Buried (A Goth Girl Mystery #1) by Linda Joy Singleton
YA
E book (Arc-Net Galley)
March 8, 2012
Flux
In a new school and determined to keep her secrets from being discovered, Thorn finds a mysterious locket that leads to a shocking discovery. Surrounded by new friends she barely knows, as well as the school's famous former student, a smoking-hot musician named Phillipe, Thorn must investigate to find out if one of them is a murderer. (Goodreads)
Thorn aka Beth Anne is a goth girl recently transplanted to a backwater town with her family. Already considered an oddity in her own family, Thorn continues to rebel against the norm with her looks and unwillingness to conform to her high school’s standards. Gifted with the ability to “read” objects, Thorn finds a necklace that leads her to a grave. Thorn believes it is her duty to solve this crime and sets out to find out what happened so many years ago.
Buried is a spin off of Ms. Singleton’s Seer series. A light weight YA that neither insults nor excites you with it’s story telling abilities. The premise promises our heroine an intriguing mystery and almost delivers. Unfortunately, the addition of several minor, self serving sub plots only serves to muddy the waters and creates discord with in the story.
Thorn has no real crime solving abilities and her bumbling around only serves to get her into further trouble at school and with her family. Her actions are circumspect at best and I found myself rolling my eyes many times when she finds her “criminal” only to realize she is yet wrong again. Add in a school talent show, a vigilante high school student, a former bad boy turned rock star, a judgmental family and you have a small storyline that collapses under the weight of all the extra weight. The mystery gets buried beneath everything and becomes a minor storyline rather then the main plot.
Fun characters help the story along as we met and interact with Thorn and those around her. However, they weren’t able to flesh out or develop as much as I would have liked due to the length of book and it’s oh so many sub plots. I enjoyed the hint of romance offered her in a classic opposites attracted trope. The ending is weak on all levels left me feeling cheated by how easily everything worked out.
All in all a fast read that doesn’t cause fits of anger but could have used more editing and less filler.
Overall Rating: D+
*I was offered this arc by Net Galley in exchange for a fair and honest review.*
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