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.
​
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

Waiting on Wednesday

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. It lets us all gush about what soon-to-be released books we are jumping-up-and-down excited for.

Dead Silent 
by Sharon Jones

hitting shelves February 6, 2014 from Orchard Books

description:
A snow angel etched in blood. An elite society. A secret dying to get out.
​
The second Poppy Sinclair Thriller.





My Thoughts: OK, so the synopsis is not much to go on, but we do have the trailer!


I really enjoyed the first book in the series (check out my review), and this one looks like another fantastic setting for Poppy Sinclair to solve a mystery!

Becky's View: Dead Jealous by Sharon Jones

Dead Jealous by Sharon Jones
♦publisher: Orchard Books
♦release date: July 4th, 2013
♦paperback, 320 pages
♦intended audience: Young adult
♦series: The Poppy Sinclair thrillers, book 1
♦source: from publisher for honest review

People think of Mother Nature as a gentle lady. They forget that she's also Death...Sixteen-year-old Poppy Sinclair believes in quantum particles, not tarot cards, in Dawkins, not druids. Last summer, in a boating accident in the Lake District, Poppy had a brush with death. But the girl she finds face down in Scariswater hasn't been so lucky. As she fights to discover the truth behind what she believes is murder, Poppy is forced to concede that people and things are not always what they seem and, slipping ever deeper into a web of lies, jealousy and heart-stopping danger, she comes to realise - too late - that the one thing that can save her has been right there, all the time.

Review: Dead Jealous kicks off a great new mystery series, and introduces us to Poppy Sinclair, a veritable Nancy Drew for the modern age.  It's a perfect blend of crime thriller, YA contemporary romance, with just an inkling of something ghostly going on to keep readers on their toes.

This fun story boasts all kind of uniqueness, starting with a setting that I've never come across before.  The entire story takes place amidst all the curiousity and mysticism of a pagan festival.  Poppy, who was raised surrounded by paganism, is no longer into it, but she's come this year to attend her mother's handfasting to her new stepdad.  On her first night, she escapes the crowd and meets Beth---a somewhat enigmatic girl who's come to the festival in search of her missing girlfriend.  Though they just have a short but meaningful conversation, they immediately connect.  The next morning, Poppy discovers Beth dead in the lake and is compelled to find out how she ended up there.

Poppy is a great conflicted, flawed protagonist that you just can't help rooting for.  She is facing down a few fears of her own, which include her own recent brush with nearly drowning and the fact that she is completely in love with her best friend since childhood, Michael.  I know I've said this a million times, but I love a good romance with tons of history behind it, so all the building tension and mixed signals that happen between Michael and Poppy were just perfect. It even gave me that lovely little ache in my own heart as I was reading. The story actually alternates third-person POV between Poppy and Michael, and I admit that did get a little confusing at times, but also gave a wider perspective that worked for the story.  

When it comes to solving the mystery, Poppy is persistent to a fault (as any sleuth worth her salt will absolutely be!) and not afraid to get her hands dirty or go head to head with the creepiest of suspects. There were only a few silly-thriller-cliche moments where the heroine foolishly wanders right into the claws of the villain, but I easily enjoyed the story enough to overlook those.  The whole situation calls into question her own beliefs and her trust of even those closest to her.  It digs her deeper and deeper into danger, and leads up to a truly heart-pounding twist ending!

I definitely look forward to many more mystery-solving adventures with Poppy Sinclair!

Find Sharon Jones onlines:  Website  •  Twitter  •  Facebook

Purchase Dead Jealous:  Amazon.uk  •  BookDepository