Dead Ringer Review
Rating: ★★★★
Title: Dead Ringer
Author: Jessie Rosen
Genre: YA, Mystery, Romance, Thriller
Publication: November, 2015
Format: Arc E-Galley, 302 pages
Source: Thanks to Full Fathom Five Digital for sending me a copy of this book.
"Every girl appreciates a little attention. Even a dead one"
She looks just like her. Uncanny. The hallways are filled with whispers that Laura Rivers, the new girl at Englewood High, looks just like a girl that used to go there - the girl who committed suicide two years ago. Sarah Castro-Tanner. Laura doesn't want this new label as she starts a new high school and is determined to begin a new, fresh life where she can be herself. Fortunately, that plan goes to work and sparks fly between her and Charlie, the it-boy of Englewood High. But as Charlie and his close friends, Amanda, Kit and Miller, begin to receive creepy messages, Laura begins to notice their constant paranoia and dishonesty and she can't help but think that maybe Sarah Castro-Tanner has something to do with it.
Dead Ringer was such an impressive take on the classic dead-girl-haunting plot. When I read the first chapter I thought I wasn't going to like it but I was dead wrong. Jessie Rosen's execution of this novel and the suspense was so unerring I didn't suspect half of the plot twists that were thrown at me. It is written in third person through the eyes of the three main characters, Laura, Charlie and Sasha. I loved how the different POVs layered different mysteries and stories on top of each other and I got to see the perspectives of the characters and understand their feelings and roles a lot better. Writing related, there was too much mystery. Literally everything was a mystery and I think that if they were just knowledge to the reader than everything would have played out the same way.
Dead Ringer has a very detailed and tenuous plot that needed a lot of thinking in order to get it right and Jessie Rosen rendered me speechless. The tension and suspense remained throughout the whole novel and I just wanted to keep reading to unravel the mystery. I loved how there were so many surprises that threw my theories and the characters courses off balance. It was fun to be constantly guessing and asking questions. The plot also flowed very smoothly and developed quite well - plot holes were nonexistent. The one problem I found plot-wise was the pacing. It took too long, approximately 300 pages, to explain everything and get to the point. But if you enjoy suspenseful novels, then you might even end up eating this up in one sitting.
All the characters were so likeable and relatable and quite realistic too, except for their ages. In the book they're 16 and most of what the novel is based around was two years ago, meaning they would have been roughly 14. Being 14 and having whatever (I won't say anything that will spoil it) happened to them is really unbelievable and maybe increasing their ages would have made it more plausible.
Dead Ringer is a great suspenseful novel to keep you on your toes and I definitely recommend this one because it hits thriller right in the centre. It will leave you bewildered and mind blown and will prevent you from sleeping when you start reading it. Also, keep in mind that this book will most likely have a sequel as it ends in a serious cliff hanger. I can't wait to read the next instalment.
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