This Book FASCINATES. I could not put it down, even when I knew I should and get ready for bed I just could not. I wanted to know what was going to happen next, it has everything a thriller should - prestige, mystery and well written characters!

Jess Choudhary co-writes a short story for the Gifted & Talented class at her elite boarding school. When her classmate Hugh is murdered in the exact same way as the protagonist of the story, suspicion falls on her. Not only is her scholarship position at risk, but she also receives death threats from an unknown number. And the police don't seem to be getting anywhere. If she wants to stay in school, and more importantly, stay alive, she has to solve the murder herself.

****************

It's hard to get the pacing in mystery novels just right and, in my opinion, this book definitely achieved it! It never got boring or so fast paced that I felt left behind. And, some mystery books either make you feel dumb for "not getting it" or make you feel bored or frustrated because the whodunit was too obvious and the red herrings laughable.
This book was neither!
The story evolved naturally and continuously, while also diving into the character's lifes and still being entertaining and surprising.
What's more, I didn't get the sense of the author speaking for the characters or blatantly pushing them in a certain direction, but like they all had their own voice and behaved of their own accord (maybe that's why the twists in the story never felt out of place).
It's as if the author created some personalities, put them into a setting and let them loose. And I LOVED following them along!

The book also discusses certain social issues and pokes fun at set traditions (e.g. how posh people tend to name their kids - it's done very over the top, but it's absolutely hilarious).

Jess is a scholarship student at an elite boarding school, when Hugh, one of the wealthiest among the already affluent student body, is found dead. Jess has a personal interest in the case, not least because of her best friend having an affair with the deceased - but because a short story that Jess wrote formed the premise of the murder.

-

This was a really addictive read, I read it in two sittings over the space of twenty four hours. Fast-paced, compelling and well thought out - this had all the elements of a successful murder mystery. Given how well-populated the “student gets killed at elite boarding school” genre is, i was pleasantly surprised at how unique the authors twist on the tale was - it takes real skill to pick a familiar genre and put your own twist on it, let alone for a debut novel.

-

I will say I think this book weakened in the middle. I guessed the murderer pretty early on (which I didn’t actually mind, because I was so intrigued by the storyline) but it felt like, in an attempt to create red herrings, the author didn’t know how to create filler content and it sort of just… went all over the place. It wasn’t badly written per say, but it definitely distracted from the main storyline and felt wholly unnecessary.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced readers copy xo

Hugh Henry Van Boren is murdered at his very posh private school. Jessminder, one of the scholarship students is sent a text message soon after thanking her for the inspiration. What follows is a brilliant YA book full of red herrings and edge of your sweaty mystery.

This enjoyed this immensely.

You know when you pick up a book, start to read the first few pages and instantly know it’s going to be great? It was an immediate hit with me, and I mean immediate. First page down and I knew it was going to be a big one. One I didn’t want to put down, couldn’t tear myself away from and couldn’t stop thinking about.

I do love a Murder mystery, high school drama, private school centred plot and this one was great. I did have to laugh at the characteristic and stereotypical ‘Toff’ like last names of a lot of the characters though, if you didn’t know most of the characters came from money and a privileged background, their names would give it away!

I also loved that there was an interactive element for you to mirror Jess, the main character, near the end of the book to brainstorm and write down who you thought the murderer was. Physical copies of the book have a few dedicated notebook style pages for you to jot down on as well as the e-book version having a QR code you can scan which takes you to a YouTube video which sums up some of the facts gathered from throughout the book. What a fab idea!

There was a tonne of plot twists and turns and I was so eager to find out whodunnit at the end. I didn’t guess who it was! A few elements I found maybe a little far fetched and fortuitous but I suppose there needs to be some part of that for some of the storylines to add together. But overall it was a great book. I really enjoyed!

I went into this book with very little knowledge and I was so glad I did. If you like a YA mystery this book is for you. The story is a great addition to the genre. I also like the added elements where it breaks the fourth wall.