Pasadena

by Sherri L. Smith

Bad things happen everywhere. Even in the land of sun and roses.

When Jude's best friend is found dead in a swimming pool, her family calls it an accident. Her friends call it suicide. But Jude calls it what it is- murder. And someone has to pay.

Now everyone is a suspect-family and friends alike. And Jude is digging up the past like bones from a shallow grave. Anything to get closer to the truth. But that's the thing about secrets. Once they start turning up, nothing is sacred. And Jude's got a few skeletons of her own.

In a homage to the great noir stories of Los Angeles, award-winning author Sherri L. Smith's Pasadena is a tale of love, damage and salvation set against the backdrop of California's City of Roses.

• ISBN13: 9781101996256
• Publish Date: 13 September 2016
• Publish Status: Remaindered
• Out of Print: 9 August 2023
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Imprint: G.P.Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers'
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 240
• Language: English

Reviews

[Sam@WLABB]

Rating: 3.5 Stars -- rounded down because of that ending.

I actually found this book very interesting. Jude must abandon her NJ summer to return to Pasadena following her "best" friends death. Jude cannot accept that this is a suicide, and sets out to find out more about Maggie's death. As she is searching, she uncovers the secrets Maggie kept, and realizes that she didn't know Maggie as well as she thought this did. At the same time, Jude is struggling with her guilt over Maggie's death, as well as dealing with the guilt she has carried with her since she was nine.

I thought Smith wove a compelling story. I enjoyed every crumb she gave me as we got closer and closer to the truth. I just wish she could have allowed Jude to heal. There were so many promising moments, where I thought Jude would be able to make peace with her past, but Smith did not let her.