(3.5 Stars) "Kiss of Death" is an interesting little tale about a teen, Lexi Hunter who returns with her mother to Briar Creek to attend the funeral of her cousin, Austin. The rumor is Austin was killed by some sort of animal attack; but, Lexi begins to grow suspicious. While investigating, Lexi's mother dies from E-Coli present in beef she ate during a dinner with the town mayor. However, Lexi's mother was vegetarian.
Since her mother's death, Lexi has been forced to live with her aunt and uncle, who are acting very strangely. They refuse to allow her to have a memorial for her mother, they will not allow her to see her neighbor, Gabe down the street, and they insist she dates her cousin's best friend, Dan. Although she is furious, complies with some their demands in order to get out of the house and obtain some freedom.
Then, one evening, Dan refuses to accept 'no' from Lexi. Before, he can continue his unwanted advances, Gabe comes to her rescue and takes her away. I enjoyed the intrigue and mystique; but quickly grew tired of all of the boys swarming around Lexi and her inability to understand who she wanted to go out with. Next, the author's mention of 'Twilight' was totally cheesy and unnecessary. Finally, I truly hated the abrupt way in which the story ended. Don't get me wrong, I am not one of these readers who do not like cliffhangers. However, when you end a book at least make a comment at the end referring to the next book in the series or a moment like the mystery will continue.....
Overall, the book was pretty good and I will be continuing on with the series. I am hoping that some of my concerns i.e. all of the boy drama/ lust will have some reasonable explanation in future installments.