Truly, Madly, Deadly by Hannah Jayne
Published: Sourcebooks Fire (July 2nd, 2013)
Reading Level: Young Adult
Paperback: 272 pages
Rating: 4 of 5 stars
Summary:
Sawyer Dodd has it all. She's a star track athlete, choir soloist, and A-student. And her boyfriend is the handsome all-star Kevin Anderson. But behind the medals, prom pictures, and perfect smiles, Sawyer finds herself trapped in a controlling, abusive relationship with Kevin. When he dies in a drunk-driving accident, Sawyer is secretly relieved. She's free. Until she opens her locker and finds a mysterious letter signed by"an admirer" and printed with two simple words:"You're welcome."
Review:
I rarely read suspense books but I was completely hooked after reading this summary. It sounded so good and mysterious so I couldn't wait to read it. This book definitely doesn't disappoint! From the outside, it looks as if Sawyer has the perfect life. She's beautiful, popular, athletic, and has the perfect boyfriend. When this book begins, Sawyer has just lost her boyfriend Kevin. He was killed in a car accident.
The surprising part is that secretly, Sawyer is relieved that he's dead. When we first meet her she is dealing with the aftermath of his passing but she's also giving us glimpses into what her life was like with him. Kevin was abusive and it's something Sawyer hid.
Once she goes back to school she finds the mysterious note in her locker and she immediately thinks it could be someone referring to Kevin's accident. After the note there are a few more strange things happening to Sawyer. She does eventually turn to the cops but it doesn't really help much. During this time, she does meet a new guy at school, Cooper. I loved Cooper but was happy to see that these characters didn't fall into insta-love. This story really does mainly focus on the murder mystery aspect.
It was frustrating that Sawyer didn't really trust any friends enough to let them know what was going on. During the story I felt that she was mostly isolated, even thought she did have some close friends. But, even with that, I was hooked in this story till the very end. Hannah Jayne did a fabulous job developing a wonderful character we feel bad for and root for till the very end.
I didn't feel this book was predictable at all. I had no idea who the killer was or why they were doing it. I will definitely be picking up the next YA book by Hannah Jayne!
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