To Catch A Killer – Sheryl Scarborough – Tor Teen – Published 7 February 2017
♥♥♥♥♥
Synopsis
Erin Blake has one of those names. A name that, like Natalee Holloway or Elizabeth Smart, is inextricably linked to a grisly crime. As a toddler, Erin survived for three days alongside the corpse of her murdered mother, and the case—which remains unsolved—fascinated a nation. Her father’s identity unknown, Erin was taken in by her mother’s best friend and has become a relatively normal teen in spite of the looming questions about her past.
Fourteen years later, Erin is once again at the center of a brutal homicide when she finds the body of her biology teacher. When questioned by the police, Erin tells almost the whole truth, but never voices her suspicions that her mother’s killer has struck again in order to protect the casework she’s secretly doing on her own.
Inspired by her uncle, an FBI agent, Erin has ramped up her forensic hobby into a full-blown cold-case investigation. This new murder makes her certain she’s close to the truth, but when all the evidence starts to point the authorities straight to Erin, she turns to her longtime crush (and fellow suspect) Journey Michaels to help her crack the case before it’s too late.
My thoughts
To Catch A Killer lands the reader right in the middle of the action from the very first page. To Catch A Killer promises to be an exciting and suspense-filled murder mystery, with a touch of romance, a strong friendship, and likeable main character.
I was fortunate to receive a sample copy of the first 80 pages of To Catch A Killer. This book was already on my radar as a must-read YA mystery-thriller, and now that I have started reading I don’t want to stop.
Erin will always be known as the girl who was found next to her mother’s dead body. As a toddler, her world changed and she has grown to accept that as she grew up with her mother’s best friend as her guardian. But Erin has always wanted to know what happened to her mother. The killer was never found and Erin was never given answers. It has fueled her interest in forensic science and police procedure. Erin’s life is thrown into chaos when she discovers the body of her beloved science teacher, who was helping Erin find answers about her never-identified father. Erin sees classmate Journey Michaels fleeing the scene, but it is Erin herself who is the prime suspect. Erin determines to do some investigating for herself and is shocked to find a link between her teacher’s death and her mother’s murder.