Nobody is creating gothic angsty teen novels like Ginny Myers Sain. Intense with emotion, clogged with unease

This is Ginny Myers Sain’s third book, and the second I’ve read from her, and she does not disappoint! I’m so ready to go back and pick up Secrets So Deep now after reading this. I love the slightly supernatural element that she injects into her stories, and in this one there’s a hint of reincarnation/past lives which I always love to see, although I do think that the way this played into the ending made it just a bit too difficult to suspend my disbelief. It was paced perfectly, and it was so twisty-turny right up until the very end. While it was slightly predictable in that I guessed, or had an inkling anyway, of who the killer was going to be, it turned out to be the case in a way that I was completely not expecting, so I was still surprised by the ending. This was really creepy and tense - you really just felt like the killer was around every corner and I was so on edge the whole time! This book also felt really claustrophobic throughout which I loved, with the small town vibes, the gators, the diving, the humidity, and the grief hovering over the town as well. I really think this author's books are very underrated!

Best book I’ve read in a while! Fast paced, so many twists and turns, great characters and the story is just unbelievable! Can’t wait to read for from this author! Amazing book!

I received this book as an ARC from Netgalley, however all opinions are my own.

How I read this book: eBook

So the reason I wanted to read this book is because the description sounded like it was going to be something mysterious and creepy and just a good read. Friends, I was so right, this book was a whole ass ride. From the very start of this book it was thrilling and fast paced and left me wanting to read more with each and every chapter. I knew there were going to be some supernatural elements within the book but I was not expecting the extent of what we got. It was so cool to see those elements be placed into a mystery/thriller and I thoroughly enjoyed them. This book kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time, the suspense throughout was a lot. The twists and turns at the end of this book made going through the panic and horror of the book worth it. Another thing I really enjoyed was the way that the author laid out the pages, they very much did it in a way so we felt the urgency of certain parts of the story. The character development for most of the characters was beautiful also, there were so many characters that I absolutely adored and found myself getting attached to. According to Goodreads this book is under YA however it did not read like a YA book at all, I also probably wouldn't recommend this to anyone under 16. I would however recommend this to anyone who wants a good queer mystery/thriller. Overall I loved this book a lot and I will definitely be picking it up when it comes out.

My Favourite Characters:

Dill & Derry: I'm going to put these two together because there almost aren't any scenes where you have one without the other. I loved them so much and they gave Tru and Rio that maternal and paternal figures they desperately needed to guide them throughout the book. I wish we got to see more of them.

East: I mean this in the best way but you can tell East is a man written by a woman. I loved him so much throughout the book and he was an absolute angel.

Rio: Rio for me had some of the most character development throughout the book. She starts off very secretive but I absolutely fell in love with her by the end.

My Least Favourite Characters:

Knox: Knox is the towns mayor and he is legit the biggest piece of shit I've ever read about in a book. I hated him so much and actually wished we got less of him.

Tru's Mum & Dad: I apologise I don't think we actually got names for them but for good reason. Tru needed her parents more than anything with everything that she had been through and neither of them could be arsed to be there for her.

(If you'd like to see more of my reviews please go to my blog:
https://doesden.blogspot.com/)

Ginny Myers Sain is excellent at composing a solid murder mystery story, with elements of the supernatural, and a setting that feels so realistic it’s like you’re there in the flesh. I could feel the intense heat, the water on my skin, and the cooler air of night. I felt the tension and the slow creeping feeling of paranoia, and the grief and the sadness. Really great evocative writing.

For a while I was lost, not knowing who I even suspected or what happened! Eventuality input my guesses together, and side from one smaller element, I was right! I thought all the red herrings and scapegoats were excellent, and I really liked how the story unfolded. The reveal was also very heartbreaking, and I wish we got to see a bit more of the fallout.

I will say I got a bit frustrated with some of the silly decisions the characters made. Why would you willingly camp outside in a previous murder spot when you know the murderer is after you? With a baseball bat for protection? I suppose we had to do something to move the story along!

While I enjoyed how twisty the novel was, the ending began to go overboard. To keep us surprised and guessing, it was like “this is the murderer” “no, this is the murderer” and instead of keeping up the suspense and tension it just got confusing and I had to reread pages because I lose track of who was who and who was doing what and who was dead and who wasn’t dead.

Overall though, I really enjoyed this book. It did genuinely have me scared at several points and I regretted reading in the dark.

4 stars - a mysterious YA thriller with supernatural elements.

Free water diver Tru lives in a small town that is still captivated by the unsolved murders of two girls, Bailey and Celeste, 20 years prior. When new girl Rio stumbles into town Tru has an instant connection with her and the two try to solve the murder when they start to have flashbacks / visions of the two murdered girls.

After reading the authors previous books I knew to expect a supernatural element which made me feel on edge throughout the story, along with the suffocating heat of the Florida summer and dark depths of the dives

I loved the murder mystery and I suspected nearly everyone by the time the reveal came. I did guess the killer but I think in a lot of these books it seems to be the person least likely so that makes me suspect them more.

I was shocked by what happened to East as he was so sweet. I wished we got to see some more relationship development between Tru and Rio - I thought the major connection point between them was due to Celeste and Baileys feelings and did wonder if they would still feel the same way without it.

If you enjoyed this one I would highly recommend Dark and Shallow Lies by the same author - one of my favourite books set in the bayous of Louisiana.

Twenty years after two teenagers are brutally murdered, Tru and Rio realise they are experiencing previous-life memories connected to the killings, and when they begin to investigate the case they find themselves and those closest to them to be in mortal danger.
It is perhaps an unlikely combination of genres and you just need to accept the previous lives thread or this will not work for you. The thriller element is tense with the reader being lead down a number of paths, and the threats are real as there are character deaths. Those that read a lot of crime will probably guess the ending, but that doesn't detract from the suspense maintaining an intense velocity throughout.
This an exciting, edgy crossover title for older teens, tho not everyone will buy into the supernatural plot developments