Review: Seven Dirty Secrets by Natalie D. Richards

Author: Natalie D. Richards
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Publication Date: November 2021

 I know seven secrets:
One caused the fall. One did nothing. One saw it all.
One didn’t care. One used their head. One played the hero.
One was left for dead.

On her eighteenth birthday, Cleo receives a mysterious invitation to a scavenger hunt. She’s sure her best friend Hope or her brother Connor is behind it, but no one confesses. And as Cleo and Hope embark on the hunt, the seemingly random locations and clues begin to feel familiar.

In fact, all of the clues seem to be about Cleo’s dead boyfriend, Cyrus, who drowned on a group rafting trip exactly a year ago. A bracelet she bought him. A song he loved. A photo of the rafting group, taken just before Cyrus drowned. And then the phone calls start, Cyrus’s voice taunting Cleo with a cryptic question: You ready?

I have very  mixed feelings about Seven Dirty Secrets.  On one hand, I enjoyed the scavenger hunt part of the book.  The notes were intriguing and interesting puzzles.   They weren't too easy or too hard for the characters to figure out.  I also liked the loyalty between Cleo and her friends, especially Hope.  As well as the relationship healing she went through with her brother.

What I didn't like was the fact that I called what was happening about 30 minutes into the audiobook.  It's fairly obvious from the beginning who is behind the scavenger hunt.  That was a let down because I was just waiting for Cleo to play catch up. It took a while. I also was having a hard time with her guilt over what happened.  It was a clear case of self defense.  Had she said something a year before when the "event" happened,  things probably would have worked out differently.  It was overall entertaining, but not a favorite by this author.  

Review: Five Total Strangers by Natalie D. Richards

Author: Natalie D. Richards
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Publication Date: October 2020

When Mira flies home to spend Christmas with her mother in Pittsburgh, a record-breaking blizzard results in a cancelled layover. Desperate to get to her grief-ridden mother in the wake of a family death, Mira hitches a ride with a group of friendly college kids who were on her initial flight.

As the drive progresses and weather conditions become more treacherous, Mira realizes that the four other passengers she's stuck in the car with don't actually know one another.

Soon, they're not just dealing with heavy snowfall and ice-slick roads, but the fact that somebody will stop at nothing to ensure their trip ends in a deadly disaster. 

Five Total Strangers is a quick YA thriller.  It involves, 18 year old Mira who gets stranded in an airport due to an impending blizzard.  She ends up in a car with 4 strangers in an effort to drive home.. She begins to realize that the friendly people she hitched a ride with might no be so friendly after all.

I thought this was an enjoyable read.  The book is told through the perspective of only Mira.  That did help with te suspense because we find out things along with her.  Sprinkled throughout are letters from an anonymous person to Mira.  I was undecided for a long time about who they were from. My first guess was wrong, so that was a bonus. My biggest complaint was you kind of have to suspend a little bit of disbelief in the story.  Certain events fall into place a bit too conveniently.  However, I do think this is worth giving a read. It was good entertainment for the afternoon.

Review: One Was Lost by Natalie D. Richards

Author: Natalie D. Richards
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Date of publication: October 2016

Murder, justice, and revenge were so not a part of the plan when Sera set out on her senior camping trip. After all, hiking through the woods is supposed to be safe and uneventful.

Then one morning the group wakes up groggy, confused, and with words scrawled on their wrists: Damaged. Deceptive. Dangerous. Darling. Their supplies? Destroyed. Half their group? Gone. Their chaperone? Unconscious. Worst of all, they find four dolls acting out a murder—dolls dressed just like them.

Suddenly it's clear; they're being hunted. And with the only positive word on her wrist, Sera falls under suspicion…

In One Was Lost, a group of teens and their advisers go on their senior camping trip before graduation.  After their group is separated by a surging river, four of the teens find out someone is in the woods who is out to get them.  I really enjoyed this YA horror.  It was actually everything that I wish Campfire (my review) would have been.  

The story is told through Sera's perspective.   That allowed for a lot of suspense because the reader sees everything through her eyes only.  I definitely was kept guessing until the reveal.  I had one suspect in mind, but I was completely wrong.  I also enjoyed the other characters and found them interesting enough to actually care if they made it out of the woods alive.  They weren't cliched and clueless teens.  As the story progresses, more details about each teen is revealed and how the words written on their wrists pertain to them. There is a romance in the book.  However, it didn't overshadow the overall story.    I definitely recommend this one.  It's a fun YA horror novel that satisfied my horror craving with the right amount of cheesiness and suspense.