The Dead and Buried Blog Tour: Review & Giveaway

Title: The Dead and Buried
Author: Kim Harrington
Release: January 2013 by Scholastic Point
Synopsis:

A haunted house, a buried mystery, and a very angry ghost make this one unforgettable thriller.

Jade loves the house she's just moved into with her family. She doesn't even mind being the new girl at the high school: It's a fresh start, and there's that one guy with the dreamy blue eyes. . . . But then things begin happening. Strange, otherworldly things. Jade's little brother claims to see a glimmering girl in his room. Jade's jewelry gets moved around, as if by an invisible hand. Kids at school whisper behind her back like they know something she doesn't.

Soon, Jade must face an impossible fact: that her perfect house is haunted. Haunted by a ghost who's seeking not just vengeance, but the truth. The ghost of a girl who ruled Jade's school — until her untimely death last year. It's up to Jade to put the pieces together before her own life is at stake. As Jade investigates the mystery, she discovers that her new friends in town have more than a few deep, dark secrets. But is one of them a murderer?

The Dead and Buried was quick to grab my attention; everything from the murder mystery to the quick pace had me enjoying this book start to finish.  Jade's quirky friend Alexa also rounded out this story for me.  She was the #1 person on Kayla's hit list, but Alexa never let this get her down; it was great to see a side character with such a well developed since of self.

Jade moves into her dream home right before her senior year of high school, so the year is starting off great.  But she soon learns that there's a little snag in the dream, the house is haunted.  Her brother, Colby, sees a "glimmering girl," her jewelry is rearranged and she finds out from her classmates that the school "mean girl," Kayla, died in the house at the end of the previous school year.  And oh yeah, the boy Jade is crushing on, Donovan, is the prime suspect in the girl's death, because falling down the stairs might be more than just an accident.  Things start to get creepy when the spirit of Kayla possesses Jades younger brother Colby. Kayla's personality did not improve with death, she's meaner as a ghost than she was as a human; but Kayla has just has one demand for Jade, to find out how pushed her down the stairs.  But it's hard to figure this mystery out when all of Jade's new friends at school have a motive for murder.

This is one ghost story with bite.  I liked that the mystery aspect had so many possibilities and that with each new suspect there was another secret that came to light.  The story was also enhanced by the use of Kayla's diary to show her thoughts on her mean girl life style.  The Dead and Buried is a surprising contemporary with a ghost story twist that I very much enjoyed reading.

My Overall Rating:

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