- Started: January 28, 2021
- Finished: January 28, 2021
- Pages: 323
- Timelined, Multiple POV, Vermont
- Rating: 4.5/5
REVIEW
I can’t put into words why this book gets a whole half point less than The Cousins, but I just did not like it quite as much. Again, McManus does a great job of evoking the familiarity of being a teenager; the stubbornness, the constant feeling that you are ridiculously smarter than any of the adults around you, and the crazy hormones (one of the main characters gets butterflies in her stomach over her crush’s collar?? Which feels silly at my age but I do remember when even the smallest things felt like so much more). One thing that factored into this book more than her others was how the main characters feel like they are ahead of the cops, but end up putting themselves – and the case – at risk. I thought that felt very real, instead of having everyone over the age of 18 acting like a bumbling idiot. Also, the last line was absolutely fantastic and gave me the chills. So, again, not 100% sure why I didn’t give it a full 5/5, something about the story just didn’t fit as perfectly to me. Very much still enjoyed it and would recommend.
SUMMARY
Ellery and Ezra are twins and are forced to move to Echo Ridge to live with their grandma for four months after their mother checks into rehab. They barely know their grandma – their mom kept her and their small town at arm’s length since her twin disappeared after Homecoming. That’s not the only tragedy that struck Echo Ridge; five years before the Homecoming Queen was murdered, her case never officially solved. Malcom knows all about that – his brother was the victim’s boyfriend and the main suspect. He’s tried to stay out of the spot life since, settling in with his his new family after his mother married one of the most prominent businessmen in town. He and the twins quickly become friends, bonding over being outsiders. Ellery is quickly thrust into the spotlight as she is nominated for Homecoming court and she – and the other female nominees -are threatened with graffiti around town. It feels like a big prank until one of the girls go missing. Switching between the points of view of Ellery and Malcom, the two join forces to work through the most recent disappearance and how it is connected to the past crimes that have haunted their lives.
SPOILERS BELOW
The twins’ misadventures begin before they even make it home from the airport; they, along with their grandma and neighbor, find a dead body. They learn it was a hit-and-run incident which lead to the death of local high school teacher, Mr. Bowman. They are interviewed the next day by nearby policeman, Officer Rodriguez. Ellery, a true crime aficionado, is immediately disappointed by his youth and inexperience but her interest is piqued when she learns he was in the same grade as Lacey, the Homecoming queen who was murdered five years before.
Meanwhile, we also get to meet Malcom. He is still adjusting to his new life and family. Things haven’t been the same since his brother, Declan, was accused of Lacey’s murder. His stepsister, Katrin, is decidedly more popular and their social lives barely overlap. His stepfather, Peter, also barely shows any interest in him, but he is pleased with his mom’s newfound happiness and their acceptance back into Echo Ridge’s folds. He, and the rest of his family, are at a fundraiser in honor of Lacey when he discovers the first big of chilling graffiti, “MURDERLAND / THE SEQUEL / COMING SOON” It is here that he also runs into Ellery for the first time.
Murderland was the name of the annual fall festival, changed to Fright Farm after Lacey’s body was found on the grounds. Ellery and Ezra both get jobs there as there isn’t much else to do in town. Their reputation – or rather that of their mom and her sister – precedes them and everyone around town is intrigued by their return. The twins become friends with Malcolm and Mia, another outlier to the the Echo Ridge norm. Her older sister, Daisy, was friends with Lacey and has recently returned home after abruptly quitting her job out of college. More ominous signs appear around town and begin to hit too close to home when Ellery, Katrin, and Brooke (a close friend of Katrin’s) are nominated to Homecoming Court and are more specifically called out by the taunts. It culminates at the school’s pep rally, that takes place at Fright Farm, when the video feed is hacked and the candids of the three are flashed across the screen.
The next night is the end of the season party for the Fright Farm workers and even Malcolm makes an appearance as he promised to drive Ellery and Ezra home after their shift; it’s past their grandma’s bedtime but she doesn’t want them walking alone late at night. There, the sparks continue to fly between Ellery and Malcolm, though their first kiss is postponed when they run into a drunk Brooke. She seems upset over something and asks Malcolm if he’s ever, “made a really bad mistake?” He doesn’t fully understand what she’s getting at and ends up dropping her off after the twins.
The next day, all three are questioned by the cops: Brooke is missing. Malcolm suffers from serious deja vu, finally fully understanding what his brother had gone through years ago. He’s even more stressed out due to the fact that he knows his brother was in town at the time, but for reasons unknown. When Mia confronts her sister about her comings-and-goings, they find out it is because Daisy and Declan are dating. She admits that they started to fall in love back in school, but didn’t want to do anything that would hurt Lacey. Daisy also states that Lacey alluded to having a new boyfriend on the side, but she didn’t know the details. The guilt over her friend’s death and the fact that she never truly let herself grieve lead to a nervous breakdown which is why she is back in Echo Ridge. This all makes sense to the others, but Ellery begins to wonder if Officer Rodriguez was the other man, especially after her mom claims he was a mess at Lacey’s funeral.
Since Brooke’s disappearance, Ellery hasn’t just been coming up with theories, she’s been investigating. One of the things she looks into is what Brooke was doing the night of the staff party. They realize that she was attempting to unlock the recycling bin but wasn’t able to. Ellery is and she takes the content back to sort through with Ezra, Mia, and Malcolm. They discover only one thing that stands out: the receipt for Katrin’s car after a collision. It was taken to a repair shop well outside of town. None of it makes sense until they realize the date is the same as when Ellery and Ezra first made it to Echo Ridge and, more importantly, the same night Mr. Bowman was killed by a hit-and-run driver. Now they are suspicious of Katrin, especially after Malcolm catches her sneaking out to put up more graffiti.
Ellery has no idea what to think and continues to look into Officer Rodriguez. She and Ezra bring some things over to his house at their grandmother’s request and stumbles upon a family picture. It doesn’t make sense though because his dad looks exactly like Ezra. Officer Rodriguez’s awkwardness at their first meeting makes sense; it wasn’t that he was struggling to conduct police business, it was the fact he realized he had half siblings. Ellery confronts her mother about his – and all the other secrets she’s kept from them – over Facetime. She admits that her guilt over losing her sister had completely overtaken her life and that things were never the same after.
Brooke’s body is found and the whole town is in mourning. Declan is interviewed by the police after his class ring – the one he gave Lacey and was never recovered – is found near the body. Ellery, convinced it isn’t Declan after his relationship with Daisy was revealed, turns her sights to bully Kyle McNulty, Brooke’s ex. His older sister was Declan’s girlfriend before Lacey and fostered a huge grudge against the couple. She brings this theory to Office Rodriguez, who is exasperated with her continued insertion into the case.
THE REVEAL
Ellery and Malcolm are hanging out at his place on a quasi-not date, as teenagers with crushes tend to have, both baffled by all the information they have collected and how none of it adds up. Katrin and Brooke killed Mr. Bowman but there’s no way Katrin killed Brooke? Is it possible Brooke and Lacey’s murders are completely unrelated? And how does Ellery’s aunt factor into all of this? They have no idea and can’t look into Katrin anymore since she’s been sent to stay with her aunt for a bit. Peter stops by to check on them and offhandedly remarks that Katrin and the aunt are close – they were together just back at the end of August.
Then it hits them – Katrin could not have been driving the car that killed Mr. Bowman. But that means it was Peter. And why would he have been with Brooke? He was in a relationship with her, and probably Lacey too. Peter realizes that they’ve put the pieces together and grabs a gun, pushing them into a closet. He admits to being in a relationship with both the young women and framing Declan. He and Brooke were together when they hit Mr. Bowman and the guilt over the accident was causing her to threaten to go public with their relationship. Ellery asks about her aunt and he whisper a response in her ear. Peter locks them in a room and turns up the carbon monoxide. The two frantically try to escape but both pass out.
Ellery awakes in the hospital, having been rescued by Officer Rodriguez. Both she and Malcolm will make full recoveries and Peter has been caught. Officer Rodriguez tells Ellery that they were already making a case against Peter, having put together the pieces after tracking down a unique piece of jewelry that he had given both Lacey and Brooke. Katrin had realized her father was involved when she found Brooke’s phone case in his study and continued the graffiti to bring attention away from him. The vandalism and pep rally hack had originally been orchestrated by a girl in their grade, trying to drum up a story for the school newspaper.
Malcolm and Ellery start dating and she and Ezra slowly begin forging a relationship with their new step-siblings. Malcolm asks her if she had a better idea of what happened to her aunt after Peter whispered in her ear, but she claims she couldn’t hear him. We learn that she did, but she’ll never share what he said in worries of further damaging her slowly-recovering mother. In fact, she’ll take it to the grave, knowing that the mistake that costs her aunt’s life allowed her to have her’s.
Peter told her “I thought she was your mother.”
Books and Lewks 