18 Months

...A surprise ending and overall a very great book!

Reviewed by Stephanie Reiner

I really enjoyed this book! The elements of mystery, suspense, YA, and LGBT fiction meld well into a psychological thriller I found difficult to put down. The main character, Alissa, is a flawed character that, despite her shortcomings, it was easy to identify with, and her situation is one that many people will recognize from their own youth. And I was quite surprised in the end by how the mystery played out.... I loved the book enough to give it five stars.

Reviewed by Adan Ramie

One of my main criteria for assessing mysteries is the identity of the villain. Are they convincing and do their motivations make sense? Are they someone who readers and the protagonists can spot, without the former getting annoyed at the latter’s missing of obvious clues? In stories featuring amateur or accidental investigators, is there a good reason why the police haven’t already looked at this person?

After that, of course, I need a good cast of characters, along with a setting and plot that I can feel comfortable with for the duration of the book. Not too comfortable, obviously – this is a crime story – but I need to understand what makes the protagonist want to live in that location (if indeed they aren’t just desperate to get out) and how the plot carries them along the twists and turns of their investigation. A likable protagonist is generally a plus too, but in young adult stories, one with understandable flaws is sometimes more believable.

Alissa Reeves used to be one of the popular girls – or rather part of the crowd that most of her classmates aspired to join but few were let into – but now she’s an outcast, after declaring her affections for Hannah Desarno. She’d expected that, having almost lost her place in the clique 18 months ago when the others caught her kissing Lana Meyers. Back then she was a coward and accused Lana of coming onto her, getting the other girl into a whole heap of trouble, but now she’s prepared to stand up for her relationship with Hannah. Unfortunately, Alissa hasn’t told Hannah the whole story, and Lana can’t contradict what she’s been saying; 18 months ago, Lana disappeared: her dismembered body showing up some months later. Now Hannah’s started getting curious, and Alissa is forced to tell her the truth of how she betrayed Lana and their relationship.

The girls quarrel, and the next day Hannah fails to show up at school. Alissa worries that both her girlfriends have fallen victim to the same predatory killer – even after Hannah’s parents claim to have heard from her – and then someone starts leaving messages for Alissa, claiming to be holding Hannah prisoner. The police believe Hannah’s parents over Alissa – except for one young officer who isn’t convinced either way – and so Alissa is left to seek out the truth by herself, occasionally helped by a companion from her preteen years, whom she abandoned for the popular crowd, but who now wants to revive their previous friendship.

I enjoyed all the twists this story took and was convinced by...the characters’ motivations for helping or hindering Alissa’s investigations. While I had my suspicions about the killer, I was only partly right, but their motivations... made sense when it came to the big reveal. An author whose work I’ll be looking out for in future.

Reviewed by Sandra Marlow

Oh this book! I cannot rave about it enough! Mystery/Thriller books are my favorite. It had just the perfect amount of mystery and thrill that I could not put the book down....Really I couldn't. I had both my kindle and the kindle app open on my phone all of the time. I did force myself to put it down because let's face it, we hate to finish great books. It leaves us wanting more and in a book slump. This book did just that.

In this story, Alissa Reeves is a teen in high school who just happened to date the girls that have gone missing. Her friend Nick helps play detective after Alissa starts receiving notes, leaving clues as to what may have happened to both Hannah and Lana.

The plot was strong and intricate. It was laid out perfectly with all of the balanced characters. Each character brought something to the story. Samantha did a great job at structuring these characters and adding some personality to them.

The characters in this story each hold pieces that complete this complex puzzle. From
Alissa Reeves, Genny, Hannah Desarno, Nicholas Pathos, Madison, Rachel, Lana Meyers, Officer Jake Bradley, Rachel, Garrett, Brandon, to Tommy.

Samantha Boyette wrote a book that not only had a strong plot but strong characters and a strong conclusion. This is definitely a book I'd recommend to all of you.

Reviewed by Helen Rivera

Alissa is much like many popular teenage girls. She is caught up in her own world. With incredibly judgmental friends, no real direction in life, slightly confused feelings around her sexuality and a slight amount of guilt for her bad behavior towards other people, she continues to go on living a life of lies… until she meets Hannah. Hannah is the seemingly cool, gracious, amazing friend that anyone would be lucky to have. With their instant connection she sends sparks of positivity and confidence into Alissa’s life and teaches her what it really means to not only live and love, but love a person of the same sex.

Overall, I found this to be an...engaging read. I would look forward to my next few moments with the book and really got into the mystery aspect of it. Not only does it have a different approach to a love story, but it throws in this sadistic treasure hunt mixed with elements of Veronica Mars-esq detective skills. It really brings about the question of “what would you do for the one you love”? You can tell the author is passionate about this and I wouldn’t be surprised if maybe some of these were ideas were remnants of her teenage years.

...As a lover of the murder mystery genre, I...was delighted to see that there was more to it than I had guessed.

...I really am just a lover of all things YA with a mix of murder (the notes and hunt got me there I think). If you’re in the mood for a quick light read, it might be the book for you....

Reviewed by Erin Holcombe