YA Thriller/Horror

Review: I Know What You Did Last Summer by Lois Duncan

~ megs14malloy

I Know What You Did Last SummerI Know What You Did Last Summer by Lois Duncan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Another nostalgic read from one of the pioneers in YA Thrillers, Lois Duncan!!

Originally published in 1973, Lois Duncan’s I Know What You Did Last Summer paved the way for all the YA Thrillers that have come after.

Most of us are familiar with the 1997-film adaptation starring Jennifer Love Hewitt and Sarah Michelle Gellar. Honestly, that was one of my go-to movies in the 90s and 2000s, yet I didn’t even know it was adapted from a book until a few years ago.

I bought a copy and have been meaning to read it forever…

Recently, I listened to the audiobook for another of Duncan’s novels, Killing Mr. Griffin, and I had so much fun with it. It was quick, nostalgic and drama-filled. I knew when I was done with that, it was finally time for me to read this one.

I decided to listen to the audiobook in this case as well. It was read by the same narrator and I liked his style.

After reading this, I gotta say, they did a great job with the adaptation. It closely followed the source material, yet with the right amount of modern twists, to make it believable and fun. I’m in love with the casting, perfection.

I am so happy that I finally took the time to read this one. I’m super into nostalgic reads right now, particularly those of the Horror and Thriller variety, so this was exactly what I was looking for.

If you are a fan of the movie, I definitely recommend you check this one out!!

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Review: Tell Me What Really Happened by Chelsea Sedoti

~ megs14malloy

Tell Me What Really HappenedTell Me What Really Happened by Chelsea Sedoti
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Five friends go into the woods, only four make it out alive. You may think you know this story, but I assure you, you’ve never heard it told like this!

In this story we’re following five high school friends, Nolan, Petra, Maylee, John and Abigail. It’s a sort of Breakfast Clubby set-up, with each character falling into a particular stereotypical role.

Maylee is the Queen Bee of the group, a wannabe influencer, snapping shots of herself whenever and wherever she can. It’s her idea to go on this ill-fated camping trip.

Petra is Maylee’s best friend, a smart girl, who tells it like it is. She’s the only person who doesn’t bow down to Maylee. Petra loves her, but she’s not going to be steamrolled by her.

The other campers include Nolan, Petra’s step-brother, an outcast with a penchant for cryptid lore, who always manages to say the wrong thing; Abigail, the poor girl-next-door, who isn’t really part of the group, and John, Maylee’s boyfriend, the jock with a heart of gold.

The trip begins with stress and ends very much the same way, x10. They’re at each other’s throats from the start and it’s clear that something is going to go wrong.

The shining star of this book is hands-down the format. Told strictly through police interviews, I was blown away by how much tension Sedoti was able to create with that.

Each chapter begins as a question asked by the investigators. The subsequent meat of the chapter is the various players answering that question.

Most interesting to me was how that initial question, at the header of each chapter, is the only question revealed, but you can feel the characters filling in subsequent questions.

I’m not quite sure how else to describe it. It’s definitely something you need to experience for yourself. I was super impressed with how clever this was.

Sedoti not only set the entire stage, but filled it in just by flawlessly placing answers to a few questions. It had to be perfectly arranged in order for it to flow well and make sense. I think she did a phenomenal job with that.

Overall, I found this to be a very fun read. It was grand how this unique format could create such a super quick and tense read. The characters drew me in. They felt believable and genuine in their distress.

It’s not a groundbreaking story as far as the plot goes. Sadly, I even sort of felt like the conclusion was a bit anti-climatic in comparison with the build-up. Nevertheless, this was still a very engaging reading experience and I would definitely recommend it to fans of YA Thrillers.

Thank you so much to the publisher, SOURCEBOOKS Fire, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I was impressed with this and look forward to picking up more from this author!

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Review: Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan

~ megs14malloy

Killing Mr. GriffinKilling Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Killing Mr. Griffin is an absolute classic Teen Thriller. I actually read this years ago, like in the 80s, but everything is a little hazy from the 80s.

I’m happy for the reread. This was fun!

Recently, while reviewing a list of books published in the year I was born, ((cough)) 1978 ((cough)), I stumbled across this one and it jogged some memories.

Lois Duncan books were a staple of my childhood, along with author’s such as Christopher Pike and R.L. Stine. Although I have read a lot of these author’s works, I would be hard-pressed to recall any details. It’s been a minute.

This one got me thinking, what would it be like to read one of these books again. Would I still have fun with it? Would I be able to recall more details once it got going? Would it stand the test of time?

Yes, a little bit and for the most part, yes!

This story follows a group of high school kids, David, Susie, Jeff, Betsey and Mark, who are having some issues with their English teacher, Mr. Griffin.

Mr. Griffin is notoriously tough and as they see it, unfair. After a particularly rough morning in his class, the kids come up with a bold plan to get back at him.

They want to kidnap him and give him a real scare. They feel like if they can scare him enough and convince him they’re doing it because he is a bad teacher, maybe he will change his ways and their grades.

Unsurprisingly, it doesn’t go quite as they expected and the kids end up in over their heads. With the resident pyschopath leading the charge, things spiral quickly.

It seems like an over-the-top premise, but is it really? As you read, you begin to see how teens could make such bad choices, especially when being pushed into it. It does happen. In fact, crazier things happen.

I think for the most part, this story stands up. The writing is a little less complex than you find today and the story itself, more linear and simple, but it was still a fun time.

For this version of the audiobook, they did add some modern touches, such as cell phones and google, which took me by surprise. I wasn’t aware of that going in and was expecting the story to be set around when it was published.

I actually wish they hadn’t changed it. It seemed really obvious to me, but maybe if I hadn’t know when this was originally published, I wouldn’t have noticed.

Another thing that struck me, which I am not sure I would have thought about the first time around, was what a good and caring teacher Mr. Griffin was. It actually made me sad.

Reading this as an Adult, his perspective made total sense to me. I would have hated what they did to him at any age, I abhor bullying of any type, but I could really understand his choices and motivations this time through.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading this again. I’m actually planning to reread another Duncan book, I Know What You Did Last Summer, very soon. I am hoping to enjoy that one just as much.

Who knows, 2023 could be the year I reread all my childhood favorites…I’m looking at you, ‘Salem’s Lot. This could be an exciting endeavor!

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Review: Five Survive by Holly Jackson

~ megs14malloy

Five SurviveFive Survive by Holly Jackson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

Five Survive is the latest release from beloved author, Holly Jackson, well known for her hugely-successful A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder series.

While Five Survive has a completely different feel than AGGG, it still showcases Jackson’s fluid and engaging writing style. This story is a YA-Action Thriller that takes place over the course of a single night.

It’s Spring Break and 18-year old, Red, and her five friends, Maddy, Oliver, Reyna, Arthur and Simon, are traveling from Pennsylvania to the Gulf Coast of Florida in an RV.

You can tell from the start that Red is recovering from a trauma that has happened in her life. Since she can’t afford to fly anywhere for break, her best friend, Maddy, actually suggests the RV trip. Good-naturedly, everyone else agrees.

It will be fun. It’ll be a real adventure.

And you know, it does start out that way. People are in good spirits. They’re excited for the trip to get underway, but then they get lost.

It sucks getting lost in a 31-foot vehicle. It’s not always easy to navigate smaller roads, let alone turn around. When your tires are shot out, it gets especially challenging.

That’s right. There’s a sniper out there lurking in the dark and they have their sights set on our six friends, who are now trapped in their disabled vehicle. There’s no cell service. They’re far from help. What can they do?

Once they begin communicating with the individual holding them hostage, it becomes clear, this person knows them. How did they end up here? Was this entire thing planned? This can’t be a coincidence.

Things become chaotic. The mood is panic, as you would expect. The sniper claims one of them has a secret that can save them all, but who!?

As the tension climbs, the people inside the RV begin turning on each other. Will they all be able to make it out of this alive, or will only five survive?

I liked this one. I really had no expectations going in, Action stories can be hit or miss for me. I personally felt this was a compelling, though very-OTT, Action Thriller.

I seem to be stumbling across quite a few of these lately and this one was pretty fun in comparison to some others. At times I was rolling my eyes, but at other times I was absolutely glued to the pages.

The audiobook was super solid. It kept me going, wanting to know the answers. There were a lot of reveals I wasn’t expecting and some super unlikable characters, which are always fun for me.

Yeah, I don’t know. I don’t know how long this one will reside in my brain, but it was a good time. A solid weekend read. Super quick, highly improbable circumstances, but engaging nonetheless.

I definitely recommend this to YA Readers who enjoy tense, claustrophobic Action Thrillers. I will certainly continue to pick up anything Holly Jackson writes!

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Review: She Is a Haunting by Trang Thahn Tran

~ megs14malloy

She Is a HauntingShe Is a Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars**

She Is a Haunting is a YA-story following a girl named, Jade Nguyen, and her experiences at her father’s haunted house in a remote area of Vietnam.

Jade, who lives with her Mom and siblings in the United States, is getting ready to start college and is concerned about money. School is expensive and she can’t ask her Mom, who has sacrificed so much for them and works so hard, to contribute any more.

Thus, Jade is in a bit of a pickle. Her estranged father, who abandoned them and moved back to Vietnam, has the money. He offers it to her on the condition that she and her little sister, Lily, go and live with him for the summer.

The thing is, Jade is really angry at her Dad, like really, really angry. After he walked out on them, they never dealt with that trauma. They don’t even talk about. It’s sort of pushed under the rug, the reality of it all.

Unfortunately, Jade feels like she has no other option. She can make this work. It’s like 5-weeks. She can suffer through anything for that amount of time, or can she?

Along for the journey with Jade and Lily are their Mom and younger brother. Their Mom and younger brother are going to be staying with their Mom’s family in a different city though, so it will just be Jade and Lily forced to stay at their Dad’s place.

His home is actually a French-style villa left over from the colonial era that he is currently converting into a B&B. The renovation is going strong when they arrive and their Dad actually expects their help.

Jade’s assigned task is to get a sleek and modern website up and running for info and reservations. As you can imagine, she’s thrilled to be doing her father’s bidding.

Helping her with the site, is the daughter of one of her Dad’s business partners, a local girl named, Florence, who Jade is immediately intrigued by. Maybe this won’t be so bad.

Then the weirdness kicks in. Strange happenings at the house, visions, dreams, sounds, sleep paralysis; Jade is convinced the house is haunted, but no one believes her. Perhaps with a little help from Florence, they can make them believe.

This is an intriguing story and I did enjoy Trang Thanh Tran’s writing style. Jade was an interesting character. She is very angry, so being in her head isn’t always a comfy, relaxing place to be, but she’s certainly allowed her feelings.

I respected the author allowing her to sort of live in the negative spaces in her mind, without trying to cure her of anything. She’s been through things, she’s allowed to hold that grudge, particularly against her estranged father.

I enjoyed the set-up, the reason for Jade traveling to Vietnam and the reason she needed to stay there. Additionally, some of the imagery, including descriptions of body horror, bug scenes and sleep paralysis were really well done, quite creepy.

However, I did grow a little bored with it. It was just so slow. I don’t mind a slow burn, and I would definitely classify this as one, however the payoff needs to be worth it.

Personally, I felt the ending of this got a little too chaotic and slightly confusing for me to necessarily consider the slow burn worth it.

I did enjoy and appreciate a lot of the topics examined here, including the different relationships Jade had with her family members, the impact and repercussions of colonialism, Jade’s family history and sexuality.

The brightest lights for me was the love and respect that Jade had for her Mom, as well as the investigation Jade started into the history of the house.

Overall, I do think this is a compelling, though slow paced, haunted house story. I did enjoy my time with it, even though it tended to drag in certain places. I appreciate the author’s attention to detail, creativity and spooky imagery.

Thank you to the publisher, Bloomsbury YA, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I would absolutely be interested in picking up future work from Trang Thanh Tran!

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Review: Delicious Monsters by Liselle Sambury

~ megs14malloy

Delicious MonstersDelicious Monsters by Liselle Sambury
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

She’s stretched her legs. She’s tied her sneakers and she is off, in the running for my favorite book of 2023!!!

Although there’s a long road ahead, I know Delicious Monsters has serious staying power. This was a darkly delicious story, which now lives rent free in my brain.

This story follows two young women, Daisy and Brittany, 10-years apart. Daisy comes first and I would say she is decidedly the star of this show.

Brittany is a host and co-creator of a popular web series, Haunted, who is interested in featuring a property owned by Daisy’s family on her show. Brittany would win the award for ‘best supporting actress’.

When the story begins, Daisy and her Mom, Grace, are living together in a small apartment in Toronto. Daisy has recently been dumped by her boyfriend and she’s admittedly struggling with moving past that.

It seems almost too good to be true then, when just when they need it most, Daisy’s Uncle passes away and leaves the family mansion to Daisy’s Mom, Grace. After a brief discussion, the two decide to pack up everything and move. Bye-bye city, hello, wide open spaces.

Set in a remote location, that’s extremely challenging to get to, the property is steeped in mystery. Grace refuses to enter the mansion, so the two actually take up residence in a bunkie, a smaller home on the property.

The goal though is to run the big house as a B&B, and Grace sets out to accomplish that right away. Daisy helps out, explores the property and even makes a couple new, intriguing friends.

As they settle in though, Daisy begins having disturbing experiences that make her question the history of the property and her mother’s story regarding it all.

Brittany’s sections are interspersed amongst the Daisy sections. It’s a mystery precisely why she is so interested in the property, like what exactly happened there, but you know it’s not good.

As things escalate with Daisy’s timeline, it feels like it is leading towards a violent end. From there you watch as the two timelines merge and all is ultimately revealed.

Delicious Monsters is a wild freaking ride. I was buckled in for it all and absolutely adored it start-to-finish.

Immediately, I was struck by how fantastic Sambury’s writing is. I knew this going in, but it’s been a while, so I guess I had forgotten a bit.

Let me tell you about it. Sambury’s writing is fluid as heck. It’s beautiful without being so flowery that it loses all semblance of a coherent narrative. It’s emotional, it’s dark and it doesn’t shy away from examining difficult topics.

The character development is excellent. Daisy, in particular, is so compelling. You’re in her head a lot and it’s not necessarily a comfortable place to be, but you grow to love her and have such empathy for her journey.

Additionally, there is great mystery to this story, as well as some truly haunting imagery. As you race towards the conclusion, things, I believe intentionally, start to get a little addled. You won’t be sure what’s up, what’s down, what’s real and what’s not. It was intense and a real page turner.

This was such a fun reading experience for me. It’s one of those books where I wish I could go back and read it again for the first time. It’s that good. It’s stunning, crushing, hope-inducing and toe-curling. It’s everything.

I would absolutely recommend this to anyone who enjoys Horror, YA Horror, Haunted House stories, or Dark Fiction in general. There are quite a few sensitive topics explored though, so I urge you to seek out the author’s review, as she includes a full list of content warnings.

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

I have been anticipating this book since July of 2021, when I first heard of the initial concept. It did not disappoint in the slightest. This is a phenomenal story!

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Review: Burn Down, Rise Up by Vincent Tirado

~ megs14malloy

Burn Down, Rise UpBurn Down, Rise Up by Vincent Tirado
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I recently learned about this novel via a Book Riot article on the 13 Best “Good For Her” Horror books.

Click here if you would like to see the full list:

Good For Her Horror Recs

I knew right away from the blurb that I was interested. After reading the full synopsis and a couple of reviews here on Goodreads, I couldn’t wait.

I found the audiobook through my library and immediately downloaded it. I love a sudden mood read like that and this one paid off big time. Not only did I really enjoy this, but I’ve found a new author to follow.

This story starts out with an absolute bang and before I forget, the audiobook, I absolutely recommend it. Okay, so yeah, the beginning. You’re following a boy who has had something happen to him. You aren’t sure what, but you can tell he is sick, scared and seeking medical attention.

He enters a hospital and finally gets some help, but things do not end well. He takes off and subsequently disappears.

Our MC, Raquel, her Mom works at that hospital and is on duty at the time the boy comes in. Unfortunately, after her interaction with him, she’s infected too and falls into a coma. With her Mom fighting for her life, Raquel has to stay with her Dad at his place.

As if this isn’t stressful enough, the Bronx, where Raquel lives has been plagued recently by disappearances that barely get noticed. Raquel has tried to ignore that, pretend it’s not even happening, but when her crush’s cousin goes missing, she suddenly has to pay attention.

In fact, Raquel promises her crush, Charlize, that she will help her try to find her cousin.

What the girls discover is chatter about a horrifying local legend called the Echo Game. It’s said that if you play the game it’s possible you can get trapped in a sinister world underneath the city.

They believe Charlize’s cousin may have played it and that the game is connected to his disappearance. With this in mind, there’s only one choice really. They need to play.

I had so much fun with this. From the very start, the scene at the hospital, I was hooked. I had to know what was happening. It was disturbing, which we love.

I really enjoyed the writing style. The writer’s imagination and ability to create some truly startling horror imagery were on full display within this work. It was getting under my skin and left me wanting more.

Burn Down, Rise Up felt like a Love Letter to the Bronx disguised as a Horror story. I feel like it’s really special in that way. It actually made me want to go out and research the history of that area.

This concept is actually something I really love in my dark fiction. More specifically, I always enjoy when the history of a place influences the Horror elements of a story. It’s like the place holds onto trauma, whether it be collective or singular, and then channels that into the present events.

I thought that was done so well here. Additionally, I enjoyed going along with Raquel as she fought so hard not only her family and friends, but for her community as a whole.

Overall, I am so happy that I picked up this book. I was really impressed by it and cannot wait to read more from Vincent Tirado. If this book is any indication, I am going to love them all!

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Review: They’re Watching You by Chelsea Ichaso

~ megs14malloy

They're Watching YouThey’re Watching You by Chelsea Ichaso
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Well, that didn’t go as I expected…

They’re Watching You was a highly-anticipated release for me. Unfortunately, this story and I did not get along.

In this novel we’re following Maren, a student at the prestigious Torrey-Wells Academy. Two weeks ago, Maren’s best friend, Polly, went missing from school. Prior to her disappearance, Polly said some cryptic things to Maren.

When everyone, including the police and school headmistress, assume that Polly has run away, Maren knows that’s not true. Polly was her roommate, she knew her better than anyone. Polly would never leave her hanging like that.

Thus Maren begins looking into it. To her it’s clear, her friend is in trouble and she’ll do anything she can to help.

When Maren finds an envelope hidden among Polly’s things, containing an invitation to a secret society, she knows this is a lead worth following.

Rumors have swirled at school about this mysterious Gamemaster’s Society for years, and as Maren digs in, she realizes there may be a lot of truth behind the whispers. Luckily, she finds out from classmates just the info she needs to secure her own invitation.

Before she knows it, Maren is elbow-deep in secret society craziness. There is a whole underground world at her school, one very few people get to see.

The games cooked up by the society are one thing, but Maren discovers she is playing a game of her own. For every win, she’s one step closer to finding out the truth about what has happened to Polly.

Y’all, I really wanted to love this and in the beginning, I thought that maybe I would. Sadly, this never got off the ground for me and the ending, easily anticipated, left me underwhelmed.

The set-up was intriguing. I liked the idea behind what Ichaso was building, but the execution did not fit my tastes at all. I found the characters to be flat and frankly, boring, especially Maren.

Maren’s personality was practically nonexistent. Besides her insistence on not giving up on Polly, I couldn’t feel anything from her. All these wild things are happening to her, yet her thoughts and actions are putting me to sleep. I felt zero intensity.

Additionally, the romantic elements felt so forced and out of place in lieu of all that was happening. I sort of get one of the connections, as she is working closely with a certain someone to try to gain the information she needs, but it still felt out of place.

Lastly, the person who appears to be running everything, our villain, was ridiculous. I just could not get behind that person as an evil mastermind. Nope, nope, nope.

It just wasn’t for me. The motivations, the romance, the fatuous games that everyone willing participated in for no truly logical reasons and the fact that our heroine is hypocritical and boring, just never allowed this one to connect for me.

With this being said, this is 100% personal opinion. I know that a lot of Readers will enjoy this and I am so happy for those that do. Everyone has different tastes, that’s one of the best things about reading, how subjective it is.

So if this sounds interesting to you, if the synopsis raises your eyebrows, you should absolutely pick it up and give it a go. I certainly wouldn’t be opposed to picking up more from this author in the future. Perhaps their next release will be more to my liking.

Thank you to the publisher, Sourcebooks Fire, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I appreciate having the opportunity to share my opinions.

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Review: These Fleeting Shadows by Kate Alice Marshall

~ megs14malloy

These Fleeting ShadowsThese Fleeting Shadows by Kate Alice Marshall
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars**

In These Fleeting Shadows we meet Helen Vaughan. Helen is a girl with a murky past and a slightly haunted present.

She knows that when she was very young, she and her Mom fled their ancestral home, Harrowstone Hall, where their extended family still live, but she has no idea why.

They never discuss it. They don’t talk about the family, about why they left, nothing. It’s just a giant black hole of nothingness looming over Helen’s entire life.

Then the notification arrives that her grandfather has passed away. They’re asked to come to Harrow for the funeral and surprisingly, her Mom agrees. They’re actually going.

Once there, Helen is swept up into Harrow immediately. Meeting her strange family, the eerie house and grounds, its a lot to take in.

When she receives the news of the inheritance, it’s even more overwhelming. The grandfather she barely knew left everything to her? Everything? Really? And what’s this clause about her having to stay in the house for one-year in order to receive everything?

She decides to give it a go.

Life at Harrow is disturbing. The people eccentric, the house itself a haunted labyrinth of confusion. It’s hard to tell if there is anyone Helen can trust. Can she even trust herself?

I don’t really know what to say about this novel. There were many things about it that I enjoyed, but I also found it to be convoluted, with certain events being very difficult to track.

The premise is great. We love an inheritance story, particularly ones set at a gothic mansion. Add in bizarre family members and we’re still on the right track.

A protagonist feeling haunted, unsure if her dreams are just that, or repressed memories? I’ll grab the popcorn. I’m still here for it.

I think where it really started losing me was the nature of the house, which really is the essence of the story. The reason behind the family doing what they were doing. It just lost me. It moved from where I thought it was going to something else entirely.

At the heart of the story, this reminded me of Kiersten White’s release, Hide. There’s a similar vein running through here that ran through that novel. Frankly, I didn’t enjoy it in either place.

In the Author’s Note at the end, Kate Alice Marshall writes a bit about being inspired by Arthur Machen’s The Great God Pan to write this story. It sounds like this is in fact a modern-reimagining of that tale.

I wish I would have known that before. I think that could have made this story more impactful for me. Also, I would have loved to have read that original source material prior to picking this one up.

Either way, this ended up being a mixed bag for me. I fell in love with the cover, but eventually fell out of love with the content. The beginning was great, with a very promising set-up.

I loved the atmosphere created once they arrived at Harrow. By the mid-way point though, my interest was waning and by the end, I was looking forward to it being over.

While this story wasn’t necessarily to my liking, I still love Kate Alice Marshall’s writing and the risks she is willing to take with her stories.

These Fleeting Shadows may not have been a hit for me, but I’m confident that so many Readers will absolutely love this. I look forward to seeing what Marshall will serve us next!

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Review: Little Monsters by Kara Thomas

~ megs14malloy

Little MonstersLittle Monsters by Kara Thomas
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars rounded up**

Kacey has had a strained relationship with her volatile mother for years. When it becomes too much for her to handle, Kacey moves to Broken Falls, Wisconsin, to live with the father she has never met.

Her Dad has a wife, Ashley, a step-son, Andrew, and a younger daughter, Lauren. Kacey is simply thrust into their family. It’s not necessarily comfortable at first, but overall she’s grateful to have a more secure environment. It’s definitely a change for her.

It’s not necessarily easy to be the new girl at school either, although we love a new girl trope.

Luckily for Kacey, Bailey and her best friend, Jade, see Kacey, a ship without a port and take her into their group. Soon enough the trio are like peas in a pod.

They get up to the typical high school girl things like sneaking out, trespassing and trying to summon spirits in abandoned buildings. You know, the usual. There is some minor tension amongst the girls, of course, but that’s normal too.

Sometimes Kacey prefers to spend quiet nights at home, but Bailey and Jade are usually fairly insistent that she join them on nights out.

On the night of the biggest party of the year though, Kacey doesn’t hear from them. They seem to have ghosted her.

Kacey is concerned. Even though she enjoys some quiet time, FOMO is real. The next day, Kacey receives the news that Bailey is missing. She just disappeared, gone in the night. Did she run off, was she taken, is she still alive?

When the police question Kacey, she’s not exactly forthcoming with the truth. Does she have something to hide she’s not letting on to the Reader?

This was such an interesting story. We followed Kacey mostly, but we also got some of Bailey’s perspective. It was a compelling sway of back-and-forth.

Kacey was an interesting main character, who had been through a lot already in her young life. Now as she seemed to be settling into a more secure home environment, other aspects of her life seemed to be getting out of hand.

The more Kacey digs, the more it seems that everyone suspects her of having done something to Bailey. Kacey’s determined to figure this out. She actually wants to find Bailey, but small towns can hold a lot of secrets and loyalties run deep.

Kara Thomas knows how to build suspense. This one had me absolutely glued to the pages. It was unsettling. Stories like this, that feel so very real to life can be so disturbing.

I picked this up as Book #11 for my TBR-Haul Project. I hauled this in November of 2018 and am so happy that I finally made the time for it.

I’d heard a lot about this book from others and everything they said was true. I definitely recommend the audiobook format. It was fantastically narrated. I was so invested in this narrative and characters.

This is such a compelling mystery. Highly recommend!

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