Book Title: With Malice
Author: Eileen Cook
Series: None
Genres: Young Adult, Mystery, Suspense, Fiction
Goodreads
4 STARS
Date Read: 05/14/16
Pub Date: 06/07/16
Eighteen-year-old Jill Charron wakes up in a hospital room, leg in a cast, stitches in her face and a big blank canvas where the last 6 weeks should be. She comes to discover she was involved in a fatal accident while on a school trip in Italy three days previous but was jetted home by her affluent father in order to receive quality care. Care that includes a lawyer. And a press team. Because maybe the accident…wasn’t an accident. Wondering not just what happened but what she did, Jill tries to piece together the events of the past six weeks before she loses her thin hold on her once-perfect life.
COVER ART!!! Gorgeous. This is the most beautiful cover I’ve laid eyes on in awhile. It has all my favorite colors, the water, even the fonts used are aesthetically pleasing. I don’t usually gush over cover art but this one deserved it!
” Maturity is a bitter disappointment for which no remedy exists, unless laughter
could be said to remedy anything.” -Kurt Vonnegut
When we are first introduced to Jill, she is waking up in a hospital room with no memory of the past 6 weeks, battered and bruised, and not as concerned about her situation as she should be. Her and best friend Simone were in an accident abroad in Italy and Jill can’t piece together what really happened. Jill is transferred to a rehab facility to “focus on healing” while also being shielded from the ever-growing paparazzi that seem to stalk her family’s every move. We join Jill in a journey to discover the truth about that disturbing day and what truly transpired. Was the wreck truly an accident or something more sinister?
I found myself completely sucked into this book once I began. Eating? Showering? Who needs those silly things; I had a mystery to solve! The pacing and length of this book was fast moving, which caused me to finish in just over 24 hours. I was trying to find excuses to pick this book up at all costs; heck I went to the gym twice so that I could read without being disturbed on the elliptical. The characters were pretty good for such a quick read; my favorite was Jill’s rehab roommate Anna. I liked her gumption; she got more accomplished in her few moments than that arrogant lawyer Evan and Jill’s pompous daddy combined throughout the entire novel. I also really liked the format of how the story was told; we had chapters from Jill’s perspecticles (that’s totally a word) that were broken up with chapters from travel books, police interrogations, and news/blog updates.
I was slightly disappointed that not all my questions were answered by the books conclusion. I’m not the type to need everything spelled out for me but there were a few crucial aspects (or so I felt) that needed explaining. I also felt the ending was a bit rushed after all the suspense and tension was built throughout most of the book, but overall I thoroughly enjoyed this read! The sheer fact that I couldn’t put this book down seems reason enough to read it, but if you enjoyed Dangerous Girls I think this is right up your alley. This is my first experience with author Eileen Cook but certainly won’t be my last!
*I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for a fair review; this has not influenced my review in any way.
