Dead Silent by Sharon Jones {review}

Dead Silent by Sharon Jones
♦publisher: Orchard Books
♦release date: February 6th, 2014
♦paperback, 336 pages
♦intended audience: Young adult
♦series: Poppy Sinclair, book 2
  review of book 1: Dead Jealous
♦source: from publisher for honest review

A snow angel etched in blood. An elite society. A secret dying to get out.
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When Poppy Sinclair and her boyfriend visit snowy Cambridge, she doesn't expect to discover the body of a student - arms outstretched in the act of smearing bloody angel wings on the chapel's floor.

Suddenly, Poppy is faced with the possibility that the one closest to her heart might be the one committing the most malicious of crimes.

Dodging porters and police, dreading what she might find, Poppy follows the clues left by a murderer bent on revenge...

Long-hidden secrets are chillingly revealed, an avenging angel seeks forgiveness and red-hot vengeance must be quelled in the amazing new Poppy Sinclair thriller.

Review: This was another dark and fun mystery with some smart sleuthing by the heroine, Poppy Sinclair.  This time around, Michael and Poppy are visiting the university that Michael is trying to get into, and also visiting Poppy’s estranged father, Jim, who is the chaplain there.  They find themselves mixed up in a gruesome murder investigation and Poppy starts seeing strange visions of the victims, unsure if they are dreams or the murdered souls trying to reach out to her.

Poppy’s eerie ability adds a bit of creepiness overall, but doesn’t do much to propel the plot. It’s a compelling enough murder mystery even without the one small paranormal aspect, but since she does have the ability, I do wish it had been more significant in solving the mystery and in driving the plot forward, like it was in the first book, Dead Jealous.  But it does add a few good spine-tingling moments.  Poppy is definitely still her determined and inquisitive self when it comes to solving the mystery.  I also really liked reading the progression of her relationship with her father.  There’s a lot of hurt there and they seem to be cautiously working through it.

There is one thing I didn’t like in this story, and that is the romance between Michael and Poppy.  I remember in the first book there being the tension of “will-they-or-won’t-they get together” and that was fun.  This time around, they are going strong but I can’t help feeling the whole subplot of “will-they-or-wont’-they have sex” seemed kind of oddly timed and just thrown in so a teen issue would be present.  They also spend a good part of the story bickering like siblings and just not trusting each other’s judgement on anything.  So I could have taken or left the romance.

The setting is perfect for this tale, the stark winter-white grounds and the looming stone buildings of Cambridge. It was a good mysterious murder case, full of secret societies, religious themes, a few creepy and gruesome moments, and plenty of suspicious characters to keep the reader guessing.

Find Sharon Jones onlines:  Website  •  Twitter  •  Facebook

Purchase Dead Jealous:  Amazon.uk  •  BookDepository