My Bloody Valentine (1995)

By: Jo Gibson

Genre: Young Adult, Horror, Mystery

It’s February at Hamilton High and Valentine’s Day is right around the corner. Amy Hunter and her friends are planning a big Valentine’s Day dance, complete with the crowning of the King and Queen of Hearts. However, someone doesn’t like this idea, and one by one the girls in the running for Queen die in mysterious “accidents.” As the dance draws closer, it appears Amy might be in the lead for the Queen, and that puts her life in jeopardy.

While this was a quick read, I never really found myself that engrossed in the story line. I think my main problem was the characters; they are all very one dimensional with no memorable personalities. Amy is our heroine: the good girl, sweet, and virginal, who gets good grades and is class president. Colleen is her brainy best friend. Tanya is the snooty, popular, beautiful head cheerleader. Gail is a pretty blonde who dumbs herself down to gain male affection. Jessica and Michele are nobodies until it’s their turn on the chopping block, and then they are just irritating.

All of the girls were unlikable. Colleen and Amy are the only ones who seem to have an ounce of human decency in them. Tanya is the typical, backstabbing, gossip queen, and Gail follows right in her footsteps. Jessica becomes a hateful person and tells Michele she doesn’t need her as a best friend anymore, making Michele cry in the school hallway. I felt bad for Michele, until she was walking her dog, and hoping he would keel over and die so she wouldn’t have to walk him anymore. (A dog that loves her and tries to protect her, I might add!) 

Aside from Amy and Colleen, these girls are just useless human beings, and I was honestly rooting for the killer to take them out.

Amy wasn’t exactly likable either, but that is because she’s such a boring cliché. I enjoyed reading her experiences with her first date and first kiss, and I liked how she realized who she really wanted to be with had been right there the whole time. She is also kind of dumb at times, but she pulls off a pretty smart move at the climax, which surprised me.

The dialog was awkward. I know I was just a little kid when this novel was written, but I don’t believe that high school girls talked the way these girls did. Their conversations were used to provide a lot of exposition, and that is exactly how it reads. These girls are just talking to push the plot forward, the author is talking through them, they have no distinct voices of their own.

Speaking of the plot, I find it hard to believe that after the first two accidents, the school wouldn’t call off the King and Queen contest. How can the Sheriff not suspect foul play when all the girls are wearing the same half-heart pendent? When all of the girls received threatening Valentine’s cards? I know the principal really wanted a new collection of science books (the money from the dance/contest was going to his book fund), but I highly doubt he’d risk the lives of his students for it. Also, Amy’s mother is more worried about a dress that Amy’s boyfriend picked out for her than the fact that girls are dying all over town? That makes no sense.

The killer was fairly obvious. There were three prime suspects and two of them seemed like red herrings to me. The writing itself wasn’t very good either. As I said above, the dialog was awful and the characterization was poor. The descriptions of the deaths were clunky and amateurish – there’s no suspense (which could be because I didn’t care about the characters), and wording is ridiculous. [Paraphrasing:] “A heavy beam fell from the rafters, smashing her into oblivion.” I hate the way this reads and sounds in my head. I felt like the description was similar to how I wrote in junior high – and believe me, those stories were nothing worth publishing!

This was honestly a rather silly young adult horror novel - basically the teen fiction equivalent of a poorly written, goreless made-for-television slasher movie. The characters were dull, clichéd and often mean-spirited, and the plot doesn’t seem very well thought out. Still, it kept my attention, and I cared enough about Amy to see her through the ending and root for her and Danny, so the book wasn’t terrible.

4.5/10

Butcher Knives & Body Counts (2011)

Butcher Knives & Body Counts (2011)
Essays on the Formula, Frights, and Fun of the Slasher Film

Edited by: Vince A. Liaguno

Genre: Film Appreciation/Analysis, Essay Compilation, Horror Films

Everyone is aware of the slasher subgenre of horror films. Even if you’re not a fan, you know the icons: Freddy, Michael, and Jason. You know the film that reputedly started it all, Psycho. You know the basic formula – crazed killer out for revenge, picking off teens in creative, bloody ways as they partake in sex, drugs and rock and roll. This book is written for slasher fans, by slasher fans, and it explores the genre a bit deeper than most critics would. Some of the essays bring merit to an often disregarded genre.

The book is split up into five sections: Slasher 101 (An Overview of the Genre), Films of the Pre-Golden Age, The Golden Age, The Postmodern Era, and Slasher IQ. I found Part I: Slasher 101 the most interesting as I read the theories and analysis of the genre by fellow fans. My favorite essays in this section include Evil Eight: The Secret Language of Slasher Films; Rise of the New Primitives; and Two Piles of Corpses: The Slasher and the Serial Killer.

Evil Eight explores the eight major concepts often employed within a slasher film: Family Values vs. Valued Family, Rural vs. Urban, Male vs. Female, Individual vs. the Collective, Natural Forces vs. Civilization, the Id vs. the Super-ego, Darwinism vs. Transcendentalism, and Ubermensch vs. Letzte Mensch. All are very interesting concepts, and as I read through them I could think of countless examples that fit into multiple categories.

Rise of the New Primitives compares contemporary slashers to tribal folklore by examining five elements: tribal bonding, tribal territory, the actors, the oral traditions, and the shaman heroine. Author Lucien Soulban describes in great detail how slasher films are new tribal stories by going in depth within these elements. At the beginning of the essay I was a bit skeptical, but at the end, I thought he made some great points, and thought it was a unique take on my beloved genre.

Two Piles of Corpses dictates the difference between a slasher and a serial killer. People like Hannibal Lector, Patrick Bateman and even Jigsaw are considered serial killers because they are white collar killers. They can afford to take their time and make a moral statement. They live the high life and have a much easier time covering their tracks. Slashers, on the other hand, represent the blue collar world. They hack and slash through numerous victims without an overall plan. They kill for revenge, they kill to punish. They don’t feel the need to make a statement; they just want their victims gone. I had never thought of this difference before, but I found it quite interesting.

Part II observes the years leading up to the Golden Age of Slashers. Here I discovered films that have been labeled by fans as precursors to the genre, films that date back into the 1920s. It opened my eyes and created a list of films I must see as a genre connoisseur, such as Pandora’s Box (1929), Thirteen Women (1932), Terror Aboard (1933), and The Ninth Guest (1934). This section also discusses how Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None (1945) is a parent to the slasher subgenre, as it employs the formula of picking off victims one by one. There’s a discussion of the two films believed to have kick-started the genre: Psycho and Peeping Tom, as well as both Italian and British horror, and of course, the classics, such as Black Christmas (1974), Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), Deep Red, The Hills Have Eyes (1977), and Suspiria.

Part III is the Golden Age, where slashers are explored from 1978 to the early 1990s. The section kicks off with Halloween (1978), and discusses mostly films from the early 1980s, 1980-1984 being the biggest for the genre. There are some great essays analyzing Maniac, Terror Train, Prom Night, Sleepaway Camp, Happy Birthday to Me, The Funhouse, Night School and Hell Night. There is also a fun personal essay by Harley Jane Kozak on her experience working on The House on Sorority Row (1983). She has a great sense of humor and I found myself laughing out loud at what she was saying.

Part IV was a bit of a letdown. There is no theory or analysis, just descriptions of the films that came after the 1980s slasher boom. This section starts off with Scream(1996), covering its clones, the torture porn genre, and the influx of remakes. Since this is the era of horror I’ve grown up with, I would have liked to see in-depth discussion on it, but instead I just got a rehash of the plots I know by heart.

While there were some great essays in this book, there were many that were lackluster. I loved the essays that delved deep into the subject matter and brought about a new way of seeing the films. Then there were others where the writers simply described their first experience watching their favorite slasher, which were okay, but not something that interested me all that much. A couple of the essays touched briefly on the accusations that slasher films are misogynistic, which I would have liked to see examined in more detail. I am a feminist and a horror fan, slashers being my favorite subgenre, and I don’t find them hateful toward my gender. Maybe I’ll have to write that essay myself.

My last complaint is about the editing. It looks as though the essays were just accepted and placed into the book formatting program without even being edited. There are multiple typos, a few instances where the wrong form of a word was used, a couple spelling errors, and a few missing words. The quizzes in the final part of the book, especially the first one on “Final Girls,” are all messed up with the lettering being off. It looks really unprofessional and throws off the reader when they’re engrossed in an essay.

I did enjoy most of this book, however the editing errors are glaring in places, and there is no analysis involved in the section on postmodern slashers. Still, it is a good read, full of interesting theories and analysis as well as the history of the genre. It’s definitely worth the read for horror fans.

6.5/10

The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon (1999)

The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon (1999)

By: Stephen King

Genre: Fiction, Horror, Supernatural, Survival

While on a day hike with her mother and older brother, nine-year-old Trisha McFarland leaves the trail and falls behind. Attempting to catch up, she thinks she is taking a shortcut, and ends up getting lost in the Maine woods. As night falls, she has to rely on her own instincts and what little supplies she has to withstand the elements. She has to be brave despite her fears. She listens to Boston Red Sox baseball games on her walkman in an attempt to keep her connected to society. She imagines her hero, closing pitcher Tom Gordon, is there beside her as the days wear on and an enemy closes in.

I had a hard time getting into this novel. I liked the heroine, Trisha, fine, but I couldn't really relate to her. I had a really hard time putting myself in her situation. I thought she was very smart in her efforts to survive out in the woods. She knew to conserve her food and water supplies, and follow streams to civilization, yet she never thought about trying to retrace her steps back to the trails she originally left? That didn't make sense to me. I understand that if she had found the trail, there wouldn't have been much of a story, but she could have tried and maybe gotten lost along the way.

The days that she’s lost in the woods seem to drag on, and many of them contain her walking through different parts of the woods and picking berries. There are a few slightly scary moments when she finds some mangled animals, but other than that the story is more about her surviving in the wilderness with nothing but a radio to keep her sane. The only somewhat scary part is the climax of the novel, and even then I wasn’t too worried about what would happen to our scrappy little heroine.

The baseball jargon was hard for me to follow as well. I just found the parts involving baseball and Trisha’s love for it so boring. That is mostly because I find the game itself dull and sleep-inducing. I understood that it was her only link to the outside world, but that didn’t make it easier for me to read about.

It really just wasn't the thrilling novel I was expecting from the cover. I found it to be more about survival and a love for baseball than horror, so I had a hard time really enjoying it. Overall, it is not one of my favorite Stephen King books, but it is still a decent read if you’re not expecting many scares.

6/10

The Cold One (1995)

By: Christopher Pike

Genre: Fiction, Horror, Supernatural

Los Angeles police are baffled by two strings of murders linked only by one fingerprint. Half of the victims are ripped apart and the other half seem to have suffocated. Journalist Peter Jacobs is pulled into the investigation when he gets a call from a mysterious man who may or may not be the killer. Julie Moore, a graduate student investigating near death experiences, becomes involved when Jerry Washington contacts her about the weird behavior of his girlfriend who nearly drowned a few days prior. Meanwhile, in India, Govinda Sharma is sent on a mission by his Hindu Master to follow Rak, a powerful, five-thousand-year-old demon, as he leaves his home in the mountains and heads toward civilization. All of these people are linked to each other as they get dangerously close to The Cold One – a being with no feelings whose very existence threatens to destroy humanity.

I have been a huge Christopher Pike fan since I was in the eighth grade and discovered his young adult thrillers. This is the first adult novel that I have read of his, and I found it just as enjoyable as his young adult books, if not more so. When writing for adults, Pike doesn’t hold anything back, while his young adult offerings are a bit more censored. Here, the violence is very graphic, as is the sex, and anyone could be on the chopping block. There were a few scenes that I found absolutely cringe-worthy and disturbing - and I’m not an easy one to disturb. 

I enjoyed getting to know the various characters and seeing how their individual stories slowly meld together. Julie Moore is probably my favorite character, as she is smart, ambitious and a survivor. I loved that Jerry Washington is a former gang member trying to turn his life around – despite the fact that it is quite cliché for the one black character to be in a gang. He has a good heart regardless of his background and truly loves his girlfriend, Susan. Peter seems like a cool guy at first, but I hate how he acts toward the women he dates – thinking he can do better than the lovely woman he already has. The Cold One is a fascinating character – I liked being inside its head and reading its thoughts as it tries to figure out what it is and its purpose on earth. Its scientific, experimental approach to murdering a human being is as interesting as it is creepy. 

I loved how the story all seems to flow together neatly, and the writing was so vivid that I could picture the events unfolding easily. Each character, setting and situation was easy to visualize. The story did begin to get a little predictable toward the end, but not so much that I was turned off by the outcome. I was rather satisfied that my guesses were on target but surprised by the additional details added on when my predictions were revealed as correct. 

The use of Hindu philosophy to describe the horrific events of the novel was also well-done. I found the Hindu ideas fascinating and I loved how they explained the chakras and the idea of Seedling – the ability to persuade others to do your bidding – a form of mind control believed to be used by cult leaders, politicians and corrupt religious figures. These beliefs explained the powers of The Cold One and linked them to ancient Hindu stories. 

Not everything about this book made me happy, though. The final confrontation between Julie and the Cold One is irritating to me. For one thing, Julie goes to The Cold One’s home even though she is fearful of it, which is an idiotic move for someone normally bright. Secondly, their final battle is over a man when there are much bigger things at stake – like The Cold One's intent to destroy humanity. Really? 

There was also a disgusting and upsetting scene involving a fetus that I felt was unnecessary to the story and could have been left out. I may be pro-choice, but this particular scene really bothered me because the fetus was past the first trimester and living outside of the body. Regardless of the paranormal, possibly demonic, nature of the fetus, it could feel pain. The revelations made between the characters could have been done without this detail being involved. I felt like Pike was pushing the envelope here and went too far. 

Lastly, the ending leaves it open for a sequel, which the final page of the novel even promises, but that sequel has never been written. I want to find out what befalls the characters as it looks like the cycle from this novel will repeat itself. I really hope Pike gets around to writing it, because, despite the flaws of this book, it is deserving of a sequel. I love these characters too much to never know what happens to them. 

Overall, despite an unnecessary disturbing scene and an annoying reason for our heroine to battle The Cold One, the story is very well-written and interesting if slightly predictable. I enjoyed the novel for the most part, and sincerely hope that Pike writes the once promised and long-awaited sequel. 

7/10

I Know What You Did Last Summer (1973)

By: Lois Duncan

Genre: Young Adult, Suspense, Mystery

On a clear, starry July night, Julie James and her friends were coming home from a barbeque when they accidently hit and kill a ten-year-old boy on his bicycle. They discuss what to do and fear gets the best of them, making a pact to flee the scene and forget the tragedy ever happened. One year later, just as the four teens have gotten their lives in order, they begin receiving notes and clippings related to the incident. Someone knows what they did and that someone wants revenge.

This is my second time reading this novel and I have to say I like it a little less on the second pass. Lois Duncan is one of my favorite young adult authors, and the story is still very gripping and suspenseful – but some of the writing was a little clunky in places. Words were repeated awkwardly within the same sentences, details were repeated over and over again (Helen’s been dating Barry for two years, the fact that the four teens made a pact), and stories are told multiple times from different characters. I also felt the ending was a bit rushed and nonsensical – did the villain actually think he/she was going to get away with it? So many loose ends are left that the police would find out the bad guy’s identity in no time. I also wish there was an epilogue so I could find out what happened to the kids after the final confrontation.

Julie and Ray are the only likable characters as they are the only ones who really seem to feel badly about what happened. Julie’s personality changed completely, as she cut social ties, dropped from the clubs and cheering squad, and began hitting the books like crazy. The guilt has weighed heavily on her both physically and emotionally. It appears to have affected Ray strongly as well. Helen seems to only care about herself, her relationship with Barry and her looks. She is very self-centered and despite being a beauty queen, she has very low self-esteem. She also can’t see Barry for what he is, a two-timing jerk who is willing to put her life and the lives of Ray and Julie in jeopardy to cover his own hide. He uses her as a showpiece because he can claim he’s dating a local celebrity.

There are a few secondary characters as well, such as Elsa, Helen’s sister, who is described as fat, dumpy and sullen – her appearance making people dislike her. (Ray even thinks this when he first meets her, “Never had someone’s appearance made him dislike them before.” Way to dump on the heavy-set people, Duncan…) Elsa’s attitude is what bothered me – she seems to hate her little sister and take pleasure in Helen’s every mistake, although this is somewhat understandable because it’s clear Helen is the favorite daughter. There’s a scene in Helen’s family home where her mother tells Elsa not to eat any more potatoes because she doesn't need to gain any more weight. That’s an awful thing to say to your daughter! No wonder Elsa’s attitude is so negative and depressing!

Mrs. Cox, Barry’s mother, made me want to reach into the book and punch her out. She’s one of those controlling mothers who think no one is good enough for their boy. When a distraught Helen tries to visit Barry in the hospital, Mrs. Cox is unreasonably mean to her and acts like she’s nothing. She is so domineering she actually wants her son to have a life-long injury so she can keep him by her side for the rest of her life.

The villain in the novel is NOT the fisherman – so it bugs me a lot that his image is on the cover of the book. I know the publishers are trying to lure fans of the film to read the book, but these fans will be sorely disappointed. This isn’t a novelized slasher, it’s a story of suspense and mystery. The villain in the novel is a lot more sympathetic than the fisherman, having a very good reason for wanting revenge.

Overall, this is a very different story from the one told in the film. If you’re a fan of the films, you’ll probably be disappointed. It is a decently written suspense/mystery novel, if a bit dated, and a quick, yet enjoyable read despite its flaws.

6/10

Saving Zoe (2007)

By: Alyson Noel

Genre: Young Adult, Fiction, Drama

Brainy and shy, fifteen-year-old Echo is entering high school and beginning to navigate the ups and downs of being a teenager. However, she is also dealing with something few of her classmates will ever have to: the grisly murder of her older sister Zoe. When Zoe’s boyfriend Marc gives Echo Zoe’s diary, she discovers who her sister really was and gets to know the real Zoe.

This novel was rather disappointing to me. From the description on the back of the book, I gathered that Echo and Marc would be using the diary to solve Zoe’s murder which wasn’t the case at all. Zoe’s murderer is known from the beginning and is already sitting in jail awaiting trial. The murder itself is brushed over as some insignificant detail – we never really find out how Zoe was killed or the name of the killer. I would have thought that Echo would be carrying a large amount of hatred for the man that ripped her sister away from her, but he is hardly mentioned at all. 

This is strictly the story of how Echo comes to terms with her own thoughts and feelings about Zoe. I got the feeling that Echo was always living in her sister’s shadow because Zoe was the pretty, bubbly, popular one who always had friends and boys around her. Echo was the quiet, brainy one who did well in school, never caused trouble, and often spent time with her parents. After Zoe’s death, it seems like the light of her parents’ lives has gone out and all they are left with is Echo. I really wish Noel would have delved more into the psychological effects Zoe’s death had upon the family. I think that would have made a far more interesting story.

Once Echo begins to read Zoe’s diary, it is almost as if she wants to become Zoe – someone who honestly doesn’t seem like anyone to admire. Zoe cheated on her boyfriends, smoked weed, tried other drugs, had lots of sex, drank alcohol and posted skanky pictures of herself on the internet. She had an attitude problem and seemed to think her looks were everything. She dreamed of being an actress and model and idolized reality television stars. Zoe is everything I can’t stand about my generation.

The book is probably thirty to fifty percent excerpts from Zoe’s diary, most of which include her prattling on about inane things. The plot finally becomes interesting around chapter 30 when the events leading up to the murder unfold and Zoe makes a startling revelation about someone Echo knows. I wish this plot point had come up earlier in the novel because it was the best part of the entire story and actually had me wondering what Echo was going to do about it.

Echo and her sister are both annoying characters that make awful decisions that put them in harm’s way. When I wasn’t getting irritated with their foolish choices, I was groaning at the lack of vocabulary these girls seem to have. Apparently, in Noel’s eyes, all teenage girls talk like the stereotypical dumb cheerleader: “Like, totally!” The word “totally” is over-used, to the point where I wanted to find the author and slap her upside the head. Use a different adverb already! “I was totally shaking,” “I was so totally angry,” We get it! Even Echo, who is supposedly a bookworm, speaks this way. Maybe its a Southern California thing (the author lives there), but when I was the age of the characters in the novel I never talked like that and didn’t know a single person that did. I also went to high school around the same time this book was published. The poor vocabulary skills of these characters were so grating on my nerves and it reflects negatively on the author. Though, to be honest, I don’t think she is a very good writer in general.

In the end, I felt that the book was rather pointless. Nothing was really resolved, the grief of the characters still left very much unexplored, and the characters not developing at all.

Overall – the story had potential but it was bogged down by unlikeable characters and a very constricted “Valley Girl” vocabulary. It almost redeemed itself around chapter 30, but it was so close to the end of the book that it made little difference. Also, I wish it would have spent more time on the murder and how it affected the family. Considering the plotline, this novel could have been much better.

4.5/10

The Steepleton Chronicles

The Body of Christopher Creed (2000)

By: Carol Plum-Ucci

Genre: Young Adult, Mystery

Christopher Creed was always the weird kid, often bullied and dubbed a freak by his classmates. When he disappears, his classmates and the rest of the town begin to speculate about what happened to him. Was he murdered? Did he commit suicide? Or did he simply run away? Everyone has a theory and everyone is ready to blame someone else. For the protagonist, Torey Adams, his perfect world seems to be dissolving as fingers are pointed, blame is passed and the dirty secrets of his neighbors are revealed in the search for the truth.

This novel started out very slow, and I wasn’t quite sure I was going to like it. It is told from the perspective of one of Christopher Creed’s classmates, Victor “Torey” Adams, a young man surprisingly affected by Creed’s disappearance. Up until Creed disappeared, Torey had a perfect life – he was on the football team, had his own band, and was dating a beautiful girl named Leandra. Slowly his world begins to unravel as he sees the true colors of his friends and realizes how different he is from them.

Torey and his friends Ali and Bo are the only likable characters in this book. At first I wasn’t even sure I was going to like Torey, due to his secretive nature and angry outbursts. As he began to tell his story, though, everything made a lot more sense and I understood his behavior. Ali’s home-life is fairly disturbing, and Bo is the ruffian from the wrong side of the tracks who has a hidden sweet side. The rest of Torey’s friends were insufferable, especially the girls. Leandra is a “good Christian” that frowns upon gossiping, yet doesn’t hesitate to speak ill of people she feels are below her. Renee is willing to make up nasty rumors about those who do something to offend her, some being very serious accusations of law-breaking. She is very vindictive and I wanted to reach into the book and choke her. One of the most irritating characters is Chris’s mother, who is the first person to start accusing people of being involved in the disappearance of her son.

Once Torey begins hanging out with Ali – Creed’s neighbor – they begin investigating his experience on their own. This is in part of their own curiosity, and partially because he was a good kid and they felt someone should have looked out for him. This investigation leads them on an interesting path and reveals some secrets that the town would rather keep hidden.

Despite the incredibly irritating characters, the story was gripping. While the first few chapters moved a bit slowly for me, I whisked through the last 75% of the novel in one afternoon. When things finally got interesting the story moved right along and didn’t stop until the open-ended conclusion. At first I was a little bummed, because I don’t like my mysteries being left open for interpretation, I’m one for narrative closure. However, I discovered there is a sequel, which I cannot wait to get my hands on and continue on the journey to solving this mystery.

Overall: Slow moving at first, but after the first four chapters it becomes difficult to put down. It’s an intriguing look at the effect that the disappearance of one boy can have on an entire town. I’m happily awaiting the moment I can get my hands on the sequel.

7.5/10

Following Christopher Creed (2011)

By: Carol Plum-Ucci

Genre: Young Adult, Mystery, Drama, Fiction

It’s been five years since Christopher Creed disappeared from Steepleton and still no one is any closer to finding out what happened to him. Torey Adams has just about abandoned the website he created in Chris Creed’s name, and is now on his way to being a successful rock star. Bo Richardson joined the Army and Ali McDermott is engaged and on her way to her Master’s Degree in Social Work. They’ve put Steepleton behind them.

The reader is now seeing Steepleton through the eyes of college reporter Mike Mavic, an avid reader of Adams’s Chris Creed website, as he arrives in town to do a story on the missing boy. To the rest of the town, the disappearance is old news. A few of the local teens are convinced he’s dead, but not Chris’s younger brother, Justin, who believes he can will his brother home. When tragedy lures Bo, Torey and Ali home again, the truth is finally revealed.

Mike is a great protagonist, determined to get his story despite his disability (legally blind) but not willing to break any ethical boundaries. He’s a professional, but he can also offer insight to what Chris Creed might have been going through, having had similar life experiences. His girlfriend, RayAnn, is sweet and very intelligent, helping Mike with his stories, interviews and research. She’s a lovely character, and I would have liked to get to know her even better.

I loved that the author brought the original main characters back for the sequel, letting them play a role but not being the main focus. It was great to see the story from a new perspective, one that could offer insight to what may have been going on in Chris’s head the day he disappeared. I also loved the focus on Justin and what has happened to him since the first novel. He’s a troubled kid, having been diagnosed with bipolar and self-medicating with an increasingly dangerous drug habit. The mother Creed has come even more unhinged and turned to alcohol to comfort herself, making her even more irate and irrational when it comes to her children.

While the mystery of what happened to Chris hangs in the air until the final pages, this is his brother’s story. The reader sees how different Justin is from his brother. While Chris couldn’t deal with his controlling mother, Justin learned to stand up to her, and even takes care of her when she drinks herself into oblivion. Justin is angry at Chris for leaving and desperately wants him to come home. It is also the story of the town and what has changed since Chris vanished and Torey, Ali and Bo left for bigger and better things.

Plum-Ucci has crafted a well-thought-out continuation to her original mystery. The characters are likable and sympathetic and the story grabs you and doesn’t want to let go. The twist ending was something I didn’t even see coming and makes me want to read the novel again to look for clues leading up to the final reveal. This was a great follow-up and I can’t wait to read more of this author’s work.

7/10