Review: Death and the Girl Next Door by Darynda Jones

Author: Darynda Jones
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Date of Publication: October 2012

Ten years ago, Lorelei's parents disappeared without a trace.  Raised by her grandparents and leaning on the support of her best friends, Lorelei is finally beginning to accept the fact that her parents are never coming home.  For Lorelei, life goes on.

High school is not quite as painful as she thinks it will be, and things are as normal as they can be.  Until the day the school's designated loner, Cameron Lusk, begins to stalk her, turning up where she least expects it,  standing outside her house in the dark, night after night.  Things get even more complicated when a new guy—terrifying, tough, sexy Jared Kovach—comes to school. 


This book was a random audio pick from my library.  I hadn't heard of the author before, but it looked interesting, so I gave it a shot.  Let me just give a big "YAY" for the lack of love triangle in the book!  I think that made me love it all the more.  Imagine, a YA novel with no angsty love triangle.  If you are a regular to this blog, you know how I feel about YA love triangles...

Death and the Girl Next Door was a pretty fun book.  The characters were fun and believable.  They are teens who acted and actually spoke like teens.  The dialogue seemed very genuine and comfortable.  I loved the relationship that Lorelei has with her two best friends, Brooklyn and Glitch.  The banter between them was fun and had me laughing at times.  Jared is mysterious, brooding and sexy. Cameron is the outcast, loner who seems to hate him and is always trying to protect Lorelei.

There is a genuine mystery as to who Jared and Cameron are and the role they play in Lorelei's life.  I liked that the reader finds out right along with Lorelei. The tendency to keep things from Lorelei did get a bit frustrating at times. But in the end, I could see why things were kept from her.  There are a few twists toward the end that should prove to make the next book interesting.  Death, Doom and Detention comes out in March. I look forward to reading it.