Review: Shadowlands

Shadowlands
By Kate Brian
Expected publication January 8, 2013 by Hyperion

Rory survived when others could not: chased and confronted by a serial killer, Rory saw her chance for escape and took it. Now, with the killer still on the loose, Rory and her family must relocate, leaving their old lives behind without breathing a word of where they're going. They're supposed to be safe in their new life, but soon, Rory sees hints that her nightmare isn't over just yet...

Kate Brian is an accomplished author of young adult fiction, publishing under both this, her pseudonym, and Kieran Scott, her real name. I've never read anything under either name before - nothing under the Scott name really caught my eye, and the Brian books all seemed to be about things they didn't really interest me, namely, drama among the rich girls. I requested a digital galley of this title because it seemed to be a departure from what she'd written before and I thought it sounded like it had potential. My mom is a big fan of suspense, thriller, and horror novels, so I've got my own appreciation of them, and I enjoy seeing more in this genre written for young adults (I'm a big believer in scaring the younger generations). The good about this book: it is suspenseful. Short, quick, dialogue-heavy chapters will keep readers turning the pages at a frantic pace. Brian creates a suitably creepy atmosphere, both in the initial chase sequence and in the town to which Rory and her family relocate. It's an incredibly quick read - I finished it in one night, and it wasn't even a night where I did nothing but read. The bad about this book: the twist doesn't really come as much of a shock. Observant readers will have it figured out long before it's revealed to Rory (I'm terrible at seeing plot twists coming, but I had this one figured out pretty early on) and it definitely loses its effectiveness if you've figured it out ahead of time. The ending is also incredibly abrupt - if memory serves (and I could be mistaken), the big twist is revealed on the last page; it might even be the last sentence. It feels incredibly awkward to just end there, especially as there are still a number of questions left unanswered. Perhaps this is the start of a new series, but that doesn't seem right to me either - after all, the big twist has already been revealed; where would Brian go from here? All in all, it was a very quick and suspenseful read but it felt like an incomplete package.

Thanks to the publisher for a digital advance reader's copy, provided via NetGalley.