Several years ago I decided to give Armentrout's alien sci-fi books a shot and while I enjoyed them I didn't end up adoring them as so many others did. But when I heard about this book I decided it sounded promising so I put it on my TBR list and asked for an ARC. When said ARC showed up I was very happy because, let's face it, JLA is a HUGE author. If you know me at all you know I'm always down for a mystery book, the bloodier the better, so obviously this one was right up my alley. Aside from the case of amnesia that the main character has (and I'm not talking about what happened the day before amnesia, I'm talking full on "who am I/how old am I/do I know you?" amnesia), it's a pretty standard mystery novel. There were parts that I liked about it and parts that I didn't particularly care for, but such is the way with every book. The parts I did like included the romance (although the guy was way too good for the main character), the notes being left for the main character to find, the flashbacks she had, and her persistence to find out the truth. I also really liked the brother and the brother's girlfriend. Things I didn't exactly care for were basically all of the characters not mentioned above (including the victim herself and at some points in the story the main character), the reveal of who was leaving the notes (admittedly it was pretty clever though), and I feel like there were a few things that were left unanswered (or at least seemed to me to be kind of important that just kind of disappeared along the way, but it's possible that's just because I was reading an ARC). I also want to state that I did suspect the killer for at least 100 pages, and I'm pretty sure I could pinpoint the exact time I was like "ah-ha!" Those things being said it was a pretty fresh murder mystery novel for the YA age range in a time when there aren't a ton of them around. It had that private-school-rich-kid vibe going on that I do so adore in mystery settings, and while that's not exactly what it was the tone was there so kudos for that. Mystery fans of all ages will most likely enjoy this fast-paced quick read from bestselling and fan-loved author. There did seem to be a lack of the JLA "spunk" (this is just what I call it, it's the sarcastic tone most of her characters have that I find appealing), but the voice is still very much there so long-time fans will be pleased to find that, as well as new fans. I'll be interested to see if JLA writes any other YA (or NA) mystery novels in the future because I'll be sure to check them out.
Out April 15, 2014
4/5 dust spirits
*Thanks to Disney-Hyperion for providing me with an ARC of this book in return for an honest review.
No comments:
Post a Comment