The Half Life of Molly Pierce

by Katrina Leno

[Amber]

This review was originally posted on Books of Amber

The Half Life of Molly Pierce promises to be an exciting thriller, and, in some ways, it was. I very much enjoyed it, but I wasn’t completely in love with it. I found the entire mystery to be very predictable, which took some of my enjoyment away. I like to be kept completely in the dark, but I thought it was very obvious as to what was going on. However, since the psychological topic covered in this book interests me, I was still liking the plot enough to continue reading to the end.


There were a couple of relationships in The Half Life of Molly Pierce that I thought Leno wrote incredibly well. The first is the relationship between Molly and her sister. Their moments together were precious, and they made me very emotional at times, probably because I have a younger sister who I adore as well. The second relationship that I thought was amazing is one that I have to keep a secret. I don’t want to give anything away, but just know that these two characters made me sob. One cared for the other so fucking much, and it tore my heart out to know that things weren’t going to end well for them.

While I didn’t ship the main couple in this book, I did actually really like the romance because, unlike many YA romances, it actually helped the plot progression and the character growth. I know. It’s unheard of. The romance isn’t just thrown in to appease the editor, it actually plays a part in the story and it makes sense. Molly’s “relationship” (I’m hesitant to use that word to describe what she had with Sayer, but there you go) with Sayer was vital to her discovering who she was and what she wanted.

At little over 250 pages, The Half Life of Molly Pierce is a tiny book. I would have enjoyed it a lot more if it had been longer, as I could have spent more time with the characters and become more attached to them. I liked that it was a quick read, and the story works well, but I prefer longer novels.

That said, if you’re looking for a fast paced psychological thriller, I would recommend giving The Half Life of Molly Pierce a go. It’s somewhat predictable, but the epic relationships that Leno writes makes up for it. While this book isn’t the best thriller I have read, it’s definitely not the worst either, and in fact I would consider rereading it in the future.