ARC Review: Deadly Cool by Gemma Halliday - Blog Tour

Title: Deadly Cool
Series: Debut!
Author: Gemma Halliday | Website
Available: 10/11/2011
Reading level: YA
Genre: Mystery










Description from Goodreads:


First I find out that my boyfriend is cheating on me. Then he’s pegged as the #1 suspect in a murder. And now he’s depending on me to clear his name. Seriously?

As much as I wouldn’t mind watching him squirm, I know that he’s innocent. So I’m brushing off my previously untapped detective skills and getting down to business. But I keep tripping over dead bodies and I’m still no closer to figuring out who did it. And what’s worse: all signs seem to point to me as the killer’s next victim.

I really need to pick a better boyfriend next time.

My thoughts:

Hartley hears a rumor her boyfriend Josh was caught hooking up with the president of the Chastity Club. When she sets out to catch him in the act she makes a gruesome discovery. The previously mentioned Chastity Club president dead in his closet, and the cheating boyfriend is conveniently MIA. Even though Hartley believes 100% Josh is a cheating swine, she knows he isn't capable of murder and sets out to prove his innocence (at least when it comes to the murder part). This brings her closer to the killer and straight into the path of danger.

I love mysteries and don’t think we see enough of them in Young Adult. Gemma Halliday has an adult mystery series so who better to tackle a YA mystery novel than her? She did an amazing job. The characters were fabulous. I loved Hartley. If I was a teenager again I’d totally want a friend like her. Chase was all sexy brooding bad boy. Swoon! Hartley's BFF Sam was also super cool. For some reason I usually find the BFF annoying in most YA novels. I'm not sure if authors write them to be annoying or to make the MC seem cooler. Total speculation here. Any who, I felt Sam and Hartley are a great pair. I love that Sam was willing to risk her parent's wrath and bribe her brother to borrow his car, all to help Hartley track down a killer. If only all best friends were more like Sam.

I'm also so darn excited this is a series debut and not a standalone novel. Hartley is awesome and when I finished reading I thought wow this would make such a great series. Imagine my surprise and hell yeahs when I saw on Gemma's website book two, Social Suicide, will be available next year. Awesomeness!

I had so much fun reading Deadly Cool. I was laughing out loud at times. The dialogue was fresh and fun. I didn't want to put this one down. I also love that the whodunit was not predictable. At least it wasn't for me. I was guessing until the last moment.

I’m hard-pressed to find anything about this book not to love. Sarcastic and clever writing? Smart and sassy main character? Brooding bad boy type? Stellar secondary characters? A mystery that will keep you guessing? Check, check, check, check, and check! Like I said hard-pressed.

My Rating:

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