Release date: September 17th 2013Publisher: Walker Childrens
Purchase: Amazon | BookDepository
Synopsis via Goodreads:
Rachel died at two a.m . . . Three hours after Skyler kissed me for the first time. Forty-five minutes after she sent me her last text.
Jaycee and Rachel were best friends. But that was before. . .before that terrible night at the old house. Before Rachel shut Jaycee out. Before Jaycee chose Skyler over Rachel. Then Rachel is found dead. The police blame a growing gang problem in their small town, but Jaycee is sure it has to do with that night at the old house. Rachel’s text is the first clue—starting Jaycee on a search that leads to a shocking secret. Rachel’s death was no random crime, and Jaycee must figure out who to trust before she can expose the truth.
In the follow-up to her powerful debut, Jennifer Shaw Wolf keeps readers on their toes in another dark, romantic story of murder and secrets.
*A paperback ARC was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I had mentioned this book previously in my WoW so it was quite a delight when the publisher sent me a copy. The synopsis really intrigued me and I wanted to investigate what was going on in this small town.
First off, Dead Girls Don't Lie really had me pulled in with the opening sentence. The discovery of the deceased friend's body had sent chills throughout the small town and questions instantly started tossing around. Who did it and why? Was it really gang related as police ruled it out to be, or was there much more going on beneath the surface of the closed knit community? I wanted to find answers to those questions and I truly got them. Only, my journey to unraveling the story and putting the pieces together was somewhat of a scary ride.
Indeed, it was a good read. Very mysterious; a few twists here and there to keep things interesting, and there's also the mention of a continued issue in society people often turn a blind eye to. In fact, the story depicted that issue so much among the members of the town that it irked me throughout the book while trying to stay in tune with Jaycee in uncovering the mystery surrounding her best friend's murder. But that means it affected me on an emotional level and that's a good thing.
Where Jaycee is concerned, I liked her character. She's a nice girl who, due to her father's influence and some other silly issues, disregarded her life long friendship with Rachel. After the latter's death, Jaycee really started to see things in a different way. She began analyzing her friendship, what her deceased friend was like and if she really knew her at all. And though Rachel isn't alive and the story is partially based on solving her murder, I liked that through the friend who stopped talking to her, I got to understand the kind of person Rachel really was. And even in spite of the many nasty rumors town members began spreading about her. I also liked that Jaycee never forgot the good things about Rachel right up till the end.
The romance aspect was a nice treat in the midst. It was pleasant to see that through pain of losing her friend and facing regret, Jaycee was discovering the intense emotion of love.
In regards to the twists, Rachel's gingerbread trail was a great addition. And Jaycee having to decrypt clues had me anticipating her findings. But when the killer was found out, like her I really wanted to believe that person was good. That he had nothing to do with the murders, intentionally. But sadly, the ending proved me wrong and completely ruined any thoughts I had about there being a really good happy ever after once the truth came out. Never saw that sick part coming.
Overall, it was quick paced, well written, very relatable and realistic story. Dead Girls Don't Lie is one dark mystery you'll get extremely scared trying to solve, but can't resist the burning desire to go on.
About the Author
Jennifer Shaw Wolf grew up on a farm in the tiny town of St. Anthony, Idaho. She spent cold Idaho mornings milking cows in the dark and attended a school where Hunter’s Education was part of the sixth grade curriculum. She’s always been a writer, whether it was sewing together books to read to her little brothers or starting an underground newspaper in sixth grade. She met the love of her life at Ricks College, (now BYU Idaho), after he dropped her on her head. She graduated from Ricks and then Brigham Young University, Provo with a degree in Broadcast Communications. Now she lives in beautiful, green, (rainy) Lacey, Washington with her husband and four kids. She loves to produce videos, ski, ride horses, and read, but really all she has time for is chasing kids and writing.
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