The first book, Cheerleading Can Be Murder, was a decent if unremarkable throwback to 90s teen thrillers, but this second entry really amps things up, and as a result, is considerably more entertaining! The focus shifts to Amanda Loxx, preparing for another round of cheerleading tryouts. This time, the tryouts are thrown off course by the murder of Genevieve McDermott from the first book. And that's not the end of it - the cheerleaders are once again the targets, this time of a killer!
Fast-paced, a bit silly, but highly enjoyable. Dakota from the first book takes a secondary role, and has somehow become even more immature. But there are some shades of complexity when it comes to Amanda. As we know from the previous book, her father was a criminal who killed several people during a bank robbery, and her mother was a junkie. As her mother comes back into her life, she must learn forgiveness, in regards to both her parents. It did add an extra dimension to the story.
Most of all, it's just a fun, quick read. While the first book was all cheerleading, cheerleading, cheerleading, this one remembered it was supposed to be a thriller too and threw in some suspense and plot twists too. I'm off to read the next one!