately charm you would anticipate with hardwoods, stained glass, and rooms such as the lounge, billiard room and conservatory. Oh, and secret passageways, don’t forget the secret passageways.

When on the first night, the headmaster ends up dead, our intrepid characters are left to figure out what happened.

Some suggest an accident, other suggest suicide, but very quickly it is clear that it was murder.

I had a ton of fun reading this. It was campy, it was ridiculous and I thought it was a blast.

I think if you go into it with the right mindset, you will have fun with it to. It is definitely not a story to take too seriously.

I’m actually really excited to pick up the next installment. This one left off at an interesting and sinister spot.

I want more!!!

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Review: Broken Things by Lauren Oliver

~ megs14malloy

Broken ThingsBroken Things by Lauren Oliver
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars**

Five years ago, Summer Marks was brutally murdered and left in the woods of her hometown.

The belief is that she was killed by her two best friends, Mia and Brynn, in a horrific, ritualistic style.

The girls were obsessed with a fantasy book called, The Way Into Lovelorn, and apparently, something found within those pages whipped them into a murderous frenzy. The thing is though, they didn’t do it.

Broken Things begins with Brynn finally being forced to leave the rehab center she has been residing in. She’s really never lived on the outside since Summer’s death.

Mia has continued living with her Mom in her childhood home, now packed to the gills due to her Mother’s hoarding habits.

During an effort to do a major clean out, Mia finds the old copy of The Way Into Lovelorn under a mass of garbage. This discovery hacks open old wounds and reinvigorates Mia’s desire to find out the truth of what happened to Summer.

Since they were separated during their police interviews, Mia and Brynn have not spoken. As Brynn is released, they are suddenly and unexpectedly reunited.

Rejoining is cold at first. It’s hard for them to communicate, but as time passes, they begin to open up with one another and it becomes clear they both have information about Summer’s death that they’ve never revealed before.

I was so immersed in this novel. The toxic friendship, the mystery, the side characters and the exploration of sexuality were all so well done. I read it incredibly quickly. Once I started, I could not put it down.

I was getting heavy Slender Man vibes, which was great. The way the girls backstory was told, it sort of gave this is this supernatural, is it not feeling; especially in the beginning. I dig that vibe.

Additionally, I loved the book-within-a-book portions in regards to the Lovelorn content.

There were portions from the original book, as well as excerpts from the fanfic sequel the girls were writing together. It was clear Summer was the most passionate about their project and she sort of steamrolled the other girls to get her way.

It’s funny, although we never met her in the current timeline, and she was the murder victim, to me, Summer was the least likable character.

Watching Brynn and Mia struggle through years of abuse in the public because of something they were accused of doing, but were innocent of, also made me feel protective of, and attached to them in a weird way.

I thought the mystery of Summer’s murder was intriguing.

Of course, Oliver also incorporated one of my favorite tropes, amateur sleuthing, as the girls, Mia and Brynn, try to piece together what actually happened on the day Summer died.

For a backlist book I never hear anyone talking about, I was really impressed with this. I thought it was engaging the entire way through and I enjoyed the overall way the story was told.

I will definitely be picking up more from Lauren Oliver in the future!

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Review: I Killed Zoe Spanos by Kit Frick

~ megs14malloy

I Killed Zoe SpanosI Killed Zoe Spanos by Kit Frick
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A couple of months ago, I read A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson, and promptly proclaimed it my new favorite YA Mystery/Thriller.

I also initially said it would be hard to beat. The next thing I know, Kit Frick comes along with this beauty, I Killed Zoe Spanos, and shattered all my expectations.

I love this book so much, y’all. An all new favorite!!

I will admit, right out of the gate, that I know this isn’t going to be for everyone. However, for me, this was pretty damn near perfect.

Our protagonist, Anna Cicconi, has accepted a position as a summer nanny for a family in the small Hamptons village of, Herron Mills.

She has recently graduated high school and is trying to turn over a new leaf before starting college in the Fall.

This includes distancing herself from city life, particularly her best friend, Kaylee, who is a party girl through and through.

Anna has been running wild lately and doesn’t like how she feels about herself after. The blackout nights are the worst. She just needs to stay away from alcohol for the summer, put her head down, and concentrate on saving money for school.

Once she is settled in, she can hardly believe her luck. The little girl she is caring for, Paisley, is really sweet and easy, plus the house she is staying in is completely swank.

Anna does have one problem though, the nights. She has every evening off and needs to stay occupied because it is never good for her to sit to long with her thoughts. She starts to go on a lot of nighttime walks, exploring the property grounds and surrounding neighborhood.

It’s on one of these excursions when she happens to meet the cute and mysterious boy next door, Caden, for the first time. He is home from Yale for the summer, staying in his family mansion, Windmere.

Caden is surprised to meet Anna as well, as she looks shockingly like his fiance, Zoe Spanos, who has been missing since New Years Eve.

It’s not the first time Anna has experienced this. Around town people are definitely shocked upon seeing the similarity between her and the missing girl.

Paired with the fact that Anna begins to have memories of Herron Mills, even though she has never been there before, it’s not surprising when she starts to believe she may have a connection to Zoe.

Interspersed amongst the current narrative chapters, we also have entire podcast episodes by Martina Green, investigating Zoe’s disappearance.

Even though the police believe she ran away, Martina, best friend of Zoe’s younger sister, Aster, doesn’t buy it. She begins her own investigation and documents it through her podcast.

It’s so good. I love, love, love the podcast element as a way to tell the story.

The back and forth, the way details of Zoe’s life and disappearance are exposed, was absolutely intoxicating. Once I got into this story, I could not put it down.

Racing towards the conclusion, I had no idea how it was going to end. Were Zoe and Anna connected? Was something supernatural happening? Is Zoe alive? Are Zoe and Anna the same person!?

I was confused, I was intrigued, I was loving every minute of it!

This is a summer Thriller everyone will want to read. I may read it again, actually, once the audiobook is released. I would love how to see how they handle the podcast in the audio.

So, in short, if you love intense, twisty-turny Thrillers, with a possibly unreliable narrator, a podcast, amateur sleuthing and multiple red herrings, you definitely need to pick this book up!

Thank you so much to the publisher, Margaret K. McElderry Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review.

There’s nothing like finding a new favorite!

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A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

~ megs14malloy

A Good Girl's Guide to Murder (A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, #1)A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved this so much! My new favorite YA Mystery/Thriller of all time. This one will be tough to beat.

For her senior year Capstone Project, Pippa Fitz-Amboi, decides to solve a murder.

The murder in question, that of Andie Bell, happened five years ago. The police, and thus the whole town, say the crime was committed by Andie’s boyfriend, Sal Singh.

Their biggest piece of evidence, a texted confession to his parents, just prior to Sal’s apparent suicide.

In spite of this, Pippa does not believe Sal is guilty. Andie’s body was never recovered and there is no actual physical evidence against him.

Pippa is such a great character. She’s an overachiever who works tirelessly towards her goal.

You can tell, once she sets her sights on something, she does not give up and that’s exactly how she tackles this project.

I think one of the things that connected me so much to this story was Pippa. I found her super relatable and loved reading from her perspective.

She ends up befriending Sal’s younger brother, Ravi, and that additional commitment to him, and clearing Sal’s name, makes her even more steadfast in her project; even in the face of danger.

Additionally, the format of this was creative and engaging. Using mixed media sources, including the transcripts from Pippa’s multiple investigatory interviews, and a present day narrative, made me feel like I was a part of the investigation.

As Pippa is evaluating what she has learned along the way, she recaps things, as you actually would if you were working on this type of project; including a running list of current suspects and a murder board.

The stakes were high and there were times Pippa was very legitimately in danger. Through it all, she stayed true to herself and really fought to find justice for Andie and Sal.

I loved this so much, as I said. I could go on for many more paragraphs of all the positive attributes of this story, but don’t just take my word for it, PICK THIS UP!!!

If you love it even half as much as I did, you’re in for a good time!

Well done by Holly Jackson. I am so excited to get more mysteries from her!!!

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People Like Us by Dana Mele

~ megs14malloy

People Like Us (People Like Us, #1)People Like Us by Dana Mele
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars**

A deeply twisted private school mystery.

🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤

So, yeah. Basically my aesthetic.

At Bates Academy, Kay Donovan and her glitzy group of girlfriends, are the most popular girls in school.

They basically decide the social ranking of the rest of their peers and seem to get away with everything, including perpetually bad behavior.

When they stumble across the dead body of one of their classmates, however, they do seem to finally be treading in deep waters.

But they didn’t do anything. She was already dead by the time they came along. Why does it seem like they are under suspicion?

Maybe the dead girl wasn’t innocent herself. Kay ends up receiving a computer-coded scavenger hunt from her, after she was already dead, that causes Kay to look a little deeper at those around her.

Before they know it, their tight little group is beginning to implode.

I thought this book was fun. It followed a fairly typical YA Thriller format and that’s okay.

If you are looking for a quick fun read, with lots of twists, turns and unlikable characters, you should definitely check this one out!

Yeah, you’ve got nothing but time. Backlist bump!!!

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Review: The June Boys by Courtney C. Stevens

~ megs14malloy

The June BoysThe June Boys by Courtney C. Stevens
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

The Gemini Thief is a serial kidnapper who has been plaguing Tennessee for the past decade.

Every year, three boys are taken, kept for a year and then released.

When one of the currently kidnapped boy’s body is discovered, however, it is assumed the Thief has escalated. He has never killed before. Was it an accident?

Either way, authorities and citizens alike become desperate to get the bottom of the mystery.

Thea Delacroix has been seriously hunting the Thief ever since her cousin, Aulus, disappeared. Not everyone believes she is correct when she says he was one of the Thief’s victims, but she knows it’s true.

Unfortunately for Thea, she begins to suspect her own father may be responsible. His eccentricities definitely make it possible for him to be the culprit everyone is searching for.

What should she do?

The story follows Thea and her closest friends as they investigate her father and follow leads in an effort to find the missing boys.

Interspersed throughout the narrative are letters written from her cousin, Aulus, during his captivity. These are penned, The Elizabeth Letters.

Through the letters we get a glimpse of how dire the situation is for the boys remaining in the Thief’s grasp.

A couple of things, there were some pretty series formatting issues with the copy of the e-ARC that I read. Particularly during The Elizabeth Letters things were so jumbled, it was hard to tell what was supposed to go where.

With this being said, it made this one a little hard to rate. I am positive that these issues have been cleared up in the final copy.

Therefore, I am basing my rating on what I know this story to be: well written and intense.

I thought the writing was great. The intensity was high throughout the whole story.

There are aspects of this that are hard to read. It is dark and the author doesn’t shy away from showing how desperate the boys in captivity are.

I also wouldn’t say it was uplifting, however, there is a message of hope, higher power and meaning. In my opinion, it was a solid YA Mystery/Thriller, best enjoyed by individuals who like their stories to go dark and stay there.

While not for everyone, I personally enjoyed this. I have a feeling if I would have read a finished copy, as opposed to the ARC, I would have ended up giving this a solid 4-stars.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Thomas Nelson, for providing me with a copy to read and review. Regardless of the formatting issues, I did have a good time reading this!

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Review: One of Us is Next (Bayview High #2) by Karen M. McManus

~ megs14malloy

One of Us Is Next (Bayview High, #2)One of Us Is Next by Karen M. McManus
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars rounded up**

It’s been a year since Simon’s death and the events of One of Us is Lying.

The Bayview Four have been cleared and mostly moved on with their lives. Trying to put that traumatic period behind them.

For the kids remaining at Bayview, those times are never far from their minds. A assortment of gossip apps have popped up since then, trying to take Simon’s place, but no one has the goods. Until now…

A school wide text gets sent out inviting everyone to play a game. Truth or Dare. With players seemingly chosen at random, everyone is nervous about being the one picked next.

The truths are so harsh, turning family and friends against one another. Individuals feel pretty much forced to take the dare, rather than become a social pariah in the eyes of their peers.

But when the dares turn deadly, all bets are off.

Some of the kids decide to team up to figure out who the mastermind of the game is, before it’s too late for all of them. This includes Bronwyn’s little sister Maeve, as well as recent outcast Phoebe, and boy next door, Knox.

The intensity of this continues to build up throughout the story and again, I think McManus did an excellent job of keeping the story fun and compelling.

I was so excited to be back at Bayview High for another mystery. The amateur sleuthing was super entertaining, full of twists and red herrings.

I will continue to pick up anything McManus writes. I cannot wait to see what’s next. Her signature style of characters and pacing works so well for me!

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Review: The Cheerleaders by Kara Thomas

~ megs14malloy

The CheerleadersThe Cheerleaders by Kara Thomas
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars**

The Sunnybrook High cheerleading squad was disbanded after five of the squad members ended up dead in rapid succession.

Two lost in a car accident, two murdered by an unhinged neighbor and the last, Jenn, wracked with survivor’s guilt, took her own life.

Five years have passed since those terrible tragedies and now people at the school are hoping to organize a memorial for the girls. Monica, Jenn’s little sister, gets asked to participate.

Monica has never believed that Jenn would commit suicide. The idea of a memorial creates great anxiety for her and she begins to sneak around her Step-Dad’s office, a local police officer, looking for answers.

When she comes across Jenn’s old cell phone in his desk, her suspicions only deepen. Why did he hold onto it?

Along with a new friend from her dance team, Monica begins to unravel a web of clues that indicate perhaps the five deaths were no coincidence, but who would go after the cheerleaders?

I listened to the audiobook for this and really enjoyed it. It’s has a classic mystery feel and was fast paced and compelling.

This was actually my first Kara Thomas, but now I am psyched to get to her other work!

Little Monsters, here I come!

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Review: All the Bad Apples by Moira Fowley-Doyle

~ megs14malloy

All the Bad ApplesAll the Bad Apples by Moïra Fowley-Doyle
My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Break the stigma, break the curse.

An absolutely enchanting feminist tale!

I was so enthralled by this story, I could not put it down. As Deena begins to unravel the mysteries of her family tree whilst on a search to find her sister, Mandy, assumed dead, I was completely swept up in their family lore. I wanted to know everything about the Rys family.

Fowley-Doyle seamlessly blended past and present together as the narrative unfolds. The reader takes a front seat as history repeats itself again and again. Women and girls are stripped of their power and choice, made to live false lives. It was heart-wrenching and felt extremely genuine.

At the beginning of the novel, Deena, our teenage protagonist comes out to her family with a mixed reaction. She is a student at a Catholic school and has been raised within a conservative household. She is struggling with her identity and being able to live her truth.

I thought this aspect of the story was so well done, as were all aspects really, but the feelings evoked as Deena questions whether or not she is a ‘nice, normal girl’, were just so powerful. That’s how the story kicks off and as far as gut-punching, hard-hitting topic choices, never lets up.

I loved the format the author chose to slowly reveal the truth at the heart of this tale. I am going to be thinking about this one for a long time to come. I am not going to say anything else in regards to the plot because I think it would best serve the story, and your reading experience, to go into this with as little information as possible.

A story of family, identity, secrets, truth and power, I am still reeling by how much this story has impacted me. Truly stunning.

While this is a fully fictional story, the topics explored within were well researched by the author and are based on true events that happened throughout the course of Ireland’s history. As the author lives in Ireland and is Irish herself, that is where the story is focused, however the issues the girls and women faced are universal.

Please read this book. Please read this book. Please read this book and as always, this includes the Author’s Note at the end. Read that too!!

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