Deadly Cool: Review

Title: Deadly Cool

Author: Gemma Halliday

Release Date: October 2011

Published By: HarperTeen

Pages: 272

Goodreads Rating: 3.88 stars

Review: Hartley finds out that her boyfriend cheated on her with the president of the Chastity Club, and as if that's not bad enough, he's also the #1 suspect in her murder. The clincher? He wants her to help him clear his name. She knows he's innocent, so with the help of her best friend Sam and resident bad boy Chase, she starts doing some investigating of her own. But with more killings and suspects, Hartley realizes the most terrifying part of it all: she might be next.

I have always felt there is a dearth of YA mystery novels out there, so I was very excited to get a chance to review DEADLY COOL. There were certainly quite a few twists and turns that take the reader along for a wild ride, and I appreciated that while hints were dropped here and there, it's not obvious (or at least it wasn't for me) who the killer is until the very end. My one complaint with that is I felt the motive was overly comical, and I just had a hard time believing it.

Still, this book is incredibly fun and entertaining to read. Hartley has a breezy, snarky voice that makes it easy to read this all in one shot, and there were several parts where I was smiling if not laughing out loud. The dialogue in particular was authentically teen and rapid-fire funny, and much of the humor came from her interactions with Sam, Chase, and other people.

DEADLY COOL is the perfect novel when you want something with a fun voice and engrossing, albeit not entirely original, plot line. I had my complaints with the killer's motive, but other than that, I had a great time reading this wonderful addition to the YA mystery genre. With humor, mystery, and romance effortlessly woven together, this book is something I would recommend to anyone.


I received a free copy of this book for review from the publisher. This is no way affected my review.