Crossing Over: Mysteries With Shocking Endings

It has been a few month's since my last edition of Crossing Over so I think it's about time for me to do another one. If you're not familiar with Crossing Over it's a feature that stemmed from my desire to recommend an adult book with crossover appeal based on a YA or sometimes Middle Grade book that are similar. It's basically an if you liked, then try but for crossover books. It runs once a month here and I pick the books based on the theme of what I'm reading. So because this is Mystery month I decided to go with two books that are pretty fantastic and fit the theme.

Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas
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Dangerous Girls is a fantastic YA Mystery that will absolutely mess with your head and have you questioning everything and everyone. It is about a young woman who is accused of murdering her best friend while they were on spring break and she has to try and figure out who did it so that she can avoid conviction. It is full of complex characters that are rather on the creepy side and kept me guessing throughout the entire book and is one of the best mysteries I have read with something that is solvable but complex, and an ending that will leave you reeling and totally blow your mind. It's kind of dark at times and almost feels like a True Crime kind of story with a lot of focus on the court process. In general this is one of the best mysteries I read in a long time.

Dear Daughter by Elizabeth Little
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Dear Daughter is a really good Adult Mystery that will absolutely mess with your head and have you questioning everything and everyone. It is about a young woman who was convicted of murdering her mother and now that she is out of prison, she has to try and figure out who did it so that she can go on with her life. It is full of quirky characters that are rather on the creepy side and kept me guessing throughout the entire book and is a really good mystery I have read a few years back. The overall mystery was a little simpler than I like but the ending will leave you reeling and totally blow your mind. It's kind of dark at times and almost feels like a True Crime kind of story with a lot of focus on the affects that being convicted and going to prison can do to a person. In general this is a good mystery and I think fans of the genre should check out.

These are both good examples of what I love about mysteries. Something that has you questioning everything and anything to do with what is happening and "who done it" and whether you solve things or not, the ending has you totally shocked in the best possible way. This is of course not the only example of that, I did a Top Ten Tuesday for fans of Gone Girl and I think those are all books I would recommend to fantasy fans.

Have you read Scarlet and/or Bitter Greens? What did you think? What retelling that read like historical fiction crossovers do you like? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!

Book Review: Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas

Title: Dangerous Girls Written by: Abigail Haas Published: July, 2013 by Simon and Schuster (Amazon / Goodreads) Synopsis: It's Spring Break of senior year. Anna, her boyfriend Tate, her best friend Elise, and a few other close friends are off to a debaucherous trip to Aruba that promises to be the time of their lives. But when Elise is found brutally murdered, Anna finds herself trapped in a country not her own, fighting against vile and contemptuous accusations.  As Anna sets out to find her friend's killer; she discovers hard truths about her friendships, the slippery nature of truth, and the ache of young love.  As she awaits the judge's decree, it becomes clear that everyone around her thinks she is not just guilty, but dangerous. When the truth comes out, it is more shocking than one could ever imagine...

I have the distinct impression that this review is going to be very short. Not because I didn't like this book because, oh wow, I loved it. No, this review is going to be really short because I don't want to give anything away. So much of this book's charm is the lack of understanding.

You may know that I love mysteries and thrillers. I pride myself on being able to solve mysteries in books. I probably tout my detective skills on an almost annoying level. To me the best mysteries however are the ones that I can solve but not until the very end. With Dangerous Girls, I honestly had no idea who the culprit was. What the author did so well is show every side of the story. A lot of the plot of this book was the trial the main character is subjected to. And because we hear from the prosecutor as well as the defense attorney, every option seemed plausible. So much so that through most of the book I maintained a perpetual state of confusion. I honestly didn't think I would like that so much but it's such a rare experience for me that it was really refreshing.

The other thing I really liked about this book was the tone. It's not a bright and happy contemporary story. It's really gritty. Part of the book has the main character in prison and it is not fun in there. I mean I've never been, it just doesn't seem like a good time. That's what the author shows you. A bleak and gritty setting with a character who is already in a bad situation. It has this great effect where it allows you to feel uncomfortable and still empathize with the character.

And that empathy is huge because there is something not very likable about these characters. Like every single one of them is obnoxious, spoiled, and selfish at times. The book takes you through the past and present of the characters and their relationships with one another. There is something really codependent about their interactions but also really nice at the same time. It's very confusing. There were just so many weird interactions throughout the book. And because there was no clear cut villain or culprit, I found myself suspecting just about everyone which always makes for interesting characterization. When that happens for me, I'm untrusting and doubtful so I keep them at arms length which is just what happened here.

Okay, that's about all I want to say about this book. On the whole it was an absolutely brilliant mystery. It was gritty and confusing with characters who kept me suspicious despite my empathy towards them. It was seriously some Gone Girl level craziness and if you are a fan of mysteries or thrillers you should definitely check it out.

I give Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas 9.5 out of 10 stars

Buy/Borrow/Bypass: BUY! A must read for fans of mysteries and thrillers. I would especially recommend this to people who like books with unlikable characters or books that mess with your head. If you liked Gone Girl or like police/legal procedures with a gritty tone like Law and Order: SVU check this book out.

Have you read Dangerous Girls? What did you think? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!