Review: With Malice

Title: With Malice
Author: Eileen Cook
Publication Date: June 7, 2016
Genre: Young Adult/Mystery/Psychological Thriller
Recommended If You Like: young adult suspenseful reads, stories taking inspiration from the Amanda Knox case, books like Cartwheel and Dangerous Girls, shows like Guilt

The Book:

Jill wakes up in the hospital missing six weeks of her life-including the truth about the car crash that her best friend Simone died in.

What I Liked:

This was a book I absolutely could not put down. I read it in less than a day. It's so suspenseful, you just have to keep reading.

I really liked the way Cook integrated other types of media, such as interview transcripts, blogs, and TV news shows. Alternating these chapters with chapters narrated by Jill just contributed to the suspense.

Jill is a complex character, who Cook has managed to make sympathetic, even as readers know Jill is suspected of murdering her best friend. The stakes feel real, and important, and the mystery immense.

Anything I Didn't Like?

I'm someone who likes my mysteries completely tied up in a nice bow at the end of a book. Without giving away any spoilers, it was hard for me when there was ambiguity in this story, even though it made sense in the context of the novel.

So...?

This was a great first read for 2017. I'd be wanting to read this since last year, and it did not disappoint.