*** Review*** Killing Rachel (The Murder Notebooks #2) by Anne Cassidy

On the Back of the Book*

*Or what I found on Goodreads in this case. 

Rose's mother and Joshua's father have disappeared. Police inquiries have gone nowhere and the case, it seems, is closed: Rose and Joshua have been told that the police believe their parents are dead. But Rose and Joshua still hold out hope that they are alive. Joshua is determined to follow up his own inquiries, which includes working out the meaning of the cryptic notebooks - the murder notebooks - they have discovered. Then Rose is distracted by odd, desperate messages she receives from Rachel, a former best friend from her school, followed by the terrible news that Rachel is dead. But perhaps Rachel's death will provide one more piece of the puzzle about what has happened to Rose and Joshua's parents . . .

A taut and pacy thriller in The Murder Notebooks series, from an acclaimed writer for teens.

Pre Read Thoughts

I’m choosing this because:

I requested this book from NetGalley not realising that it was actually book two in a series. So when I was accepted I quickly bought book 1 and started reading. If you read my review of ‘Dead Time’ you’ll know that I was very on the fence with and that makes me very apprehensive heading into this. I’ve decided to cast my doubts aside though and read it with no expectations because I want to delve further into the mystery of Brendan and Kathy’s disappearance.

Judging a book by its cover:

The cover is similar to ‘Dead Time’, which is a good thing because I liked that cover. It has the same font and gritty feel that made the first cover appeal to me so much. The image is of a wooden walkway type thing and I’m really wondering how that fits in with the story. I will say that as much as I love this cover it was actually the title that caught my attention. I mean ‘Killing Rachel’ It sounds so awesome!

Pricing the (possible) awesomeness:

This book hasn’t been released as I write this review but you can pre-order on Amazon for £5.59 for the paperback or £5.31 for the Kindle edition. As I’ve stated I received a free copy from NetGalley for reviewing purposes so let’s get this show on the road!

Post Read Thoughts

Okay, you remember the issues I had with ‘Dead Time’? The ones that I assumed were first book jitters as Anne Cassidy figured out the pace of her book and how the series arc was going to fit over the course of the books? Well it turns out, I was wrong. They’re still there, this story wasn’t engaging either. As I was reading I still felt distanced, and not in a way I like either. I also felt like nothing really happened in the search for Brendan and Kathy until the final 20% of the story. It bothered me that the point of the series was cast aside in favour of a one book plot. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the mystery surrounding Rachel but I feel that it actually took the focus of the book and there was other, more interesting, stuff going on with Joshua’s hunt that I’d rather have read. What Rose took away from the whole thing could have been condensed into a smaller part of the story and we could’ve enjoyed Joshua’s detective mission.

The main characters haven’t improved in this book. If anything I like them even less! The only character I really liked in ‘Dead Time’ was Skeggsie and he barely makes an appearance in ‘Killing Rachel’

Rose – She’s shut herself off from the world and then has the cheek to complain when people call her “offish”. Numerous times in this book (and the previous one) people have tried to talk to her and she’s just brushed them off. I get that she lost her mum but we’ve all got problems! She makes it so hard to be liked and that makes being with her for the duration of the book awkward. It’s like being stuck in a lift with your arch enemy.

Joshua – He isn’t any better in this book. I find him to be so selfish. It feels like Anne Cassidy wants us to believe that Joshua is intensely focused on finding his dad but for me it’s an excuse for the fact that he doesn’t care about anyone around him. Rose’s ex best friend has been found dead and he barely seems to register how she feels. He just expects her to automatically follow him and agree with everything he does.

Overall I’m pretty unimpressed. Things that I’d let slide in ‘Dead Time’ are still there and in some cases are worse. The detail is so inconsistent, for example we’re told the name of Rose’s blog (Morpho) every time it’s mentioned (yea, I got it the first 100 times) but when it comes to other things it’s lacking. An example of this is bands, Anne Cassidy tends to write “A band Rose liked” or “A band Rose didn’t like”. I mean I don’t go “I’m listening to a band I like” I say “I’m listening to Fall Out Boy.” (Although it’s Green Day at the moment, I’m going off topic again.) It’s details like this that add character depth. I want to know what Rose is listening to! I do like how easy the books are to read though and, even though it wasn’t a part of the bigger picture, the mystery of Rachel Bliss, but unfortunately not much else.

My Rating

2 Stars – This just wasn’t good enough for three stars. There’s too much that I didn’t like or that irritated me. The premise of the series is solid (and I’ll probably see it through to the end) but I’m wondering if this would’ve have been a better story if it had been a standalone book. This wasn’t for I’m afraid and that makes me sad.

*** Review*** Dead Time (The Murder Notebooks #1) by Anne Cassidy

On the Back of the Book

Rose and Joshua first met when Joshua and his dad came to live with Rose and her mum. Then their world turns upside down when their mother and father go out for dinner one evening and never return. With police inquiries going nowhere, Rose is dispatched to live with her chilly, unfriendly grandmother and Joshua is sent to live with his uncle. Then Joshua comes to London to study and Rose is witness to not one, but two murders. Why is this happening to Rose? Can it be anything to do with the investigations Joshua has been doing into the disappearance of their parents? A taut and pacy thriller that is the start of a stylish new series from an acclaimed writer for teens.

Pre Read Thoughts

I’m choosing this because:

I bought this specifically because I got book 2 for review off NetGalley (I didn’t know it was book 2 okay?) Saying that, this is definitely the kind of book that I’d pick up anyway if I’d seen it in the shop or on Amazon.  I love crime books, I steal borrow them off my mum and so a YA one is something I’d jump at. I don’t really see many of them .I used to read some of Anne Cassidy’s books from the 90s so I’m familiar with her but I can’t remember what her writing was like. I remember enjoying the books though so I’m excited to read this.

Judging a book by its cover:

The cover is quite gritty actually. I’d been looking at the font and thinking “pretty!” like I normally do and then I noticed that the picture is some train tracks. That intrigues me. Normally I pick up books with pretty girls on the cover. I do like it though; I don’t get how it ties into the book from the synopsis adding to the intrigue.  I feel that this is a cover that would definitely get my attention, purely because it’s so different to a lot of other book covers in the YA category.

Pricing the (possible) awesomeness:

I bought the Kindle version of the book (obviously, I’m not feeding Spencer. He’s big enough thank you very much!) which was £1.98. There’s also a paperback version for £5.24. I’m not being funny but that’s quite a big difference so if I were you I’d go ebook on this one!

Post Read Thoughts

I’m in two minds about this to be honest. It was a quick, easy read but I never really felt engaged with the story. This could be because this story felt like it was laying the foundations of the rest of the series. There are 2 stories in this one. There’s the story arc of the disappearance of Rose’s mum and Joshua’s dad and then there’s the one book story which is the action. I did enjoy the writing, it kept me reading without me having to force myself to sit there and read. I also loved the murder aspects because I got to play detective although I appear to be better at TV crimes. There was a nice twist at the end of the book and I’m hoping it leads somewhere in ‘Killing Rachel’.

Rose – She’s a difficult character to analyse because of the way the book’s written but I feel she has this wall and that makes it so hard to like her. I do understand some aspects of her character though and relating to a character makes it easier to read a book. She’s developing a crush on her “stepbrother” and I don’t think that’s needed. I’d much prefer if they were just amateur sleuth types.

Joshua – He’s Rose’s mum’s boyfriend’s son. Confused yet? I know, I was too. Which is probably why he’s referred to as Rose’s stepbrother. Maybe I should’ve said that. Anyway off topic. I thought he was very self centred and didn’t really care about what Rose was going through.

Skeggsie – Skeggsie is weird but nice. I actually think I liked him best. I’d have liked to see more of him because he’s a bit of a geek and a hacker and he could really add to the hunt for Brendan and Kathy. You don’t really get to know much about him but I feel like he might have a soft spot for Rose.

Overall this is a good start to a four part story even though it doesn’t really sell you on it. I feel like it’ll improve as the characters get closer to their goal of finding Rose’s mum and Joshua’s dad. This book was more about setting things in motion and that makes me wonder if people will actually pay attention to ‘Killing Rachel’.

My Rating

3 Stars – this is good but nowhere near excellent. An easy read that stands out in the YA category because I don’t think there are a huge amount of YA crime/thrillers. If there are they don’t sell them in my town! If you’re a fan of thrillers you might want to check this out, but I’m holding out until I’m further in the series.