A Thrill Ride of Summer Reading
A Thrill Ride of Summer Reading
This summer, I had a plan. A plan to scare, thrill, and completely immerse myself in young adult murder mystery. The result? Well, I certainly spent a good deal of time biting my finger nails. I even had a few “ah ha!” moments. I have to say, there were times where I really had to suspend belief, but then I reminded myself that teens, not a 30-something jaded mother of two, were the intended audience for these books, and it made me realize how hard the authors had to work to orchestrate such complex stories with characters you could root for. Here are three you might try if you are writing mystery/thrillers or just enjoy a good “who-done-it” read.
Ten by Gretchen McNeil
On an island off the coast of Washington State, ten teenagers converge at a house to party. Much like Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, one by one the teenagers begin to get knocked off. The story is told third person, but only one perspective, so it’s pretty straightforward. There are a lot of characters to keep track of, but with big personalities, they all stand out pretty well. I thought this one was pretty good at keeping the true murderer under wraps.
The Rules by Nancy Holder & Debbie Viguie
Told from multiple third-person perspectives, a group of teenagers meet at an old warehouse deep in the woods near the shore. They’re there for a scavenger hunt, but it quickly becomes clear that someone has murder on the mind. This story is a little more gruesome than some, but it does get the award for most creepy. I had a small suspicion who it might be at the halfway point, but I was guessing enough to be very intrigued with the reveal.
NEED by Joelle Charbonneau
This is a little more than a “someone around here must be killing us” kind of read. That’s because the book uses social media as it’s catalyst for the crimes, implicating teens in murders that they never knew they’d be taking part in. The concept is fascinating, the main character really grows on you, and the plot is intriguing. It’s certainly worth the read for something different.
So, all in all, it was an exciting experience. It’s still hard for me to love anything without a major dose of romance (Ten probably gets the closest), but it was fun to change up my normal routine and read something where the plot became a character. These are great books to read for research or fun, and feel free to post any other recommendations below!
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