Author: Gemma Halliday
Genre: Young Adult, mystery
Published on: October 11, 2011 by HarperTeen
Hartley Grace Featherstone is having a very bad day. First she finds out that her boyfriend is cheating on her with the president of the Herbert Hoover High School Chastity Club. Then he’s pegged as the #1 suspect in a murder. And if that weren’t enough, now he’s depending on Hartley to clear his name.
But as much as Hartley wouldn’t mind seeing him squirm, she knows he’s innocent, and she’s the only one who can help him. Along with her best friend, Sam, and the school’s resident Bad Boy, Chase, Hartley starts investigating on her own. But as the dead bodies begin to pile up, the mystery deepens, the suspects multiply, and Hartley begins to fear that she may be the killer’s next victim.
I usually research a book before I buy it, but this one drew me because of the cover. Admit it, the girl on the cover has got pretty mesmerizing eyes. Call me cliché, but baby blues have got such a beauty. I didn’t really start reading without prior info, though. The book description finished the job, and I was sold. I like mysteries, especially if they have some romance. The main character seemed compelling as well.
Deadly Cool has Hartley Grace Featherstone as its protagonist and narrator. We meet her just after she’s broken up with her boyfriend, Josh DuPont. He’s cheated on Hartley with another girl. Infuriated, Hartley sets out to confront them both. She is accompanied by her best friend, Samantha. The pair are in for a surprise when they get to Josh’s house. His new girlfriend, a color guard named Courtney, is found murdered in Josh’s closet. And he’s nowhere to be found. Hartley and Sam leave the house in a panic, after which the cops show up. The evidence they find seems to incriminate Josh.
Hartley, though, vehemently refuses to believe that her ex-boyfriend would have killed anyone. When Josh shows up at Hartley’s apartment to ask her to clear his name, she agrees only because she doesn’t want an innocent person to be imprisoned. The investigation pairs Hartley with an older guy named Chase Erikson. He’s the bad boy and editor of the online newspaper at his and Hartley’s high school. Despite being fresh out of a breakup, Hartley can’t help feeling attracted to him.
I loved the character of Hartley Featherstone. Apart from having an impressive-sounding name, she’s such a fun and intriguing girl. And she’s got such a way with words! I think it was a killer choice to have Hartley as a first-person POV narrator. Some examples: “She shot me a sugar-coated smile. I matched it calorie for calorie.” “Inside, three guys manned the registers—a twenty-something with pimples, an Indian guy with a mustache that looked like it needed its own hairnet…” “I was pretty sure she took her makeup off each night with a chisel.”
Although the more hard-nosed of readers could find Hartley a bit pathetic (her fighting skills all but suck, in contrast to her quick wit), it’s hard not to like her. She’s got charm. As for Chase Erikson, he seems easy to stereotype. Bad boy vibe, dresses all in black—even his room matches his clothing! All the goth stuff initially made me (and even Hartley) wonder what the deal is with him, and I’m not overly judgmental. Despite his exterior, Chase has his head on straight. He will prove to be really helpful to Hartley as she solves Courtney’s murder case.
Overall, Deadly Cool didn’t disappoint me. The mystery’s good, and the characters were one of a kind. If you prefer more mature, James Patterson-type mysteries rather than Nancy Drew-style mysteries, you should look elsewhere. This book is aimed at teen audiences, so I found it a bit short.
My rating: ★★★★
4 stars - Definitely enjoyed it!
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