I Hope You're Listening

by Tom Ryan

I love a good crime mystery. I love cold cases being solved. And I'm really digging this whole laptop detectives thing. I adored The Amateurs by Sara Shepard so I was very excited to see a release in a similar vein. In this case it's a true crime podcast that inspires the laptop detectives to come together to solve cold cases.

The plot was really interesting and I loved the mystery and how it unfolded. I liked the injections of the podcast script and the updates on how the community was working together to find Vanessa and Nia. I loved that those two kicked ass and took names. The flashbacks kind of missed the mark, the narration of those parts felt weird and out of sync with voice of the book.

I liked the characters and the portrayal of Dee's family - particularly the fact her parents are people too (and her stay at home dad and working mother) and that you could clearly see how much they loved her and how much she loved them. Parents tend to be relegated to being distant pot plants in YA. Not that they made much appearance in this but they at least were around - even though not directly involved.

The romance between Sarah and Dee was sweet but nothing particularly moving, which brings me to the characters. I really liked Dee. I loved Burke. But there was a major disconnect between me and the characters. I felt like they were exactly that - characters. They lacked real emotion and depth. I liked what I saw but I wouldn't say they particularly stuck out. It was an easy read because the characters were likeable if not memorable but the plot was the main driving force between why I kept reading.

Overall it was an enjoyable read. A tame YA mystery with a interesting plot. 3 stars. Maybe 3.5.