Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Mary Catherine Montgomery--a self-deprecating New Yorker with a taste for vintage and indie music--narrates this crafty, well-paced thriller. En route to summer in her father's hometown of Montgomery Falls, Cat, 17, discovers that her former friend Riley Fraser disappeared three months previously. Five years ago, Cat and neighbor Riley, both 12, spent every day exploring the woods around the small Canadian town, until their friendship ended abruptly. Burdened with an unusual and difficult-to-control psychic ability that makes her uncomfortable touching others, Cat is typically wary of new people, but she soon gets to know good-looking housemate Aidan Porter and his friends, a welcoming group of appealingly eccentric horror movie fans. She also reconnects with brooding Noah, Riley's older brother, and eventually agrees to use her gift to help him investigate Riley's disappearance. Peacock (the Hemlock series) frontloads the story line with hints of complicated backstories and unresolved relationships, then doles out details bit by tantalizing bit. The novel's finale is appropriately fiendish--and also unexpectedly uplifting as Cat comes into her own. Ages 13--up. Agent: Emmanuelle Morgen, Stonesong. (Oct.)
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Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 7 Up--For the first time in five years, 17-year-old Cat Montgomery is returning to the small, sleepy Canadian town her family founded. Five years since the day she kissed her best friend Riley and events spiraled out of control. Now she's forced to spend the summer in her ancestral home next door to Riley's family. But Riley has been missing for three months, and his older brother Noah thinks he's been murdered. Noah enlists Cat's help discovering who is behind Riley's disappearance because he knows her big secret--she sees visions when she touches a person. Cat is reluctant to help, but when she and her friends stumble upon an unconscious girl in the water, she knows she has no choice. Cat's insecurities threaten to sideline her investigation and her new friendships. She struggles to find worth in her visions and herself, often referring to herself as "the chubby friend" and finding herself on the sidelines. A number of questions are left lingering through the story that help build the suspense. What happened that day with Riley? Why was Cat forced to leave her new home in New York and spend the summer in Canada? By the time they are answered it is a bit of a letdown, but not enough to detract from the book as a whole. This novel is more than a murder mystery. It's about self-empowerment, acceptance, and the strength to be found in female friendships. VERDICT This is a first-purchase mystery full of red herrings, ominous settings, and characters who will touch your heart.--Cathy DeCampli, Haddonfield P.L., NJ
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A teen with an unusual gift is enmeshed in a small-town mystery. Mary Catherine "Cat" Montgomery is spending her summer in exile after a disastrous incident with her closest friend, Lacey, leaves her isolated and humiliated. The 17-year-old New Yorker will stay with her Aunt Jet in Montgomery Falls, a tiny Canadian town where her family once owned a successful mill, while her screenwriter father is in California. Cat hasn't been here in five years, after she and her childhood best friend, Riley, discovered the dead body of a young woman--as well as Cat's ability to sense things about others she couldn't know otherwise just by touching their skin. When Cat arrives in Montgomery Falls, she learns that Riley--whom she hasn't spoken to since that long-ago summer--is now missing. Cat quickly falls in with Jet's charismatic 18-year-old boarder, Aidan, and his group of cinephile friends, but when Riley's disappearance is followed by another teen's near death, Cat must call upon the psychic skill that has thus far complicated her life. Peacock crafts a multilayered story chock-full of conflicts with family and friends that many teens will relate to and a chilling mystery that will keep readers guessing. Most characters are assumed White. A page-turner of a thriller with a smart, compelling heroine. (Thriller. 12-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
