Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for The Foxglove Killings by Tara Kelly! Today I'll be sharing my review of the book with you - and don't forget to enter the giveaway! To follow the rest of the tour, click on the banner above.
The Foxglove Killings
Author: Tara Kelly
Genre: YA Mystery/Thriller
Release Date: September 1, 2015
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Description:
Gramps always said that
when the crickets were quiet, something bad was coming. And the
crickets have been as silent as the dead. It started with the murdered
deer in the playground with the unmistakable purple of a foxglove in its
mouth. But in the dying boondock town of Emerald Cove, life goes on.
I work at Gramps's diner, and the cakes―the entitled rich kids who vacation here―make our lives hell. My best friend, Alex Pace, is the one person who gets me. Only Alex has changed. He's almost like a stranger now. I can't figure it out...or why I'm having distinctly more-than-friend feelings for him. Ones I shouldn't be having.
Then one of the cakes disappears.
When she turns up murdered, a foxglove in her mouth, a rumor goes around that Alex was the last person seen with her—and everyone but me believes it. Well, everyone except my worst enemy, Jenika Shaw. When Alex goes missing, it's up to us to prove his innocence and uncover the true killer. But the truth will shatter everything I've ever known about myself — and Alex.
I work at Gramps's diner, and the cakes―the entitled rich kids who vacation here―make our lives hell. My best friend, Alex Pace, is the one person who gets me. Only Alex has changed. He's almost like a stranger now. I can't figure it out...or why I'm having distinctly more-than-friend feelings for him. Ones I shouldn't be having.
Then one of the cakes disappears.
When she turns up murdered, a foxglove in her mouth, a rumor goes around that Alex was the last person seen with her—and everyone but me believes it. Well, everyone except my worst enemy, Jenika Shaw. When Alex goes missing, it's up to us to prove his innocence and uncover the true killer. But the truth will shatter everything I've ever known about myself — and Alex.
The Foxglove Killings is a riveting young adult thriller that had me devouring each page until the very end. One of my favorite genres is thriller fiction, so once I read the description for this book - I knew I had to read it. It had it all - intrigue, mystery, lots of twists and turns. The main character of the novel is Nova - a local girl who works in her grandfather's diner. She's a good main character for the book - pretty smart, a loyal and devoted friend, loves her family, and is determined to get to the bottom of things when her best friend Alex is rumored to be the last person seen with the girl who is murdered one summer. The cakes - rich kids who vacation in Emerald Cove (Nova and Alex's hometown) - make their lives horrible every summer without fail. Nova knows that Alex is going through some heavy stuff after his grandfather died the month before. He's acting really strange - going from okay to pissed in a second - and Nova barely recognizes him anymore. Still, he's her best friend and sudden new crush - and she'll do whatever it takes to prove his innocence. It seems like everyone in town believes the rumors about Alex and the girl that turns up dead with a foxglove in her mouth - everyone except for Nova and her biggest enemy - Jenika Shaw. For once they're going to have to work together to clear Alex's name and find the real killer.
The plot for the book wasn't wholly original - it seems like the idea of a rich teenage girl being murdered by a local while vacationing for the summer is nothing new. Even though the overall plot wasn't unique, the author gave it plenty of twists and turns to make it stand out from others like it. The backstory of the summer that includes the murder of the deer with the foxglove in its mouth was great foreshadowing for what was to come. It lets the reader know that the killer is already in Emerald Cove and has just started their killing spree. The foxglove is obviously an important clue, as it appears in the murder of the deer, the murder of the girl, and is part of the book's title. I always love trying to figure out who the killer is and what's really going on before the characters in the book. I formed some really good theories - I thought - throughout the story, only to have them crushed when an unexpected twist or turn occurred. There were definitely some great twists in the story that kept me on my toes and constantly guessing about what was going on. The pressure and suspense kept the story going at a fast pace and I found myself eagerly reading as fast as I could to see what was going to happen next. The author uses a great amount of detailed descriptions and vivid imagery throughout the book, so it was easy for me to slip inside the world alongside Nova. Truthfully, once I immersed myself into the story - which happened on the very first page - I couldn't/wouldn't stop reading until I had finished and the killer was revealed. I was so absorbed in the book that I ended up reading it all in one sitting, which I think helped me to stay locked inside the story and feeling the rising suspense. Overall, this was a great YA thriller that fans of the genre are sure to enjoy! I also highly recommend it to fans of mysteries, action, suspense, and murder fiction who are looking for a fresh take on a not-so-new plot line.
Stephanie, I appreciate your insight about this novel's unique twists and turns make this story stand out from others with the same premise! Cheers, Kara S
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