His love captivated her... his secrets might kill her. Since her sister’s mysterious death, Persephone “Phe” Archer has been plagued by a series of disturbing dreams. Determined to find out what happened to her sister, Phe enrolls at Devenish Prep in Shadow Hills, Massachusetts—the subject of her sister’s final diary entry.
After stepping on campus, Phe immediately realizes that there’s something different about this place—an unexplained epidemic that decimated the town in the 1700s, an ancient and creepy cemetery, and gorgeous boy Zach—and somehow she’s connected to it all.
But the more questions she asks and the deeper she digs, the more entangled Phe becomes in the haunting past of Shadow Hills. Finding what links her to this town…might cost her her life.
This book reminded me why I love a good mystery so much. Add in the great romance Anastasia Hopus has blooming between Phe and Zach and you've got me as a big fan without a doubt. From start to finish Hopcus builds the mystery that hangs over the small town of Shadow Hills. Clues are given out and revelations are made at just the right times but I was just as much in the dark as the characters were. It was perfect, I wasn't predicting the end by page one but instead enjoying the complexity that Hopcus created. There are clear "good" guys and clear bad guys but it was the floaters that surprised me and kept me second guessing myself from the beginning to the very end.
After Phe's older sister Athena dies, she wants answers and doesn't want to wait around for them to come to her, or to never materialize at all. She was such a fun character to watch in action. She was brave and gutsy (yes I just used the word gutsy) and went after what she wanted, no holds barred. The mysterious Zach (a local native of Shadow Hills) has secrets and plays hard to get but that just makes you like him all the more.
With her new boarding school friends (and who doesn't love a boarding school backdrop?) Phe sets out to solve the puzzle of her new home town and figure out how her and her sister fit in with the whole thing. Readers will love the mystery, romance and of course the suspense, and will want more where that came from. Hopcus says on her blog that she can't confirm a sequel but that she is working on book two. Let's just hope that she can confirm and release that book very soon!
I gave Shadow Hills 4 shamrocks!!!!
Great review, Katelyn. I really liked this one too- loved the mystery as well. I hope there is a sequel!
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