Dangerous Girls

by Abigail Haas (Pseudonym), Abby McDonald

It's Spring Break of senior year. Anna, her boyfriend Tate, her best friend Elise, and a few other close friends are off on a debaucherous trip to Aruba that promises to be the time of their lives. But when Elise is found brutally murdered, Anna finds herself trapped in a country not her own, fighting against vile and contemptuous accusations.

As Anna sets out to find her friend's killer, she discovers hard truths about her friendships, the slippery nature of truth, and the ache of young love.

As she awaits the judge's decree, it becomes clear that everyone around her thinks she is not just guilty, but dangerous. When the truth comes out, it is more shocking than one could ever imagine...

Genres: Young Adult, Mystery, Thriller, Contemporary, Mystery Thriller, Fiction, Crime

388 pages, Hardcover

First published July 16, 2013

About the author

Abigail Haas has written two adult novels and four young adult contemporary novels under the name Abby McDonald. Dangerous Girls is her first young adult thriller. She grew up in Sussex, England, and studied Politics, Philosophy & Economics at Oxford University. She lives in Los Angeles.

Reviews

[Emily May · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Wouldn't we all look guilty, if someone searched hard enough?"

Why, hello there, awesome book. You managed to take me straight out of this whole Goodreads censorship/deleting reviews fiasco and plant me right inside another time and place; many brave books have tried and failed this past week to do what you have done. So, thank you.

Dangerous Girls is in danger. It's in danger of being underread. It's in danger of being given a quick once over and then dismissed as something vapid, senseless and probably crap. It isn't, my friends. It's damn good. Dangerous Girls is one of those multi-layered books that does several different things at once and still manages to do each one equally well. Haas does what, in my opinion, all good mystery writers should do: she doesn't hang everything precariously-balanced on her reveals. The ending is fantastic but it doesn't matter because the book is also about so many other things. It is a satisfying story from start to finish that took me through so many different emotions.

So, what is this book? It's a mature YA mystery. I use "YA" with some hesitation here because it's full of all the kinda stuff that will make some parents clutch their rosary beads - sex, alcohol abuse, drug use... oh yeah, and there's that whole murder thing too. It's about a teen summer vacation gone wrong. Anna, her best friend - Elise, her boyfriend - Tate, as well as others, all go to party hard, get laid and have fun. Then, one day, Elise is discovered stabbed to death in her bed and Anna and Tate are the prime suspects. From there, we are taken on a journey through a murder trial that seems to paint Anna in a worse light with every piece of "evidence" provided. The story of the present is also broken up with flashbacks into how Anna and Elise became friends.

This is a dark story that takes you through the many nasty corners of teen girl friendships but it also shows the other side, the importance of friends to one another and the complicated psychology behind it all. Elise is such a wonderfully complex character. I think most people know an Elise. That reckless, volatile person who is always the life of the party, so confident, often overtly sexual and looking for a new adventure at every turn. But underneath there's something a bit different, a sadness or an anger or loneliness, that hides beneath the mask they've created.

My knowledge of the law and judicial system is limited to one year at AS that I hated, so I'm far from an expert on what is realistic or not. But I've always been fascinated by the portrayal of court trials as a kind of show or circus where everyone plays their parts. Where it isn't about guilty/not guilty, but about the performance you put on and how convincingly you deliver the script. Like in the musical, Chicago. Anna's trial resembles a circus and it horrifies me at the way each little piece of a person's life can be taken out of context and manipulated to mean whatever the prosecutor chooses. Scary.

I honestly loved everything about this wild little gem and I'm now going to recommend it to everyone I know. That means YOU too.

[chai ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dangerous Girls opens with a distressed 991 call announcing a dreadful crime before swiftly travelling back in time in order to start at the beginning, following the chain of events that each led to this tragic conclusion. Anna and her friends–spoiled, rich untouchable teens, seemingly immune to life’s troubles–are on spring break in Aruba. Only death can't be swiped away by a credit card, and when one of them gets murdered for unknown reasons, Anna finds herself trapped in a foreign country where everyone, including her friends and family, are doubting her innocence and a detective seems to have settled into a deep-rooted single-mindedness to prove her guilt.

As the chilling investigation progresses, long-repressed secrets and rumors clamor for air, and day by day, the skeletons in the closet begin to tumble out. It becomes quickly apparent in a series of whiplash reversals and stunning reveals that these characters aren't what we thought they were: their whole personalities and motivations are crime scenes where evidence of their true selves has been hastily hidden–except that nothing really stays concealed forever.

**
Though Dangerous Girls is based on a relatively familiar premise, it takes the form of a thoroughbred thriller about the nature of identity and the terrible secrets that can survive and thrive in even the most intimate relationships. It’s a structurally brilliant novel, moving back and forth across timelines to reveal each character’s respective exhilaration and anguish but holding the ultimate revelations back until just the right time. The pacing is impeccable, with urgency increasing to an almost breathless point as Anna is faced with the possibility of being prosecuted for a crime she hasn't committed.

This is a craftily built procedural thriller that sports one hell of a twist. I can't say any more about the plot without giving away too much, but it is safe to say you will be left absolutely throttling you brain to try and figure out how the hell the story is going to end, right up to the book's final climactic scenes. Everything I thought I knew was upended and the story became something far stranger, and more troubling. This wallop of a surprise hit me clear out of the blue when I read the ending. 

Dangerous girls may begin as a whodunit, but by the last page, it will have you wondering whether there's any such thing as a who at all. And if you’re anything like me, you’ll find yourself in a bruised funk for a few days after, rapt and emotionally spent. Because as good as this book is, it’s twice as cruel.

[Deanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow!!! That was one heck of a book....

Apparently I am really late in reading this. I can't believe I missed the hype (maybe that's a good thing?). I came across it a few weeks ago and it peaked my interest. I thought it sounded interesting but I was very surprised by how much I liked it.

I was hooked right from the start.

A group of friends are excited for their senior year Spring Break trip to Aruba. Anna and her best friend Elise are especially excited for the trip. Anna is also happy her boyfriend, Tate and a few other friends are coming along. A couple of days in and the group seems to be having a lot of fun drinking and partying in the clubs etc..

However, their trip is cut short when Elise is found brutally murdered and Anna along with Tate are the ones being blamed for her death. I was addicted and unable to put this book down as Anna tried to fight the charges and prove her innocence in a country far from home.

There seemed to be some similarities to some real life cases in this book. Amanda Knox and Natalee Holloway to name a couple, but in my opinion there was still a lot of originality to this story. I was very interested in the Knox and Holloway cases. I watched quite a bit of the media coverage and read some of the books so that may one reason why I enjoyed this book so much. However, I really don't think that's the only reason.

Told from Anna's point of view, the story moves easily from past to present. We learn more about Anna and Elise's friendship and the relationship between Anna and Tate. Although it seems to focus primarily on the three of them, there are many other relationships and interactions with other people essential to the story.

The trial was like a circus. The prosecutor seemed to have it out for Anna from the start. I felt the tension and suspense as if I was in the courtroom watching it all unfold. As I read I remained uncertain about what happened and what was going to happen next...

I can't even imagine what it would be like to be fighting for my freedom in a foreign country. How terrified I would be. It boggles my mind. However, I would never ever have been allowed to travel as a teenager to a foreign country without my parents. I'm terrified of the thought of it coming up with my own daughter. Would I allow her to go? I would not want to hold her back from experiences that could enrich her life, but I don't know how I would feel about a trip like this or any other trip for that matter.

I thought the author conveyed Anna's anxiety and the turmoil she was going through very well. She doesn't understand how this could happen. How can everyone not see that she's innocent? Who killed Elise? Was Tate involved? She starts to doubt everyone as they start to doubt her.

"Wouldn’t we all look guilty, if someone searched hard enough?”

This book was about much more than a student who was murdered on a spring break trip. Sex, love, jealousy, youth, guilt, innocence, and a whole lot more. Abigail Haas writes about relationships extremely well. Relationships between lovers as well as friends. The truth can be far from anything you would ever expect.

A fantastic and compelling read that I highly recommend!!!

[Steph Sinclair · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best YA novels I've read in a long time. I read the entire thing in one sitting... which is EXTREMELY rare for me.

Thoughts:

I loved it overall, but there's something about it that I can't put my finger on that didn't completely wow me. I think it was the final twist and how I expected to be shocked. But I'm thinking that's a fail on my part more than the book because Haas clearly gave me all the clues I needed from the beginning. She simply planted enough doubt to make me question if I was correct all the way till the end. The beauty in the novel lies in the way Haas wrote the flashbacks and how she played with the psychology behind friendship.

Very well-written. I remain impressed.

[Kristin (KC) · Rating 5 out of 5]

*5 Stars*

A fantastic, twisty little read!

Ever since becoming utterly blown away by Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl, I've been on a psychological thriller kick, relentlessly searching for my next suspenseful, twisted, yet still plausible read. 

I believe I have finally found that in Dangerous girls. I think what makes books like this one, Gone Girl, and We Were Liars a bit more difficult to embrace for some readers is the fact that many of its characters aren't very likable. And I don't believe they're necessarily meant to be, but they each make one hell of a story.



There are a couple things you need to know right off the bat about this book: It is not a love story. Yes, there is a certain degree of romance entwined, but if you’re searching for a butterfly-inducing, happily ever after escape, you will not find that here.

What you will find is a chilling plot saturated with lies, deceit, mystery, and murder. One that will lead you to question the merit of each character, even your narrator, as you wonder whether you are inside the mind of a cold-blooded killer, or just the wrongfully accused.

I, for one, devoured this read. I’m a total sucker for “whodunit” scenarios—and this one certainly kept me guessing.

A pinch of the plot: Anna and a group a friends head to Aruba for spring break, longing to let loose and have some fun without any adult supervision. But what’s meant to be a fun, carefree trip quickly spirals into a nightmare surrounding a murder case that has pinned Anna as its prime suspect.

The story opens with the chilling transcript of a 911 emergency call, instantly setting the tone for the “dangerous” content ahead. The plot moves rather quickly and sort of flickers all over the place: backwards and forwards in time, and not exactly in a neat, orderly manner. But it worked wonderfully.

This “haphazard” sort of storytelling added more layers, and amped up the suspense, never allowing the reader to grow too comfortable in one particular setting. The details were delivered slowly, effectively enhancing my excitement—and many times, horror—as I read.

I loved the fact that these detailed transcripts, police reports, interviews, and formal documentation were included, as well as the vivid courtroom trials. I could *see* this story playing out before my eyes, and I'm certain it would make an excellent transition onto film.

“I’m not here anymore, I’m not anywhere—all I am is sheer, pure rage and fists and skin.”

The writing…

THE WRITING.

So amazing and eloquently structured; powerful, and executed to perfection. Keep in mind that there is a juvenile feel to pieces of this story, but this is classified as a Young Adult and the characters stay true to that. The writing itself is top-notch, and completely blew me away.

However, as enraptured I became with this book, there was a slight disconnect for me, although not enough to drop my rating. PLEASE do NOT open this spoiler if you haven’t read the book in its entirety…it will ruin the whole experience.

For the majority of this read, Anna’s inner dialogue seemed entirely too “innocent”. As though she herself believed she didn't “do it”. Towards the end, we start to see some more instability on her part, as well as statements that led me to believe she was guilty. However, I feel there should have been a few more (vague) signs pointing to Anna from the start. (Although, there WERE a few.) The story was told entirely from her perspective, and I felt her initial characteristics did not smoothly transition over to where she ended up. I felt just a bit unconvinced, but still was floored by the events in this story.


If you are searching for a book that will get your heart pumping and your mind reeling, and don’t happen to mind a few twisted, dark and disturbing scenarios, I’d highly recommend giving this fantastic book a read. I’m thrilled I didn't pass this one up!

Book Stats:
▪  Genre/Category:Mystery/Thriller/Young Adult
▪  Characters: Unique and very well defined.
▪  Plot: Surrounds a murder case. Suspenseful and mysterious.
▪ Writing: Brilliant
▪ POV: 1st Person: Heroine
▪  Cliffhanger: None. Standalone.

[astarion's bhaal babe (wingspan matters) · Rating 4 out of 5]

“How much do you love me?”

HOLY FREAKING JESUS ON A BICYCLE.

The actual review is here.
And, in case you're wondering, no, I don't feel any better, today.


Consider this book as a twisty mystery novel, consider it a YA psychological thriller, consider it what you want, but
don’t
ever
underestimate
it.

I mean it. Don't.



Abigail Haas apparently likes to screw up with people's head. And, be careful, because she's really good at it.

To be honest, I jumped into this after a series of disappointing novels, and I didn't expect much from it.
I was looking for something light but that could also shake me a bit.
Oh boy, if only I'd known what I was getting myself into, I'd have armored and shielded myself.
Or my heart.
Or both.

Dangerous Girls is the papery confirmation that you should never judge a book by its cover. I mean, feel free to disagree but it doesn't do it justice at all, in my opinion.
Did I like it? I loved it.
Did I regret reading it? Not an inch.
Did it make me feel things? Yes, and they all rhyme with pain.
I highly recommend it to all those people who are in for a challenge.
Not because this story is hard to get through, but because it will leave you empty and numb for days and days after you've finished it.
Not everyone can cope with that; but, if you feel like you are not afraid to let a book ruin your day or week or month or year or life please, give this a try, because, seriously, it will rocket speed your brain to the moon and...period. There's no turning back.
I forgot to mention that it will also make you question your whole friendship history. This book should come with a warning sign. And a therapist trimestral subscription.

In short, Elise and Anna are friends. The best of friends, the matchy-matchy, sharing clothes and sleeping over, kind of friends.
One day, while they’re on vacation, Elise gets murdered and Anna gets accused of being the killer.
The journey inside her head begins, and so does this story.

I could go into details, on and on, about how this book also presents a substantial amount of subplots, or how it narrates about other characters, as well, because the author clearly doesn’t want you to miss out on anything, but I’d be dwelling. And lying.

Dangerous girls revolves around a murder.
Wrong.
It revolves around a friendship.

Simple, you might say.
There's nothing simple about this novel.

We all have been there.
We all have had someone, during our teenage years, for which we would have hiked a mountain, for which we would have stolen a bag of chips at the store. Someone for which we would have killed, without having second thoughts.
Anna and Elise’s relationship finds its roots in all of this. It baths in love, a love so torrid and deep, nobody else can understand. Nobody else is allowed to understand.
Not even their group of friends. Not even Tate (especially not Tate), Anna's boyfriend.
When you think about it properly, you'll realise it's not even an equation, it's never been one, because other people can only gravitate on the surface of these two best friends' bubble, and never on the inside. Never too close.

Elise and Anna become friends almost by chance, almost by destiny. There’s something that pulls them together, even when they should be miles (miles and miles, because I'm still too much into this book) and virtual worlds apart, they can’t help but collide, and melt together.
They wrap each other and themselves together in a blanket made of obsessive affection, of morbose domesticness. White lies, slow glances and sharp teeth become their favorite weapons.

“Elise and I fall into friendship like gravity.”

According to the Cambridge Dictionary, gravity is the force that attracts objects towards one another, especially the force that makes things fall to the ground.
Did you see that? That is what I like to call foreshadowing at its finest.

The story flows perfectly. I read it all in one sitting. I also might have stress eaten a whole pint of mint chocolate chip ice-cream, because of it, but that's not important.
What's important is that this book is not just decently hyped over, it's not just fabulously carried out; this book is pure evil disguised as pure goden.
Abigail Haas's style is simple, but it has something to it that puts you in your place with a few sentences. I think it most of all teaches us that a writing style doesn't need to be pompous and polished to go straight to the heart.
AND THAT FUCKING ENDING.
I'm still shaking. Did you hear that noise? That was me, one day after, yelling into the void, because of this novel.

The writing digs deep and through Anna’s mind. It mocks you, it takes you by your hand and shows you facts that you need to know, even when you’ll feel like you don’t want to. It gives you a version of a story you can’t help but see as the truest one.
It introduces you to Anna and her unreliable narration. She’s young, pathetic, jealous, mean, and real. So real you’ll find yourself embracing her anxieties and doubts as your own.

The structure of the novel brings you back and forth into a spiral of past and present situations that are there to help you solve the mystery.

But, at the end of the day, the point here is not even about solving a mystery.
It’s about friendship, and the things you’d be willing to do for it.

[Alienor ✘ French Frowner ✘ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dangerous Girls scared the hell out of me. For real. And that's saying something, because I'm not easily frightened except for clowns - and freakin' dolls with blank eyes who stare - but who wouldn't? What do you mean, everybody isn't afraid of dolls and clowns? Are you kidding me? They're so fucking weird and unnerving that I shiver when I think about them. Anyway, the fact is, I can read about almost anything without being scared at all, either serial killers or ghosts, yet this book reaches my biggest fear : not being believed by others.

▒ Why did this book affect me so much? ▒

Perhaps it's because I can relate?



When I was in my early 20s, I was friend with a girl who reminds me Elise (and Anna, for that matter) - not really in their behavior, because we didn't go out like them (no judgment here, just facts), but because how possessive our friendship became. Quickly, we developed a fusional relationship, and yeah, at first I didn't realize, that was so subtle. She was nice, we got along well, we had fun, and we let go of many other friends without even realizing it, creating a protecting cocoon around us. When my BF and I started to date, we came across the same difficult adjustments, and after some time, I genuinely thought that we were good. Until she started calling me all the time, and our interactions became filled with jealousy more often than not - I felt it, this urge to swear that everything would stay the same, to promise anything to make her more happy about the situation, while in my heart I just wanted to tell her to leave me the hell alone because I felt suffocated. That was it - we finally stroke a balance - but the fact remains that I've stayed scared as hell by female relationship for a few years, until a wonderful friend convinced me that a real friend wouldn't want to make you feel guilty for being happy. Feeling neglected is hard and unfair, and I'm not saying that we have to forget everyone when we're in love, far from it. But emotional blackmail is never okay.

Is all this unsolicited personal information helping to understand this book, you're asking? I don't know, but I think it affected my perception of the story, showing me, if I needed it, that the way the relationships are portrayed here, how twisted they seem to be, can be fucking realistic, unfortunately.

The truth is, we all would look guilty. When everything can be interpreted in a way or another, how can you be sure that you're not digging the grave that will send you to jail? That everything can't be twisted to make you look guilty? You can't, that's simple like that - let alone in the society we're living in, always so saturated by information that we have a hard time deciphering what to believe. And if that's not the most frightening thing of the world, I don't know what is.

Throughout the book we suspect everyone , including the main character, Anna, and that's what gives Dangerous Girls so much strength in my opinion.

Now, I must admit that I saw it coming - but would I have if I hadn't see all these reviews saying I'll be mindfucked in the end? I don't think so.

▒ To conclude ▒

✔ It's gripping, overwhelming, and I was hooked from page one.
✔ The use of interviews, texts, trial records and other phone conversations make this story look like a true investigation where we, readers, are struggling to follow the tiniest clue and damn how I love it.
✔ The writing is perfect, as it makes everything so fleshed out, whether the characters or the settings - damn, I was there, with them, at every fucking moment they live.
✔ Don't expect it to be some light investigation - that's raw, painful to see all these relationships being dissected until each and every one of them look downright toxic.

To be frank, I think I equally loved and hated it - but even if it ripped my heart and depressed me, this dark psychological thriller is just so damn brilliant to be rated lower.

For more of my reviews, please visit:

[emma · Rating 1 out of 5]

WOW, I LOVE WHEN BOOKS COPY REAL LIFE. Especially when it's totally uncredited! The murder case in this book just is the Amanda Knox case. Here are all the similarities I noted (some spoilers of case specifics but basically just details of what the synopsis already reveals):


- white, pretty, Western female students living together in a foreign vacation spot

- one roommate/friend is murdered (Meredith, I think, in Amanda’s case, and Elise in the book)

- the other roommate/friend is the prime suspect (Amanda versus our narrator, Anna - even the names are close!)

- the boyfriend of the suspect is also investigated

- the case becomes a total media circus

- the crime is sexualized by the media (both cases attempt to reveal a nonexistent sexual attraction the suspect felt toward the victim)

- photos are used as evidence (in particular, photos of the suspect and her boyfriend laughing and kissing hours after the discovery of the body, and photos that make the suspect look murderous and dark)

- there are bloodstains in the bathroom the suspect claims not to have noticed initially

- the suspect becomes, well, suspected due to shock making her behave as if nothing happened - which makes the media go crazy

- the media repeatedly dubs the suspect “cold-blooded killer”

- the media and the prosecution refer to the suspect as a sociopath with little or untrustworthy proof

- the prosecution in the foreign country is under international pressure to find the killer

- thus, the prosecution attempts to depict the suspect as prone to violent outbursts and spells of intense anger

- they also ignore other suspicious figures/potential suspects, including a man from the area who was harassing the victim, connected to recent burglaries, and soon fled the country

- the murder weapon was a knife from the kitchen with the suspect’s fingerprints on it

- both victims were found dead of multiple stab wounds in pools of their own blood, with their clothes removed or tampered with (which leads to the sexualization of the case)

- both suspects used the following alibi: spent time with their boyfriends, then showered

- the evidence is largely circumstantial

- there is no concrete timeline offered by the prosecution

- personal writing of the suspect is published/used as evidence (Amanda’s diary; a poem and short story of Anna’s)

- the suspect spends months in a foreign prison

- the suspect makes a highly publicized, tearful apology to the family of the victim for their loss

- the suspect pleads not guilty

- THERE’S EVEN A F*CKING NANCY GRACE


On top of that plagiarism from reality, this was boring and slow, and I hated the characters, and the ~big reveal~ made no sense, probably because it was smushed into a handful of pages after reading hundreds.

Bottom line: Don’t bother. Watch the Amanda Knox documentary on Netflix instead. Isn't real life fun???

[Kelly (and the Book Boar) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Find all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/

EVERY STAR.



“Why was I so happy? My friend was dead. I should be sad. Was I happy she was dead? Did I secretly hate her? Did I have something to do with it? Did I do it myself? I did it. I had to. Maybe he did it too. Together. A pact. A game. Something sexual, fucked-up. Drugs and alcohol. Kids today. Where were our parents? Aren’t they to blame? Did he pressure me? Did I force him? I was happy. Why was I so happy?”

Those are the questions Anna must ask herself while sitting in jail while she awaits being tried for murdering her best friend. What began as a Spring Break trip to paradise, ended with Elise being found stabbed to death and Anna, along with her boyfriend Tate, being accused of committing the crime.

Please let me apologize in advance for what you are about to read because I have a feeling it’s going to get super rambly and might be a big mess by the time I’m finished.

I liked this book. A LOT. I liked it so much I did the crazy, post-it note marking of moments I wanted to make sure I remembered . . .



(and then I went to my kid’s baseball practice and all the other moms looked at me like I was a little “touched in the head” if you know what I mean). I have NEVER post-it noted a mystery/thriller because I liked it (but I have - quite often, in fact - post-it noted horrible parts of books in that genre).

Dangerous Girls grabs hold of you from Page 1 (seriously – Page 1 is a transcript of the 911 call reporting finding the dead body) and doesn’t ever let go. It has everything that makes a thriller thrilling – including a “ripped from the headlines” type of plot and an “everybody is a suspect” driving force that will just propel you through the pages. I read this book in 2 ½ hours. I COULD. NOT. PUT. IT. DOWN. The dialogue-heavy writing style and frantic pace made my reading speed become superhuman. And if you thought Megan Abbott could write terrifying teenagers? Well, honey, you ain’t seen NOTHING yet:

“Better to be a sneak, or a slut, or a narc, or a bully, than alone.”

“We want, we take, we have. It’s simple.”

So, after you get past the whole "this kind of has an eerie resemblance to the Natalee Holloway thing" and find your mind turning to the best of the worst evil high school girls . . .









it grows ever more delectable. Oh, and even if you think you know who did it, Haas will continue to fill you with doubts and make you question just how sure you are about yourself up to the final page.

EDIT: It's been brought to my attention that the "YA" moniker might be a deterrent in keeping people from reading this book. Please note that this is definitely not your average young adult novel. The characters may be teens, but the story is all grown up.


P.S.: I’m sooooo stingy with my 5-Star ratings, and the fact that Dangerous Girls could have easily racked up a 6 or a 7 in the mystery/thriller category from me had me venture out to the author’s website to see what she’s all about (http://abbymcdonald.com). Well, first, she’s adorable. I find an author who looks like her producing stories like this to be awesomely creepy. Second, and most important, as of July 15th of this year Dangerous Girls had only sold 450 copies - a number so low that the author’s next book (Dangerous Boys, natch) was rejected all over town, leaving her no choice but to self-publish. I’ve never gone to bat for an author before (Lord help me, Abigail Haas/Abby McDonald, if you turn out to be an asshole), but I’m telling you that if you are a fan of Megan Abbott, Gillian Flynn or books like Defending Jacob or We Need To Talk About Kevin, you seriously NEED to read this book. Buy it, get it from your library, whatever – just read it and spread the word. Good authors shouldn’t be forced into self-publishing due to low sales/feedback.

[s · Rating 4 out of 5]

EDIT: Okay I really fucking hate myself a little for doing this but I'm taking a star off bc I predicted something huge. It was still such an amazing read for me and I want to thank Abigail Haas for giving me the biggest mindfuck of a thriller in my life.


Initial reaction: Shit mother fucking fuckballs ass bitch, I did not sign up for this. Pls excuse me, I'm just slowly dying.
What the fucking hell did I just read?
What the fuck is that?
What the fuck is this?
What the fuck is anything?
What the fuckity fuck is wrong with me?
Guess who wasn't expecting to be fucked so unexpectedly in the mother fucking brain?
Guess who fucking read this 400 and something mother fucking page book in one sitting?
Guess whose fucking brain cannot fucking function?
Guess who doesn't even know what her fucking life is anymore???
I cannot take this unbearable pain and high level of mindfuckery. This is fucking torture. I did not ask for this.

Pls send help I'm going to pass out and then wake up and then pass out again and then wake up and I don't even fucking know what the fuck I'm typing.

That's basically what this book does to you.

RTC when I can fucking think properly.

Will there be a review?
I don't fucking know, kids.


-----
Um so like it's been 7463514263733211394975 years since I've read a thriller and that's really sad since thrillers are my shit. (ALL THESE FANTASY BOOKS ARE TO BLAME FOR DISTRACTING ME)

Anyways, I'm finally reading this highly praised thriller.

[Tani · Rating 4 out of 5]

RATINGS : 4 STARS FOR FREAKING OUT MY MIND.

Recommended by: shady boots

WHAT THE HELL DID I JUST READ?!


The functioning of my brain is completely (pardon my language)  f##ked up. I swear as little as possible but honestly I can't stop doing it after reading this book. This book should come with the warning  labels and I seriously think if one can handle a tornado of mixed emotions, then there's no problem reading it. I don't know what to make of my emotions after reading this book. It's been a very long time where I've been affected by a book in such a way. I don't know whether to throw this book out of my window or keep and take care of it. This book is a grave danger for the mind.


Lies

Manipulation

Anger

Greed

Envy

Hatred

Jealousy

Betrayal

Fear

Sorrow

MURDER


It's a terrifically beautiful story webbed with all the negative thoughts and emotions in a person's life. The story traps you in whirlwind of emotions and as you go further, you're pulled in deeper and deeper from which you can't be pulled out till the end of the book. The story begins with a group of teenagers visiting a beautiful island of Aruba during their Spring Break. Who could've thought that the vacation which was meant for relaxation and enjoyment on beautiful island with beach could turn out to be the worst nightmare of your life?  This is what happens with Anna, who had fun with her friends and boyfriend, is faced with the grief of death of her best friend, Elise and helplessness to show that she's innocent, not the culprit. The less I tell you about the plot, the better it'll be when you read. The story goes on and on with twists and turns in every part and then giving you the ending which is either unexpected or a suspicion, which you might have initially but consider to be irrelevant, coming true. In my case, my suspicions became irrelevant as I continued but at last I had to bang my head for not sticking with it.


The drawbacks in the book was that I felt slightly off about some parts of the judicial system and procedures in the book. Some of the circumstances were slightly exaggerated. Anyways, those drawbacks couldn't shake off the best part of the story. It scared, dismayed and surprised the bejesus out of me. I doubted each and every character but the one least expected was the main culprit. Is it really wrong of me to feel that Elise brought her own demise?  If you think it's wrong of me to think like that, then please consider that the book seriously has damaged some part of my mind. I don't think I'll re-read this book (because it's damn overwhelming) but yeah, it was one of the best experience of reading. Anyways, it's rare to come across such books and if one’s up for a breathtaking mystery- thriller book, this book is one of the best.


Please pardon my language but let me express this or else I can't get over this book.

TATE, YOU BLOODY BASTARD, I HATE YOU.

Seriously, I don't even know why I hate him so much but in the entire book, I hated him a lot.

Thanks for reading my review. Happy Reading 😊

[Aj the Ravenous Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes, David doesn’t beat Goliath- not when they’ve got an army at their disposal.

If bad things happen to good people, then Anna Chevalier must be a very wonderful person for such terrible things (including the alleged murder of her best friend) to happen to her in just a flick of the finger. To endure betrayal, lies, and accusations and suffer for all these things unjustly seem a fate no better than death.

But Anna is such a strong character to go through all the worst things that could possibly happen to a harmless teenage girl who just wants to spend a fun vacation in Aruba with her boyfriend Tate, her best friend Elise and her other friends.

Through it all,the trials, the detention, the interrogations. Anna was calm and controlled. She didn’t break down nor had any false hopes while I on the other hand was raging and angry at the people who blackmailed her, emotionally tortured and accused her, left her to fend for herself. It was I who cried for her for all the tears she held back. It was as if I was the one broken while Anna all this time remained intact. I salute her!



All these words I just said,
What a waste!



You are mean, Ms. Abigail Haas and so are you, Paige! Thanks for the rec.^^

[Wendy Darling · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well crafted, well written, and extremely readable, even though I guessed the twist. Possibly the best YA thriller I've read in recent years, though.

[Stacia (the 2010 club) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sex, drugs, lies & murder.

update note : 6 hours later and I'm still thinking about Dangerous Girls. I can't stop debating whether my rating should be a 3 or 4. Even though I had issues with the characters, this book's ending has me continuing to dwell on it, which must count for something. I need a person who's read this to discuss it with!

3.5 stars. I just finished this book and I feel physically ill. If you took shades of the Natalee Holloway and Amanda Knox cases and added in a few elements of Brokedown Palace and Cruel Intentions, you'd be somewhere in the ballpark of what's going on here, but still not close enough.

I fought a battle in my head over how to rate this book. I hated the characters, hated their actions, and hated the entire chain of events leading up to the reveal.

BUT. Giving credit where it's due - I couldn't stop reading. There was a lot of mind-f*cking going on here. And I'm pretty sure there were a few moments in the telling of this story which were a stroke of genius. It's not uncommon to find books that mess with your head, and a good portion of them are shock value with no real merit. However, this particular tale had some real thought put into the entire chain of events. There was an instance in this book which reminded me exactly of a situation that I went through while on vacation with friends and I almost ran to the bathroom and threw up because it felt like a punch to the gut.

Once the chain of events was set in motion, I couldn't stop reading. Even though I thought some of the back-story was silly and fluffy, it was necessary to have it there in order to show the bond between the two girls - one alive and one now dead. As I continued reading, the tone switched from frivolous to dark. My stomach started doing flips when I realized something was going on in the background that I didn't like. From there, I had to know what was going to happen next.

In all honesty, I never understood why everyone was drawn to the Elise (the dead girl) in the first place. We all know girls who are the life of the party (or we happened to be that girl) and the character of Elise didn't strike me as all that note-worthy. Ah well, I guess that's why she's the dead one and we're following someone else's trial, haha.

It's hard to know who to recommend this book to. Fans of mind-f*ck books will definitely be first on the list. You know who you are. Go ahead, get your copy. Please do. Then come back and let me know your thoughts about that ending. THAT ending. Good lord, THAT ending. I suspected it could happen, then discounted my thoughts after something else happened, then realized I SHOULDN'T HAVE DISCOUNTED anything.

So what about the rest of you? Well, it depends. Are you in the mood for something different? Are you willing to go through a little bit of emotional turmoil in order to read something that's going to get you thinking? If so, then I'd think you might want to consider this.

Not a fan of whodunnits or relationship drama? Then you'll want to steer clear.

This book provided from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[shady boots · Rating 5 out of 5]

Update (04/08/2018): More than three years later and I'm still so awed by this book. What I wouldn't give to erase my memory of it so I can read it for the first time again. Those of you who haven't read it actually WOULD be reading it for the first time, so you have no idea how lucky you are. I urge you to get this book into your hands immediately and get your mind fucked.

___________________________________

Initial Reaction: I'll write more coherent thoughts in a while. For now though holy fucking goddamn oh my son of a hackey sack mindfuck duck on a stick with pickles and rainbow jesus eating a two piece and a biscuit in space with drag queens wearing hydraulic tutus on crack what the hell just happened

Gathered Thoughts: Okay.

So I finished this book in school, after lunch, and spent the rest of the day in a trance-like state, staring into space, roaming the halls feeling like my feet weren't even fully grounded. I was sort of in a state of shock, really.

Out of all the possible outcomes and endings, I did not expect that at all. I should have. Now that I look back I realize that it was a lot more obvious than I first thought. That's always the case with murder mysteries though, isn't it? Keeps you on your toes, and when the reveal finally comes, you're knocked on your ass. And you're left with picking up the pieces of all those little details and clues that you left behind, cause your attention was focused on completely different truths.

Why is that, though? Why do we always discredit the most obvious outcomes when it comes to murder mysteries? I know I'm guily of doing it all the time.

The whole time I read this book I felt Anna's pain, I wanted to scream and throw the book in anger at how unfairly she was being treated, how she was completely alone, how much the betrayal stung for her. It stung me too. I really, truly felt Anna, felt like I was in her shoes, cheered her on.

Now I'm not sure what to feel anymore.

That ending was insane unbelievable shriek-inducing perfect. This book is perfect.

"How much do you love me?" the book asks.

And I don't think I have an answer.

[Mary Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one crazy book, a YA psychological thriller that honestly will leave you mentally and emotionally damaged by the end.

The story follows Anna and her best friends while they are on spring break in Aruba *oooh fancy* but when one of her best friends turn up dead Anna finds herself trapped in a foreign country where everyone including her friends and family are questioning her innocence. As the court case develops, it is only a matter of time before the truth comes out… and the truth is much more shocking than you could ever imagine.

Dangerous Girls is a remarkable thriller that truly needs more recognition because Haas' ability to develop her characters is so terrifically done that it is almost as though you are watching them unravel right before your eyes. If you are looking for a book that will blow your mind in more ways than one, then go and buy Dangerous Girls. Believe me when I say you will be in for a treat I would definitely rate Dangerous Girls 5* as it is a great addition to anyone's bookcase and a definite keeper.

Wouldn't we all look guilty, if someone searched hard enough?”
“Any one of us could be made to look like a monster, with selective readings of our history.”

[Jennifer Kyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

An exciting teen mystery that grabs a reader from the very first page. A group of high school friends staying in Aruba on vacation find one of their group murdered. There is an investigation, arrest and a trial. All the while the author establishes the relationship between the deceased and the accused.

”Wouldn’t we all look guilty, if someone searched hard enough.”

I found the story exciting as there is boyfriend and two strangers thrown into the mix. Money, power, law enforcement and the media play roles in the fate of the accused. The author throws in a twist that leaves a reader rethinking all the information presented from the first page in a different light.

[Jennifer Masterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! I'm late for the party here on this book, but what I will say is if you like thrillers try this one even if you're not into YA fiction. I sometimes have trouble with YA books, but I didn't with this one. It read like any other thriller.


Highly recommend!

[Rose · Rating 2 out of 5]

DON'T READ THE SHELF NAMES OF THE SHELVES THAT I SHELVED THIS BOOK ON. There's one shelf near the end that stumbling upon could be slightly spoiler-ish. And if you don't want to be spoiled for this book, don't even waste your time on reading this review because it is not spoiler-free.

OK, where do I start with this review? That is the question that I ask myself most of the time and probably write down in a lot of my reviews as well. Sorry I'm not sorry.

Anyway, Dangerous Girls is what I'm trying to talk about here, not how I never know where to start when writing reviews. But writing reviews and Dangerous Girls is what I want to talk about here for a moment. When I was somewhere around halfway done with Dangerous Girls, I already had things in mind that I wanted to write down (or hoped to be able to write down as it is more the case here) in my review. You know, all those fancy sentences I could use in my review and probably never would have because I just think of writing them while reading the book and then end up writing reviews where I overuse "you know" and "if that makes sense" because I'm stressed because I need to explain myself and I'm always stressed when needing to explain myself. There's sweat running down my body like I'm the frigging Niagara Falls because I know the whole world depends on me being able to explain my feelings for a book, OK, that was too much of LE DRAMATICS, so let's strike that.

Back from my Niagara Falls body to Dangerous Girls. I was so sure that I would keep enjoying reading this book until the end, I was so sure that no matter what the twist is, or how it ends, that it wouldn't be able to ruin EVERYTHING I liked so far. Can you guess what I'm about to tell you? The twist or rather said the end (because the end is pretty much the twist) is what RUINED EVERYTHING. If you don't mind being spoiled (accidentally), look at the shelves. Some especially created just because of and for Dangerous Girls. One I especially like is "EXCUSE-YOURSELF-FOR-FUCKING-WASTING-MY-TIME" (sans FUCKING because of Goodreads not letting me use more characters for shelf names). Because after reading 400 pages of Dangerous Girls, what I get is one of the most lazy endings I've ever read. Everyone telling me that the twist is so SHOCKING and MINDFUCKING and I-don't-remember-what-else made me so excited to get to it and I kept waiting, and waiting, and waiting and then I read the ending (that's at the same time the twist) and I was like: FÜR SO EINE VERFICKTE SCHEISSE HABE ICH MEINE ZEIT FÜR DAS LESEN VON 400 SEITEN VERSCHWENDET!?

And if you don't want to be spoiled, NOW IS THE TIME TO STOP READING THIS REVIEW AND GET BACK TO IT WHEN YOU READ THE BOOK THAT YOU DON'T WANT TO BE SPOILED FOR BEFORE READING IT YOURSELF.

The ending didn't fit the story at all. After reading about the whole trial where Anna keps trying to succeed in pleading and showing that she isn't guilty while all of her friends stab her in the back, she does succeed and get out of jail and WHAT THE FUCK DO WE GET? A few pages near the end of Anna basically telling us at the grave of Elise that it was her all along and that she deceived everybody and the ending scene was Elise and Tate screwing and Anna watching and Elise seeing that Anna is watching and some twisted stuff Anna is thinking AND THAT'S THE FUCKING REASON SHE DID IT (or at least what we're lead to believe is the reason she did it). EXCUSE YOU, BOOK? EX-FUCKING-CUSE YOU, BOOK?!?!?!?!?!? I read 400 pages. 400 pages of the trial that was quite the psychological porn for me (from friends that turn into something close to enemies so fast, to the truth (or what I thought the truth was) being twisted so easily into something so wrong (or what I thought was wrong) etc.) that I did like but that started dragging like a freaking period of a subject you like but where you're just like "get to the point already, teacher" after a while because of the repetitiveness. And inbetween the trial bits Anna is trying to tell us bit for bit what happened before Elise was murdered and that's where I see all the other faces and wonder WHODUNIT because obviously at some point I started cheering Anna on and then WE FUCKING FIND OUT THAT IT WAS HER. I get it, the mindfuckery of an unreliable narrator turning out to have been the bad guy all along is A+. But it just didn't fit Dangerous Girls. Especially if it's explained in what, a few pages after she gets out of jail and that is basically the end (if you don't count the flashback scene that follows where Elise and Tate are rubbing their body parts against each other)?

What I was expecting versus what I got is something that's seriously pissing me off and I'm not even going to try to explain myself more than I already did because I'm just pissed off that I wasted my time FOR THIS. The unreliable narrator was just extremely badly executed in the Dangerous Girls case (pun here is definitely with all my not-cheating-on-my-best-friend-with-her-boyfriend-and-being-killed-because-of-it living heart intended) and also lazily chosen. For all the build up we get like a few pages of reveal (EXCUSE YOU!?) that ruined everything. Everything of the love I had for the psychological aspect of the story was burned with the wrath a young girl felt because of wasting her time on this while she could have either slept (which she didn't do because she just wanted to find out how this ends no matter the dark circles under her eyes her body would put on her face as revenge) or read hundreds of better books but didn't because she was hopeful and dedicated her time to 400 pages OF VERFICKTE SCHEISSE.

Ex-fucking-cuse yourself, Dangerous Girls.

____________________________________________

After writing the review: I've read only just now that the book is partly inspired by the Natalie Holloway and Amanda Knox cases. I haven't heard of the Natalie Holloway case (I was only 9 when it happened), so I read up on it now and I do have to admit, when thinking about these two cases and Dangerous Girls combined then Dangerous Girls is in fact an ugly and disgusting potrayal of what the truth could be in both cases but was never (and maybe, probably will never be) found out. But I can't help how I've felt about the ending without knowing about it all beforehand. In the Dangerous Girls case, the ending just didn't fit the story. When thinking that the Dangerous Girls ending might be the truth in the Natalie Holloway and Amanda Knox cases, I think about it differently because it shows the brutal, disgusting, ugly truth of how someone might get away with something like that without ever being found guilty but it's just making me think about all this stuff and still making me think that the ending didn't fit the Anna and Elise case, if that makes sense. I know that in these real life cases it doesn't matter if I don't think it fits the story because it's real life and the more I talk the more I think that the ending is great in its own way, showing something, making you think and wonder when you know about these cases but in the book case, I still don't think it fit. And before I'm repeating myself even more, I'm going to stop.

This is an interesting blog tour post by Haas on the inspiration behind Dangerous Girls. And now I'm even more conflicted about my feelings for this book. Damn, I probably will never be able to explain. Also, all of this is turning into an even bigger mindfuck and while I love-hate the book, it's making me think about everything and WHY DO BOOKS OUT THERE THAT MAKE IT SO DAMN HARD TO THINK AND EXPLAIN STRAIGHT EXIST BUT THIS IS JUST FAUX-COMPLAINING BECAUSE I KIND OF LOVE IT!?

[Shelby *trains flying monkeys* · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy crap! This book was amazing. I picked it up yesterday because my son had confiscated my kindle and I wanted something to read. I never imagined I would get so wrapped up in a book so quickly.
Dangerous girls tells the story of a group of friends on vacation in Aruba when one of the girls is brutally murdered and another of the girls Anna is accused. The story evolves by going back through the girls friendship and the court case. I know how powerless you feel in a court case. The lawyers tell you to be quiet and act a certain way and you just feel so power less to help yourself. Your life is in the courts hands.
This story just blows you away because a quote from the books says "Wouldn't we all look guilty, if someone searched hard enough?"
The ending came along and shook me to the core. Great writing!

[prag ♻ · Rating 5 out of 5]

WHAT IN THE NAME OF FUCK WAS THAT WHO ALLOWED HER TO PUBLISH THIS I'M GOING TO HAVE NIGHTMARES FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE NOW AREN'T I FUCK I HATE READING THRILLERS

Actual rating: 1 star

(moral of the story: please don't read this kids it's fucked up)

[Skyler Autumn · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 Stars

“Wouldn't we all look guilty, if someone searched hard enough?”

Anna is in prison waiting for trial after being convicted of the murder of her best friend Elise in Aruba. What started out as a fun Spring Break vacation between a group of friends has left one of them murdered and two of them behind bars.

Abigail Haas flips back and forth between present, future, and the past interweaving interview transcripts, text messages, and recorded phone conversations so the reader feels as if they are actually being shown the case files being presented at trial. This format really helped grasp and hold my attention as I found myself craving to know the truth about what happened the night of Elise's murder.

But don't be fooled by the flashy murder aspect of this book, the true story is about friendship specifically the intense relationship between our murder victim and the accused. Anna and Elise have the type of intense, over the top, live and breathe it type of friendship that is only possible in High School. The kind of naive relationship that has them making promises of growing old together and becoming 90 year old grey garden-esque roommates. I really liked the past chapters when the author gets into the relationship of the two girls it was really well developed and you started to see the blurred lines between friendship and obsession that is so common in teenage friendships. Everything was just so much more dramatic back then.

The reason the novel was given 3 stars instead of the popular 5 star rating that is trending on Goodreads is because not only is it clear who the murderer is right out the gate, the trial is borderline infuriating. The corruption of the cops, the interrogation of minors without a guardian or lawyer present, and the absolute most ridiculous line of questioning during trial. Not only did the questioning borderline on unlikely it just became absurd that part where the prosecutor start implying lesbian tendencies because they had sleepovers took me out of the story because what judge would allow that line of questioning towards a minor. It would be fine if the whole case had just one or two shady hiccups but it just became some what of a long barrage of nobody doing their job well and that became a little tiring to read. It's like get your shit together people.

Overall this novel was a quick easy light read that actually did better then I expected for something classified as YA thriller. Fans of, do you know what fans isn't the right word; if you found yourself morbidly drawn to the chaos that surrounded the Amanda Knox trial I think you'd enjoy Dangerous Girls. Amanda Knox was clearly a huge inspiration for this story. I would categorize this as thriller light and recommend this to anyone who is new to the world of thrillers.

[Delee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was a sheltered teen in the 80s. I wasn't allowed to date until I was 16, and even then they were group dates, no one on one. I also had to call my parents throughout my evenings-which at times was difficult because there were...*GASP*...no cell phones! I had a little bit more freedom by the time I was heading into my last year of high school, but let me tell you-if I had asked to go to Aruba for Spring break, I would have had to pick my parents up off the floor after they both finished having hysterical giggle fits. Their answer after that would have been NO! Nein, nei, ni hea, non...no!

I have too many pet peeves to count, but high on my list are: spoiled and shallow children/teens, tabloid journalism, media in the courtroom, and the media's influence over public perception of a person's guilt or innocence. DANGEROUS GIRLS has them all...

Set in beautiful Aruba- Anna, boyfriend Tate, best friend Elise and a mutual group of friends, set out to have the best Spring break ever. Before the week is out, one of them will be dead, and one of them will be charged with her murder.

DANGEROUS GIRLS to me was a combination of a few true life cases: a little Natalee Holloway, a little Casey Anthony, and A LOT of Amanda Knox. So if you were glued to the TV watching the media coverage of any of those, the odds are you will love this book!



I still don't know how I feel about it really. It is another one of those books I liked right up until the end. I feel like I am saying that too much these days " I was disappointed with the ending." I don't want to give too much away. So I will add, sometimes a book with a twist ending is great, and sometimes it just seems so unnecessary.

That goes for movies too, MR. M. Night Shyamalan!!

[Trina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an addictive mystery told in a format that jumps around in the timeline to reveal things at the perfect time (I loved this format!). This is the brand and amount of suspense that I need in mysteries so I adored the build up and all the theorizing it allowed me to do. The ending was a bit anticlimactic to me and left some things unanswered but it was only the last 5 or so pages that I didn't like about this book, the rest had me absolutely hooked and got me out of a reading slump.

One thing I loved about this that most YA mysteries don't have is the amount of adult involvement. We see a lot of lawyer and detective involvement, which brought another level of suspense to the novel. This is the story you wanted if you ever said "Those girls on Pretty Little Liars should have just called the police!"

There's lots of partying, drinking, mentions of drug use, and friends being awful to each other (such as slut shaming) in this book. If you don't like any of that stuff you may not like this book.

Potentially problematic: (hiding this in a spoiler tag because it was treated as a spoiler by the book) LGBTQIA+ rep (a f/f romance) is baited throughout the book but is essentially used as a plot twist near the end to change how you see character motives. Treating sexuality as a spoiler like this is not the best handling, but your thoughts may vary.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

BR with Annie

So I saw the twist at the end coming and that's only because I read a similar book not so long ago. This book is good but I'm honestly a bit disappointed, I expected more. At least to know what actually happened at the crime scene, the killer's emotions and such. It might be also because I couldn't relate to any character. Anyway, fun read not the best but enjoyable nonetheless.

[Jillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

THAT WAS CRAZY AND DARK AND I LOVED EVERY SECOND OF IT. holy shit and i had about three theories going for the ending and I GUESSED IT RIGHT Y'ALL. my endless hours of watching law and order svu and csi have paid off. 4.5 stars.

[Kathe L · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book broke my heart in a thousand pieces. I should have trusted you, brain.



When I finished this book, I kept repeating over and over that I couldn't believe it. I just kept reading the last chapter over and over. Here's the thing: a group of friends go to an island to celebrate the end of high school. One of their friends though, Elise, is found dead one morning, and so the investigations begin. The surprising thing, is that they accuse her best friend, Anna, of killing her and she goes to trial. This book shows us the trial, they in the island before the murderer, Anna meeting Elise, their lives the year before and so it goes.

When I start books like this, I usually go overly excited and start creating thousands of theories. But with this book, my brain was analyzing the facts and she (my brain) kept telling me who the murderer was. My eyes and my heart, though. They fought bravely against reason and won in the end. So when I reached the almost last chapter, and realized my brain was right all along, I felt like Frodo in LOTR, when he realizes he believed in the Gollun instead of on his true friend, Sam. I felt betrayed, used, lied to. This author is so so so brilliant, she is Gollum in this story. She pushes you to believe in what she wants, manipulating you to go against reason and believe in things you shouldn't believe. And still, she gives you clues here and there, so subtle that only the end your brain is yelling at you: "see, heart, I knew that bit of information was important."

Although brilliant, dark, and a bit sinister, this book is also so well written. When I was reading it Saturday, I reached a point when I couldn't put it down and at the same time, I wanted to hide this book, stop reading it, and live happily ever after. In Brazilian literature, we first had the "light" stories, the stories about romance that ended all right and full of butterflies. In 1800-, though, we had this school called "realism", and one of the writers, Machado de Assis, used to write stories that never ended well. The worst scenario possible happened. He would say, "why write stories that don't have anything to do with how real life works out?" He wrote about selfishness, betrayal, pain, man wanting money above everything else, cheating couples and friends. While this book isn't about all these things, it does make you think about your life, the decisions you make, who are the people around you. It's like a slap in the face, a real reality check. It's both a horrible and amazing story, with characters *Elise* that both disturbed and fascinated me. It shows tons of sides to the story, while you feel watched and you analyze. You think, and you think hard. The worst/best thing about this book, though, is the feeling of empathy.

I teared up at old memories, I was mad and thoughtful at the trial, sometimes both at once, sometimes my rage standing out at the unfairness of it all. Only for me to think "what if?" I was left with chills at end of chapters *cough cough before the last one*, and hating characters who later on, I didn't know if they deserved my hate. Anna, Elise, AK, Tate, Juan... I think the only character I'm sure I hated from beginning to end was Tate. I was left with more questions than answers, they all spinning in my head. I may be a freak for finding this book to be fascinating, but if I had written this review as soon as I finished it, you would be hearing how this book leaves you with a WTF feeling. Yes, my brain knew who the murderer was. But more often than not, you get so caught up in this story that you almost don't care what reasons tell you. All in all, this book will stay with me for a long, long time. (I got so captivated in this review that I just added one more star.) If I had to learn a lesson, I would learn to be a little more clever, clever being the best word. And that I won't be going to an exotic island any time soon.

[Giselle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book that has gone seriously under-noticed and that's a shame because it's brilliant! And even though it's a tad predictable, I would have disappointed if it would have ended differently. It was a daring and manipulative story - and I'm a sucker for those!

This is the story of Elise's murder, told in the perspective of the prime suspect - her best friend. In a way, this reminded me of a YA Jodi Picoult novel. You have the murder, followed by the trial - which lasts for most of the book, and this is where you learn the details of what happened filled with secrets and lies that give just enough clues to make you crazy - then at the end all is revealed with the help of a carefully crafted twist. Out of all the YA murder mystery books I've read this is easily one of the best. Clues and secrets are unraveled at the perfect pace, and it's so meticulously plotted that you begin to doubt everything about everyone. That, to me, always makes for an awesomely addictive read. And like I mentioned, even if I correctly guessed the culprit about half way, it still had me doubting my own theories where I would go back and forth between suspects. I was highly impressed with how the author decided to craft this story.

Friendship is a huge part of this novel, Elise and Anna's especially. They had a very… intense friendship. It was quite interesting to see their relationship develop into this kind of toxic love. There's also Anna's romantic relationship with Tate which remains uncertain after she's in custody. Then we have the rest of the group who seem to turn against her as soon as she's a suspect with only circumstantial evidence. The whole group dynamic has many layers that I found increasingly fascinating with each one I peeled back. This is helped with an asshat prosecutor - and the media - who dig up things about the characters that keeps us on our toes (even though I wanted to kick these people in the face!). We stumble upon many different motives based on betrayals and revenge to keep us guessing the whole way through.

The ending: I loved. Waiting for the judge's decision had me so anxious I thought I would hyperventilate along with Anna. But what happens after is what I enjoyed the most about the ending, maybe even the whole book. I highly recommend this one for those of you who are looking for a YA mystery done right. It's daring and unapologetic, even shocking at times. It's a great novel to buddy-read because you will want to discuss and dissect it afterwards, I guarantee it!

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For more of my reviews, visit my blog at Xpresso Reads

[Bren fall in love with the sea. · Rating 5 out of 5]

ReRead. See review below. I LOVE this book!

"We want, we take, we have. It's that simple."

Abigail Haas-Dangerous Girls

So so good.

Sooo very good!

SPOILERS:

I want a part two! And I want to know how Anna killed Elise and what we re their final words. Please if anyone reading this knows the author..make a plea to her on my behalf.

So I read this..loved it..referred my book group to it..and we had it as one of our discussion books. Some liked it and some didn't.

In case you wonder..I LOVED it.

I think as far as YA thrillers go..this maybe one of the best if not the best one can read.

Now some people do not like unreliable narrators. That was a gripe at my book group. I however do. And the power in that last sentence..wow..I could not believe it.

Only gripe..no part two..at least give us something more to chew on. How on earth did she do it? What were the final spoken words between the two girls? I felt so sorry for Elise.

Also..w as Anna in love with Elise or the boyfriend? Which betrayal was she referring to? And what happens to Anna?

Inquiring minds want to know!

[Gabby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy shit, this book was an amazing surprise. I am a huge fan of thrillers, and I mostly read adult thrillers, because in my opinion, it's really hard to find good young adult thrillers out there. This is one of the best (*if not the best) YA thriller I have read to date. This is the story of Anna, a 17 year old girl who goes on vacation to a foreign country with all her friends for spring break, and her best friend Elise, is murdered. If that's not terrible enough, all of her friends start turning against her, and everyone believes that she was the one who killed Elise. Earlier this year, I read Abigail Haas's other book, Dangerous Boys and I also loved that book, but I have to say Dangerous Girls is easily the better of the two in my opinion. This book is so wonderfully crafted, and the way this story is written is amazing. It weaves in so many different story lines: past and present, and we discover through all these flashbacks what actually happened and what's going on. The story is told through Anna's present tense, in the court room, her past tense on how she became friends with Elise, scenes with the vacation leading up to Elise's death, and interview clips and snippets thrown in between. Also, the writing style is so beautiful. For example: "Elise and I fall into friendship like it's gravity." I just love the way that's written. Elise is such a complex, interesting character. I loved discovering all these dark, hidden parts of her that were revealed as the story went on. I also actually thought Anna was really relatable at times too, as she struggled with trying to make friends, and trying to make friendships last, and always trying to do the right thing.

"Wouldn't we all look guilty if someone searched hard enough?"

This is my favorite type of story because throughout the entire story you are trying to figure out who is lying and who is telling the truth and you can't even trust if the main character Anna is reliable or if she's also lying because as readers, we don't see the actual murder. It's all hear say. I find it absolutely fascinating. The best way I can describe this book is like a combination of Gone Girl and Mean Girls. I know that sounds weird but it's true. It reminds me of Gone Girl in the sense that anyone can be set up and accused of murder, even if they are innocent, and it reminds me of Mean Girls because Elise's character felt like a twisted version of Regina George. This book dives deep into the evil that can come out of girls friendships and the cruelness that lies just beneath the surface. I love how this story line was full of constant plot twists and I kept second guessing what was going on.

The last few pages of this book gave me chills while I was reading them. Actual chills. I don't think I've ever experience something like that while reading a book before. I just couldn't believe the horror of it all. These characters are all flawed and shady and they all have something to hide. I honestly loved every minute of it. If you're into thrillers, I highly recommend this one. I was genuinely surprised by how much I loved it. I wasn't expecting to give it 5 stars but after the final pages of this book left me feeling so giddy I couldn't help myself. I will read anything Abigail Haas writes, and after this amazing book and Dangerous Boys (which I also enjoyed) I now consider her a new favorite author of mine.