A review by summerrae87
Paint My Body Red by Heidi R. Kling

4.0

I don't read mystery/thriller YA often, so I'm generally pretty hesitant while trying to get through them. This book, however, stood out among the rest. Shifting between past and present, or "then" and "now" as the narrator puts it, we discover seven suicides all stemming from a single high school group. An illicit love affair causes our main character Paige to be shipped off to her father's ranch. Paige's father has advanced ALS but she hasn't seen him in quite some time, so his appearance and demeanor catch her off guard. Another thing that throws her for a loop--Jake, the boy she played with as a kid who turned into a rugged cowboy whose life is primarily helping at her father's ranch. Paige, however, is worried about letting anyone else in -- especially after the last suicide, which was directly linked to her life. This book kept me on the edge of my seat, and I managed to finish it in one day. I would highly recommend this to readers of mystery and thriller books and those who are willing to step into the genre.