Now with their mother in rehab, and no father to take care of them, Ellery and Ezra are sent to live with a grandmother they barely know in Echo Ridge. The town's frightening reputation becomes clear to them both, when the twins find the body of Mr. Bowman, an Echo Ridge high school teacher, lying dead in the street.
Ellery and Ezra's time in Echo Ridge isn't going great, despite becoming friends with Malcolm and Mia. It keeps going downhill when Ellery is mysteriously elected as a homecoming princess on her first week there. Graffittied walls and hijacked screens keep threatening to make things as dangerous as it was five years ago for the homecoming princesses. Despite these threats towards Ellery, Katrin, and Brooke, the school says homecoming is still on.
Then Brooke goes missing. Search parties and investigations pop up, and the word spreads throughout town that Malcolm was the last to see her. Malcolm, desperate to prove himself innocent, and Ellery, as curious as she is, team up to find out what happened.
Ellery and Malcolm work hard collecting little facts that will add up to the truth, despite the police telling them to stay out of it. It isn't until their lives are put in danger, that the truth is unveiled, and people finally get the answers they deserve.
Overall, I liked this book. I read it because I loved Karen M. McManus's first two books, "One Of Us Is Lying," and "One Of Us Is Next." While I can't say, I liked this book as much, it was still an enjoyable read. I found the plot in this book very complicated. There were many twists and turns that truly kept you on the edge of your seat. This book was very interesting and had me hooked the whole way through. However, I did not enjoy the plot in this book as much I liked in it in "One Of Us is Lying," and "One Of Us Is Next." The whole idea seemed too elaborate to me from the beginning. This book had me thinking like a detective from start to finish. You can't help but start putting together your own theories as the story goes on. You could really feel for the characters in this book as well. Prepare to feel sad for them, angry for them, and even scared for them. Anybody that loves a good mystery would enjoy this book. This book is especially good for those, who want to challenge themselves with a really difficult mystery. Even if you don't normally read mysteries, I would give this book a try. It is very captivating. Overall, I enjoyed this book. I don't think it can compare to Karen M. McManus's first two books but it is still a very interesting mystery.
Reviewed by Sara H., 8th Grade