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rebeccaelizabeth94's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Oh my gosh! I absolutely loved this story. I was hooked from the opening line and didn’t want to stop listening to it. We find Cecelia on her way to live with her rich estranged grandmother, who is also a mystery author with a career spanning decades. Her grandmother treats her like a house guest and prides herself on the social connections that Cecelia makes at high school. On the first day of school Cecelia falls into the popular crowd from the start. The town is shrouded in the real life murder turned thriller turned blockbuster movie. Caroline was found dead in the pool floating next to her crown 50 years ago. The town has Weston Con where murder enthusiasts come to see where the murder that inspired their favorite thriller took place. On the night before homecoming two of the girls in Cecelia’s friend group got into a very public fight over homecoming outfits. The next thing we knew was Natalie, daughter of the mayor, head bitch on campus was found dead in the pool. Along with finding the body people start to wonder if there’s a copycat to the murder from 50 years ago. Cecelia works with Brontë, her new best friend as well as Amber, Brontë’s girlfriend and police chiefs daughter, Ben Cecelia’s love interest and Gabriel, Brontë’s brother to figure out who killed Natalie. The thing is Cecelia works with people one or two at a time not as a whole group. The more Cecelia digs the more dirt and blackmail she uncovers. Everyone has dirt on someone else. Like Natalie was recording all the therapy sessions the people of the town had with her mother. She would then exploit their secrets for her gain. Amber played both sides of the law to help her friend and her dad. Gabriel worked 3 jobs but always was where he needed to be to help out. Morgan wanted to sleep with Natalie’s dad this lead to Cecelia announcing to the whole town at Natalie’s funeral that the mayor was into underage girls. That was a real bombshell. Bens grandfather is going to sue the town for his moms death and there’s animosity there and hate fucking did take place before he got with Cecelia. I loved the women I. This book they had the town on lock. By the time Cecelia got to the pool with the mysterious messages I knew Ben would be the killer. I didn’t see the grandmother twist coming but what a revelation. It was an ending I didn’t see coming and it was so much better than I hoped. 10/10 I wanted to start it again as soon as I finished it.
Graphic: Murder, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Pedophilia, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Death, and Blood
Moderate: Cancer, Grief, Car accident, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, and Drug use
avidreaderandgeekgirl's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
This book was good in some respects like the themes and issues it talks about. But both of the mystery solutions/murder(s) were SO OBVIOUS! I knew from the beginning who killed who. Overall it was just meh. I did like the theme of grief.
Graphic: Grief, Drug use, Alcohol, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Death of parent, Murder, Vomit, Violence, and Death
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Sexual content
bibliorama's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
- My friend Megan when I told her the rundown of the plot XD
Enjoyment - 4
This was a good, easy time. I actually would have liked to spend more time in the setup of the town and seen more of the characters before the major event. The small, coastal town vibe was a good setting choice and I appreciated that the natural environment of the town played a role in the plot.
Start - 3.5
This is the section I could have done with being longer. I wish we spent more time submerged in the new house and town with added details. The premise is a good one though. A murder done in the same fashion as one done decades before sets the stage for a lot of questions.
Characters - 4.5
There were some interesting character tropes being used, and I do like a complicated friend group. I just wish we had gotten more of it before the murder because the status quo was interesting in itself. Also, there were a good amount of questionable people around to make nailing down the culprit less easy.
Atmosphere - 3.5
Decent details, I could visualize the town easily. I just wanted more details (and isn't that the theme of this review).
Plot - 4
Kept a good pace and the progression felt natural for the most part. Towards the end it gets quicker and one reveal in particular feels half out of the blue. It was the twist I was hoping for but I wanted more setup for it. There was lots of good drama, but I wanted to sit in some of it more because there's some dark stuff introduced here.
Ending - 4
Loved the second twist, but again wanted more setup for it.
Style - 3
Writing was effective and had a realistic teen voice, I just don't have any standout lines that stick in my brain.
Overall - 3.8
Moderate: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Death, Murder, and Terminal illness
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship
I'd say Mid to Upper YA
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