Tabitha's Book Blog

Truly, Madly, Deadly by Hannah Jayne 
Published by Sourcebooks Fire on July 2, 2013 
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult 
Pages: 272 
Source: ARC, Netgalley 

Truly, Madly, Deadly was a book that that an incredible amount of potential. It had the potential to be one of those books that creeps you out to no end and keeps you up at night because you couldn’t possibly sleep after reading something like that. It was definitely an entertaining book – it had it’s moments, but it wasn’t something that I loved.

Sawyer – you are not Veronica Mars

Sawyer Dodd – you are an incredibly frustrating character, and a lot of the things you did – did not make sense. Why didn’t you tell someone about what was happening to you? (in the case of abuse and the stalker), why did you make so many irrational decisions? And how in the midst of all of this did you form your own investigation and manage to steal police files? It was just one of those things that didn’t make sense, and due to my recent marathon of the Veronica Mars series – I kept writing down in my notes that she wasn’t Veronica Mars…

Awkward Pacing

The book was fairly short, and I think that the length of it took away from the overall story. It was kind of like all of these different events were being thrown at us, and they weren’t necessarily random or even bad to the plot – it’s just that the story was paced in a way that made everything seem rushed. I would have rather read about a few key events and gotten a ton of description, rather than a ton of events with barely any details. It kind of felt like things were thrown into the story at times – just for the sake of making it creepier.

Why was that even included?

One thing that I didn’t understand, or particularly enjoy was the inclusion of Saywer’s abusive boyfriend – Kevin, in the story. He had a purpose – his death was the catalyst that began the story, but that whole part of the plot was underdeveloped. I know it wasn’t the focus of the story, but I would have really liked to see more of it in the flashbacks that were provided. How long had it been happening? When did it start? Why did she stay with him for so long?

Also, another thing that I didn’t understand – was why. WHY. Were there so many little subplots? I think the intention was to create more suspects, and to generate interest in the reader. But I just didn’t get that. There was a slightly creepy locker friend, a creepy teacher, a strange best friend, a deceased abusive boyfriend, a possible mental illness. I don’t know. Maybe, I look too much into the little details, but I honestly didn’t see the point for half of these events.

Basically…

Truly, Madly, Deadly wasn’t a favorite of mine, but it was definitely an entertaining read. It had all of the qualities of a great book, but it was just missing that extra something that makes me really enjoy a book. If you’re a fan of the murder mystery/thriller novel – I think you should give it a chance, but it’s not a book I strongly recommend.