Spring break. Aruba. Swimming, sunshine, and drinks. Lots of drinks.
It’s supposed to be the best time of Anna’s life. Perfect.
But then Anna’s best friend is found brutally murdered.
And as the local police begin to investigate the gruesome crime, suspicion and evidence unfathomably point to one person—Anna.
Now trapped in a country not her own, Anna must fight for her freedom and prove her innocence. But as she awaits the judge’s decision, it becomes clear to Anna that everyone around her thinks she is not only guilty, but dangerous.
Very dangerous.
And when the truth finally comes out, it’s more shocking than anyone could have ever imagined…
“How much do you love me?” –Elise Warren
- Published by Simon Pulse – Simon & Schuster, New York in May of 2014. Cover taken by Karin Lips/Trevillion Images and designed by Regina Flath of 2014.
Wow. When I picked up this book it was because of the title and the appealing front cover. Not to mention the little blurb on the front, “Friends for life. Or death.” It instantly caught my attention. As I read the back summary, I pictured the book to be about a girl who went looking for her best friends killer as she awaited her trail on bail. Boy, was I wrong. But I’m glad I was.
The book starts off with the phone call to the police as the dead girl’s [Elise] friends–Tate, AK, Anna, Mel, Max, and Chelsea–find her. From there it goes to before it all happened. Each chapter focuses on a separate time. Jumping from one moment to the next. Backwards and forwards in time. But, to make this not so confusing, the author tells the reader what the chapter is about/when it takes place (The hearing, the first night, Halloween, ex.). I, for one, think it’s very interesting. It took me a few chapters to get used to it, but otherwise I enjoyed how Abigail Haas wrote this story, and believe it suits it. It shouldn’t have been written any other way. It gives you a look into the past and the most crucial events.
I have to say, this book shook me. The ending was as it was said in the summary at the back of the book; “… more shocking than anyone could have ever imagined.” Without giving too much away, I will say that who killed Elise Warren surprised me more than maybe it should have. I went back and forth thinking about who could have done it. How much motive each person had, and who couldn’t possibly have done it. I had so many theory’s I could barely keep track. Maybe Anna really did do it, but she has an alter ego? Maybe Tate was jealous of Elise? Could the most inoccent of the group have killed Elise? Or a complete stranger? Not to mention all the questions swirling in my mind about everyone’s relationship to each other. Maybe not everything is as it seems…
Now for the characters. Each one has their own unique personality from one another. Tate; the golden boy. Melanie; loyal but clingy. AK; the jokester. Anna, the main character who’s point of view the story is from, I thought was loyal, outgoing, and strong throughout the story. Going through the hearings and trails as she tries to prove her innocence until the end. She never gives up.
My rating for this story is by far 5 stars. I couldn’t put it down. Even now, after 2 weeks of it sitting on my overcrowded bookshelf, the ending still stays with me and the shock that it gave me.
—AuhtorInRed
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