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The Sixes
Phoebe Hall’s Manhattan life is unexpectedly derailed off the fast track when her long-term boyfriend leaves her just as she is accused of plagiarizing her latest bestselling celebrity biography. Looking for a quiet place to pick up the pieces, Phoebe jumps at the offer to teach at a small private college run by her former boarding school roommate and close friend Glenda in a sleepy Pennsylvania town. But behind the campus’s quiet cafés and looming maple trees lies something darker. The body of a junior co-ed washes up from the nearby river, and soon rumors begin to swirl of of past crimes and abuses wrought by a disturbing secret society known as The Sixes. Determined to find answers and help Glenda, Phoebe secretly embarks on a search for clues—a quest that soon raises dark memories of her own boarding school days. Plunging deeper into danger with every step, Phoebe knows she’s close to unmasking a killer. But with truth comes a deeply terrifying the past can’t be outrun . . . and starting over can be a crime punishable by death.
376 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2011
307 people are currently reading
3459 people want to read
About the author
Kate White
58 books2,824 followersKate White is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of nineteen novels of suspense: eleven standalone psychological thrillers, including The Last Time She Saw Him (2024), and eight Bailey Weggins mysteries.
A former Glamour magazine Top Ten College Women Contest winner and cover girl, Kate had a long career in the media business, eventually running five national magazines. For fourteen years she was the editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan, which under her became the most successful magazine in single copy sales in the U.S. Though she loved her magazine career, she decided to leave eleven years ago to concentrate full-time on another passion: writing suspense fiction.
Kate’s first mystery, If Looks Could Kill, was a Kelly Ripa Book Club pick, a #1 bestseller on Amazon, and an instant New York Times bestseller. She has been nominated for an International Thriller Writers Award in the fiction category, and her books have been published in over 30 countries.
Kate is a frequent speaker at libraries, bookstores, and conferences, and has appeared on many television shows, including The Today Show, CBS This Morning, Good Morning America, Morning Joe, and CNN’s Quest Means Business.
She is also the author of several bestselling career books, including I Shouldn’t Be Telling You This and the ground-breaking Wall Street Journal bestseller, Why Good Girls Don’t Get Ahead but Gutsy Girls Do.
Kate is an avid traveler and spends each winter with her husband at their home in Uruguay. She holds an honorary doctorate of letters from her alma mater, Union College, where she gave the 2022 commencement address.
A former Glamour magazine Top Ten College Women Contest winner and cover girl, Kate had a long career in the media business, eventually running five national magazines. For fourteen years she was the editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan, which under her became the most successful magazine in single copy sales in the U.S. Though she loved her magazine career, she decided to leave eleven years ago to concentrate full-time on another passion: writing suspense fiction.
Kate’s first mystery, If Looks Could Kill, was a Kelly Ripa Book Club pick, a #1 bestseller on Amazon, and an instant New York Times bestseller. She has been nominated for an International Thriller Writers Award in the fiction category, and her books have been published in over 30 countries.
Kate is a frequent speaker at libraries, bookstores, and conferences, and has appeared on many television shows, including The Today Show, CBS This Morning, Good Morning America, Morning Joe, and CNN’s Quest Means Business.
She is also the author of several bestselling career books, including I Shouldn’t Be Telling You This and the ground-breaking Wall Street Journal bestseller, Why Good Girls Don’t Get Ahead but Gutsy Girls Do.
Kate is an avid traveler and spends each winter with her husband at their home in Uruguay. She holds an honorary doctorate of letters from her alma mater, Union College, where she gave the 2022 commencement address.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 603 reviews
October 20, 2019
this book is a perfectly good bit of entertainment, if you can disarm your logic and incredulity buttons.
it's about phoebe hall; a newly single and disgraced celebrity biographer, who has fled the glamor of new york, world travel, and talk show appearances after a plagiarism scandal to teach writing at a private college in a tiny town in pennsylvania. glenda johns, one of her oldest friends from her own boarding school days, is the president of the college, and when a girl is found murrrrrderrrred, she asks phoebe to quietly investigate the rumors of a secret society of girls known only as "the sixes" to determine if there is a connection. phoebe is reluctant, because she herself had been victimized by a similar group of girls in her youth, but since researching celebrity dirt is pretty much the same thing as solving violent crimes, she agrees.
here's the thing - just as celebrities don't like it when you spill the secrets from what little they have of private lives, post-adolescent girls do not like having light shed on their own less-than-ladylike behavior. as her investigation progresses, phoebe becomes the target of several invasive scare tactics - break-ins where increasingly-creepy things are left behind for her to find, harrowing adventures in the dark, and then - more murrrrrderrrrr. but phoebe is plucky, and she will not quit the hunt just because .
oh, and is there a love interest? is he dreamy with a dark past, a psychology degree, and a habit of doing all sorts of suspicious things in her presence?? check and check.
and why does the feminist studies teacher seem to dislike her so much?
and why does the dean of students keep throwing wrenches into her investigation?
and why is glenda's husband acting so shady?
and what about all the other students who drowned or near-drowned or went missing in the past?
and what's with the campus police?
and what's up with the townie bar that seems to have been the "victim last seen at" point in so many cases?
and why is that new york post reporter sniffing around?
and why are all the boys at the school so dumb?
and how have the sixes been able to operate in secrecy for so long when some of their rituals are kind of high-profile?
red herrings abound.
there are a lot of things that usually drive me mad, but they are pretty minor incidents. again - this is just something that bugs me, and it's not a huge part of the story, but it speaks to a certain kind of writerly laziness. tana french wouldn't go there.
now, i have this on my "books claiming to be just like secret history" shelf, but this book doesn't actually make that claim. and it's not ultimately anything like secret history except that it involves a ritualistic secret society in an academic environment and there is a murder. which is enough for it to go on the shelf, but it is not at all a readalike.
it's a diversion-read - it holds the interest and it only takes a couple of hours to read, so it's a good vacation, beach, airplane, or wine-bath book. they can't all be life-changers.
come to my blog!
it's about phoebe hall; a newly single and disgraced celebrity biographer, who has fled the glamor of new york, world travel, and talk show appearances after a plagiarism scandal to teach writing at a private college in a tiny town in pennsylvania. glenda johns, one of her oldest friends from her own boarding school days, is the president of the college, and when a girl is found murrrrrderrrred, she asks phoebe to quietly investigate the rumors of a secret society of girls known only as "the sixes" to determine if there is a connection. phoebe is reluctant, because she herself had been victimized by a similar group of girls in her youth, but since researching celebrity dirt is pretty much the same thing as solving violent crimes, she agrees.
here's the thing - just as celebrities don't like it when you spill the secrets from what little they have of private lives, post-adolescent girls do not like having light shed on their own less-than-ladylike behavior. as her investigation progresses, phoebe becomes the target of several invasive scare tactics - break-ins where increasingly-creepy things are left behind for her to find, harrowing adventures in the dark, and then - more murrrrrderrrrr. but phoebe is plucky, and she will not quit the hunt just because .
oh, and is there a love interest? is he dreamy with a dark past, a psychology degree, and a habit of doing all sorts of suspicious things in her presence?? check and check.
and why does the feminist studies teacher seem to dislike her so much?
and why does the dean of students keep throwing wrenches into her investigation?
and why is glenda's husband acting so shady?
and what about all the other students who drowned or near-drowned or went missing in the past?
and what's with the campus police?
and what's up with the townie bar that seems to have been the "victim last seen at" point in so many cases?
and why is that new york post reporter sniffing around?
and why are all the boys at the school so dumb?
and how have the sixes been able to operate in secrecy for so long when some of their rituals are kind of high-profile?
red herrings abound.
there are a lot of things that usually drive me mad, but they are pretty minor incidents. again - this is just something that bugs me, and it's not a huge part of the story, but it speaks to a certain kind of writerly laziness. tana french wouldn't go there.
now, i have this on my "books claiming to be just like secret history" shelf, but this book doesn't actually make that claim. and it's not ultimately anything like secret history except that it involves a ritualistic secret society in an academic environment and there is a murder. which is enough for it to go on the shelf, but it is not at all a readalike.
it's a diversion-read - it holds the interest and it only takes a couple of hours to read, so it's a good vacation, beach, airplane, or wine-bath book. they can't all be life-changers.
come to my blog!
August 23, 2022
Book Blog | Bookstagram
Hypothetically speaking, if you were the Dean of a university who had a sneaking suspicion that a secret society of bad girls, called The Sixes, was murdering fellow students because of vapid, self-involved reasons, who would you call to investigate? Would it be a celebrity biographer who was disgraced by a plagiarism scandal?
Yeah, me too!
Despite the name of the book, the secret society features far less prominently in the conclusion of this novel. It was definitely anti-climactic. The writing feels a little made-for-tv-movie-ish, as if the stylized melodrama was taken right out of the pages of Cosmo magazine, And lo-and-behold, the author is the editor-in-chief!
So let me relate...
This novel is the "Decode His Emotions Based on the Emojis He Sends You" think-piece of the book world.
At first, the headline grabs you, and you think, I'm only reading this for fun! But days later you find you are having invasive thoughts like, "maybe the camel emoji did mean he wants to give me two humps later."
This book is a little bit stupid, but if you can avoid taking it too earnestly it can transform into a breezy mystery with sex (camel emoji) and soap-opera dramatics.
⭐⭐⭐ | 3 stars
Hypothetically speaking, if you were the Dean of a university who had a sneaking suspicion that a secret society of bad girls, called The Sixes, was murdering fellow students because of vapid, self-involved reasons, who would you call to investigate? Would it be a celebrity biographer who was disgraced by a plagiarism scandal?
Yeah, me too!
Despite the name of the book, the secret society features far less prominently in the conclusion of this novel. It was definitely anti-climactic. The writing feels a little made-for-tv-movie-ish, as if the stylized melodrama was taken right out of the pages of Cosmo magazine, And lo-and-behold, the author is the editor-in-chief!
So let me relate...
This novel is the "Decode His Emotions Based on the Emojis He Sends You" think-piece of the book world.
At first, the headline grabs you, and you think, I'm only reading this for fun! But days later you find you are having invasive thoughts like, "maybe the camel emoji did mean he wants to give me two humps later."
This book is a little bit stupid, but if you can avoid taking it too earnestly it can transform into a breezy mystery with sex (camel emoji) and soap-opera dramatics.
⭐⭐⭐ | 3 stars
July 24, 2023
4.5 Stars
I really enjoyed this book! It was a random find in an old bookstore near my apartment, but the back intrigued me (who doesn't love secret societies?). I'm really glad I picked it up!
Phoebe is a famous writer-turned-professor at an East coast college who recently moved there after being accused of plagiarism on one of her recent books. The President of Lyle College--and Phoebe's best friend from boarding school--asks her to help her look into a secret society rumored to be on campus known as The Sixes. After a student's body surfaces under mysterious circumstances, the stakes on the investigation get even greater.
Phoebe is a wonderful mix of courageous yet vulnerable. She takes risks that I maybe would not, but she has demons of her own and she gets scared. Those qualities combined made her such an enjoyable character for me. I was impressed by her courage, but rarely found her to be too brazen or careless. She is also dogged in her pursuit of information and truth, which I enjoyed as a reader.
The book has a number of other characters that you love, hate, and suspect. I don't want to be specific so you can enjoy the discovery on your own. I really recommend this book! I had a hard time putting it down, and I looked forward to the next stage of the story.
I really enjoyed this book! It was a random find in an old bookstore near my apartment, but the back intrigued me (who doesn't love secret societies?). I'm really glad I picked it up!
Phoebe is a famous writer-turned-professor at an East coast college who recently moved there after being accused of plagiarism on one of her recent books. The President of Lyle College--and Phoebe's best friend from boarding school--asks her to help her look into a secret society rumored to be on campus known as The Sixes. After a student's body surfaces under mysterious circumstances, the stakes on the investigation get even greater.
Phoebe is a wonderful mix of courageous yet vulnerable. She takes risks that I maybe would not, but she has demons of her own and she gets scared. Those qualities combined made her such an enjoyable character for me. I was impressed by her courage, but rarely found her to be too brazen or careless. She is also dogged in her pursuit of information and truth, which I enjoyed as a reader.
The book has a number of other characters that you love, hate, and suspect. I don't want to be specific so you can enjoy the discovery on your own. I really recommend this book! I had a hard time putting it down, and I looked forward to the next stage of the story.
July 20, 2016
Reading this book could cause you to do some of the following:
- Read more chapters than you planned in one sitting. They seemed to end with such cliffhangers that I couldn't help but continue on.
- Picture your college and college town in the scenes. Luckily my college wasn't creepy like this but it was fun to picture. Oh, they're at the science building? I know what that looks like!
- Refuse to read this during commercial breaks. It just wasn't fair to the book to read it in two minute spurts.
- Take lunch in your car when it's 19 degrees. Phones ringing and people walking past my office? No thanks, I'm reading and must fully concentrate.
- Consider sneaking an extra long lunch break to keep reading. How did those 30 minutes go so fast?
- Get your detective on, which really means you think everyone is a suspect at some point throughout the book.
- And lastly, crave Italian food every time the restaurant Tony's is mentioned.
5 stars!
- Read more chapters than you planned in one sitting. They seemed to end with such cliffhangers that I couldn't help but continue on.
- Picture your college and college town in the scenes. Luckily my college wasn't creepy like this but it was fun to picture. Oh, they're at the science building? I know what that looks like!
- Refuse to read this during commercial breaks. It just wasn't fair to the book to read it in two minute spurts.
- Take lunch in your car when it's 19 degrees. Phones ringing and people walking past my office? No thanks, I'm reading and must fully concentrate.
- Consider sneaking an extra long lunch break to keep reading. How did those 30 minutes go so fast?
- Get your detective on, which really means you think everyone is a suspect at some point throughout the book.
- And lastly, crave Italian food every time the restaurant Tony's is mentioned.
5 stars!
March 19, 2013
When celebrity biographer Phoebe Hall is accused of plagiarism, her Manhattan life starts unraveling. Needing a break and a chance for a fresh beginning, she accepts a job as an instructor at Lyle College in Pennsylvania, where her old boarding school friend Glenda Johns is the president.
But she's barely in town for any time at all when a young girl, someone with whom she had a conversation just weeks before, washes up on the bank of the river. And a series of seemingly unconnected deaths begin to arouse suspicion in the minds of those in charge at the college, especially Glenda, suggesting other possibilities.
She asks Phoebe to informally investigate. But when the clues suggest that a secret society called The Sixes may be involved, Phoebe's life takes on a nightmarish quality. What does this organization have to do with the odd things happening to Phoebe? And what about the bar, Cat Tails, where every deceased person spent time on the night of his/her death?
As Phoebe starts following the clues, she uncovers more and more, but how is anything connected? And why does she have a strange feeling that a secret society from her own boarding school days, a group that bullied her mercilessly, might be part of what is happening now?
The story was a page-turning thriller that had me sleeping less at night, and not just because I couldn't it down, but because "The Sixes: A Novel" was one of those books that totally engaged me. I enjoyed how the author showed the reader the ordinary details of each day, along with the investigating, like a romance brewing. And it struck me as quite plausible that, when everything started to get even more mysterious, Phoebe became suspicious of even those closest to her. I even suspected numerous characters along the way, and as the answers began to unfold, I was stunned by some of them, and not so much by others. A good mix and a captivating story, with a few predictable elements. Four stars.
But she's barely in town for any time at all when a young girl, someone with whom she had a conversation just weeks before, washes up on the bank of the river. And a series of seemingly unconnected deaths begin to arouse suspicion in the minds of those in charge at the college, especially Glenda, suggesting other possibilities.
She asks Phoebe to informally investigate. But when the clues suggest that a secret society called The Sixes may be involved, Phoebe's life takes on a nightmarish quality. What does this organization have to do with the odd things happening to Phoebe? And what about the bar, Cat Tails, where every deceased person spent time on the night of his/her death?
As Phoebe starts following the clues, she uncovers more and more, but how is anything connected? And why does she have a strange feeling that a secret society from her own boarding school days, a group that bullied her mercilessly, might be part of what is happening now?
The story was a page-turning thriller that had me sleeping less at night, and not just because I couldn't it down, but because "The Sixes: A Novel" was one of those books that totally engaged me. I enjoyed how the author showed the reader the ordinary details of each day, along with the investigating, like a romance brewing. And it struck me as quite plausible that, when everything started to get even more mysterious, Phoebe became suspicious of even those closest to her. I even suspected numerous characters along the way, and as the answers began to unfold, I was stunned by some of them, and not so much by others. A good mix and a captivating story, with a few predictable elements. Four stars.
August 28, 2011
Oh, did this look promising on the new shelf at my local public library! Unfortunately, it is another cheesy/flimsy effort from the editor-in-chief of Cosmo. But I fell for it, based on the dust jacket's blurb.
Phoebe Hall is taking a break from her fabulous life as a celebrity biographer. She's fled Manhattan for Lyle College in Pennsylvania. By teaching at Lyle, she's exorcising her demons (she had some nightmarish experiences in school) and trying to forget that icky plagiarism scandal (present day) that just won't die. Plus, she's teaching at a college that is headed by her best friend, Glenda.
Things heat up at Lyle shortly after the semester begins. A student, Lily Mack, is murdered, and all of a sudden, Phoebe is thrust into the murder investigation. While doing some sleuthing for Glenda, she discovers the existence of a secret society at Lyle, The Sixes. And then her whole sordid boarding school history comes rushing back to her.
Who are The Sixes? What have they been doing? And what is the connection, if any, to Lily Mack's death?
Throw in a few more idiotic subplots, and you've got this muddled, yet breezy mystery.
While I didn't spend a lot of time reading this, I still felt cheated when I finished reading it. Why? Because The Sixes figured far less prominently in the story than I had expected. After all, the title of the novel seemed to promise a more prominent role for the secret society.
Not recommended. Do not be seduced by the dust jacket!
Phoebe Hall is taking a break from her fabulous life as a celebrity biographer. She's fled Manhattan for Lyle College in Pennsylvania. By teaching at Lyle, she's exorcising her demons (she had some nightmarish experiences in school) and trying to forget that icky plagiarism scandal (present day) that just won't die. Plus, she's teaching at a college that is headed by her best friend, Glenda.
Things heat up at Lyle shortly after the semester begins. A student, Lily Mack, is murdered, and all of a sudden, Phoebe is thrust into the murder investigation. While doing some sleuthing for Glenda, she discovers the existence of a secret society at Lyle, The Sixes. And then her whole sordid boarding school history comes rushing back to her.
Who are The Sixes? What have they been doing? And what is the connection, if any, to Lily Mack's death?
Throw in a few more idiotic subplots, and you've got this muddled, yet breezy mystery.
While I didn't spend a lot of time reading this, I still felt cheated when I finished reading it. Why? Because The Sixes figured far less prominently in the story than I had expected. After all, the title of the novel seemed to promise a more prominent role for the secret society.
Not recommended. Do not be seduced by the dust jacket!
September 18, 2024
Good page turner... Kate White never fails! This is a stand-alone that balances murder and romance in just the right way. Lots of red herrings and a decent ending. What more can you ask of a mystery novel?
(Reviewed 10/30/11)
(Reviewed 10/30/11)
February 16, 2015
A pretty blonde junior goes missing at Lyle College, just six months after the girl’s boyfriend also went missing. Newly appointed adjunct professor Phoebe Hall agrees to the college president’s request to look into the disappearance of Lily Mack and into the possible existence of a secret girls’ society known only as The Sixes. (Think Mean Girls goes to college.) Are the two connected? Well, is the Pope Catholic?
Knowing that The Sixes are tied into Lily’s disappearance doesn’t take away from enjoying this frothy mystery. Phoebe’s quite likeable, as is her ally in sleuthing, the handsome, roguish (naturally!) psychology professor Duncan Shaw. The chemistry between them infuses the novel with a bit of sex appeal, while their clever exchanges really add to the novel’s appeal.
The impetus for Phoebe’s move to the backwater Lyle College, an accidental plagiarism rap, seemed overblown. Doris Kearns Goodwin isn’t the only one who emerged from such a scandal unscathed. That would be especially true for a writer whose biggest title is the un-academic Hollywood’s Badass Girls. Really how high are the expectations there? But with that bit of nitpicking out of the way, The Sixes fulfills exactly what it promises: a tight, suspenseful chick-lit mystery with some clever dialogue and a clever mystery. Several times I thought I’d tumbled to the murderer, but I never, ever guessed, even though author Kate White played more than fair: She gave me the clues I needed over and over again. White also resolves a couple of minor mysteries with solutions I never even suspected.
I really, really like White’s Bailey Weggins mystery series. I didn’t think I’d like Phoebe as much as Bailey Weggins (I can never wait for the next one in that series), but I was wrong! I stayed up reading The Sixes way too late, despite having so much on my plate. There’s no greater praise than that!
Knowing that The Sixes are tied into Lily’s disappearance doesn’t take away from enjoying this frothy mystery. Phoebe’s quite likeable, as is her ally in sleuthing, the handsome, roguish (naturally!) psychology professor Duncan Shaw. The chemistry between them infuses the novel with a bit of sex appeal, while their clever exchanges really add to the novel’s appeal.
The impetus for Phoebe’s move to the backwater Lyle College, an accidental plagiarism rap, seemed overblown. Doris Kearns Goodwin isn’t the only one who emerged from such a scandal unscathed. That would be especially true for a writer whose biggest title is the un-academic Hollywood’s Badass Girls. Really how high are the expectations there? But with that bit of nitpicking out of the way, The Sixes fulfills exactly what it promises: a tight, suspenseful chick-lit mystery with some clever dialogue and a clever mystery. Several times I thought I’d tumbled to the murderer, but I never, ever guessed, even though author Kate White played more than fair: She gave me the clues I needed over and over again. White also resolves a couple of minor mysteries with solutions I never even suspected.
I really, really like White’s Bailey Weggins mystery series. I didn’t think I’d like Phoebe as much as Bailey Weggins (I can never wait for the next one in that series), but I was wrong! I stayed up reading The Sixes way too late, despite having so much on my plate. There’s no greater praise than that!
March 27, 2016
This book is what would happen if MEAN GIRLS shacked up with HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER and STALKER and had a love child...
I loved this one! It sucked me in from page one, had likeable characters and a good mystery that kept me guessing until the end. It even had a little romance and some mild sexy times. I'll be reading more from this author for sure.
I loved this one! It sucked me in from page one, had likeable characters and a good mystery that kept me guessing until the end. It even had a little romance and some mild sexy times. I'll be reading more from this author for sure.
Read
March 14, 2023Wish we had a dnf (and at what percentage) on goodreads. Made it to 50% on the audio and decided I just don't care enough about these characters to give them more of my time.
September 30, 2011
This “psychological thriller” (as a jacket blurb calls it) about a writer/teacher investigating a secret society of mean girls who may or may not be killing people on a college campus is a pedestrian effort by the editor of Cosmopolitan magazine. Although a novel, it resembles the writing in Cosmo and many other magazines -- easy to read but bland and depthless.
July 2, 2012
I always forget how much I love a good mystery until I find myself reading one, and this was pretty damn good. Let me talk about the things that annoyed me first so we can move on quickly from that to what I liked about the book. First off, I kind of wanted to punch Phoebe. I wanted to punch Phoebe because she's that woman who is always way too focused on the wrong thing. She's setting aside her personal safety and ignoring blatant warnings in order to figure out who the Sixes are and what their role is on campus. Never mind the fact that I never felt like the Sixes were a big deal. Is this wrong of me? In hind sight I think maybe there's something fundamentally wrong with me that I don't think they are a big deal.
Moving on from that, I really liked that I absolutely had no idea what was going on. I couldn't figure out all of the puzzle pieces to solve it. I will say that I absolutely did not see the ending coming even though the character who was the culprit seemed a bit off to me. I couldn't figure out what it was about that person's story (see, I'm not giving you ANY hints) that seemed strange, but having watched every episode of every variety of Law & Order at least twice, something was totally off. Which is what Hutch (a character) suspected and tried to share with Phoebe.
So overall? This was good. Best mystery ever? No, but it was entertaining and I enjoyed reading it for sure. It's enough to keep you intrigued all the way through. Even for the last minute curve ball thrown at the end.
Moving on from that, I really liked that I absolutely had no idea what was going on. I couldn't figure out all of the puzzle pieces to solve it. I will say that I absolutely did not see the ending coming even though the character who was the culprit seemed a bit off to me. I couldn't figure out what it was about that person's story (see, I'm not giving you ANY hints) that seemed strange, but having watched every episode of every variety of Law & Order at least twice, something was totally off. Which is what Hutch (a character) suspected and tried to share with Phoebe.
So overall? This was good. Best mystery ever? No, but it was entertaining and I enjoyed reading it for sure. It's enough to keep you intrigued all the way through. Even for the last minute curve ball thrown at the end.
May 4, 2013
I listened to this on audiobook and a couple of chapters in I said "Ick. This sounds like it was written for Cosmo." Then I read the author's bio... and she's the editor of Cosmo.
Sigh.
The story is about woman who ends up in the middle of an investigation into both a murder and a group of mean girls on a college campus. It's a pretty serious subject, so the silly writing just doesn't fit. I found myself rolling my eyes an awful lot, especially during the sex scene (I think she used the word "exploring" three times at least in the one scene. This ain't no Lewis & Clark expedition, folks.)
Still, I finished listening all the way to the end and that does say something. I won't read another book by this author, but I know there are plenty of Cosmo fans in the world, and this book is pretty much written just for them.
Sigh.
The story is about woman who ends up in the middle of an investigation into both a murder and a group of mean girls on a college campus. It's a pretty serious subject, so the silly writing just doesn't fit. I found myself rolling my eyes an awful lot, especially during the sex scene (I think she used the word "exploring" three times at least in the one scene. This ain't no Lewis & Clark expedition, folks.)
Still, I finished listening all the way to the end and that does say something. I won't read another book by this author, but I know there are plenty of Cosmo fans in the world, and this book is pretty much written just for them.
July 20, 2014
I'm not really sure what I think about The Sixes, actually... I was sure I had the killer picked out from the very start of the book, and was surprised to find out that I was wrong. Up until the very last fifth of the book or so, it seemed as though the character I had targeted as the killer was actually the killer, and I was prepared to be very disappointed by my prediction coming true.
However, I was wrong. The actual killer did surprise me, but... there was something kind of "off" about the revelation. It seemed almost anticlimactic. I don't know how to describe it - it just wasn't as exciting as I thought it should be. Also, the wrapping up of the women's secret society, The Sixes, seemed to be very anticlimactic too.
All in all, I would say that White writes a good mystery, but needs to work, perhaps, on making the parts that should be exciting, be more exciting to read. It did have me hooked, but not quite as much as I had hoped it would - for what sense that makes.
However, I was wrong. The actual killer did surprise me, but... there was something kind of "off" about the revelation. It seemed almost anticlimactic. I don't know how to describe it - it just wasn't as exciting as I thought it should be. Also, the wrapping up of the women's secret society, The Sixes, seemed to be very anticlimactic too.
All in all, I would say that White writes a good mystery, but needs to work, perhaps, on making the parts that should be exciting, be more exciting to read. It did have me hooked, but not quite as much as I had hoped it would - for what sense that makes.
August 20, 2012
This was by far the best book I have read this year. If you like a good suspense thriller then this is for you. I was on the edge of my seat thru the whole book. The boo is very well written with good character development. Not that I am any book critic but this book is at the top of my list for a suspense thriller.
September 29, 2015
This was a way to spend a few pleasant hours reading. I can't say I didn't enjoy it and I wasn't bored. I wish the author had concentrated more on the secret society of 'the Sixes' and the 'mean girls' who were members. I think it would have made the story more exciting. I found it a bit odd that it was more part of the background rather than front and center.
March 1, 2019
This was an entertaining read about a secret society of mean girls. Nice college campus mystery. .
July 11, 2014
This book was doubtful. I'm sure there are cliques on college campuses, but for a grown woman to be scared of some college kids pranks? Put your big girl pants on and stop acting like a scared teenager. Then accuse the guy you like of conspiring against you? Come on! Really had a hard time believing this would ever happen in real life. Pheobe would put herself in situations where she's on campus alone and of course the lights go out, she hears things, blah blah blah. Typical horror movie when you're yelling at the TV, like "don't go into the dark room alone, you idiot!". Also, Glenda's husband was extremely creepy, I'm sure people who read this figured out he was part of the madness just by the way he was acting towards his wife and Pheobe. I just thought the plot was laughable at best.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 8, 2014
It's very seldom that I write a review of a book. This one was really terrible. Unlikable unsympathetic characters, predictable plots, and really terrible writing (typical description: light reflecting on the sidewalk shined "like crazy.") not to mention the horrible anti-feminist messages and the ridiculous caricature of academia. Awful.
October 22, 2017
Mean Girls to the extreme!
Phoebe Hall needed a fresh start. Not only had her live in boyfriend dumped her and quickly moved on to another woman, but her very successful career as a writer of celebrity nonfiction was in jeopardy after she was accused of plagiarism. When her prep school friend, Glenda, offered her an opportunity to teach writing at the small college she was the president of, Phoebe jumped at the chance to get out of New York for a while to lick her wounds and plot her next move. Phoebe soon settled into life on the sleepy college campus, began to enjoy teaching and found romance with a psychology professor. But things were not as they seemed at Lyle College, and students started to turn up dead. To make matters worse, there appeared to be a connection between the deaths and a secret society of girls on campus called The Sixes, which frighteningly resembled a secret group whose members traumatized Phoebe in prep school. Determined to stop this group before anyone else got hurt, Phoebe dove into an investigation of The Sixes that may cost her her life. The Sixes is a taught mystery that kept me guessing
Phoebe Hall needed a fresh start. Not only had her live in boyfriend dumped her and quickly moved on to another woman, but her very successful career as a writer of celebrity nonfiction was in jeopardy after she was accused of plagiarism. When her prep school friend, Glenda, offered her an opportunity to teach writing at the small college she was the president of, Phoebe jumped at the chance to get out of New York for a while to lick her wounds and plot her next move. Phoebe soon settled into life on the sleepy college campus, began to enjoy teaching and found romance with a psychology professor. But things were not as they seemed at Lyle College, and students started to turn up dead. To make matters worse, there appeared to be a connection between the deaths and a secret society of girls on campus called The Sixes, which frighteningly resembled a secret group whose members traumatized Phoebe in prep school. Determined to stop this group before anyone else got hurt, Phoebe dove into an investigation of The Sixes that may cost her her life. The Sixes is a taught mystery that kept me guessing
January 28, 2018
A college campus, students turning up missing and dead, a secret society and a disgraced journalist are the elements of this quirky story. I enjoyed the storyline, although a little unbelievable at times.
The main character, Phoebe, is a journalist teaching at a small private college. After a scandal involving plagiarism she is given an opportunity to teach at Lyle College by her friend, Glenda, who is the president of the college. Phoebe begins an unofficial investigation, at the request of Glenda, into a student who has disappeared and a secret society on campus known as The Sixes.
There are several storylines through this book which makes for more interest and intrigue. Overall a very enjoyable book.
The main character, Phoebe, is a journalist teaching at a small private college. After a scandal involving plagiarism she is given an opportunity to teach at Lyle College by her friend, Glenda, who is the president of the college. Phoebe begins an unofficial investigation, at the request of Glenda, into a student who has disappeared and a secret society on campus known as The Sixes.
There are several storylines through this book which makes for more interest and intrigue. Overall a very enjoyable book.
August 28, 2011
Reeling from a plagiarism scandal that torpedoed her personal and professional lives, Phoebe gratefully accepts a friend's offer of a teaching job at a small college. When a coed dies under mysterious circumstances, Phoebe's asked to put her considerable research skills to work solving the case. Her investigation leads her to a secret society known as The Sixes, who'll stop at nothing to protect themselves - and Phoebe's first on their hit list.
Now this is a suspense novel. It's an edge-of-your-seat, what-happens-next thrill ride all the way through. The plot is standard mystery fare, and some of the red herrings are all too obvious, but that's beside the point. This is the kind of book you read with the lights on, after checking that all the doors are locked.
It's mean girls turned up to eleven - college just gives them the freedom to indulge in nastier pursuits (take a friend the next time you open the freezer). If you thought this kind of thing ended in high school, think again. Higher education means higher stakes - The Sixes are in it for the long run. The real terror is realizing that you know women just like them.
I will say that I figured out the killer's identity early on, but bear in mind that I do that with most things (The Sixth Sense? The Usual Suspects? no surprises there). I've consulted with many other readers, who were kept guessing to the end, and surprised when they got there. If you're in the mood for a thriller, this is it, but you might not want to read it when you're alone in the house.
Now this is a suspense novel. It's an edge-of-your-seat, what-happens-next thrill ride all the way through. The plot is standard mystery fare, and some of the red herrings are all too obvious, but that's beside the point. This is the kind of book you read with the lights on, after checking that all the doors are locked.
It's mean girls turned up to eleven - college just gives them the freedom to indulge in nastier pursuits (take a friend the next time you open the freezer). If you thought this kind of thing ended in high school, think again. Higher education means higher stakes - The Sixes are in it for the long run. The real terror is realizing that you know women just like them.
I will say that I figured out the killer's identity early on, but bear in mind that I do that with most things (The Sixth Sense? The Usual Suspects? no surprises there). I've consulted with many other readers, who were kept guessing to the end, and surprised when they got there. If you're in the mood for a thriller, this is it, but you might not want to read it when you're alone in the house.
September 16, 2017
Poor Phoebe, she has a really rough time of it in this little psychological mystery.
The book skips from present day back to her school days and at first this was a little confusing, but once you get the timelines sorted it falls into place.
Phoebe a investigative journalist has recently been disgraced when some research she has outsourced is deemed to be plagiarism. She didn't bother to check the facts correctly. Luckily an old school friend is able to offer her a temp teaching position at the college where she is Head Mistress.
Almost immediately strange happenings begin to take place at the school and the Head asks Phoebs to put on her investigation "hat" and see if she can come up with some clues.
Nasty things start to happen to her once she starts probing and these occurrences are put down to be the work of the Sixes (a secret group of girls).
Things go from bad to worse for our heroine(once you know about the"incident" that happened to her at college when she was younger). This poor girl can't catch a break.
There is a love interest, but is he too good to be true.
Some of the nasty things that start happening to(and have happened to) her are quite horrific.
Good read, sort of saw some of the ending coming but not til quite near the end and didn't catch on to ALL of it.
The book skips from present day back to her school days and at first this was a little confusing, but once you get the timelines sorted it falls into place.
Phoebe a investigative journalist has recently been disgraced when some research she has outsourced is deemed to be plagiarism. She didn't bother to check the facts correctly. Luckily an old school friend is able to offer her a temp teaching position at the college where she is Head Mistress.
Almost immediately strange happenings begin to take place at the school and the Head asks Phoebs to put on her investigation "hat" and see if she can come up with some clues.
Nasty things start to happen to her once she starts probing and these occurrences are put down to be the work of the Sixes (a secret group of girls).
Things go from bad to worse for our heroine(once you know about the"incident" that happened to her at college when she was younger). This poor girl can't catch a break.
There is a love interest, but is he too good to be true.
Some of the nasty things that start happening to(and have happened to) her are quite horrific.
Good read, sort of saw some of the ending coming but not til quite near the end and didn't catch on to ALL of it.
July 3, 2012
I've been sitting here asking myself what it takes for a book to rate a four or five star review. I read for many different reasons. I read to be enlightened. I read to be uplifted. I read to be entertained. Heck, sometimes I read to scoff and maybe feel a bit superior. How do you compare different types of books? If East of Eden or A Tale Of Two Cities deserves five stars how do you rank a really good beach read? It's comparing apples and oranges.
I've decided that, for me, I will hand out stars based upon how much I enjoyed the book. If I find myself reading bleary-eyed, late into the night because I can't put the book down then that book deserves a high ranking.
The Sixes, a psychological thriller, falls into that category. I could not stop reading this book. There are parts in the book that had me a little scared (okay, a lot scared...this is not a book to read alone at night)and I loved it!
I'll admit to guessing who done it prior to the author's revelation but, to be honest, at one time or other I suspected just about every possible character so I don't know that I can claim bragging rights.
I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway (I won! I won!) and I am so happy to be able to report that I really liked it.
The Sixes...a good, creepy read.
I've decided that, for me, I will hand out stars based upon how much I enjoyed the book. If I find myself reading bleary-eyed, late into the night because I can't put the book down then that book deserves a high ranking.
The Sixes, a psychological thriller, falls into that category. I could not stop reading this book. There are parts in the book that had me a little scared (okay, a lot scared...this is not a book to read alone at night)and I loved it!
I'll admit to guessing who done it prior to the author's revelation but, to be honest, at one time or other I suspected just about every possible character so I don't know that I can claim bragging rights.
I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway (I won! I won!) and I am so happy to be able to report that I really liked it.
The Sixes...a good, creepy read.
August 22, 2011
Although I've enjoyed all of her books, this is my favorite of Kate White's to date. I found this book to be engrossing and suspenseful. I liked the characters, and I was kept guessing as to who was behind the evil deeds in the story.
Phoeby Hall had had both her professional and person life shattered, and she takes a job as an instructor at a small college. As she arrives, she learns that their are rumors of a secret female society that bullies, harms, and possibly even kills. Phoebe's background makes her very sensitive to this situation, and the college president asks her to investigate rumors of this society after a murder that may be linked to them. Phoebe encounters danger as she tries to find out more about this secret group and she doesn't know who she can trust.
This was a good one by Kate White. I found it engrossing, and thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I received this book as an ARC through Netgalley.
Phoeby Hall had had both her professional and person life shattered, and she takes a job as an instructor at a small college. As she arrives, she learns that their are rumors of a secret female society that bullies, harms, and possibly even kills. Phoebe's background makes her very sensitive to this situation, and the college president asks her to investigate rumors of this society after a murder that may be linked to them. Phoebe encounters danger as she tries to find out more about this secret group and she doesn't know who she can trust.
This was a good one by Kate White. I found it engrossing, and thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I received this book as an ARC through Netgalley.
June 12, 2012
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is a psychological thriller that kept me guessing throughout. It is about a secret society of “mean girls” who take feminism to an extreme. The main character Phoebe is an author who is taking a time out from writing after an unfortunate plagiarism scandal. She ends up teaching a writing course at Lyle College. Her past and present collide when she is asked to investigate the secret society of girls on campus. After a few pranks and then murders she realizes she is in over her head.
Kate white is a wonderful writer. I haven’t previously read a book written by her and I’m glad I didn’t pass up the chance to do so now. I adored this story and its twists and turns. I love books that keep me guessing right up until the end and this one did just that.
Thanks go to Heather for this review.
Kate white is a wonderful writer. I haven’t previously read a book written by her and I’m glad I didn’t pass up the chance to do so now. I adored this story and its twists and turns. I love books that keep me guessing right up until the end and this one did just that.
Thanks go to Heather for this review.
January 4, 2013
Although there could be some improvements in the writing, overall the book had some good moments. First off, there were a few grammar errors which was annoying. Most importantly Phoebe's character was greatly underdeveloped. What could have been a great story turned quickly into disappointment. Phoebe turned out to be an annoying 40 y/o who acted like a 17 y/o. Too many conversations were forced by the writer. I felt like I was reading a book rather then living a story. ** spoiler! And I was greatly disappointed in the truth behind Val and Mark's character, though surprising, they could have been developed better and the sixes! The sixes, with so much focused on them and the book named after them, were a total disappointment. Again they were completely underdeveloped. It was as though the author had too many ideas and as they popped into her head she crammed them into the story.
June 20, 2012
A decent mystery. It kept me guessing. And I liked the college setting. Then it ended abruptly and I closed the book realizing the characters didn't feel real or even matter to me.
June 20, 2014
While this book started out slower than others from Kate White, it did pick up. I enjoyed this book just as I have all her others. Kept me guessing throughout.
April 23, 2017
Absolutely the best book I've read in a long time, keeps you enthralled from page one to end!!! The Sixes is a secret society of young women attending Lyle College. Phoebe is a celebrity biographer from NYC who was accused of plagiarism in her recent book, she's an investigative reporter. Her best friend from boarding school is now the Director & offered a temporary job teaching. Little does she know that instead of hiding out & "licking her wounds", she will be investigating several murders!!! Thanks to Writerspace & author Kate White for the opportunity to read this FANTASTIC book & review! Enjoy!
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