Review Detail

What worked: Scooby Doo gang meets Scream in this who-done-it murder mystery. After the popular high school couple is murdered at a so-called haunted manor, some friends decide to find out who did it. An urban legend of the Carrington Ghoul isn't enough to scare these friends off.

Fast-paced mystery thriller set in a small town in 2001. There are references to popular late 90s culture among the teens, only in this case, the mystery is more dangerous.

Buffy, a new girl in town, joins the group of friends. Not all are accepting at first. Jonesy, the smart one of the group, is on guard. Amber is the glue of the group, though her parents are overly protective. And Cam senses his friendship with Jonesy has changed in a way he's not sure about. The friends work together to make sense of what really happened.

Add to all the drama is a bubbling romance, and of course, breaking down the Carrington urban legend.

The story bounces back and forth from the three friends' points of view. At times, that pulled me out of an otherwise engaging thriller. It also reminded me of later 90s teen mysteries like I Know What You Did Last Summer, Veronica Mars, and even Buffy the Vampire Slayer, only without the demons and vampires. Instead, readers are introduced to a group of friends who set out on a town mystery after the adults don't seem able to handle it.

Nostalgic blast to the late 90s with a group of friends who set out to solve a mystery and find a killer before it's too late.