Title: You Owe Me a Murder Author: Eileen Cook Release Date: March 5, 2019 Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers Pages: 368 Source: ARC provided by Raincoast Books Add to Goodreads | Amazon.ca | Indigo Overall: 4 STARS SUMMARY Seventeen-year-old Kim gets more than she bargained for when she is set up for murder. Perfect for fans of One of Us is Lying , E. Lockhart, and Gillian Flynn. 17-year-old Kim never expected to plot a murder. But that was before her boyfriend dumped her for another girl. Now, Kim’s stuck on a class trip to London with him and his new soulmate and she can’t help wishing he was a little bit dead, even if she’d never really do that. But when Kim meets Nicki, a stranger on the plane who’s more than willing to listen to Kim’s woes, things start to look up. Nicki's got a great sense of humor, and when she jokes about swapping murders, Kim plays along—that is, until Kim’s ex-boyfriend mysteriously dies. Blackmailed by Nicki to fulfill her end of the deal,...
Author: Eileen Cook
Release Date: March 5, 2019
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Pages: 368
Source: ARC provided by Raincoast Books
Add to Goodreads | Amazon.ca | Indigo
Overall: 4 STARS
SUMMARY
Seventeen-year-old Kim gets more than she bargained for when she is set up for murder. Perfect for fans of One of Us is Lying, E. Lockhart, and Gillian Flynn.
17-year-old Kim never expected to plot a murder. But that was before her boyfriend dumped her for another girl. Now, Kim’s stuck on a class trip to London with him and his new soulmate and she can’t help wishing he was a little bit dead, even if she’d never really do that.
But when Kim meets Nicki, a stranger on the plane who’s more than willing to listen to Kim’s woes, things start to look up. Nicki's got a great sense of humor, and when she jokes about swapping murders, Kim plays along—that is, until Kim’s ex-boyfriend mysteriously dies.
Blackmailed by Nicki to fulfill her end of the deal, Kim will have to commit a murder or take the fall for one.
MY THOUGHTS
I always know I'm in for a good time whenever I read an Eileen Cook novel. They're addictive and entertaining—just the kind of book I love to read in one sitting. And when I first read the awesome plot description for You Owe Me a Murder, I just knew I had to read it right away too. Secrets. Lies. Blackmail. Murder. I was definitely immediately hooked!
When Kim is stuck on a summer program to London with her ex-boyfriend and his new girlfriend, she's not exactly in her happy place. She thought she'd be holding hands with Connor as they took in all the historical sights, but now she has to watch him with his hands all over another girl instead. While waiting for their flight to depart from Vancouver, things start looking up for Kim when she meets Nicki, a fellow traveler on her flight.
Nicki is British and returning home. She's posh and bold, and a willing listener as Kim tells her all about Connor and the awkward situation she's in. So when Nicki jokes that they can solve all their problems with murder—she'll kill Connor and Kim can kill Nicki's alcoholic mother—that's all Kim thinks it is. A joke. But Kim's not laughing when a few days later, Connor mysteriously dies and Nicki comes calling. After all, Kim now owes her a murder...
I probably made some interesting expressions while I was reading You Owe Me a Murder. I definitely cringed and shook my head in dismay when Kim told unnecessary lies. Well, not really lies. She was just really good at withholding certain details and telling the bare minimum. But with an ongoing police investigation, I kept wondering if/when the police would look more closely into her statements and it stressed me out a little every time they interacted.
As for Nicki, well, she is one scary, unpredictable girl! Nicki seemed to know exactly what buttons to push to pressure Kim and make her feel cornered. She came and went like a ghost, appearing before Kim to remind her that time was running out before she had to return home to Canada. Ominous music started playing in my head whenever Nicki was around because you knew things would take a turn or Kim would have to adjust her plans to counter her all over again.
With several thrillers under her belt now, Eileen Cook is getting really good at layering the tension, distorting the truth, and throwing out misdirections to keep you on the edge of your seat. While I did guess a couple of the twists correctly this time around, I had no idea how the ending would ultimately play out, so I still eagerly turned the pages to discover what would happen next. If you're looking for your next compelling and devious YA thriller to read, I highly recommend checking out You Owe Me a Murder.
Q&A With Eileen Cook
In With Malice, Jill is experiencing amnesia and can't recall the car accident that killed her best friend. In The Hanging Girl/One Lie Too Many, Skye gives fake psychic readings and gets swept into a police investigation for a missing girl. Now, in You Owe Me a Murder, Kim is blackmailed into committing murder or she'll take the fall for one. If you had to switch places with one of your heroines in these thrillers, who would you choose and why?
Oooh, hard question! I’m pretty miserable to all my characters and put them in horrible situations. I’d rather have my boring life any day of the week. I like a no-drama existence when possible except on the pages of books. If I have to choose one, I would trade places with Kim. My reason being that despite the horrible situation she’s in, she does have some good people on her side—a bit more than my other two characters. Her parents drive her crazy, but they love her. She has a best friend (granted, miles away) and she becomes friends with Alex, so she’s got some support as she struggles through this situation.
I’ve come to believe having been through some hard situations (full transparency- never murder!) that the most important thing you can have is friends. People who will be there to help pick you up during the times that that you don’t believe you can do it yourself.
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