This Is Why You Don't Go To High School Dances, or, 'Two Can Keep A Secret'
- Atticus
- Mar 12, 2019
- 2 min read
True crime aficionado Ellery ends up living in the books and television shows she adores when she moves to her mother's home town of Echo Ridge. It's a small town that no one moves too and no one leaves.
Unless they have no choice. Echo Ridge has been home to horrors - all of which Ellery is connected to and fascinated by. The homecoming queen daughter of a family friend found dead at a theme park, aptly named Murderland. And her aunt, her mother's twin sister, who went missing years ago.
When Ellery is nominated for homecoming queen in a school she has just started at, she is understandably confused. To make things worse, the killer from the Murderland slaying is back, and every Echo Ridge High Homecoming Queen nominee is in danger. Working with the brother of the main suspect against a town of people who seem to be actively working against her, Ellery has to find the killer before it's too late.
I loved this. It kept up the same frantic energy as McManus' other work, but with characters that seem more like realistic high school students I found it a much more engaging read. Ellery's passion for true crime (and belief that it makes her the person able to solve these mysteries) is honest and relevant. Malcolm is an angry young man living with the demons of what his brother allegedly did, but not to the point of over-angsty irritation. The mysteries in this are excellent. Every time I thought I knew where it was going or who did something, I was blindsided by something I never expected. These additions never seemed shoe-horned in or forced and it all flowed naturally. I'll be eager to see if I can pick out clues to the real murderer in a second read through.
4/5 pickles!
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