e-Audio, 07:52:34
Narrated by: Amanda Stribling & Amy McFadden
Release Date: June 24, 2025
Published by: Books on Tape
Read from: June 14-15, 2025
Stand-alone
Source: PRH Audio App (I received a free e-ALC from the publisher and their app. This did nothing to influence my review.)
Content Warning: Rape, Sexual Assault, Gun Violence, Suicide, Murder, Bullying, Child Abuse, Cursing
For Readers Interested In: Thriller, mystery, Most Anticipated, Realistic Fiction, Dual POV, Dual Narrators, YAIn this gripping YA thriller perfect for fans of Jessica Goodman and Amber Smith, two girls from opposite worlds play a dangerous game of cat and mouse when a rich classmate is murdered and they’re both prime suspects. The race is on to find out which one is a killer.
Sixteen-year-old amateur sleuth Roxie is shrewd, nimble, cunning, and only a little bit damaged. She also has a real knack for finding things, making her the perfect go-to detective for her rich classmates at St. Margaret when they’re looking to retrieve the things they’ve “lost”— no questions asked. So when queen bee Kirsten Montgomery-Wiggins pays Roxie a hefty sum to track down a mysterious blonde who “stole” her phone, Roxie accepts. Although Kirsten is a bully and she and Roxie have bad blood between them, Roxie could really use the cash. But that same night, Roxie finds Kirsten murdered in her mansion, and police zero in on her as a prime suspect.
On the outskirts of town in a trailer park, Inez, a part-time maid and part-time sex-worker, keeps finding blood everywhere. Crusted in her earring, threaded into her shoelace. She should really toss her shoes so there’s nothing to tie her to the body, but these shoes cost her a few “favors” and several hours of cleaning houses. How could the night have gone so wrong? She really thought she was working her way to a better life, but now she could be headed to jail if the wrong someone puts two and two together.
Roxie doesn’t know who she’s looking for and Inez doesn’t know who she’s hiding from. But all roads seem to lead to Montgomery House, as Roxie works to clear her own name and Inez attempts to stay one step ahead of the law and the men who hurt her.
*MY THOUGHTS*
I liked so much of this but I was also so confused about so much of this. This definitely reads a bit older than YA. One of the main characters is a sex worker. And I THINK they’re a teen? Or at least a young adult in their 20’s? They didn’t give specific ages, so just something to think about before you read this.
Ok so the story itself was fantastic. I loved the puzzle element. Her grandmother was weird af, but I really think it was cool that she was able to figure all that out. I will say it reminded me a lot of the Jennifer Lynn Barnes series. But just that part of it. It’s what got me stuck in this book and made me want to figure out what the puzzle was about. I was so into it I almost forgot to make my theories about the real thriller mystery lol
The mystery part of this was also good. I didn’t figure out whodunit, so this was definitely a good sign. I DID guess a part of it, but the main part I was wrong. But the way it happened and the motive behind it I didn’t guess, but it definitely left me LIVID afterward. I didn’t see some of that coming, and I’m kind of glad I didn’t because I think I would have been mad enough to throw it across the room. Don’t get me wrong, this seems like a light-hearted review, but the book itself is not. It’s heavy, but so so good.
I liked this so much more than I was expecting. I don’t want to talk too much about it to avoid spoilers, but there was something about that last chapter! I LOVED the ending, but I hated that it seemed so final. I hope that there might be more some how? Idk y’all read it and let me know so we can discuss! This one is going to stay with me a while, if for no other reason but to recognize what she was going through.
Overall I give this,
