September 9, 2012

Betrayal by Gregg Olsen



Betrayal (Empty Coffin, #2) by Gregg Olsen
Release Date ~ 9/4/12
Format ~ ARC
Publisher ~ Splinter
Source ~ Author
Purchase a SIGNED Copy!
In this action-packed thriller sequel to Envy, foreign exchange student Olivia Grant is stabbed to death after a party--and the prime suspect is her best friend. As twins Hayley and Taylor Ryan get pulled into the aftermath of this Amanda Knox-like crime, they realize nothing is what it seems. Could it be betrayal of the ultimate kind?
Betrayal features real-life crime-solving techniques, heart-stopping suspense, plenty of red herrings, hard-hitting ethical questions, and information about the Amanda Knox case that inspired the novel. As the crime unravels, so does the twins' past…and they must face off against a family member who may unexpectedly have carried out the worst betrayal of all.
  These are the kind of books that make me love and hate book blogging. It's the kind of review you're so enthusiastic about but you just went on an emotional roller-coaster that you have no bloody idea how you're going to put it into words. Betrayal did that to me. And if it doesn't do that to you, you're obviously reading it upside down or back-words. So go read it again the right way, now. Seriously, close this review, get off your laptop and pull out your copy of Betrayal. Trust me. (I'm the doctor, whovians.)

 Other reviewers have talked about this, but I like to repeat what much smarter people have already said, Gregg Olsen doesn't write the typical YA novel. He's best known for his true crime novels, which he's wrote a bunch of and is what he's reached the New York Times Bestseller List for. And he doesn't change his style of writing for these novels. They read almost exactly like true crime, and he likes to include lots of texts, tweets, facebook posts, and newspaper clippings. So when you go into The Empty Coffin Series be fully aware that it's not the usual YA fare, and in my opinion, nothing usual can ever make an impact on the world.

  The main improvement from the first book, Envy for me is in Betrayal the focus is the crime, but Haley and Taylor take more of a center stage and the major plot line is probably them discovering the truth (about something non-related to the crime at hand). The twin paranormal part of the book is probably what most of you YA readers are looking forward to, and you will not be disappointed.

  This book ends on such a cliff-hanger. Seriously, it's like you'r hanging on to the cliff by a finger and you don't no whether you're going to fall or not for a whole nine months or so. If you're not a fan of cliffhangers, buy this book one week before Guilty, the third book in the series, is released so you won't have to wait. Because seriously, the wait is going to kill you. Perhaps literally, he is a true crime author after all.

  If you, my friend, are looking for a breathe of fresh air from anything else on the YA market. Pick up these books. You won't be disappointed, and you'd be willing to kill for more.
Cover Comments:
The blue gives a real cold look to the cover, sort-of referencing "murdered in cold blood" perhaps? I think the font is perfect and rather freaky!

5 comments:

  1. I still need to finish reading this one. I just haven't been in a book reading mood lately.

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  2. I still need to read the first one, but they look so good. I completely agree about it being hard to type up a review for the books you really enjoy...it's so frustrating sometimes.
    Great review

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  3. This look awesome! I love it when real news stories become great tales:)

    Great review:)

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  4. This sounds fabulous!! I still need to read the first one, but it's great to hear that you liked the second one a ton too! Hate it when book 2 doesn't come close to living up to the first.

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  5. I'm a bit lost reading this review, mainly because I have no idea what the first book is about, but I will take your advice and pick up this series!


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