Deadly Cool by Gemma Halliday

Deadly Cool
Deadly Cool 1
Author: Gemma Halliday
Pages: 303 pgs
Genre: YA
Release Date: October 11th 2011
Review Source: HarperTeen ARC

Deadly Cool isn't Gemma's first novel, but it is her first in a teen series and what a start it was. Again, this wasn't a typical book that I've read and reviewed for this blog, but it's always good to try new things.

When Hartley learns that her boyfriend Josh cheated on her, she wants to confront him about it. Unable to get ahold of him, she goes to his house. But instead of finding Josh, she finds the girl he'd cheated on her with, Courtney... dead.

Hartley knows Josh would never kill anybody and when he asks her to help prove his innocence, she doesn't have any choice but to do just that. The only problem is another girl turns up dead and Hartley is the one who finds her. Will she be able to find out who the killer is before she because the latest victim?

From the very first line it's clear that this story is going to be humorous and snarky. Hartley has a sarcastic sense of humor and finds herself in the strangest of situations throughout the story. I enjoyed the fact that the humor and wit were consistent throughout, even when referring to her mother the "SMother" and the "eco friendly" car that her best friend's brother lets them borrow.

You are also left wondering until the end just who it could have been. Courtney was popular, but not well liked and there were tons of people who could have had the motive to kill her. Even the editor of their high school's paper, Chase, who had offered to help Hartley had the opportunity to do it. Just who could it have been?

One of the things I really liked though was that even though Hartley still cared about Josh and found herself wanting to go back to him, she didn't. He apologized and tried to make things right, but Hartley wasn't going to give him another chance. She stuck to her guns and stayed strong.

All in all it was a fun and light read and Hartley was a funny character. I'm definitely interested to find out what kind of trouble she finds herself in with the sequel "Social Suicide". For more information on this book and the other series that Gemma's written you can check out her site http://www.gemmahalliday.com.