Social Suicide (Deadly Cool #2)By Gemma Halliday
Published by HarperTeen
Bought Paperback
277 pages
"Twittercide: the killing of one human being by another while the victim is in the act of tweeting.
Call me crazy, but I figured writing for the "Herbert Hoover High Homepage" would be a pretty sweet gig. Pad the resume for college applications, get a first look at the gossip column, spend some time ogling the paper's brooding bad-boy editor, Chase Erikson. But on my first big story, things went . . . a little south. What should have been a normal interview with Sydney Sanders turned into me discovering the homecoming queen-hopeful dead in her pool. Electrocuted while Tweeting. Now, in addition to developing a reputation as HHH's resident body finder, I'm stuck trying to prove that Sydney's death wasn't suicide.
I'm starting to long for the days when my biggest worry was whether the cafeteria was serving pizza sticks or Tuesday Tacos. . . "- Goodreads
Social Suicide is a great follow up to Deadly Cool, that you can easily devour in one sitting. Halliday's ability to create a witty, mysterious-yet-light, almost fluffy story amazes me. It 'goes down easy' leaving the reader to want a second helping.
Hartley is as sarcastic and witty as ever. She can't seem to stay away from bad situations (involving her classmates) and is sucked into another investigation. Hartley is very determined and immerses herself into her work- that of writing an article for her school's newspaper regarding the death of Sydney. Her antics and tactics are hilarious and over the top. Hartley is a great protagonist who portrays a teenage girl's attitude well. Her best friend Sam is as great as ever and Chase certainly held to his position in the series. I liked the interactions between every character and their conversations. Side characters such as Hartley's mom, Detective Raley, and all the suspects had a certain charisma about them that makes the story SO entertaining.
The plot had a nice pace that keeps you reading until you figure out who the killer is... I applaud Halliday's ability to keep the reader guessing who the suspect is and what their motives are. The character's detective skills very creative and I loved the situations they found themselves in. But, yes there's usually a but, I felt as though Social Suicide fell into a very similar plot style as the first book, Deadly Cool. I found myself nodding and going, "yep, something similar happened in the first." Also, I was really hoping that Hartley and Chase's relationship would develop into something more. I certainly appreciate the author's way of doing things, I do not want insta-love but I just wish maybe their friendship would have been taken a step further.
I'd recommend this to those who love mysteries and who love charming characters that have wit on their side. Social Suicide is a great light, mystery read.
Excerpt
Then Chase leaned in close. "Hey."
"What?" I whispered back.
"Are you wearing perfume?"
I swallowed hard. "No," I lied. "Why would I be wearing perfume?"
Chase shrugged. "Maybe you're going out?"
I gritted my teeth together. Sam was so going to hear about this.
Chase sniffed the air. "You sure you're not wearing anything? It smells like jasmine."
"Must be the bushes," I said.
Chase shifted. "I don't think there are any jasmine bushes around here. Don't they have flowers?"
"I don't think so."
"Yeah, little white ones, right? There are definitely no little white flowers on these bushes."
"Yeah, little white ones, right? There are definitely no little white flowers on these bushes."
"Shhh!" I said. "Someone's coming."
Which, thankfully, was true.
