Summary
Andrea Faraday seems to have it all. She is successful and seemingly well-liked by teachers and students at her exclusive private school, she lives in a mansion filled with fine art in a posh neighborhood, and is the daughter of successful, high-society parents.
But all is not as it seems. Drea's family is not nearly as good and perfect as the rest of the world perceives them to be, and this deception eats at Drea and causes her to act out, though her brother Damon is luckily able to keep her out of trouble. One day her parents leave on an art-buying trip in Europe, and don't return, with the occasional brief, cryptic text as their only contact.
Drea begins to fear that her parents are in trouble and that it is somehow connected to a major theft the year before, and two juvenile delinquents that keep crossing her path. Drea begins to connect the dots, and finds herself developing some unexpected allies who help her with her plan to set things right.
My Thoughts
This story starts out well, drawing the reader in as the surprising truth is revealed about the Faraday family, then the intrigue begins to deepen. The story moves along fairly well at first, then starts to seem a little slow. It's like most of the book is an introduction, building up to a story that never fully develops, and then all of a sudden all the action takes place and it's over, yet much is unresolved. I found that aspect very unsatisfying as a reader.
This would have been a great book if it had moved along a little faster in the middle, then built a little more detail and suspense into the ending. The ending wasn't even a real ending, as much was left unresolved, which leads me to believe the story is going to continue in a series, but I could not confirm this. If you don't like rushed endings without real resolution, I would not recommend this book, at least for now. Once the whole series has been published (assuming it is going to be a series) so that the whole story can be read from start to finish in it's entirety, it might be a worthwhile read.
There were things about the story I did like, the developing romance between Drea and Xavier, as well as how Drea and Jason began to trust each other and start building a friendship. It would be interesting to she if she and Gigi would ever really become friends if the story does continue in another book. I would possibly suggest this to a tween or teen interested in mystery and intrigue or crime drama, with the caveat that the ending is a little weak and unsatisfying. One big plus for this book is that it does have multi-cultural characters, though they aren't always portrayed in the most positive light.
Other Books By This Author
Kimberly Reid is also the author of the YA series The Langdon Prep Mysteries, and is currently working on the YA thriller Pretty Boy Must Die. Ms. Reid is the daughter of a cop, who was always intrigued by her mother's cases, and often writes about juvenile
delinquent characters who then use their criminal skills for good.
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