#AmReading YA: Mystery Edition

I Know You Remember
Jennifer Donaldson
Age/Genre: Young Adult, Mystery
Publisher: Razorbill
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

Jennifer Donaldson is back with another twisted thriller perfect for fans of One of Us Is Lying and Gone Girl.

Zahra Gaines is missing.

After three long years away, Ruthie Hayden arrives in her hometown of Anchorage, Alaska to this devastating news. Zahra was Ruthie's best friend--the only person who ever really understood her--and she vows to do whatever it takes to find her.

Zahra vanished from a party just days before Ruthie's return, but the more people she talks to, the more she realizes that the Zahra she knew disappeared long before that fateful night. Gone is the whimsical, artistic girl who loved books and knew Ruthie's every secret. In her place is an athlete, a partier, a girl with secrets of her own. Darker still are the rumors that something happened to Zahra while Ruthie was gone, something that changed her forever...

As Ruthie desperately tries to piece together the truth, she falls deeper and deeper into her friend's new world, circling closer to a dangerous revelation about what Zahra experienced in the days before her disappearance--one that might be better off buried.

In her stunning follow-up to Lies You Never Told Me, Jennifer Donaldson once again delivers a propulsive thriller with a masterful twist, skillfully creating a world where nothing is quite as it seems.

When she was 14, Ruthie's mother relocated them for a "fresh start". Following her mother's death, three years later, Ruthie was returning to Alaska, and to her best friend, Zahra. However, upon her arrival, she learned that Zahra had disappeared, which prompted Ruthie to initiate her own search for her best friend, and she was not giving up until Zahra was found.

Donaldson probed a few interesting ideas in this story, and wrapped them up nicely into a satisfying and suspenseful read. She explored ideas pertaining to Christianity, fading friendships, reuniting with estranged parents, life with an addicted parent, poverty, and neglect, and I thought they were woven well into this tale, none of which, curtailed the tension, that was slowly building from the beginning of the story.

Donaldson gently waded us into this story, and she slowly, laid out the pieces of this puzzle. Ruthie's emotions and actions sort of matched that pace. She started by playing along with the investigators, however, as more time passed, she started taking more and more of this search into her own hands, until her emotions and actions were both veering into reckless territory. I thought the pace built nicely, and peaked in such a way that accentuated the first big plot twist.

Speaking of twists, I really thought I had this whole thing figured out. I was wearing my super-smug grin, and nodding along, when one detail was divulged, but then the story took a turn I was NOT expecting at all. In hindsight, the clues were there, but I just didn't make that leap. Following that reveal, I started backtracking, and another of my new suspicions was confirmed. This really prompted me to look at things in a different light.

I had a love/hate thing going with the ending. The decisions Donaldson made for some of the characters were quite interesting. Some made me really happy, while others left me wanting. If I see the word "epilogue", I just have high expectations, and they were not met. Despite that, I rather enjoyed this thriller, which had some great twists, and even left my jaw dropping.

In the Hall with a Knife
Diana Peterfreund
Series: Clue Mystery, #1
Age/Genre: Young Adult, Mystery
Publisher: Amulet
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

A murderer could be around every corner in this thrilling YA trilogy based on the board game CLUE!

When a storm strikes at Blackbrook Academy, an elite prep school nestled in the woods of Maine, a motley crew of students—including Beth “Peacock” Picach, Orchid McKee, Vaughn Green, Sam “Mustard” Maestor, Finn Plum, and Scarlet Mistry—are left stranded on campus with their headmaster. Hours later, his body is found in the conservatory and it’s very clear his death was no accident. With this group of students who are all hiding something, nothing is as it seems, and everyone has a motive for murder. Fans of the CLUE board game and cult classic film will delight in Diana Peterfreund’s modern reimagining of the brand, its characters, and the dark, magnificent old mansion with secrets hidden within its walls.

With a historic level storm hitting the area, the remaining Blackbrook Academy students sought refuge in Tudor House. They hoped all would be well in the morning, but never believed they would wake to find the corpse of their headmaster, Mr. Body. All became suspects and possible victims as they raced to try and solve the mystery of who did it and why.

This was such a fun way to take a walk down memory lane. I fondly remember playing this game in my youth, and could not wait to meet the teen versions of all the characters. Peterfreund assembled an interesting cast, leveraging a bit of the original and blending them with her own take on on who they could have been as teens.

The storm, the campus, and the historic Tudor House all combined to create a mood worthy of the Clue namesake. The house had a rich history and some secrets to hide, while the treacherous weather kept the characters in isolation. It was such a classic mystery setting, and I thought it was utilized well throughout the story.

Peterfreund did a fantastic job crafting each character. They each a distinct personality and voice, which made it easy to distinguish between them as the story flipped through the six different points of view. Not only did each character bring their unique point of view to the story, but they each had a secret. Some were revealed, but I was still left wondering about others. And, though the mystery of who killed Mr. Body in the hall with the knife was solved by the end of this book, there were plenty of questions left unanswered for the series' future installments.

I had a lot of fun hunting down those Easter eggs giving nod to the original Clue franchise, as I gathered tidbits to aid in solving the mystery at hand. The combination of humor, camp, and tension resulted in a fun mystery, which had me hunting for clues and left me eagerly awaiting the sequel.

**ARCs received in exchange for honest reviews.

Have you ever played Clue?
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