YA Book Review: The Amateurs by Sara Shepard

Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received this ebook, free of charge, from the DIsney Book Group, via Netgalley, for review purposes on this blog. No other compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about it



And speaking of teens, and detective work...

the amateurs cover

Synopsis:

As soon as Seneca Frazier sees the post on the Case Not Closed website about Helena Kelly, she's hooked. Helena's high-profile disappearance five years earlier is the one that originally got Seneca addicted to true crime. It's the reason she's a member of the site in the first place. 

So when Maddy Wright, her best friend from the CNC site, invites Seneca to spend spring break in Connecticut looking into the cold case, she immediately packs her bag. But the moment she steps off the train in trendy, glamorous Dexby, things begin to go wrong. Maddy is nothing like she expected, and Helena's sister, Aerin Kelly, seems completely hostile and totally uninterested in helping with their murder investigation.

But when Brett, another super user from the site, joins Seneca and Maddy in Dexby, Aerin starts to come around. The police must have missed something, and someone in Dexby definitely has information they've been keeping quiet. 

As Seneca, Brett, Maddy, and Aerin begin to unravel dark secrets and shocking betrayals about the people closest to them, they seem to be on the murderer's trail at last. But somewhere nearby the killer is watching . . . ready to do whatever it takes to make sure the truth stays buried.



Review:

WOW, I RACED through this book, staying up VERY late to finish it! It may be a YA book, but adults will find the mystery just as entrancing. Although adults may see the ending coming more than teens, having read more mysteries, they might make bigger jumps in logic, than teens. The book really delves into characters- what we project to others, and the truth behind the facade, as much as it deals with the mystery of Helena's disappearance, as the teens find just how much that very thought is linked to her going missing. It will be interesting to see where the next book in the series (!!) picks up from, or who it introduces into the circle of friends. If you are looking for a book that older teens will love, be sure to pick this one up for them (and then just sneak and read it while they're at school or sleeping, LOL).


About the Author:
Sara Shepard graduated from NYU and has an MFA from Brooklyn College. She currently lives in Tucson, Arizona. Sara's Pretty Little Liars novels were inspired by her upbringing in Philadelphia's Main Line. Check out her website for more info!

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