Blog Tour - You'll Be the Death of Me

Title: You'll Be the Death of Me (Goodreads)

Publisher: Penguin

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Contemporary, Crime

Author: Karen M. McManus

Age Group: YA

Source: Netgalley

I would truly like to thank TheWriteReads for asking me to be a part of this book tour. I am also very grateful to Penguin for providing me with a Netgalley link to this book. Lastly and most importantly the biggest thank you goes to Karen M. McManus for writing such an exciting book!

Review

If you are looking for a fun, quick and snappy read than look no further than You'll Be the Death of Me! This is my first time reading a book by McManus and I can see why she has become a popular fast-selling author. Her books are full of surprises and energy, they are very quick reads and accessible to all readers. I truly enjoyed the fast pace of You'll Be the Death of Me and the suspense of the murder mystery.

However, what this book lacked for me was complex characters and a fully engaging plot. Perhaps it is possible to argue that the murder mystery genre itself does not stereotypically allow for complex characters to develop and I am being unfair to the author and her book, in that case I will happily put my hands up and admit I am not reading the right genre. In relation to the plot, yes it moves quickly, but to me it did not feel like a lot developed in the middle of the book which would have allowed an exciting build up to the conclusion.

There was a lot a teen angst and perhaps this took centre stage instead of trying to resolve the murder mystery. Most of Ivy’s and Mateo’s narrative near the end of the novel shifted away from the murder focus and onto their unresolved teenage romantic feelings and it just didn’t fit in with the overall plot for me. Cal unfortunately becomes the desperate third wheel and struggles to get the narrative back on track towards finding out who the killer was. Their overall friendship then became unbalanced and off kilter which made me struggle with the final chapters of the book.

In the end, I did enjoy this book mainly because it was so easy and quick to read but overall I struggled with the lack of character development and midway detour through teenage love town. That being said, if you enjoy the murder mystery genre and don’t mind easy going characters than You'll Be the Death of Me is worth a read for you.

Synopsis

When three old friends re-live an epic ditch day, it goes horribly-and deadly-wrong.

Ivy, Mateo, and Cal used to be close. Back in middle school they were best friends. So, when Cal pulls into campus late for class, and runs into Ivy and Mateo, it seems like the perfect opportunity to turn a bad day around. They'll ditch school and go into the city. Just the three of them, like old times. Why did they stop hanging out, anyway?

As soon as they pull out of the parking lot Cal knows why. Ivy's already freaking out about missing class, and heartthrob Mateo is asleep in the backseat, too cool to even pretend like he wants to be there. The truth is they have nothing in common anymore.

At least they don't until they run into the fourth student ditching school that day. Brian "Boney" Mahoney is supposed to be accepting his newly won office of class president. Which is why Ivy follows him into an empty building, only to walk into the middle of a murder scene. Cal, Ivy, and Mateo all know the person lying on the ground of that building, and now they need to come clean. They're all hiding something. And maybe their chance reconnection wasn't by chance after all.

Key Quotes

'I haven't been in a fight in years, but its like riding a bike, I guess - you don't forget how.'

"You know, you don't have to do everything on your own." "What?" My eyes are following hers, and my ears need a second to catch up. "You can ask people for help. It's not a sign of weakness."

"It's pretty crap security to have one key for everything," I say. "Well this is Carlton." Ivy steps through the doorway, and i follow. "Nothing bad is ever supposed to happen here, right?"

Similar Reads

Lies Like Wildfire, Killer Content, A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, One of Us Is Lying, The Inheritance Games, S.T.A.G.S