Deadly Cool by Gemma Halliday

Release Date: Out now!

Publisher: HarperTeen

Pages: 303pgs

The Story

Hartley Grace Featherstone is having a very bad day. First she finds out that her boyfriend is cheating on her with the president of the Herbert Hoover High School Chastity Club. Then he's pegged as the #1 suspect in a murder. And if that weren't bad enough, now he's depending on Hartley to clear his name. Seriously? Not cool.

But as much as Hartley wouldn't mind seeing him squirm, she knows he's innocent, and she's the only one who can help him. Along with her best friend, Sam, and the school's resident Bad Boy, Chase, Hartley starts investigating on her own. But as the dead bodies begin to pile up, the mystery deepens, the suspects multiply, and Hartley begins to fear that she may be the killer's next victim.

The Review

Nancy Drew . . . Veronica Mars . . . I honestly love those two and they're both great girls who have written themselves into our history books. They'll always be legends to me. But now, let me introduce to you yet another one into the mix - that being a girl named Hartley Featherstone. I don't know about you guys, but there's just something about a smart, snarky, and a sassy girl detective that always gets to me. While the other famous heroine detectives may live in really complicated lives but for Hartley Grace Featherstone's life couldn't get any worse than it already is. Firstly, she finds out her boyfriend is cheating on her. Sad but true. And secondly, she also finds out that one deadly corpse likes to visit her now soon-to-be ex-boyfriend's bedroom. And that's exactly what happened here folks - there was a dead body in her soon-to-be ex-boyfriend's bedroom. But it wasn't just any body . . . it was the body of the girl whom was suspected of being with her boyfriend before their breakup. And in a moment of mere desperation, even if he doesn't deserve it, Hartley's ex begs for her help to clear his name of the murder and like all sassy girl detectives do . . . they try and solve the mystery!

Before considering reading this book, I heard nothing but great things about it. However, it wasn't until I started reading it when I finally realized what a ball of fun this book was! It might have been predictable. It might have been a tad bit cliche. It might have been cheesy at times . . . but that's the whole entire point of a YA mystery novel and you gotta love them no matter what happens! What I loved most about this book was the fast-paced storyline and the fact that not even once did I find myself bored with it. I mean, there's just something about Gemma Halliday's writing that made Nancy Drew and Veronica Mars both proud and nodding their heads in approval . . . so my hat goes off to the author for having the ability to do that for me.

When it came to the characters, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect of them. Hartley in particular. Some reviews I read in the past didn't have a lot of nice things to say about her character and sure she might have her own faults (after all she's helping out her cheating ex-boyfriend and no one in their right mind would do that) but personally for me, I found her to be freaking hilarious! And she was strong-minded too and didn't take any crap from anybody . . . which I loved about her even more! Along with an entertaining supporting cast, another character to shine in the book's spotlight was Chase - the typical bad boy with a lot of sass in him as well. Now before you go rolling your eyes and having a good old chuckle about the cliche bad boy being in the picture, trust me here you guys . . . Chase was far from that typical bad boy character. He was a helpful one and actually cared about Hartley's wellbeing. While I was totally rooting for him and Hartley to get together and hit it off with those clear sexy sparks flying off them, but considering the way things had ended in the book, I wasn't so surprised by the choice Halliday had chosen for both of the characters. It'll be interesting whether anything develops in the sequel or in future books . . . I really hope there is more development because Hartley and Chase are a perfect match.

Overall, despite the mixed reactions regarding this book, I surprisingly thought DEADLY COOL was a rather fun super mystery and definitely holds its own! With a nice crossover of Nancy Drew meets Veronica Mars, and a nice touch of a spunky heroine and a keep-you-guessing fun-filled mystery murder investigation, I'm sure this book will be loved by any reader! Mystery fan or not . . . you're going to love it!

The Rating

4/5 stars