The Girl in the Picture

While YA Murder Mysteries aren’t my FAVOURITE genre (I’m a fantasy girl all the way) there are a few of them that catch my intrigue, and The Girl In The Picture was certainly one of them! If I was making a list of all the things this book would need to be a good one it HAD it: 1. The Private Boarding School 2. The Press 3. The Goody Two Shoes Girl Who Can’t Remember/ turns out to have a lot of secrets 4. The Politics 5. The Mean Girl 6. The WHO DID IT FACTOR And all these elements were functioning together REALLY WELL, until, suddenly, there was the victim’s SPIRIT involved. For me to take a murder mystery seriously, it needs to be all real elements, but Chace Porter’s Spirit guiding the two girls in his (past) life in an attempt to find his killer was STRANGE. It ruined this good murder mystery, turning it into a murder- paranormal genre. And it just… Didn’t fit. While the presence of a spirit certainly made things less believable, there still were a lot of things I DID like about the book, including the format it was written in. The book switches from one of the girls, Nicole Morgan, a violin prodigy, in the present on the very day that Chace’s body is discovered to Lana Riveria, a Congresswoman’s daughter in the past as she begins her romantic involvement with Chace and her friendship with Nicole. Both girls had strong, unique voices, their personalities and fears well heard from their view points. While I didn’t like Chace too much, the girls were a good make-up for him. All in all, The Girl In The Picture is a book DEFINITELY worth a read, but just be prepared for the Spirit of the Dead Guy! 3 stars.

The Girl in the Picture starts off with the event itself, the murder and then from a dual narrative, we get the story before and after. The story is of three new friends, and their love triangle. Lana and Chase are children of Congressmen, and naturally they gravitate towards each other because of their shared lifestyles. Nicole is a violin prodigy who becomes Lana's roommate. Chase is however more interested in Nicole and this spurs Lana's jealousy. Now, in the aftermath of his murder, and the fact that Nicole is outed as his secret girlfriend, fingers start pointing towards her. I don't know about you, but most crime procedural shows have taught me that the first suspect they look towards is the one being cheated on. But then again, Lana is the daughter of an influential Congresswoman, so her name is kept out of suspicion. Worse is the fact that the events of that night of murder are blurred thanks to the overpowering effect of mixed drinks, as well as a prior accident that Nicole faced, making it very convenient for the plot. Yes, I am being a bit snarky, but that is because the book didn't offer anything new. I wasn't surprised for the most part, and the ghost angle felt like it was there to deliver a dash of romance. The writing was good, but when you have a story that doesn't really hook you in, it doesn't really shine, you know? I was hoping for a complex story, something that made you seek out clues and subtext, but I was disappointed. An average read, for me.

OK so the killer is somone in the back round pay attention to all the character even the little ones remember its not the big character you always hear about