Sunday, December 13, 2015

Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas


A quick summary before I begin my raving on how much I loved this book: Anna, her best friend Elise, Anna's boyfriend Tate, and a group of their friends are in Aruba for Spring Break. Then one day, Elise is found murdered, stabbed to death in the beach house they were staying in. Anna, the narrator of the book, is targeted by the police as the killer.

Haas draws on the Amanda Knox case most heavily for inspiration, as well as the Natalie Holloway case. She explores the way the media can spin evidence, as well as the intensity of high school and the relationships formed there, and the feeling of being trapped with no control over your future. Having Anna as the narrator really forces the reader to feel everything she is feeling, from watching crime shows portray her as a sociopath, to fighting for sleep in a tiny jail cell.

The book is not told in chronological order, which works brilliantly in this case. Jumping back and forth from the trial, to when Anna and Elise first met, to their time in Aruba, really amps up the tension and suspense.

And then there were those two words. Those of you have read this book will instantly know which words I refer to. This book has a twist, a solution to the mystery, that packs such a wallop it leaves you reeling, and stays with you even when the book is closed.

If you loved this book, I would definitely recommend you check out Cartwheel by Jennifer duBois. It's another fictional take on the Amanda Knox case.

4/5 stars ****


No comments:

Post a Comment