Deadly Cool by Gemma Halliday

Title:  Deadly Cool
Author:  Gemma Halliday
Publisher:  HarperTeen
Pub. Date:  Oct. 11, 2011
Pages:  320
Genre:  Young Adult Murder Mystery/Thriller

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.

THE FAERYS VIEW

Deadly Cool by Gemma Halliday isn’t usually the kind of book I read but I must admit, I’m glad I took the chance and read it! It wasn’t what I was expecting and that was the beauty of it.

Hartley isn’t ready to have sex with her boyfriend Josh so he decides to seek it out elsewhere, when Hartley goes to his house to confront him she finds the girl he’s been shleppin’ around with dead. Josh is, of course, the main suspect. Hartley and her bestie Sam end up trying to clear Josh’s name with the help of cute goth boy, Chase.


The characters are fantastic in Deadly Cool. Hartley is snarky and laugh out loud funny, her dynamic with some of the characters actually had me giggling throughout the book and wanting to jot down some of her witticisms. The high school world they live in is realistic despite the fact that they seem to skip a lot. I liked the fact that Hartley didn’t just jump in and start finding clues and solve the mystery, in fact it is part of the charm of the book watching her screw up, and follow misleads and get herself in some hilarious situations. Hartley is a character that we can all identify with; her imperfection made her a perfect protagonist.


Alongside the funny there is an equal amount of danger, there’s a murderer closing in on them-one who knows they are getting closer. The killer turns into a serial killer and as more people die the more desperate Hartley becomes. The three sleuths must find the killer before the killer gets the chance to silence them. Not easy to do when the police detectives are watching their every move and Hartley has to watch her back because she's pretty sure she's next on the list.


Deadly Cool was a fun entertaining read that I am so glad I chose! Watching a new set of investigative characters form from the beginning and knowing there is going to be more books to follow is happy news for me. I can’t wait to see what happens with the ‘crew’ in the next installment. Whatever it is, it’s sure to be a fantastic read.

THE FAERY SAYS READ THIS! YOU WON'T REGRET IT!

Thank you to ATWT and the Publisher for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.