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A review by jennifermreads
Keep This to Yourself by Tom Ryan
4.0
Last year, the small coastal town of Camera Cove was haunted by a serial killer dubbed the Catalog Killer. After their fourth murder, the killer stopped. Did they vanish? Or just finish their story? Mac’s best friend Connor was the last victim and moving on has been impossible. When Mac finds a note Connor left for him, Mac is determined to see if he can solve the mystery that stumped law enforcement.
I am on a bit of a murder mystery kick and have been inhaling these types of stories. Gorged myself on this particular title: I finished it in a 24-hour period. The close-knit group of friends was relatable. The small-town setting was so familiar I swore Portland referred to Oregon … until the reference to the incoming Hurricane then I realized it was Maine! And I just love when a mystery shocks me at the end! I did not see this one coming at all.
The only thing that brought it down a star for me was the law enforcement involvement in the story. Coming from a “cop family,” the idea of a citizen solving a crime that stumps local AND federal officers is a bit of a stretch. Then, at the end, when the police chief helps the teens concoct a story that will leave Connor as the guilty one and his own killers walking away unpunished was just too much of a stretch. I know, I know. It is fiction, it is a story, it is made-up. But this was just one bit that I could not suspend beliefs and allow to just happen as a course of the tale.
I am on a bit of a murder mystery kick and have been inhaling these types of stories. Gorged myself on this particular title: I finished it in a 24-hour period. The close-knit group of friends was relatable. The small-town setting was so familiar I swore Portland referred to Oregon … until the reference to the incoming Hurricane then I realized it was Maine! And I just love when a mystery shocks me at the end! I did not see this one coming at all.
The only thing that brought it down a star for me was the law enforcement involvement in the story. Coming from a “cop family,” the idea of a citizen solving a crime that stumps local AND federal officers is a bit of a stretch. Then, at the end, when the police chief helps the teens concoct a story that will leave Connor as the guilty one and his own killers walking away unpunished was just too much of a stretch. I know, I know. It is fiction, it is a story, it is made-up. But this was just one bit that I could not suspend beliefs and allow to just happen as a course of the tale.