The Amateurs by Sara Shephard

Author: Sara Shephard
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Date of publication: November 2016

Five years ago, high school senior Helena Kelly disappeared from her backyard in Dexby, Connecticut, never to be heard from again. Her family was left without any answers—without any idea who killed Helena, or why.

So when eighteen-year-old Seneca Frazier sees a desperate post on the Case Not Closed message board, she knows it’s time to change that. Helena’s high-profile disappearance is the one that originally got Seneca addicted to true crime. It’s the reason she’s a member of the site in the first place.

Determined to get to the bottom of the mystery, she agrees to spend spring break in Connecticut working on the case with Maddy Wright, her best friend from Case Not Closed. However, the moment she steps off the train, things start to go wrong. Maddy’s nothing like she expected, and Helena’s sister, Aerin, doesn’t seem to want any help after all. Plus, Seneca has a secret of her own, one that could derail the investigation if she’s not careful.

Alongside Brett, another super-user from the site, they slowly begin to unravel the secrets Helena kept in the weeks before her disappearance. But the killer is watching…and determined to make sure the case stays cold.

The Amateurs is a new series about a group of college/high school age kids who get together to try to solve the murder of Aerin's sister, Helena.  All of them have something invested in it, or so it seems.  As they get further along, someone keeps trying to get them to stop.

For me, this ended up being just OK.  I was hoping it would be like The Perfectionists series.  But this one kind of fell flat. The mystery was interesting enough to keep me reading.  But it was the characters  that I didn't really care for. None of them were particularly likable.  Many times, I found myself rolling my eyes at their over reactions to things.  It could also be the mulitple points of view that I didn't care for.  I think I would have liked it more if it has been through just Seneca and Maddy's eyes. Of course this one ended with a big cliff hanger.  I'll probably read the next one just to see how it all works out.