A GOOD IDEA by Cristina Moracho
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Fin had been excitedly awaiting the day she and her best friend, Betty, would graduate and reunite as college roommates. Only seeing Betty in the summers when Fin visited her Dad was just not enough. But then, Calder Miller killed her–drowned her in the cold Maine ocean–and now Fin will never see her friend again. She attends her old high school’s graduation and is sickened that the principal doesn’t even mention Betty. Worse still, Calder just accepts his diploma like nothing ever happened. Released from jail on a technicality, thanks to his powerful father, and now his life is back to normal. Everyone seems to have forgotten Betty except Serena, who loved her from afar. Fin and Serena begin exacting revenge not just on Calder but the whole town, and in the process find themselves in a whirlwind investigation that plunges them into the underbelly of the small town’s drug trade and put themselves and their fledgling relationship in danger.
A thrilling “rural-noir” mystery that mimics the style of Fin and Betty’s favorite classic films like Bunny Lake is Missing. The plot is gritty, and every character has both good and evil aspects. This novel will be most engaging for older teens and twenty-somethings who like dark realistic fiction.
Susan the Librarian 