Perfect Score

Hunt a Killer

by A.M. Ellis, Angelica Monai

It’s time to HUNT A KILLER in this YA mystery series based on the bestselling subscription game!

In the world of Hunt A Killer, players help PI Michelle Gray solve murders through a variety of games using clues from autopsy reports to police records, and more.

Now, Hunt A Killer is making the leap to the page in this YA mystery series! Follow an original character as she investigates a brand-new case. Can she solve the crime before the killer strikes again?

Genres: Mystery, Young Adult, Thriller, Audiobook, Mystery Thriller, Teen, LGBT

320 pages, Paperback

Published May 17, 2022

About the author

Also see Angelica Monai

Reviews

[Ms. Woc Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jolene attends a private school in Chicago. She's into solving mysteries which is encouraged by her favorite teacher Mr. Medina. One day she witnesses Mr. Medina being pushed to his death in front of a train. But she doesn't actually get to see the murderer's face. Jo and her friends are shooken up and she's determined to find the person who did it. While investigating they uncover a scandal that Mr. Medina was ready to blow the whistle on.

It was an easy to follow mystery reminiscent of books of my childhood. I've never played the Hunt a Killer Game but I think teens who are interested in mystery will enjoy this.

Now I did listen to the audiobook and I wasn't a fan of the narrator. The accent was a little iffy for me and at times the narration was flat. The book actually wasn't super long but it felt longer because of the way it was read.

3.5

[˗ˏˋ Taryn ˎˊ˗ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a good book. I got through it so quickly because the suspense and mystery was amazing. This book was written so well, and it will keep you on the edge of your seat the whole time. It hurt me when I had to put the book down. If you like mystery and suspense, I definitely recommend this book.

[NewsomeThings · Rating 2 out of 5]

Most of this just felt like an ad or a cheesy fanfic

[Lauren Stoolfire · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perfect Score (Hunt A Killer #1) by A.M. Ellis is a solid YA Mystery Thriller for those interested in true crime. The mystery is intriguing, but I wasn't as invested in the lead character as I felt like I should have been.

[Akeila Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I gave this a 4.5/5 stars ! It was really good and it got me hooked very early on it was a pretty easy read.

Sophie is best friends with Sabrina and Frankie. She decides to skip class one day but unit ately witness one of her long time teachers and school counselor get killed. She is convinced he was pushed in front of the train. When she goes to give her statement the officer writes nothing because that that time, although Sophia doesn’t t know, the case was already closed. Together her Frank’s don Sabrina decide they are taking on this case. Through the book she uncovers this HUGEEEEE multi-year cheating scandal. She talked with Julius and uncovers that he was the student taking SAT tests for other student to be accepted into Ivy League schools, include Alderman Corben’s son Tre who was at Yale. Untimely Julius was taking these test to help his sister. His mom got sick, his dad moved on to another family’s and after his mother died he needed money to being his sisters guardian, that is why he did it. Mr Medina figured out Julius was in on it (Mr Medina was like a father figure to Julius) and he wanted to help him get out of it. They were on there way to the station to turn in all that Mr Medina had. Julius was on the train that hit him, it was Madison Ryan that pushed him. Alderman Corben was actually is a childhood friend of Mrs. Medina and helped to rush this case closed. The lead on this case was Chef John Ryan. his daughter… ding dong ding Madoson Ryan tried get Sophia to back off the case, even pushed her down a flight of stairs. Ultimately Sophia was kids trapped and almost killed my Alderman Corben but Reya, Sophia’s aunt, heard but was goin on because Sophia was smart and sent her her location and called her without talking to her. she heard everything that Alderman did. In the end Sophia, Sabrina and Frankie found justice for Mr Medina and got Chief and Alderman arrested, the dean got fired and many people on the board resigned when the scandal was uncovered and everyone that got accepted to Ivy Leagues had there acceptance revoked.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved that there were two crimes being solved at the same time. I guessed who the murderer was from the beginning, since it was so obvious, but I did enjoy that there were a lot of twists and red herrings to cast doubt. I didn’t like Jolene’s mom that much, but, I did like her more as the book progressed. It was a quick whodunnit read.

[Joe Holman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is really well done. I would have given it a 5 but one character did something out of character and that down grades it for me. It is a who done it and there is a subtle clue that allows you to solve it but you have to be really on your toes to pick up on it.

[Carrie Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

You are NOT going to want to miss this book!!!

[Lakshya Prabhu · Rating 5 out of 5]

AMAZING

[Sam · Rating 2 out of 5]

This girl really loves her water with crushed ice.

[K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trigger warnings: murder, death of a mentor, racism, classism, abandonment, death of a parent (in the past, side character)

3.5 stars

I knew nothing about Hunt A Killer going into this, and I'm not gonna lie, I'm INTRIGUED to try one of their murder mystery box set things now because this was pretty fun and I really liked the documents etc that were included in the course of this story.

It did feel a TAD like it was trying to hit all possible diversity marks in the course of the story, and there were definitely a few aspects of the way the mystery played out that had me rolling my eyes. But it was a lot more compelling and intriguing than I anticipated, so we'll call it a win overall.

[🦋 Chrissy 🦋 · Rating 4 out of 5]

SO I knew who the killer was from the beginning! it was really obvious. The author tried to throw you off towards the middle of the book with a new suspect. that maybe could of done it but tied that person to the actual killer. Overall it was a really good book.

[Sophie · Rating 3 out of 5]

2 1/2

[evie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75

[Jamii · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun little YA Mystery. I enjoyed both the main murder mystery and the cold case the trio of friends work on. I liked the main characters relationships with several of the other character, it’s fun to watch that develop. Though I do think the progression of her personal relationship with her mother was a bit unrealistic, I guess the author wanted to tie everything up by the end but I really think we could have gone with out this plot line, there were other parts that were more necessary and interesting to the story. I was pleasantly surprised with how the book ended up. It wasn’t exactly as I expected it would go and that’s always fun. Definitely an easy and fun little read.

[K]

It's a privilege and an honour to read this Chicago-based murder mystery before it's release date. Full of ciphers, clues, hacking and red herrings, our heroine must race against time to discover who the murderer is before they strike again, in a gripping, exciting and heartfelt debut by the incredibly talented Angelica Monai.

[Dee williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Its been such a long time since I read a book
AND THIS WAS A BOOKFAIR BOOK
+1 star for HuntAKiller throwing down the literature gauntlet
-2 stars for abiguous races in the story (is the main character mixed?? how did it take me until page 177 to realize the love interests are black?) and the fact that it made me cry

[Avid Reader and Geek Girl · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 stars, I really enjoyed this one! The narrator was excellent. I liked the rep,(POC, demi, lesbian/queer) it was a fun story, I can see how some would have seen who the killer was, but I wrote them off.

[G · Rating 4 out of 5]

*3.75

[Ana Toledano · Rating 1 out of 5]

Seemed like a pretentious anime abt a highschool or smth

[Nikki · Rating 1 out of 5]

Felt like it was trying too hard. I read about 70 pages and skipped to the ending, which turned out predictable. We were told over and over how brilliant Jolene is, but it wasn't convincing. Events didn't play out in a realistic manner. Dialogue was cheesy.

I was also very confused how both her parents were lawyers yet they couldn't afford to get out of South Chicago.

They kept mentioning Michelle Gray (who I had read was a character in Hunt A Killer which I know nothing about) but the mentions of her felt forced. Like product endorsements in a movie or tv show that are just awkward.

Also gets plenty of woke points, ugh...very early on one character outs herself as bisexual and another is gay. Puh-lease. Why does everything nowadays have to be about alternate sexual orientations? Its like nobody is even original, they all write from a mandatory checklist of woke ideologies.

[Dani Cushman, First of her name, Mother of Westies · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5-3.75 What a fun YA true crime mystery. From the creators of the Hunt A Killer subscription boxes comes this really great YA mystery. It was well written with a good plot. There are parts that are obviously a bit far fetched and the characters are forgettable but the story line and mystery were good. It kept me interested and I read it basically in a day, interrupted by sleep alone. LOL! I think this will be a great book to add to our stacks for the younger mystery readers. They will really enjoy this one. I look forward to reading more and quite possibly checking out the subscription box.

[Kayla Bello · Rating 4 out of 5]

I honestly didn’t expect much because I think I’ve outgrown stories set in high school. HOWEVER, this is definitely the exception. I have this thing where it takes me forever to read a book because I hate starting books. I gave this one a try, and it was such an easy read that I went through half the book in one night. Loved the mystery aspect and how natural Jolene’s relationships with her loved ones felt. Including the dynamic with her mom and her mommy issues. I gotta admit that the parts where she grieved were raw and beautiful but I didn’t necessarily feel connected to them per se. It didn’t tug at my heart strings. Overall, a good book to get out of a book funk.

[Essey Of Da Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an okay read. In all honesty, I knew exactly who did it when they had been introduced. There weren't a bunch of twists, but the author really tried. The author didn't really try to subtly switch suspicion. The characters were okay. It seemed a bit like the author was trying to hard to get everybody repped in the book. To me, it just seemed the author tried a little too hard. The mystery, at least for me, wasn't at all mysterious. I knew exactly who had done it. Most of the book, for me, was more spent on the motive, which became apparent pretty quickly. This book could have been a lot better with more intrigue, but it wasn't bad.

[Colin Birkmeier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just like any good murder story, this one comes with lots of action, suspense, and racing thoughts as the reader tries to keep up with the fast pace of the novel. What made this particular story stand out to me was the diversity and variety of the characters. Ellis created a great read with people of different backgrounds, ethnicities, and wonderful personalities. So if you like murder, and are sick of reading about what seems like the same characters copied and pasted in different stories, this is the book for you.

[Samantha Meeks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jolene Kelly and her friends Sabrina and Frankie like solving cold cases together - until it gets personal. Jo witnessed her guidance counselor and mentor, Mr. Medina, tragically fall in front of a moving train. She has to work together with her friends, while staying out of the way of public officials, to get the case solved and find Mr. Medina's killer. I really enjoyed the twists and turns of the investigation. Just when they think they have it solved, another wrench gets thrown in. Love the ending too, solid read!

[Shelby (bookshelfworthy)]

DNF’d I don’t like the mash up of the game with the book. I personally want one or the other. I found the writing to be dry and too much telling rather than showing. Leading me along like a bad crime novel. This could be good for mystery and thriller newbies but would advise to proceed with caution for genre vets.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the main plot. Elite high school student who comes from nothing solving cold cases and the murder of her beloved councilor. This book conveys so many emotions of the struggle to lose someone you love without justification. Also, this book really tells you how corrupt politicians are. The only bar thing about this book was that the ending was expected and overused in a lot of other books

[Audrey! · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book over the span of multiple months. Like 6 months probably. It was a good book, but I probably would’ve given it a higher rating if I read it in a shorter amount of time. It was sort of all over the place but I didn’t mind. The end felt a little rushed but it was overall good. I want Jo and Julius to get together though LMAOOO 😭😭

[Vicki · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was terrible. As the first book in a series, I would have like to see more character development. I felt like I didn’t connect with any of the characters because their backstories were not explained enough. This book had potential, but unfortunately fell short.