Posts Tagged "Mystery"

“Katherine has moved away from her shattered family to start afresh in Sydney. There she keeps her head down until she is befriended by the charismatic, party-loving Alice, who brings her out of her shell. But there is a dark side to Alice, something seductive yet threatening. And as Katherine learns the truth about Alice, their tangled destinies spiral to an explosive and devastating finale.”

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If you have read the hype regarding this novel , you would believe that Rebecca James is going to be the next JK Rowling. That is a big call, and not really fair to the author. Flattering? Yes. Fair? No. I too, knew sketchily of the details surrounding ‘Beautiful Malice’ – a bidding war at a book fair in Germany – or somewhere. I wasn’t really paying attention because I was, as most wannabe writers often are, too busy being insanely jealous. So of course when I picked up the novel I was expecting to be blown away.

I wasn’t. But what I did get was a solid read that kept me interested, if not utterly engrossed and up reading past 2am. But I must stress, that even though I didn’t love and adore this book, I can see the appeal and why many others would rate it very, very highly.

In this part romance, part thriller, we are introduced to Katherine Patterson, an intelligent girl who is completing her high school career, away from her family and friends. But we don’t worry about why too much, as we are swept up with Katherine’s new friendship with Alice and Alice’s ‘kind of’ boyfriend, Robbie.  Beautiful, sexy, crazy Alice. It soon becomes clear that crazy is definitely a word used to describe her. Spiteful, cruel, arrogant and scary also come to mind. Although Katherine has been dealt some horrifying blows in her life, she still has her wits about her, and when Alice’s behaviour becomes truly inappropriate, Katherine cuts her loose. Doing her final exams, nurturing a new love and finally being happy – an unhinged bestie is the last thing Katherine needs. Of course, that is when the fun really begins. Katherine’s tragic past becomes a focus for Alice; a means to wreak havoc on Katherine and those she loves.

It has been claimed that the novel has a strong ‘international appeal’, which I think suggests that it isn’t noticeably ‘Australian’. I can’t figure out whether that is an insult or not. It is Catch-22 for me. I love teen stories set in America, with the school hallways indoors, the cafeterias, snow, no school uniform and ‘mom’. I suppose that with a tweak of mum to mom, the change a some place names and a bit of a flora readjustment, this story could be set anywhere. Does it matter? I guess not. I am just not sure if it is a sell-out when a story set in Sydney, by an Aussie author doesn’t feel Australian.

‘Neutral’ setting aside, I liked Katherine. She has a good head on her shoulders – she doesn’t fall prey to Alice’s manipulation and has the strength to end their friendship. Alice is just a nasty piece of work, all the things you expect a bunny-boiling villain to be, but you do wonder how she got so far hiding her crazy. That in itself is impressive, if not a plot hole. Robbie, who makes up the third member of the trio is sweet and gorgeous – you want to hate his weakness where Alice is concerned, but well, she’s gorgeous and seductive and fun, and he’s a boy. What can he do in the face of that? He is not totally clueless; he does realise the hold Alice has over him, and he does pull her up on her behaviour when necessary.

While I don’t want to give to much away regarding the plot – as a thriller, you need the surprises – I feel that Katherine went through a hell of a lot to achieve what happens at the end of most teen romance novels. I know this isn’t a teen romance, but if the murder, mayhem and Alice’s crazy was notched down a bit, it could be. With a bit more swearing. When you reach the end of this novel you will feel wrung out and maybe a little hopeful, that the good, decent characters will finally get what they deserve – peace and happiness. Early on in the novel, we know Alice got what she deserved. You just have to read on to find out how.

Pages: 283

Publication Date: June, 2010

Publisher: Allen & Unwin

Challenge: Debut Author

Rating: :

Teaser Quote: Robbie’s father puts his hand on Alice’s arm and pulls her in beside him. Alice’s face is absolutely inscrutable – and though she’d looked shocked when she’d first seen us, she now looks perfectly comfortable, slightly amused even, as if this whole situation is just a game, and we are the toys.

“The community of Cryer’s Cross, Montana (population 212) is distraught when high school freshman Tiffany disappears without a trace. Already off-balance due to her OCD, 16-year-old Kendall is freaked out seeing Tiffany’s empty desk in the one-room school house, but somehow life goes on… until Kendall’s boyfriend Nico also disappears, and also without a trace. Now the town is in a panic. Alone in her depression and with her OCD at an all-time high, Kendall notices something that connects Nico and Tiffany: they both sat at the same desk. She knows it’s crazy, but Kendall finds herself drawn to the desk, dreaming of Nico and wondering if maybe she, too, will disappear…and whether that would be so bad. Then she begins receiving graffiti messages on the desk from someone who can only be Nico. Can he possibly be alive somewhere? Where is he? And how can Kendall help him? The only person who believes her is Jacian, the new guy she finds irritating…and attractive. As Kendall and Jacian grow closer, Kendall digs deeper into Nico’s mysterious disappearance only to stumble upon some ugly—and deadly—local history. Kendall is about to find out just how far the townspeople will go to keep their secrets buried.”

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When I first read the blurb for this book, I was excited. Mystery/Horror/Thriller? I was totally in. However, sadly I was a little disappointed.

Something weird is going on in the small town of Cryer’s Cross. The small population freak out when freshman Tiffany Quinn disappears. When nothing is found, everything goes back to normal. That is until Kendall Fletcher’s boyfriend Nico Cruz disappears too. Diagnosed with OCD, Kendall struggles to cope with the loss of her boyfriend and the arising feelings for the new boy, Jacian.

I felt like there were several issues with Cryer’s Cross. Largely, it didn’t actually feel like a thriller. I wasn’t scared, I didn’t feel entirely compelled, and the plot was a little choppy (and I don’t like thrillers/horrors. In fact, I stay as far away from them as possible usually). Cryer’s Cross was slow paced, and while it claims to be a mystery, the mystery itself stops about halfway through to make room for the development of romance. The mystery and thriller aspect only starts back up within the last forty pages or so.

Despite this, I really liked the character of Kendall. In fact, I enjoyed most of the characters. I appreciated that the author made sure that while Kendall had OCD, it didn’t stop her or let it define her. She was quite a strong character. I also liked how Lisa McMann showed that the disappearances of the characters didn’t just affect the main character – it also affected the whole town.

Speaking of the town, it in itself was almost a character. While not was mentioned about what it physically looked like, a true atmosphere was painted about it, and a strong impression was made.

The writing in Cryer’s Cross was quite good. I especially enjoyed the ‘antagonists’ moments. It added layers upon layers of creepy.

The only other problem I had with the book was that it felt like McMann was almost generalising OCD a little bit. She had the chance to show reader’s how much it would rock the boat if a person who had OCD had a loved one go missing. People who have OCD are meticulous, perfectionists, and sometimes get to the point of obsession with the way they live and their routines, and I wish she had delved into Kendall’s mind that little bit more.

I think this book had the potential to be something amazingly creepy, but instead it went the opposite way. While it is an interesting read, it isn’t something I’d rave about.

Pages: 233
Publication Date : February 8^th 2011
Publisher: Harper Collins
Challenge: n/a
Rating: :

Teaser Quote: “We. When it is over, We breathe and ache like old oak, like peeling birch. One of Our lost souls set free. We move, a chess piece in the dark room, cast-iron legs a centimetre at a time, crying out in silent carved graffiti. Calling to Our next victim, Our next saviour. We carve on Our face: Touch me. Save my soul.”

Everything that happened this past summer, and every summer before it, has all led up to this. To now.

Every year Isabel spends a perfect summer at her family friends’ house. There’s the swimming pool at night, the private stretch of sandy beach…and the two boys. Unavailable, aloof Conrad – who she’s been in love with forever – and friendly, relaxed Jeremiah, the only one who’s every really paid her any attention.

But this year something is different. They seem to have noticed her for the first time. It’s going to be an amazing summer – and one she’ll never forget…

Isabel has been called Belly for as long as she can remember. As long as she has been coming to the beach house for summer. For her mum and Susannah are best friends, and Susannah owns the beach house. The perfect big house, the pool out the back, the beach, the sun, the surf. During the school year, Belly distracts herself thinking about summer and the beach house. It’s the place that she knows exactly what is going to happen, even if it’s not exactly what she wants to happen.

For also at the beach house is Steve, her annoying older brother, Conrad and Jeremiah, Susannah’s two sons. As much as Belly wishes they would include her, she knows it will never happen, not truly included. The only girl in a group of guys? Yea as if they would include her in their adventures. It’s something Belly has gotten used to. Just like she is used to Susannah cooking the same meal on the first night, her midnight swims and being left alone a nights.

Yet this summer, something seems different. For one, the reaction of Conrad and Jeremiah when she gets out of the car is completely not what she expected. Susannah doesn’t come to meet them, running out the door like always. The mood is different, almost as if everyone else knows something that they aren’t telling her.

Then comes the moment that she has been longing for. An invite to the bonfire that she was always considered too young to go to. It is there that she meets Cam. Cam Cameron. Someone different to everyone else. He doesn’t drink, doesn’t do drugs and can speak Latin and French, even if technically Latin is a dead language. Finally Belly meets someone that she just might be able to forget Conrad with. Someone who tells her that she is beautiful, someone who actually wants her around.

Yet as the summer draws closer to a close, will this really be enough to Belly to move on? Will she be willing to hurt those she loves, to gain what she needs most?

The Summer I Turned Pretty is the second novel from young adult writer Jenny Han, and the first of her novels that I have read. This story captured me, in a way that reminded me of my first love and my teenage years. Growing up and just waiting for the one guy to notice you. It’s a story that I think a lot of people can relate to, both young and old, either going through it currently or remembering what it was like. The Summer I Turned Pretty captures that journey and adventure to find who you are and to be seen as something different to what everyone thinks you are. Reminding me, in style, of Sarah Dessen’s novel Along For The Ride, the characters in Han’s novel are instantly ones you can recognise and connect with. The characters and their actions is what invests you in this novel. You want the best for them; you want everything to end up okay for them.

Belly is a gem. I find reflections of myself in her actions, and things that I wish I had done when I was her age. She has the strength to keep going, to try for something better because she believes the best in everyone. Her relationships with Conrad and Jeremiah and how she deals with her feelings is something that I think we all go through. The confusion of not knowing exactly what someone else thinks of you. Cam was also another breath of fresh air. I wish we had got to see even more of Cam then what was included. Susannah was the mother you wished you had, and Belly’s own mother is that of a typical mother – doing more that her daughter realised at the time.

An element that I really loved was the chance to go back in Belly’s past and see memories from previous summers, and how they created the person that Belly is now.

A beautifully light reading and feel-good novel.

Publication date: 2010

Pages: 288

Rating::

Teaser quote: When it started to get cold, I rubbed my arms, and Cam took off his hoodie and gave it to me. Which, was sort of my dream come true – getting cold and having a guy actually give you his hoodie instead of gloating over how mart he’d been to bring one.

Becoming a werewolf is not an option for seventeen-year-old Lacey Quinn, but death can be a strong motivator.

Lacey is so focused on her future that everyday life has passed her by. Counting down the days to her eighteenth birthday, Lacey is almost home free. But when she falls for the mysterious Alex Morris, she lands in the middle of an ancient war between two enemy wolf packs. Tempting dreams, tantalizing lies and a dangerous love triangle ensues leaving Lacey heartbroken and confused.

Lacey’s fate rest in the hands of Alex and Brandon, but both are pulling her strings for their own agendas. Even as she slips further into the dark world of werewolves, Lacey struggles to find the truth and save the only family she’s ever known.

Lacey Quinn is your average 17 year old girl. In high school, parents that argue a best friend that will stick by her no matter what odd predicaments she ends up in. Strolling round the streets at night while her parents’ battle out another argument is nothing new for Lacey, although on one night that will change the rest of her life, there is something different. Lacey feels as if she is being watched. A rustle in the bushes and a pair of yellow eyes has Lacey dashing back home only to find that the one watching her was a lost dog. Yet this dog is no ordinary dog. Able to understand exactly what Lacey wants and needs, Lacey doesn’t begin to suspect that he is the one connected to the strange events occurring in the rest of her life.

There’s a new kid a school. A new kid who is intent on having Lacey as his girlfriend. Alex Morris isn’t like other guys. He never even looks at another girl, and seems to be everything Lacey has ever wanted in a guy. Sounds too good to be true? Probably, because it is. For the closer Lacey gets to Alex, and the closer she gets to her eighteenth birthday, the mere smell of Alex makes her sick. Deathly sick. Yet as her mind is screaming at her to get away, Lacey heart is falling more in love with Alex.

Then there is Brandon, the guy who appears only to Lacey, who her best friend doesn’t even know of. He has this physic connection to Lacey, showing her images and memories of their past life together, a life that Lacey has no recollection of. Yet for some reason she can’t explain, Lacey feels as if she knows Brandon, that he is part of her soul.

In a struggle that will only leave one winner, who will Lacey decided to protect when the moment of truth arrives?

The Crescent is debut novel from Jordan Deen, featuring a story that is gripping and compelling, so gripping that I read this completely in one sitting. I completely forgot about time and anything else, so consumed was I in this story. The characters were immediately likeable and easy to relate too. Lacey is a teenager going through all the struggles that one does when she is on the verge of being considered an adult. Her attempt to choose what she wants for her life, even as her life is being manipulated on numerous fronts. I found Alex intriguing and irritating, knowing that there was always something he wasn’t completely telling us. The same thing with Brandon, who I had a hunch would be more important and would have a larger role that it originally seems. Particularly when you work out Brandon’s second identity.

The only issue I had with this book was one plot point that was emphasised a lot in the start of the novel, then forgotten about a third of the way in. Lacey’s arguing parents who used to cause Lacey’s late night strolls seemed to completely overcome their problems with each other to turn into a loving couple that never fought. I personally would have either liked to see their relationship continue in the way it was originally established or to have a spot more character and plot development that allowed this change in character to actually make sense in the story. Along with this is a few spelling mistakes, but I hardly noticed these on my first time round. However, if they are the only flaws I could find, then I recommend this series to anyone who loves fresh and new works in urban fantasy. Get ready to discover a whole new world in the realm of werewolf mythology.

Publication date: 2010

Pages: 187

Rating::

Teaser quote: “They’re gone right?” He leaned towards me. I reached out barely catching him before he fell over the threshold into the house…”

As if being a purrfect cheerleader isn’t enough responsibility! Tessa Crimson’s the sweet and spunky leader of the SOS (Society of Smitten Kittens), a cheer squad–turned–spy society dedicated to bringing dastardly boyfriends to justice, one cheater at a time. Boyfriend-busting wouldn’t be so bad . . . except that so far, every suspect on the Naughty List has been proven 100% guilty!

When Tessa’s own boyfriend shows up on the List, she turns her sleuthing skills on him. Is Aiden just as naughty as all the rest, or will Tessa’s sneaky ways end in catastrophe?

The Naughty List. Is your boyfriend on it?

Meet the Smitten Kittens. Sounds kind of sexy, huh? Alluring in that mysterious way. If you knew what they were doing, though, sexy wouldn’t even come into it. In fact, the Smitten Kittens are all about busting cheating boyfriends from doing the sexy with people other than their other half. The male adolescent population of Washington High is more than a little naughty, it seems.

The squad – which double as a cheer squad by day – have high tech spy equipment and have a well organized system of spying on the boys at their school. They take requests from girlfriends who suspect their boyfriends are cheating, and investigate till the allegations are either cleared, or confirmed. Unfortunately, they’ve never had the opportunity to clear anyone’s name because every single suspect has been found guilty. Every single one.

Tessa is the only girl left on the squad who actually has a boyfriend. Over time, the others all dumped theirs because they were caught cheating. Then, Tessa’s boyfriend’s name shows up on the list, and with a one hundred percent confirmed cheating rate so far, it isn’t looking good for Tessa and Aiden. But maybe he’s innocent, he seems like a nice guy, after all. Could he be the first boyfriend to ever be cleared of all charges?

Initially, I couldn’t decide exactly how I felt about this book, or for whom exactly the target audience might be. Tessa comes across as a good, wholesome character. She doesn’t curse, and always corrects those around her that do. She uses expressions like strawberry smoothie, for example, instead of actual curse words. She’s an excellent friend to her fellow squad members, a great student, and an all-round shiny, happy girl. At first I thought this was going to be a clean and wholesome novel for younger readers, but then I discovered that Tessa sleeps with her boyfriend and sneaks around in the middle of the night, lying to her parents and Aiden about what she’s doing, and spies on people till dawn. And Tessa is the only one that doesn’t curse; it seems the book is littered with swear words and over active adolescent hormonal activity. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, either, I’m just saying that Tessa’s character confused me.

I found myself trying to decode the messages that came attached to Tessa’s character. By creating a character like Tessa, is Suzanne Young is attempting to send a message that teen sex is okay? After all, Tessa is a really nice girl that is seemingly good in every other way. Does the fact that she’s sexually active make her a bad role model for teen girls? I really couldn’t decide. I’m inclined to say no, but I felt uncomfortable making that judgement alone. What I did like about Tessa is that, especially at the beginning, she is committed to Aiden and although she is well aware of her sexual allure and uses that on Aiden a lot, she doesn’t really flounce it around in front of everyone else. She isn’t promiscuous and she obviously has a lot of self-respect, which I think is important when setting up a potential role model for teens today.

The whole book left me feeling a little uneasy, which I suppose is actually a good thing because I thought about it for hours after I finished it, trying to figure out whether I liked it, how to categorize it, what the underlying messages were. While there was obviously a formula that went into the plot, it seemed there was a lack of formula that went into creating the characters, setting, tone, etc. I found this quite refreshing and I think others will too.

I think this book would be a great jumping point for book clubs and discussion circles that wanted to talk and debate the issue of teen sex and teen relationships.

Pages: 239

Publication Date: Febraury 2010

Rating::

Teaser Quote: Cassandra was less than thrilled to see the glossy eight by tens of Marcus and Red Heels. It nearly broke my heart, especially when I considered her recently departed virginity. All of it left me feeling, well, bummed.