Where did I get it? It was my Willoughby Book Club book for this month, so my friend Janet, who works there, most probably selected it for me! My subscription has just run out and I'm trying to work out if I can afford to renew it!
What's it about? Leah is fifteen, and she always spends New Year at Roeshot House, in the middle of nowhere, with family. There was her, her mum, and her dad, her Auntie Gabs, her cousins Ivy and Poppy, their dad, plus Gabs' friends Elaine and Marc, and their son Jakob. Leah and Ivy and Jakob call themselves the Three Amigos and have all these lovely traditions that they do each year.
But this year things are different. First of All, Ivy and Poppy's dad has died and Gabs is struggling to cope. Poppy is ill and the doctors can't work out what's wrong with her. Leah's dad has left her mum, and her mum is seeing Steve, who Leah can't stand. Then there's Tatum, who vaguely knows Ivy's family, who turns up and puts herself right into the middle of the Three Amigos.
The group hasn't been there that long when strange things start to happen. Poppy sees a ghost and the group is told that recently a body has been dug up in the front garden and a secret has been kept for over sixty years!
I wasn't sure if I'd like this book. YA Thriller isn't something I turn to a lot. I like adult crime thrillers but I've read next to no YA thrillers. I own Lying About Last Summer by Sue Wallman, but I haven't read it. But something about this intrigued me, so I picked it up almost as soon as it had arrived.
And I LOVED it! It is really creepy and atmospheric, I really loved the house setting and the closeness of the family which was overbearing at times. I liked Leah and I loved Jakob, I thought he was a great character. I liked the mystery and the general sense of foreboding there was going on. I would have loved to read this book in the winter because I think the weather and cold really added to it. I raced through this and now I really want to read Lying About Last Summer.
What age range is it for? 13+, there's nothing very scandalous in it
Are any main characters LGBTQ+? No
Are any main characters people of colour? No
Are any main characters disabled either mentally or physically? Poppy and Gabs are ill, I guess some of that may be triggering
Is there any sex stuff? No
Are drugs mentioned or used? Prescription medication, yes
Is there any talk of death? Yes, obviously there's the mystery surrounding the body and some of it is slightly gory, and there's some violence which is quite gory too. But I think it's age appropriate
Are there swear words? No
What criticisms do I have? If I HAVE to say something, and I don't want to because I loved this, it would be that I would have liked more exposition at the end. I liked the ending, I just wanted more chat about it
Would I recommend the book? Yes absolutely
Why did I choose to read it at this point in life? It was hanging around my bathroom after I'd opened the parcel so it chose me really!
What other books is it like? I think it will get a lot of comparisons to We Were Liars by E Lockhart, and I don't think the comparison is unwarranted or unfair. The three friends' relationship is stifling and sickly in parts, even though they love each other very much. It is similar in the way that the reader isn't sure what is real and what isn't.
How many stars? Five out of five, it is great
Where is the book going now? I will definitely keep it!
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