Friday, May 16, 2014

Review: Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas

Posted by

Review: Dangerous Girls by Abigail HaasDangerous Girls by Abigail Haas
Published by Simon Pulse on July 16th 2013
Genres: Contemporary, Mystery, YA
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
four-stars

It's Spring Break of senior year. Anna, her boyfriend Tate, her best friend Elise, and a few other close friends are off to a debaucherous trip to Aruba that promises to be the time of their lives. But when Elise is found brutally murdered, Anna finds herself trapped in a country not her own, fighting against vile and contemptuous accusations.

As Anna sets out to find her friend's killer; she discovers hard truths about her friendships, the slippery nature of truth, and the ache of young love.

As she awaits the judge's decree, it becomes clear that everyone around her thinks she is not just guilty, but dangerous. When the truth comes out, it is more shocking than one could ever imagine...

This is a book that has gone seriously under-noticed and that’s a shame because it’s brilliant! And even though it’s a tad predictable, I would have disappointed if it would have ended differently. It was a daring and manipulative story – and I’m a sucker for those!

This is the story of Elise’s murder, told in the perspective of the prime suspect – her best friend. In a way, this reminded me of a YA Jodi Picoult novel. You have the murder, followed by the trial – which lasts for most of the book, and this is where you learn the details of what happened filled with secrets and lies that give just enough clues to make you crazy – then at the end all is revealed with the help of a carefully crafted twist. Out of all the YA murder mystery books I’ve read this is easily one of the best. Clues and secrets are unraveled at the perfect pace, and it’s so meticulously plotted that you begin to doubt everything about everyone. That, to me, always makes for an awesomely addictive read. And like I mentioned, even if I correctly guessed the culprit about half way, it still had me doubting my own theories where I would go back and forth between suspects. I was highly impressed with how the author decided to craft this story.

Friendship is a huge part of this novel, Elise and Anna’s especially. They had a very… intense friendship. It was quite interesting to see their relationship develop into this kind of toxic love. There’s also Anna’s romantic relationship with Tate which remains uncertain after she’s in custody. Then we have the rest of the group who seem to turn against her as soon as she’s a suspect with only circumstantial evidence. The whole group dynamic has many layers that I found increasingly fascinating with each one I peeled back. This is helped with an asshat prosecutor – and the media – who dig up things about the characters that keeps us on our toes (even though I wanted to kick these people in the face!). We stumble upon many different motives based on betrayals and revenge to keep us guessing the whole way through.

The ending: I loved. Waiting for the judge’s decision had me so anxious I thought I would hyperventilate along with Anna. But what happens after is what I enjoyed the most about the ending, maybe even the whole book. I highly recommend this one for those of you who are looking for a YA mystery done right. It’s daring and unapologetic, even shocking at times. It’s a great novel to buddy-read because you will want to discuss and dissect it afterwards, I guarantee it!

four-stars

4 Hot Espressos

The following two tabs change content below.
Canadian blogger, wife, mother, coffee lover, and sarcastic at heart! She has had a love for all things bookish since before Amazon and eReaders existed *le gasp*. You can also find her organizing tours and other fun things at Xpresso Book Tours.

Latest posts by Giselle (see all)

18 Responses to “Review: Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas”

  1. tonyalee

    AH! I am so glad to hear you loved this book! I was talking about this book for days after finishing it!

    I’m with you, I had my suspensions on who the killer was early, but kept changing my mind throughout the whole book. There were so many other factors there and I just couldn’t SEE it. And the ending gave me goosebumps!

  2. Giselle @ BOOK NERD

    Oh this one surprised me so much. I love the intense friendship the two had and that ending?? Stayed with me for so long. You knew it could happen, but you really didn’t want it too.

  3. Nick @ Nick's Book Blog

    I agree with you. This book is under-noticed. It is one of the best YA mystery novels I’ve read and the publishers need to publicize it a bit more. I hadn’t heard of it before I saw Jenni reading it!
    My favorite part of this book was most definitely the court room trials. It was so fascinating and realistic. Also, that ending we talked about? It was brilliant!
    Lovely review, Giselle. I hope the author writes more YA murder mysteries.

  4. Leanna

    Loved this one too! I also would have been a little disappointed if it had ended differently! This one actually had quite a bit of buzz around its release over this way. πŸ™‚

  5. Amanda @ Book Badger

    I said this on Goodreads, but I’ve recently read this book and absolutely loved it too! You’re a tough customer to please when it comes to mysteries, and I found it ironic because as I was reading this, I couldn’t help but think ‘hey, Giselle would like this, I’ll have to mention it to her’ and there you were, reading it when I was! Maybe I’m telepathic now, that would be coo.. Anyway, tangent. This is a fantastic review and you’ve given nothing away, so very well done! πŸ˜€

  6. ShootingStarsMag

    I LOVED this one. I’m a sucker for a good mystery. I was actually surprised by the end in a way…but it was fantastic and the whole thing was just so well done. I was second guessing everything and everyone.

  7. Kelly

    I agree that this book hasn’t been talked about enough.It’s one of my favorites.I’m glad you liked it too!

  8. Amy @ Book Loving Mom

    I have been wanting to read this book for a while. It’s gotten some great reviews, but like you said, it isn’t one of those super hyped up books that everyone is talking about. I will have to get this one since it sounds like the type of book I will love. Great review babe!!

  9. Reviews From A Bookworm

    I recently read and reviewed this and absolutely loved it. I picked it up in a 3 for Β£5 deal and wasn’t expecting much. Was so blown away and I wish that more people knew about this book. It’s definitely slipped below the radar and deserves more recognition! I just couldn’t put this book down, I knew who the killer was but the author took me on such a ride and really made me doubt my main instinct. I started to suddenly suspect everyone but was so happy with how it ended. AMAZING BOOK & brilliant review. <3

  10. Lisa (Lost in Literature)

    After you mentioned reading this, I had to come read your review. Now I’m even MORE eager to read this!! I’m a bit bumped that the copy on Amazon doesn’t have this cover. I like this one more, simply because it’s so unique. I may have to go the ebook route, simply because of the cover. I’m such a cover snob. LOL