Monday, July 23, 2012

Cool as a Cucumber


Published: October 11th, 2011
Deadly Cool (Deadly Cool # 1)
By: Gemma Halliday
Harper Teen
ISBN-13: 9780062003317

Hartley Grace Featherstone is having a very bad day. First she finds out that her boyfriend is cheating on her with the president of the Herbert Hoover High School Chastity Club. Then he’s pegged as the #1 suspect in a murder. And if that weren’t enough, now he’s depending on Hartley to clear his name.

But as much as Hartley wouldn’t mind seeing him squirm, she knows he’s innocent, and she’s the only one who can help him. Along with her best friend, Sam, and the school’s resident Bad Boy, Chase, Hartley starts investigating on her own. But as the dead bodies begin to pile up, the mystery deepens, the suspects multiply, and Hartley begins to fear that she may be the killer’s next victim.


Review

   Hartley is having a really hard day.  It seems like the school except for her knew about her boyfriend cheating with a member of the Chastity Club.  And to make matters worse, when she goes to confront him she finds the other girl, dead inside his closet.  Now the cops are investigating Josh as the killer, he's on the run and it seems like Hartley is the only one who can clear his name.  She can't do it alone though, but maybe with the help of best friend Sam and nosy, hot school reporter Chase she can crack the case.  But they better hurry, because someone will stop at nothing to make sure the truth stays buried.  Hartley might be the next victim if she isn't careful...  Hartley is funny, sarcastic and strong.  But she is also slightly insecure like any normal teenager.  So watching her go through the situation with the cheating boyfriend truly sucked.  But I loved the interactions between her and Sam.  Especially when they borrowed Sam's brother's car - which runs on VEGETABLE OIL.  It was freaking hilarious when they were talking about how he obtained fuel for the car.  I loved Chase's interference and total inability to butt out of Hartley's investigation.  It made for some major swoon and he sounded like a true literary hottie.  The murder investigation had a conclusion that I truly DID NOT see coming in a million years.  The reason for the murder was so asinine and the killer so crazy, that it actually made a sick kind of sense.  The snarky comments and fast-paced plot were a joy to read after so many mediocre books disappointing me this year.  Hatrley's Mom (who she calls the SMother) was just the right balance of parental crazy and loving understanding.  I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who likes a witty mystery and doesn't mind a teenage protagonist.

VERDICT:  4.25/5  Stars

*No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book is now available in stores and online.*

No comments:

Post a Comment

Comments are much appreciated and I always read them with a smile on my face! :) While I appreciate the thought, this an award-free blog as well. I just don't have the time to keep up with it. Thank you for my smiles and please share your thoughts! Also, sorry for the Captcha, but I've been getting a lot of spam lately!