The Cold Hard Truth

BY Amanda Leigh Cowley

Yeah, first book down, which is an appalling attitude, but the book wasn’t great mate. Not for me anyway. But then I don't care for this teenage angst, does he love me crap. It was the murder mystery that I was interested in. The side line romance stuff will draw a different crowd and the book maybe worth a look just for that.

Anyway, here's my two sentence synopsis. Girl is attacked by the killer of her father and survives but is bereft by father's death. Girl is then invited to america to live with estranged mother and half sister, where an angst ridden romance evolves and the killer is revealed.

Now I liked the start. Murder is good. Witness alive, but damaged emotionally and physically is good. But then the story, in USA, reverts to a romantic v family saga with vague references to the the killing via text.

I enjoyed the read. Liked Em, the narrator, but everyone else lacked depth. I felt no real emotional loyalty to Em and her life. And don’t get me started on the antagonist.

Oh all right I will. It was a good twist, the clues good, red herrings satisfactory and with a limited list of suspects the killer reveal was acceptable. But it didn’t ring true. There was such a shallow portrayal, a lack of detail to the insanity involved in the killers psyche and motives that I felt duped, robbed even when the killer was revealed.

But if you like a lighthearted read of teenage angst and love, and enjoy a cozy murder then you may get more from this tale than I did.
It wasn’t bad, no way, but it wasn’t super good either.