funstm
Written on Feb 20, 2017
First I find out that my boyfriend is cheating on me. Then he's pegged as the #1 suspect in a murder. And now he's depending on me to clear his name. Seriously? As much as I wouldn't mind watching him squirm, I know that he's innocent. So I'm brushing off my previously untapped detective skills and getting down to business. But I keep tripping over dead bodies and I'm still no closer to figuring out who did it. And what's worse: all signs seem to point to me as the killer's next victim. I really need to pick a better boyfriend next time.
- ISBN10 0062003313
- ISBN13 9780062003317
- Publish Date 20 November 2011 (first published 11 October 2011)
- Publish Status Out of Print
- Out of Print 15 October 2021
- Publish Country US
- Publisher HarperCollins Publishers Inc
- Imprint HarperTeen
- Format Paperback
- Pages 320
- Language English
Reviews
lizarodz
Written on Mar 8, 2012
Hartley is our protagonist and the story is told from her point of view. She is a down to earth kind of girl, smart (although too trusting), beautiful, and not extremely popular, which is refreshing to see she didn’t care too much about. It seems like bad luck follows Hart, just as bees follow honey; the good thing is that she overcomes this easily. I love Chase, he is not only handsome, but different, brilliant, and he cares about Heart a lot. Sam is such a good friend and I love her for it. It is also nice to see that the parents of our characters were caring and present (for a change!)
The story is very good. I have to confess that I never suspected the culprit until the last moment when Hart found out. As I mentioned before I love Hart’s sense of humor, she is ironic and snarky at the same time. The writing is easy to read and the book went by really fast for me. I’m a new fan of the series and I can’t wait for Social Suicide which will be published next month.
About the cover: I actually selected the cover of Deadly Cool for my Top 10 most beautiful covers last week. Those eyes are gorgeous, and the headphones that form the word “cool” are, well…cool.
Stephanie
Written on Feb 7, 2012
While Deadly Cool contains murder, it isn’t a serious book at all. Gemma Halliday keeps it light, funny and hard to put down.
What I Could Have Lived Without: The only problem with a book being all light and funny is that the motive was almost comical. I do have to admit that I didn’t immediately know who the killer was but it did become kind of obvious. The big reveal just wasn’t there.
Recommended For: Readers looking for a good book that will make you laugh but not tax your brain.
Avoid If: You’re looking for a meatier read or enjoy your who-dun-its to be complex.
Amanda
Written on Oct 26, 2011
Deadly Cool feels like an updated and snarky Nancy Drew. Hartley was written in such a way that I had flashbacks to Evie in Paranormalcy. But it isn’t that Hartley and Evie are similar, it is that their personalities leap off the page at you. Hartley isn’t given to much angst, and she is extremely funny. She texts (and yes, in the shorthand common to teenagers these days), she’s hip and there are a lot of cultural references. She appears authentic for the time. I loved her. But then, I love most characters graced with a healthy dose of sarcasm and snark. They make me giggle in a way that is half-snort, half-bwahahaha.
I liked that Deadly Cool really is a mystery. You get murder, mayhem, and a lot of amateur sleuthing. Are some elements of the story predictable? Sure. But Hartley carries us through it. I was easily hooked and it took some very heavy eyelids before I could finally put the book down. And Hartley is not the only character who is well written: best friend Sam who censors herself, Hartley’s overprotective mom who also happens to be gluten-free and tofu-loving, and bad boy Chase who is very…enticing. Even if I wasn’t so fond of Hartley, I’d read the sequel to Deadly Cool just for a little more Chase.
I wasn’t overly excited about the text-speak, and I suspect this could be an aspect some people don’t like. But then again, Deadly Cool IS a young adult novel. Definitely cringe worthy for us old folk, but it has authenticity. Bottom line, Deadly Cool was a very fun read with mystery and just a hint of romance that has me dying for more. I instantly added Social Suicide to my wishlist after finishing Deadly Cool. Note: I was also really torn between rating this an 8 or 9. I ended up sticking with 8 because a few 9 books I’ve read lately touched me more than this one. It is likely that if I had come off a “not so good” reading streak, it would have rated a 9.
Suz @ Bookish Revelations
Written on Aug 7, 2011
It was funny and smart in all the right ways, as it introduced character's that I enjoyed, amped up the mystery by proving me wrong every time I thought I had it figured out, and a hot mysterious bad boy that I nor the main protagonist (Hartley) could resist. I have a tendency to enjoy mysteries in general, so it was no surprise at all that I liked Deadly Cool as much as I did. It didn't take me long to read this book, I pratically devoured it within like a day and a half, because I just did not want to put it down once I started reading.
The ending was surprising, because I just didn't see it coming and I actually liked that. A good portion of the time, I find myself being able to figure out the mystery and solve it before I finish a book, but with Deadly Cool that wasn't the case at all. I liked how well Halliday did a fantastic job making the suspsects look like the suspects that they were supposed to represent, but still possessing enough innocence that you almost doubted whether or not they were culpable the better part of the time, while reading.
Halliday does a marvelous job at providing the right amount of supsense and intrigue, needed to fuel the mystery that Hartley has decided to solve, along with her best friend and the mysterious bad boy who turns out, is not so much "bad boy" after all once you get to know him. Hartley is a very likable and relatable character in so many ways. She is fun, witty, and super sweet even if she is hurt by the fact that her ex-boyfriend is pretty much a scum sucking sack of waste, who cheated on her with the president of the Chasity Club. She possesses a certain amount of strength and compassion, which is a driving force at getting to the truth of the mystery, even if she is somewhat hurt by that truth.
The secondary character's were just as essential to the plot of the novel, because they were there to serve a purpose as the suspects they were meant to be and Halliday successfully utilized them to the best of her ability, in a well thoughout plot driven novel. Personally, I think everyone should have a bff like Sam. She was super amazing, funny, a little over-the-top dramatic, and totally supportive of Hartley. You can't go wrong with a menagerie of character's as colorful as these.
One other thing the novel does, is point out the social status as far as high school and young adults go. For instance, the popular people consist of Color Gaurd Girls, Cheerleaders, the Footballer's along with the rest of the sports teams, and those who come from families that have money. Then there's the social outcasts, which is the category that Hartley, Sam, and so many other's seem to fall into. I liked that Halliday established early on, that Hartley chose not to be a part of the Color Gaurd or the Cheerleaders, setting hereslf apart from them on her own terms.
Deadly Cool, was a deadly cool fun read that I enjoyed quite a bit and I am looking forward to the sequel that follows, Social Suicide. I know, without a doubt, that it will definitely live up to it's title in a hip new way that will draw reader's in and keep them captivated until the end, the same way Deadly Cool will.
{ This ARC was received from HarperTeen, in exchange for an honest review which I have provided. No money exchanged hands, I review books for fun because I love to read. I am not interested in monetary gain.
Any piece of this ARC that was quoted, is not part of the finished product and should not be perceived as such.}