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A review by ihateprozac
Killer by Sara Shepard
5.0
Hooooooooly shiiiiiiiiit. That pretty much sums it up. This is the most explosive book in the series thus far, with Jason DiLaurentis and Darren Wilden upping the creep factor by 1000% and Ali's basement-dwelling-twin finally making her way into the picture.
The author drops creepy hints about Jason and Darren in Wicked, though I wasn't sure I should trust them since Shepard is notorious for messing with her readers' heads. In fact, I'm still a little hesitant about believing it all, even though I'm getting to the tail end of the series and it's a bit late to keep playing that game. If Darren and Jason killed Alison - though is it really Alison? - I am so looking forward to the big reveal. The most plausible explanation would be that Ali's death was an accident, but Jason and Darren are so messed up that I want it to be a juicy crime of passion.
I noted in my last review that I thought Wilden had potentially killed Ali and then gone on the straight and narrow, and his actions in Killer seem to support that. However, he could have easily just joined the police force to ensure their secret stayed buried. He's definitely been trying to discredit the girls and the investigation, which would seem to confirm the latter.
But then there's the issue of the weird phone calls he's been having where he clearly doesn't want to speak to the caller. I assumed it was Jason on the other end, though if he didn't want to speak to Jason then that would mean they're not working together to cover it up. Or perhaps they are working together, but Jason has been screwing things up on his end. Or maybe Wilden is hearing from Ali's twin or even Jenna, since we've learned Jason is very unhappy with Jenna.
Then again, maybe Darren and Jason didn't murder Ali at all. Maybe Ali's "twin" killed her and Jason and Darren covered it all up for her. It supports Ian seeing two blondes in the clearing, since Jason having long hair was an afterthought only mentioned in this book. I also wonder if Ali's "twin" (I'm going to keep using quotation marks until I read the next book and get some answers!) was really the one in the mental hospital. Jason certainly seems fucked up enough to land himself in there, though it would also make sense if he were visiting someone. Hell, maybe it wasn't even Ali that was killed, maybe it was her twin!
Then there's the issue of the photo of Ali, Jenna and Naomi. The girls are pretty adamant Jenna is the one that doesn't 'belong' in the photo, though no doubts have been raised about Naomi. We know that Ali had a bad falling out with Naomi and Riley, though nobody knows the real reason why. I think it would be foolish for the author to have thrown this in without cause, so I expect that it will play a bigger role later. Naomi is bitter enough to have killed Ali, and Naomi was ~occasionally friends with Mona, so she could also be A. Mona got extremely close to Hanna, so the new A could easily be just as close. Naomi is also blonde, so Naomi is also a candidate to have been in that clearing with Ali.
I really should stop, I could theorise about this series all night!
In other news, I'm extremely creeped out by Mrs Colbert. Her being angry over Emily and Isaac having sex makes sense, but cutting Emily out of the photo is just slightly disturbing. I wonder if all the creepy dolls on the stairs had cameras in them? I don't think Mrs Colbert is remotely related to A or Ali's killer, but there's something is plain fucking weird there. I just hope it doesn't boil down to weird African voodoo :P
I have to admit that Spencer being conned by her ~biological mother was really predictable and annoying. I thought something was up almost as soon as they met, which was confirmed the moment the realtor tried to persuade Spencer to buy in blindly. I know Spencer desperately wanted it all to be true, but I thought she'd be a little smarter than that! It was predictable and a bit disappointing to be honest, and I feel like the author isn't giving her character enough credit. I'm hoping that Spencer was actually adopted though, and she finds her legitimate biological mother in the next book or so.
Something to ponder: each natural born child got roughly $2million in the grandmother's will, right? The author didn't state the exact amount, but inferred that Spencer had either $200,000 or $2million in her trust fund. I'm wondering now if the trust fund came from the grandmother, and Spencer is going to end up feeling very foolish for her behaviour. Regardless, I can't wait to see how events unfold when her parents find said trust fund emptied. ;]
I don't have much to say about the other girls in this book, other than Kate is still an evil bitch and needs to go die in a fire. Preferably the barn fire. If Hanna doesn't find a way to discredit her by the end of the 8th book I may have to hurl my computer through a wall. I admit she seems less pure evil and more superficial and catty in this book, but she definitely needs to be put in her place. I'd also love to believe that her evil plotting on the phone was something more sinister than toying with Hanna and Mike.
Overall: If Killer isn't your favourite book in the series thus far, we can no longer be friends. Just kidding. Sort of. :P In my opinion it's the most explosive in the series, with some seriously game-changing secrets. I have a love/hate relationship with how Sara Shepard jumps from theory to theory between books, and I have to say I'm going to be very annoyed if she writes off Jason and Darren and explains away the "twin" with some shitty innocent answer.
I've finished each book on the edge of my seat, dying to start the next one ASAP, and Killer is no different. In fact, I feel stronger about finishing Killer and starting Heartless than I have with any of the previous books. I can't imagine how excited I'll be to finish Heartless and start Wanted!
The author drops creepy hints about Jason and Darren in Wicked, though I wasn't sure I should trust them since Shepard is notorious for messing with her readers' heads. In fact, I'm still a little hesitant about believing it all, even though I'm getting to the tail end of the series and it's a bit late to keep playing that game. If Darren and Jason killed Alison - though is it really Alison? - I am so looking forward to the big reveal. The most plausible explanation would be that Ali's death was an accident, but Jason and Darren are so messed up that I want it to be a juicy crime of passion.
I noted in my last review that I thought Wilden had potentially killed Ali and then gone on the straight and narrow, and his actions in Killer seem to support that. However, he could have easily just joined the police force to ensure their secret stayed buried. He's definitely been trying to discredit the girls and the investigation, which would seem to confirm the latter.
But then there's the issue of the weird phone calls he's been having where he clearly doesn't want to speak to the caller. I assumed it was Jason on the other end, though if he didn't want to speak to Jason then that would mean they're not working together to cover it up. Or perhaps they are working together, but Jason has been screwing things up on his end. Or maybe Wilden is hearing from Ali's twin or even Jenna, since we've learned Jason is very unhappy with Jenna.
Then again, maybe Darren and Jason didn't murder Ali at all. Maybe Ali's "twin" killed her and Jason and Darren covered it all up for her. It supports Ian seeing two blondes in the clearing, since Jason having long hair was an afterthought only mentioned in this book. I also wonder if Ali's "twin" (I'm going to keep using quotation marks until I read the next book and get some answers!) was really the one in the mental hospital. Jason certainly seems fucked up enough to land himself in there, though it would also make sense if he were visiting someone. Hell, maybe it wasn't even Ali that was killed, maybe it was her twin!
Then there's the issue of the photo of Ali, Jenna and Naomi. The girls are pretty adamant Jenna is the one that doesn't 'belong' in the photo, though no doubts have been raised about Naomi. We know that Ali had a bad falling out with Naomi and Riley, though nobody knows the real reason why. I think it would be foolish for the author to have thrown this in without cause, so I expect that it will play a bigger role later. Naomi is bitter enough to have killed Ali, and Naomi was ~occasionally friends with Mona, so she could also be A. Mona got extremely close to Hanna, so the new A could easily be just as close. Naomi is also blonde, so Naomi is also a candidate to have been in that clearing with Ali.
I really should stop, I could theorise about this series all night!
In other news, I'm extremely creeped out by Mrs Colbert. Her being angry over Emily and Isaac having sex makes sense, but cutting Emily out of the photo is just slightly disturbing. I wonder if all the creepy dolls on the stairs had cameras in them? I don't think Mrs Colbert is remotely related to A or Ali's killer, but there's something is plain fucking weird there. I just hope it doesn't boil down to weird African voodoo :P
I have to admit that Spencer being conned by her ~biological mother was really predictable and annoying. I thought something was up almost as soon as they met, which was confirmed the moment the realtor tried to persuade Spencer to buy in blindly. I know Spencer desperately wanted it all to be true, but I thought she'd be a little smarter than that! It was predictable and a bit disappointing to be honest, and I feel like the author isn't giving her character enough credit. I'm hoping that Spencer was actually adopted though, and she finds her legitimate biological mother in the next book or so.
Something to ponder: each natural born child got roughly $2million in the grandmother's will, right? The author didn't state the exact amount, but inferred that Spencer had either $200,000 or $2million in her trust fund. I'm wondering now if the trust fund came from the grandmother, and Spencer is going to end up feeling very foolish for her behaviour. Regardless, I can't wait to see how events unfold when her parents find said trust fund emptied. ;]
I don't have much to say about the other girls in this book, other than Kate is still an evil bitch and needs to go die in a fire. Preferably the barn fire. If Hanna doesn't find a way to discredit her by the end of the 8th book I may have to hurl my computer through a wall. I admit she seems less pure evil and more superficial and catty in this book, but she definitely needs to be put in her place. I'd also love to believe that her evil plotting on the phone was something more sinister than toying with Hanna and Mike.
Overall: If Killer isn't your favourite book in the series thus far, we can no longer be friends. Just kidding. Sort of. :P In my opinion it's the most explosive in the series, with some seriously game-changing secrets. I have a love/hate relationship with how Sara Shepard jumps from theory to theory between books, and I have to say I'm going to be very annoyed if she writes off Jason and Darren and explains away the "twin" with some shitty innocent answer.
I've finished each book on the edge of my seat, dying to start the next one ASAP, and Killer is no different. In fact, I feel stronger about finishing Killer and starting Heartless than I have with any of the previous books. I can't imagine how excited I'll be to finish Heartless and start Wanted!