Deadly Cool by Gemma Halliday
pages: 320
released: October 2011
publisher: HarperTeen
cover love: ♥♥♥♥

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. Seriously? Not cool. 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. (from GoodReads)

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON 11/28/2011 ON BOOKSLIKESTARS.NET

Review:

Though Deadly Cool is somewhat cliché with a fast and faulty plot that has one too many detective show references, it’s written purely for entertainment purposes. And in that regard, it was a success! I had a busy schedule when I started reading this, otherwise I would’ve finished it in one day. It’s pretty hard to put down once you start.

The book begins with a bang: After Hartley Featherstone finds an empty condom wrapper inside her boyfriend, Josh’s locker (ewww), she grabs her best friend and heads straight to his house to confront him (and possibly maime him to death). However, he’s not there. But someone else is. The president of the Chastity Club, Courtney, the girl Josh has been sleeping with. I’m sure Hartley would’ve killed her…if she wasn’t already dead, strangled to death with Ipod earphones and shoved in Josh’s closet. Even though Josh is cheating SOB, Hartley knows he’s 100% not a killer and agrees to keep her contact with him a secret and help catch the real killer to clear his name.

Hartley was the perfect character for this story. Without her, I wouldn’t have enjoyed it. The story wasn’t very well-developed or original but she gives the book that extra kick of flavor with her light-hearted, funny personality and super flair for sarcasm. I didn’t care much for her BFF, Sam. There was really nothing special about her but her hippie brother was pretty interesting. I couldn’t believe he made them go to a burger joint to fill up his car with used cooking oil.  Hilarious!  My other favorite character was Chase, the editor for the school paper who helps Hartley in exchange for an exclusive article about the investigation. He’s flirty, wears head-to-toe black and for some reason goes commando…There’s something very sexy about him and can’t wait to see more of him in the next book. Plus, I want need to see if he and Hartley get to the next level.

If you’re looking for a fun, quick mystery read with a great heroine you should give Deadly Cool a try.

4