Review: Deadly Little Sins

Book three of the Prep School Confidential trilogy
By Kara Taylor
Available now from St. Martin's Griffin
Review copy
Read my reviews of Prep School Confidential and Wicked Little Secrets

Anne Dowling is back at Wheatley Prep for her senior year and one final mystery.  She is determined to find her teacher Ms. Cross, who suddenly disappeared last year. Anne's determination is increased when Ms. Cross's ex-boyfriend is killed in an apparent robbery gone bad.  Anne doesn't trust appearances, especially not when they tie into more secrets about Wheatley's past.

Honestly, the mystery was a bit weak in DEADLY LITTLE SINS.  In this one, it's Anne who wants to pretty up the truth, allowing her to miss something very important.  What is good about DEADLY LITTLE SINS is the character development.  Anne is not the same girl who came to Wheatley in PREP SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL.  She's suffering nightmares from WICKED LITTLE SECRETS, and while she doesn't regret interfering, the consequences are lingering.  She's also reached a conclusion about her romantic dilemma, partially because people change.

While the reoccuring characters are well done, I thought it was a bit strange that Kara Taylor introduced several new characters.  A new freshman girl and vice principal are treated like important newcomers, but they don't really serve a purpose in the story.  There could've been more focus about familiar characters in their place, such as Anne's roommate and best friend who has her own relationship issues.

Overall, DEADLY LITTLE SINS was a little weaker than its predecessors, but a fine conclusion to Anne's story.  I love this little mystery trilogy because of Anne.  She's one of my favorite heroines in recent memory, and I think the path Taylor sets her down is one she's well suited for. 

Review: Wicked Little Secrets

Book two of the Prep School Confidential mysteries
By Kara Taylor
Available now from St. Martin's Griffin
Review copy
Read my review of Prep School Confidential

Anne Dowling is back!  She solved the murder of her roommate, but she's not satisfied.  One of the few remnants of Isabella she has is a photo of a crew team with "THEY KILLED HIM" written on the back.  Him is Matthew Weaver, and his disappearance is an unexplained mystery at Wheatley Prep.  Anne might not have as good a reason to pursue the truth behind Matthew's disappearance as she did Isabella's murder, but she can't keep herself from snooping.  The possibility of foul play haunts her.

I just love Anne.  She's assertive and fierce, but still deeply gutted by her roommate's awful death.  She can be thoughtlessly cruel and petty, but makes up for it by being allergic to injustice.  As I said in my review of the first book, good mystery series need good detective.  Anne is a great detective.

I am happy that the third book, DEADLY LITTLE SINS, has already been announced.  It comes out August 5, 2014.  When WICKED LITTLE SECRETS was coming to an end, I thought there might not be a hook for another book!  But oh, there was.  And there's more than just another twisty, surprising mystery to look forward too.  Anne has made her romantic choices, but she's still got these pesky special feelings that will never go away - and she's not about to put up with jealousy.

Look, I don't want to give too much away, because so much of the pleasure in a mystery is not knowing what happened.  I will give away that WICKED LITTLE SECRETS is wicked funny, despite the darkness within.  Pick up this series if you're into protagonists who do the right thing because it's the right thing.  These books are serious underrated gems.

Review: Prep School Confidential

First in a series
By Kara Taylor
Available now from St. Martin's Griffin
Review copy

It could be easy to hate Anne Dowling, the protagonist of PREP SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL.  She's pretty, rich, confident, intelligent, and popular.  I liked her instantly though, with her sardonic voice, kindness, and knack for getting in huge trouble while trying to cover up a little misdeed.  She gets expelled from her current private school and shipped to boarding school in Boston.

At first, her new home isn't that bad.  Just as Anne begins to settle in, her roommate is found dead in the woods.  Worse, it seems like no one is really investigating.  The school is determined to keep the murder as quiet as possible and deflect any attention from the other students.  After all, the school has a safety rating to maintain and these are the children of important people.  (It's a bit of corruption that sadly rings true.)

PREP SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL reminded me of another YA debut that came out this year: ESCAPE THEORY by Margaux Froley.  It's a good year for people who like mysteries set in boarding schools!  This one is a lot funnier and less sad, because Anne has less of a personal connection to the victim.  She only knew Isabelle for a week.  However, her roommate was nice, and even if she wasn't, she deserves justice.  Thus Anne begins investigating and finds out that too many people had a motive.  There's a tangled web of blackmail, espionage, stalking, and teenaged hurt feelings.

There are two love interests: Anthony, Isabelle's hot-tempered brother and Brent, the school's king bee.  I liked both boys and that the romantic storyline didn't overwhelm the mystery.  It's more a setup for romantic tension to last throughout the Anne Dowling mystery series.  The second, WICKED LITTLE SECRETS, comes out March 4, 2014 and I'm looking forward to it.

Mystery series live and die on the strength of their detective.  Anne just might be my favorite girl sleuth since Jasmine Callahan of Michele Jaffe's Bad Kitty books.  (Trust me, that's a massive compliment.)  Her confidence is refreshing and her humor is spot on, which makes her narration a delight to read.  At the same time, she has a tendency to rely too much on talking her way out of trouble and thus doesn't plan enough to keep from getting into trouble in the first place.

PREP SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL is the perfect summer read for mystery fans.  It certainly won't make anyone unhappy that they aren't in school.  I'm happy that there are more books coming because Anne is a great protagonist.