Monday 26 December 2011

REVIEW: Deadly Cool (Deadly Cool #1) by Gemma Halliday


 
Author: Gemma Halliday
Series: Deadly Cool
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pages: 320
Amazon: Deadly Cool

Synopsis. (Goodreads)

Hartley Grace Featherstone is having a very bad day. First she finds out that her boyfriend is cheating on her with the president of the Herbert Hoover High School Chastity Club. Then he's pegged as the #1 suspect in a murder. And if that weren't enough, now he's depending on Hartley to clear his name. Seriously? Not cool.

But as much as Hartley wouldn't mind seeing him squirm, she knows he's innocent, and she's the only one who can help him. Along with her best friend, Sam, and the school's resident Bad Boy, Chase, Hartley starts investigating on her own. But as the dead bodies begin to pile up, the mystery deepens, the suspects multiply, and Hartley begins to fear that she may be the killer's next victim.

REVIEW: 4 out of 5 stars

I honestly didn’t know what to expect from Deadly Cool but was pleasantly surprised, it was a fun, quick and easy read with an outcome I certainly didn’t expect.

Hartley Grace Featherstone has found a condom wrapper in her boyfriend Josh DuPont’s locker, knowing it is definitely not her he is doing the deed with she seeks him out to confront him but he is avoiding her so she turns up on his doorstep but with no answer breaks in only to find the girl he cheated with, the president of the Herbert Hoover High School Chastity Club, Courtney Cline in his closet; the only problem is she is dead.

The police arrive to investigate and Josh becomes the prime suspect in Courtney’s murder, especially since he has disappeared but Hartley doubts he could be the culprit and sets out to prove his innocence with the help of her best friend Sam and the Editor of the school paper, bad boy Chase Erikson. As their investigation progresses another body shows up and it appears the killer may be targeting the color guard cheerleaders as well as Hartley for doing her own investigating.

Chase was a fantastic male lead, he was all about the hot story whilst Hartley was trying to clear Josh’s name, I loved the way they worked together despite his reputation; they made a great team and I am glad that as the story progressed so too did their trust for each other, I hope to see a Hartley/Chase hook-up in the sequel.

I literally devoured this book in one sitting; I loved each of the characters, all were fleshed out beautifully – the humor between Hartley and her best friend Sam was entertaining and had me giggling on numerous occasions and I actually enjoyed the banter she had with police officer Raley and the OTT behavior of her mother.

The only thing that had me stumped was the reasoning behind Hartley wanting to help Josh! I would have turned him in for his betrayal and his poor excuse for cheating but she seemed to take it better than I would.

I loved the murder, mystery plot and Ms Halliday’s writing was fantastic, I am so eager to get hold of the next book in the series, Social Suicide.

A fun, humorous, quick and enjoyable read.

5 comments:

  1. I felt the exact same way! I went into this book not knowing what to expect, but I ended up absolutely ADORING it -- and Hartley and Chase and almost everything about it! I've never read a mystery that was this fun before, and I can't wait to read the sequel either! :)

    Awesome review, Sharon! We'll definitely be waiting for the second book together! ;)

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  2. oh this series looks good..great review I will ck it out!

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  3. Awesome review! This book sounds very intriguing. I love the murder mystery plot! I don't think I would help someone who was cheating on me- but maybe Hartley is a better person than I am! Thanks for sharing this book. I have added it to my list!

    ~Jess
    http://thesecretdmsfilesoffairdaymorrow.blogspot.com/

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  4. It was such a fun read! thank-you so much for stopping by. Have a wonderful NY xx

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  5. Great review, Sharon! I need to read this one, especially now. It definitely seems like a book I'll enjoy!

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