Adventures in Funeral Crashing

by Milda Harris

[nitzan_schwarz]

To read more reviews and fun things go to my blog; Drugs Called Books!

I give this story 3.5 stars.

It's a cute, fun story. I, for one, finished it in a day. It's from the kind of books that are most enjoyable in those busy, suffocating times you need a break from. It just rolls right out, glides down and makes you forget for a blissful couple of hours that there are other things in the world, other than Kait and Ethan's obliviousness.

However, this is not for those who love a deep, twisting mystery. Sure, there is that whole murder investigation, but I for one saw the ending from miles away--at least I had a very strong suspicion.

I mean, first rule: the most obvious suspect is rarely the one to actually do it, so I knew it couldn't be Troy. It would've been too easy, too... everything.
I knew right away that girl who sent Liz the Email Troy was dating her did it. It just screamed crazy, possessive stalker. Especially when Kait was told other girls who dated him thought he was cheating. I just didn't know who that crazy person was, yet.
But after that, we were down to just two suspects: the deceased Vanessa's sister (Jenna), or Suzie. And Suzie was never really an option. I did find it peculiar that Vanessa/Jenna used the names of authors Suzie was reading to send her mails (too bad that was never explained), but Suzie was too damn sweet for it, and if she liked Kyle she couldn't possibly be a crazy stalker in love with Troy, could she?
Now we were down to one: Vanessa. First of all, the moment Troy told them he dated Jenna the switch was completely obvious. I had my suspicions before, but after that it was, like, "Okay, Jenna is not Jenna. Jenna is Vanessa." Seriously. And I was damn right. A bit disappointing, really. I wanted it to be some else entirely, something surprising.
But this isn't a book meant to surprise you. It is, in the end, a romance story, about the un-popular girl and the school's hottie. Cinderella all over again - but I happen to like Cinderella and romance so I'm fine with it.
I did wish there was more to the investigation, but I guess they did fine for someone their age, or something. Still, I like a good mystery novel, and this is not that.

What I disliked about this book was the repetition. Like the Milkshake thing. God, how many times are you going to tell us it's heaven on earth, or mention it? And just for that last sentence... It drove me mad. Or how hot he was. Was she really only interested in him because he was hot? Obviously, we know it ain't so, but at times it really seemed like that.

Still, a fun read, definitely. Super cute. I will be reading the next book in the series. Hopefully, there will be more romance and it will not try to disguise itself as a mystery novel, because you need more than just a murder to write something like that...