A predictable teenage murder mystery—with exceptional teenage characters.
A teenage girl’s death leaves her best friend with bittersweet memories and dangerous questions.
2014 is a terrible year for Marly, who has just discovered the body of her best friend, Rae, in a ramshackle cabin in the woods (“If not for her grayish-blue complexion and Goth-purple lips, Rae could’ve been sleeping”). Three years earlier, when they were in their early teens, they had found that cabin and dubbed it their “sanctuary,” a place to escape their troubled home lives. They swore a blood oath to be best friends and keep the cabin for them alone, but boys and adolescent insecurities slowly drove them apart. Constantine alternates between the two timelines throughout the novel. In the past, Marly and Rae’s deep friendship falters thanks to Rae’s partying, some snarky friends, and, most importantly, a hot jock named Duffy. Marly can hardly believe Duffy’s interest in her, even as a real relationship develops, because she feels a competition brewing with her lively, beautiful bestie. Meanwhile, in the present storyline, the teenage drama becomes deadly serious as it becomes clear that Rae’s death was not a suicide. With each new revelation about Rae’s secrets, Marly realizes that everyone’s a suspect. The mystery at the core of Constantine’s YA novel will hold few surprises for fans of the genre, who will probably guess the guilty party early on. What does surprise, however, is the fascinating codependency between the two girls. Rae and Marly wound each other deeply and repeatedly with barbed comebacks and secrets before reconciling, always dancing around their mutual infatuation. The novel treads through the usual suspects of shocking teenage crises: pregnancy, self-harm, love triangles, and treacherous adults. But Rae and Marly’s tender, twisted love for each other gives the story real drama.
A predictable teenage murder mystery—with exceptional teenage characters.Pub Date: July 7, 2020
ISBN: 979-8-66-414076-7
Page Count: 260
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Readers will be captivated by this twisty thriller and its uncompromising protagonist.
The mother Annabel Price thought was dead returns with a story about where she’s been—but 18-year-old Bel knows she’s lying.
Ever since Rachel Price’s unexplained disappearance 16 years ago, true-crime fans have come up with plentiful theories about what happened. Bel and her family members, who are white, cobbled together lives for themselves after a jury found Bel’s father, Charlie, not guilty of murdering his wife. Beset with medical bills for his elderly father, Charlie recently agreed to participate in a documentary about the unsolved mystery. Black British filmmaker Ramsey Lee is well into the process of interviewing the Prices when his project gets an unanticipated boost after an exhausted, disheveled Rachel staggers back into town. Rachel is eager to resume her role in the family, but the inconsistencies in her accounts raise alarms for Bel. With the help of the youngest member of the filmmaking team, Bel sets out to learn what really happened. Along the way, someone else disappears, and Bel uncovers a tangle of lies that make it impossible for her to trust people she thought she knew. When things come to a head the night of her grandfather’s 85th birthday party, Bel ends up in a race for her life. The last quarter of the novel tears along at a breakneck pace before arriving at a satisfying and unexpected conclusion.
Readers will be captivated by this twisty thriller and its uncompromising protagonist. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: April 2, 2024
ISBN: 9780593374207
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2024
A treat for mystery readers who enjoy being kept in suspense.
Everyone believes that Salil Singh killed his girlfriend, Andrea Bell, five years ago—except Pippa Fitz-Amobi.
Pip has known and liked Sal since childhood; he’d supported her when she was being bullied in middle school. For her senior capstone project, Pip researches the disappearance of former Fairview High student Andie, last seen on April 18, 2014, by her younger sister, Becca. The original investigation concluded with most of the evidence pointing to Sal, who was found dead in the woods, apparently by suicide. Andie’s body was never recovered, and Sal was assumed by most to be guilty of abduction and murder. Unable to ignore the gaps in the case, Pip sets out to prove Sal’s innocence, beginning with interviewing his younger brother, Ravi. With his help, Pip digs deeper, unveiling unsavory facts about Andie and the real reason Sal’s friends couldn’t provide him with an alibi. But someone is watching, and Pip may be in more danger than she realizes. Pip’s sleuthing is both impressive and accessible. Online articles about the case and interview transcripts are provided throughout, and Pip’s capstone logs offer insights into her thought processes as new evidence and suspects arise. Jackson’s debut is well-executed and surprises readers with a connective web of interesting characters and motives. Pip and Andie are white, and Sal is of Indian descent.
A treat for mystery readers who enjoy being kept in suspense. (Mystery. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9848-9636-0
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2019
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