Hide and Seek

Jess Tennant #3

by Jane Casey

BOOKS

Genres: Mystery, Young Adult, Fiction, Christmas, Suspense, Mystery Thriller, Crime

352 pages, Paperback

First published July 30, 2015

About the author

She studied English at Jesus College, Oxford, followed by an mPhil in Anglo-Irish Literature at Trinity College, Dublin

Reviews

[Danielle The Book Huntress · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a quick, involving read, and part of me wanted to rate it higher because of that and the fact that Jess reminds me favorably of Veronica Mars, but the mystery was a bit too simplistic and predictable. But overall, I like the idea of a teenage English girl sleuth very much, and I'd recommend it to YA mystery readers.

Overall rating: 3.5/5.0 stars.

Reviewed for Affaire de Coeur Magazine. http://affairedecoeur.com.

[Liz Barnsley · Rating 5 out of 5]

The third in the Jess Tennant series, another favourite of mine (Its that Jane Casey and her hugely credible and loveable characters) and this finds Jess once more caught up in the undercurrents of the town in which she lives and getting more involved than she should be. She’s tenacious that one. A Nancy Drew for the modern times..

As an adult reading these I always get more emotionally entangled with the adult relationships within – which are given just as much gravitas – and like Derwent in the Maeve Kerrigan series I find myself mostly wanting to read about Dan – a man after my own heart. Yes ok I like the slightly dangerous ones.

The thing about these though is that they are great crime novels. Aimed at the young adult audience but tackling a whole plethora of grown up issues, you always find a banging intriguing mystery alongside general teenage angsting plus a plethora of fascinating interpersonal relationships that ebb and flow like the tides of Port Sentinal. (Note – I’m on team Ryan)

Moving along then to actual important stuff like are these novels good – YES they are blinking brilliant. Highly readable, funny, full of heart and spot on page turning material.

Highly Recommended.

[Shelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

**I received this book for free from (Publisher) in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.**

*Genre* Young Adult Mystery
*Rating* 3.0

*My Thoughts*

Hide and Seek is the third installment in the Jess Tennant young adult mystery series by author Jane Casey. Jessica aka Jess, has been living in Port Sentinel since the beginning of the school year. She's found herself involved in solving TWO major incidents that had the town and police baffled. First it was her cousin Freya, then it was Seb Dawson, a boy who was left for dead in the middle of the road. Each time, Jess has done things that the police detective in charge, Dan Henderson, didn't exactly catch on to until Jess was in mortal danger.

*Full Review Posted @ Gizmos Reviews*

http://gizmosreviews.blogspot.com/201...

*Recvd 05/08/2015 via Publisher* Expected publication: August 25th 2015 by St. Martin's Griffin

[Sibel Gandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 / 5
Bu seriyi Maeve Kerrigan kadar beğenmiyorum. Özellikle 16 yaşında bir ergenin her şeye karışıp dedektiflik yapmasını biraz sinir bozucu buluyorum. Ama yazar iyi olunca insanı sıkmadan okutuyor kendini kitap.

[ReadAlongWithSue recovering from a stroke★⋆. ࿐࿔ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good one from Jane Casey, well, I enjoyed it.

Jessica she just always seems to find herself in the middle of things, although its a very quite place to live where nothing should really happen, well, at least not much, it does in this town. And each time we find Jessica drawn in.

Jessica is curious she's helpful and wants to be kind but it seems to lead her into a pickle each time.

Her boyfriend is getting frustrated with it all and his Father is at his wits end.

I admire this author as she has written this for YA which you can see and has that 'feel' about it, an innocence if you like, however, it was sometimes a breath of fresh air for a mystery that lead me in places. Its not nail biting, but its a gentle read with a lot going for it.

*I would like to thank Penguin Random House UK Children’s via Net Galley for my copy to read and review *

[Jen Ryland (jenrylandreviews & yaallday)]

I enjoyed this one -- I love British mysteries and police procedurals and this had all the elements I love: British setting, a smart protagonist with some interesting personal entanglements and a friendly-but-not-always friendly relationship with the police. British slang (an Aga is mentioned and some other things which I have now forgotten.)

While Hide and Seek is the third in a series, I always understood what was going on with Jess's personal life though I did get the idea that I missed out on some history between her and some other characters. So it would have been nice to have read the prior two books, but I didn't find it a hindrance that I hadn't.

I thought this book handled the whole plausibility issue of a 16-year old being involved in a police investigation really, really well -- at one point, the chief investigator tells her that he can't have a teenager messing around, disturbing evidence. When Jess did things that were out of bounds, it seemed really believable. Great suspenseful ending.

If you like books like this (think Deborah Crombie, P.D. James, Elizabeth George) I think you'll find this a great read. And if you generally like YA mysteries and thrillers, try it out!

Read more of my reviews on YA Romantics or follow me on Bloglovin

Thanks to the publisher for providing an advance copy for review!

[Carla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hide and Seek is the third book in the Jane Casey's Jess Tennant series, a YA mystery/crime series. Jess is a high school student who gets involved in troubles that happen in Port Sentinel. Jess lives with her mom in her Aunt Tilly's and Uncle Jack's home, since their daughter died. I did not read the previous books in this trilogy, but this mystery is a standalone, so besides some relationship development that I missed, I was okay. In this book one of Jess' classmates goes missing. She was supposed to meet Jess at the library to work on a project, but does not show up and is not seen after that time. Jess feels partially responsible, so begins to ask questions and snoop. Jess is dating Will, the son of the local Police Inspector, Dan Henderson. He is not happy with her snooping, but in the end, she helps him out.

As stated earlier, these are YA mysteries, but as an adult, I enjoyed this story. There are a lot of things that appeal to adults, especially the adult relationships that have a lot of issues. The story does deal with several teenage issues like ostracizing, cliques, interpersonal relationships, parental issues, parent divorce, partying, fitting in etc. Along with all the teenage angst, there is a mystery that does not involve murder. I do not want to say more about it, but it deals with a dicey situation, which was a bit predictable and I did figure it out. This was a fast moving story, that I read in one sitting. It was interesting, page turning and enjoyable. I will go back and read the two previous Jess Tennant stories.

[Carol - Reading Writing and Riesling · Rating 3 out of 5]

My View:
Likeable characters, twisty plots with a few surprises, a strong female protagonist, low level violence and a resolution that most would be happy with.

However as an adult reading this with greater reading and life experiences than the intended audience I did find a few elements that made me feel uncomfortable. Mostly Jess espouses politically correct sentiments and statements regarding sexuality, the character Nessa is the vehicle for surface discussion re LGBT issues, accepting people choices, no one else business etc. Jess is a strong female protagonist – with a can do attitude and skills and strengths, we the reader don’t judge her based purely on her physical attractiveness (but she is not ugly), so we are awash with positive political correctness and then when it is revealed that Officer Dan has been having a extracurricular relationship with a fellow police officer (which seemed to be quite acceptable) Jess’s comments ‘“…Dan has been having an affair with one of his detectives. So I think that’s his first priority.” It was the one who had helped me at the police station, in fact. She was very pretty and I was inclined to think he’d done well.’ A judgement that seem to be based on the physical - the female officer and Dan’s. The relationship between Will and Jess is also fraught with a passive /aggressive attitude and this is not a behaviour I would like to see modelled/accepted as reasonable in a book for this age group. Young men physically fight to resolve issues; whilst it’s not an acceptable behaviour in any reasonable society – and Jess states it is not acceptable either I would have preferred if that scene was not part of this narrative.

A book for the teens. I think I will confine myself to Ms Casey’s excellent adult crime thrillers.

[Maggie61 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the first two books in this Jess Tennant series, this one was just okay for me.
Jess finds herself yet again, in the middle of another mystery in the town of Port Sentinel that she moved into with her mother at the beginning of the school year.
This one started out better for me, eluded to a mystery that was better that actual reality. It was quite predictable to me and I still felt a little let down when it all came together. I did like the surprise revelation from Jess's dad near the end tho. I didn't expect that.
There are so many unlikable main characters in this book that I found it difficult to bond with them or care what happened to them. And I think Will and Jess need to just move on, they're at odds or fighting more often than they are together, I don't see any kind of lasting relationship there at all.
It was still an okay read, pretty quick too. I have heard so much about this author's Maeve Kerrigan series, I am eager to read them.

[Spencer · Rating 3 out of 5]

2020
It wasn't terrible, but the mystery didn't grab me as much as I wish it did. Sometimes, when I was reading, I was thinking that it was kind of like a knock off of Nancy Drew, but not quite as captivating. And I think part of that is because Nancy Drew always had her girls that had her back. She had friends who supported and believed in what she did, but Jess just has people who are tearing her detective skills down. I did like the way that it ended up because it was a bit of a shock as to where Gilly had disappeared to (although I felt bad for Gilly because she didn't seem to understand exactly how her situation was a bad thing).

[Eadie Burke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Last book in the YA Jess Tennant series. Gilly Poynter, one of Jess’ classmates, is missing. Jess helps to find her but ends up in danger. Casey succeeded with another hard to put down thriller with surprising plot twists and intriguing characters. I enjoyed the entire trilogy! I’m looking forward to the next Maeve Kerrigan book coming out in April and highly recommend both series.

[Debby Hallett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Third in the trilogy of Jess Tennant. It was fine. A YA mystery where Jess tries to help solve a mystery and gets everyone into trouble. Enjoyable.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’d say 3.5/5 stars from me.

I really really enjoyed it but I guessed the ending very early on sadly. I hoped I was wrong.

[Eve Messenger · Rating 4 out of 5]

**I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for review consideration. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.

Self-proclaimed as a “delightfully clever” YA mystery, this fourth book in the Jess Tennant series was a quick read with a lot of heart. I suspect it will be enjoyed most by younger YA readers.

Author Jane Casey is adept at creating a variety of interesting characters. By page five I was drawn in by the way level-headed girl-detective Jess humorously and patronizingly converses with an inebriated rich girl at a party. By the second chapter, the tension was also building well, and the story sustained my interest until the exciting conclusion. There are lots of intriguing clues laid out, and all of them are properly developed. All plot questions are answered.

Jess Tennant is a resourceful protagonist with an excellent memory and a knack for noticing details. These abilities serve her well when a forlorn classmate disappears during winter break and Jess sets out to find out what happened. Jess’ best friend Darcy, good-natured and outrageously attired, is a fun character. The missing girl’s mother is sufficiently creepy. And, yes, there is a love triangle between Jess, bright, athletic, jovial, flirtatious Ryan, and dangerous Will. How come it’s always the dark, dangerous guys that destiny compels the heroine to be with?

Jess’s wacky, kind-hearted relatives are really likable. For pragmatic Jess, who only recently moved in with them, learning to live with them was like “a castaway learning to live with a strange tribe in a distant land where I’d washed ashore.”

Without spending too much time on descriptions, Casey gives a good sense of the setting: historical homes and mansions, narrow streets, cold and damp winter weather, the affluence of many of the town’s residents, and the Orchard Grove development “designed for low-to-middle income workers. . . because the millionaires still needed nurses and teachers nearby.”

FAVORITE LINES
"There was something bleak about the Christmas lights swinging over empty pavements, the decorations sagging in the windows. It was almost Christmas Eve, but the holiday spirit was thin on the ground."

“'If she’s dead, that’s it. End of story. Thanks for sixteen years of hard work, Mum and Dad, but that’s all you get.'”

“'You really have a problem with poking your nose into other people’s business.'
'Other people’s problems are easier to solve than my own.'”

BRITISH-ISMS TRANSLATED FOR YANKS LIKE ME
The story features British characters in an English seaside town, so the dialogue is, suffice to say, not American-English. No problem. Most of the terms are easy to figure out, such as "trainers" (athletic shoes) and "nicked" (stole), but there were a few I had to look up to be sure.

“trotters” = pigs’ feet used as food (when referring to Darcy’s small feet)

“a small snug” = a small, comfortable public room

“came a cropper” = failed at a venture

“wellies” = short for wellingtons, knee-length waterproof boots

“doing a runner” = leaving a place to avoid an unpleasant situation

“carriageway”= each side of a divided highway

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Jane Casey’s Maeve Kerrigan series, so much that I had to read her Jess Tennant series as well. The Jess Tennant books are aimed squarely at the teen market, the third entry even more than the first. (I somehow missed the second.) There’s a lot of angsty teenager stuff about true love and parents who don’t understand.

Jess Tennant is a kind of modern Nancy Drew. After her parents divorced, she moved with her mother from London to the small coastal town where her mother’s twin sister lives. In the first book, How to Fall, Jess investigated the mysterious death of her cousin Freya. In Hide and Seek, she is caught up in intrigue around a high school classmate who disappears the night she is supposed to meet Jess at the library to work on a project. Jess finds her classmate’s diary and reads it before the police. She also flirts with a love triangle although she professes to be in love with her boyfriend Will, now away at college most of the year. His father and her mother were in love as teenagers but married others they didn’t love, which ratchets up the angst factor.

Characterization is Casey’s real strength. I would give this book two stars for its predictable and overwrought plot. I figured out what was up with the missing girl as soon as I read her diary. Jess’s boyfriend’s father Dan is the local police chief, and it’s ridiculous and unbelievable that he allows Jess to go with him as he investigates a missing girl. The climactic scene with Jess, Will, and Dan in danger is also eye-roll worthy.

But Jess is a compelling narrator, and Casey’s writing compelled me to keep reading despite the plot. The English teen scene feels authentic, as does life in a small coastal English town. The tidy and happy ending was satisfying and I enjoyed reading the book. I think the entire series would be a hit with teens who enjoy reading mysteries. I’ll hunt down the entry I missed, Bet Your Life, and read the next book in the series if Casey writes one.

I read a digital galley of Hide and Seek. It is scheduled to be published in August 2015.

[Katya · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my least favorite book of the series so far. Maybe I wasn't spreading the books out enough, but I was sort of getting bored during this one; I felt that I could put it down. It was also the most obvious of the mysteries so far.
I liked that we got a glimpse into Jess' school life, even if most of the story happened over a school break.
I wonder if this was the last book in the series--the ending seemed pretty final, although it didn't rule out the possibility of a sequel.
As with the other books in the series, I enjoyed it, and I think it would be a great book for a teen to read compared to a lot of the YA offerings out there, but it doesn't compare to my love for Jane Casey's Maeve Kerrigan series.

[Kathleen Daly · Rating 3 out of 5]

The previous books in this series didn't feel so young adult as this one does. You only had to read the diary to know Who, What, When, and Where. But I still love our Jane.

[Papirus_ktp · Rating 4 out of 5]

(arkakapakyazısı)

“Ve artık çıkış yolu yoktu.
Jess Tennant’ın yaşadığı kasabaya Noel zamanı gelmiştir. Yılın bu zamanında Jess’ten kocaman bir Noel ağacı süslemesi ve şehir dışından ziyarete gelen erkek arkadaşıyla vakit geçirmesi beklenirken, o kendisini tekrar gizemlerin içinde bulur.

Sıradan bir tarih projesi ile yollarının kesiştiği Gilly Poytner’ın aniden ortadan kayboluşu, Jess’i de olayların içine sürükler. Ardında birkaç dedikodu ve yalnızca bir günlük bırakan Gilly’nin başına ne geldiğine dair kimsenin bir fikri yoktur. Şifrelerle dolu bir günlük, Jess’in sır perdesini aralamasına yetecek mi?

(alıntı)

“Deniz kıyısı boyunca, paltoma ve atkıma sarınarak fırtınazede kordonda yürüdüm. Dışarısı soğuktu ama yağmur yağmıyordu, etrafta birçok Port Sentinel sakini vardı, konseyin henüz değiştirmediği kırık basamakları ve çıkmış kaldırım taşlarını inceliyorlardı. Yanlarından geçerken insanlar bana selam verdi: komşular, okuldan arkadaşlar, mağazanın sürekli müşterileri. Bildiğim ama henüz tanımadığım insanlar gördüm, yabancıları fark ettim, yeni gelmiş olanlar, etrafa şaşkınlık ve memnuniyetle bakanlar ki bunu Port Sentinel’e geldiğim ilk günden hatırlıyorum. Kiliselerin çan kulelerine değecek kadar alçakta olan gri bulutlara rağmen hoştu. Port Sentinel küçüktü, dedikoducuydu ve bazen tehlikeliydi ama artık benim evimdi.”

Jess Port Sentinel’e taşınalı beş ay olmuştu ve yukarıdaki alıntıda da söylendigi gibi, kendini oraya ait hissediyordu. Aslında kasabalılar O’nu, O da kasabayı kabullenmişti tam anlamıyla .

Hayatı, kendince bir düzene oturmuştu. Şöyle ki; Will’le uzak mesafe ilişkisi yaşıyor, annesi babası ile Dan Henderson arasındaki çekişmeyi izliyor, kendisini sevgiyle kucaklayan teyzesi ve ailesiyle yaşamaktan mutlu bir şekilde ev ve okul arasında mekik dokuyordu. Tabii partilere de katılıyordu ara sıra. İşte bu partilerden birinde tanık olduğu ilginç bir olayın başrolü olan Gilly Poytner’in aniden kayboluşu ile yine bir gizemin içine dalmıştı. Polis şefi Dan Henderson’ın bu olaya müdahil olmaması yönündeki tavsiyelerine rağmen, merakı ve Gilly’ye yardım etme isteği nedeniyle uzak duramıyordu hadiseden. Çünkü, Gilly kaybolmadan önce kendisiyle tarih ödevi için partner olmuş ve tam ödevle ilgili çalışmaya başlayacakları zaman ortadan kaybolmuştu. Bir yanda bu olay, diğer yanda Will-Ryan cekişmesinin ortasında kalması, diğer tarafta babası epey zorluyordu Jess’i.

Eskilerin deyimiyle ‘Su akıp yolunu bulacak mıydı?’

Yoksa birazcık müdahale mi gerekiyordu?

Gilly’nin gizemli sevgilisi kimdi?

Gilly, nereye kaybolmuştu?
Will’le ilişkileri ayrılığa doğru mu gidiyordu?

Anne babası ve Henderson’lar arasındaki capraşık ve sorunlu ilişki nasıl sonuçlanacaktı?

Kitap bittiğinde Gilly’nin gizemi de beni az oranda da olsa şaşırtan bir şekilde sona erdi. Bu kısmı oldukça sevdim aslında.

Aile, gençlik, sırlar, aşk ve suç temalarında ilerleyen gizemli küçük kasaba polisiyesi olan Jess Tennant Serisinin son kitabıydı Üçe Kadar Say. Serinin diğer kitaplarının aksine, gizem ve Jess’in aile hayatından eşit oranda bahsedildiği için serinin genelinden bir tık daha aksiyonlu bir kitaptı. Jess ve gereksiz aşk üçgeni ile ailesiyle Will’in ebeveynlerinin dahil olduğu karmaşık ilişkiler sürpriz bir şekilde çözüme ulaşıyor, böylece de, seri boyunca ucu açık bir şekilde duran tüm düğümler çözülüyordu. Genel olarak durgun bir anlatımı olduğu halde, yazarın güzel anlatımını begendiğim için okudugum bu seriyi, üçlemenin en sevdiğim kitabıyla bitirmiş oldum nihayetinde.
Sizler de türü veya yazarı seviyorsanız, aksiyonu az, ufak doz bir gizem içeren bir gençlik polisiyesi okumak istiyorsanız, bu kitaba- seriye şans verebilirsiniz diyor, keyifli okumalar diliyorum herkese.
Kitaplarla kalın.

(alıntı)

“...bir ergen kaybolduğunda bunun sebebi, yüzde doksan dokuz ailelerinden kaçmalarıdır. Onların nedenlerini dinlediğinde, ebeveynlerinin insan kılığındaki canavarlar olduğunu düşünürsün. Ve hemen hemen her zaman da anne ve babaları anlattıkları gibi değillerdir. Çocuklarını aptalca ve anlık şeyler yapmaktan korumak ve onları yönlendirmek için ellerinden gelenin en iyisini yapıyorlardır.”

“Sırların özelliği bu, duvar gibiler. Olanları saklamaya başladığımda, duvarların beni güvende tuttuğunu düşündüm. Sonra kendi hapishanemi inşa ettiğimi fark ettim. Ve artık çıkış yolu yoktu.”

“Kendine güven. Hislerine güven. Çünkü eğer kendine güvenmezsen başkasına nasıl güvenebilirsin?”

[A Reader's Heaven · Rating 3 out of 5]

(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)

Port Sentinel may be a beautiful seaside tourist trap, but in the short time Jess Tennant has lived there, it has seen its fair share of tragedy. Tragedy that somehow Jess keeps getting caught up in.
A schoolgirl from the town goes missing, leaving her diary behind and a lot of unanswered questions. Has she run away from her unhappy home or is there something much more sinister going on? And can Jess find her before it's too late?

*3.5 stars*

This is the third novel in the series of Jess Tennett mystery novels. I have not read the previous two books but I don't think that is a problem as this feels like it can be read as a standalone.

It is clear from the start that a lot of effort has gone into the character of Jess Tennett. From her opening patronising conversation with a rather drunk guy at a party, to her smart mind and determination, Jess is a character who is very easy to like. She is determined, serious, funny and has a fantastic memory. Even though she is only sixteen, her place in this investigation - in fact, the whole story - is totally plausible. Never felt like it was a stretch that the police would allow a teenager to get involved. When she overstepped, she was pulled into line. It felt genuine...

Sadly, the reason this didn't do better for me was that the mystery was a bit weak, simple even. I felt like I knew what was going on for the most part of the story, and the ending wrapped up just a little too neatly for me liking.
The other thing that spoiled this for me was the "love triangle" - and the two boys were the epitome of love triangle interests: one was sporty and flirty, the other was "dangerous"...just so clichéd that I did the complete eyeroll...

Overall, a great MC and a decent enough story for teens. But I am not sure it would be top of the heap if I was asked to suggest a YA mystery for an adult.


Paul
ARH

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5 stars

Well, I did not realize this was the third book in the series, but that didn't really matter in the end. I thought this read fairly well as a standalone. Yes, there were things that hinted at having further explanation in previous books, but overall, I didn't really miss a lot from not reading the first two novels.

I flew through this story. The premise was great and I enjoyed the beginning inciting incident and Jess's subsequent discovery of Gilly's disappearance and the unearthing of her diary. However, after that the story began to fall flat for me. I predicted the culprit early on, and it seemed strange that the mystery took a back seat for the majority of the middle of the book. Instead, the plot delved into Jess's relationship with her family, boyfriend, and a classmate who wanted to be her boyfriend. It was really weird and made the pacing clunky and awkward. Not to mention the ending was lame and boring. Jess and Will uncover Gilly, but it was so anticlimactic and unsatisfying, especially in light of the fact that Gilly wasn't an unwilling hostage. The "climax" was over before it had really begun. And I was left...really disappointed. Also, the resolution dealt with a "big secret" that tied Will and Jess's families together, but it wasn't even surprising. I guess it was supposed to be a bigger deal than it actually was; it just fell so flat. And that was basically the end of the story.

I don't know. It wasn't terrible, but definitely not the best young adult thriller/mystery I've ever read. I wish more time had been spent on the mystery and less on family drama. I signed up for a whodunnit, not immature boys brawling over a girl. Btw, I thought Ryan ended up being a heck of a lot more supportive of Jess than her actual boyfriend was. So....yeah.

[CarolineFromConcord · Rating 3 out of 5]

This YA mystery is a three-star if you're a Young Adult reader, but something less if you're not. It's definitely a cut above Nancy Drew, which I reread recently with a granddaughter, but it has an awful lot about boy-girl relationships and dealing with awful parents.

The young protagonist is Jess Tennant, who, with her mother, is living with relatives at the seaside after her parents' divorce. Jess has a talent for solving mysteries but putting herself in danger while doing it.

In this episode, the mystery is around the disappearance of a high school classmate, Gilly, who never showed up at the library to work with Jess on a research project. When Jess discovers Gilly's hidden diary after getting into her house on a pretext, it poses more questions than it answers.

Jess has to enlist the help of the police chief who hates her, apparently because he doesn't want her dating his son. The action culminates in a ferocious storm -- whatever they have in England that's like a hurricane -- and features heroics that should have been completely unnecessary.

I think teens or preteens would like this, but I preferred a mystery Jane Casey wrote for grownups.

[Victoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book thoroughly. For it being a dollar store book it was a lucky find. I think what I liked most about it was that you didn’t have to have read the first two books to under that characters and their story. I don’t know if I’ll read the first two books after reading the last on this series but I enjoyed every chapter of it.

The chapters were not too long and every chapter had just enough going on in them to keep me reading but not to be too much information to handle at one time. I’m happy to add this book to my collection and I recommend it to anyone who is looking for something to read and are bored.

The mystery of it all especially towards the end kept me reading it til 2 in the morning. It got really intense toward the end and I am satisfied with the ending, so much I feel like even if I don’t read the first two books I’m not missing anything.

[Melyssa Winchester · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this.
Snagged this paperback in a sale bin, not realizing it was 3rd in a series, but after reading it, I don't feel as if I'm missing a whole lot. I wasn't lost at any point with any events that may have taken place before it, though I will admit to wanting to go back and read the others, for pure pleasure.
Jess reminded me a lot of Veronica Mars, at least the premise of the show and the way this book came out. Complete with boy troubles and other teenage angst level issues.
I figured out the suspect very early on, even expected a lot of what happened toward the end, even never reading this author before, but it never deterred me from continuing. I was easily hooked.
Would definitely read this author again.
5 Stars

[G. İlke · Rating 4 out of 5]

İlk bölümlerde hikâyeye bir türlü odaklanamasam da biraz ilerleyip hikâyeye dalınca saatler içinde sonunu gördüğün kitaplardan biri. Jess Tennant serisinin üçüncü kitabı olan Üçe Kadar Say, Jess'in üzerine vazife olmayan işlere burnunu sokmasıyla başlıyor -yine- ve olayı çözümlemesiyle de bitiyor. Kitabın orijinal ismi "Hide and Seek" ama "Saklambaç" olarak çevirmek varken konuyla alakasız bir şekilde "Üçe Kadar Say" olarak çevirmeleri, bana çok manasız geldi. Bu arada yayınevinin özensizliği hakkında konuşmama gerek var mı bilmiyorum, onlarca yazım hatası vardı yine. O kitabı okuyan binlerce kişiye saygı göstermek adına, son okuma yaptıktan sonra basılsa şu kitaplar, ne kadar iyi olmayacak mı? =)

[Teresa Mills-Clark · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well, am I ever glad this was NOT the first Jane Casey book I'd read because I enjoy the Maeve Kerrigan series and I would not have started it, otherwise.

The dialogue is reminiscent of something from the 50's era. Boring. The characters are cardboard cutouts, at best. And, I really dislike how the protagonists have similarities to the Maeve series which I like. I feel those characters have been tainted. Damn!

[Suzan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would recommend this series to those who like YA mysteries. Jane Casey has a wonderful way of writing about what went through my mind as a young adult. The stories are not complex or written from an adult perspective. They are an easy read and it is enjoyable to watch the characters develop into who they will become as adults. This is book 3 in the series and could easily be a stand-alone book.

[Linda Hamonou · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is probably the best book in the series. Jess has learned a few things about not to put herself in danger, even if she had to be told off quite a few times for that.
The story was quite straight forward with some nice clue so you can guess who the guilty party is, though there is quite a surprise too in the main and secondary mystery.

[Andrea Youngs · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book wasn’t the greatest IMO. Perhaps if I had read the series I would have liked it more. It seemed a little far fetched that the cops would let a 16 year old girl tag a long on investigations and then she ends up solving the crime. Again, maybe if I had read the previous books I would have liked it more!

[skyla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay read, though it was a bit predictable. Not recommended to be read as a standalone (as I did), but definitely recommended for those who enjoy a good Nancy Drew type novel, as well as one where there are two boys involved.

[Lisa ★ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jess makes a lot of assumptions. It's annoying, and it's easy to guess when she's wrong.

I loved this series when I first read it many years ago. Might have given it (and the two previous books) 5-⭐ but now I'm not so sure.