There’s a myth about geniuses. It’s been said they prefer solitude. 

 

There’s a myth about teenagers, too. It’s been said they’re sullen and hard to talk to. 

 

Ava Bonney is a teenage genius. The thing about being a teenage genius? It’s just lonely. The genius part of her lacks intellectual stimulation from…anyone. Only her best friend really puts up with her shenanigans. The teenage girl part of her just can’t seem to care about anything other teenage girls care about because she’s too busy dodging her mother’s blows, avoiding her mother’s boyfriend’s lingering eyes, and protecting her sister. 

 

So if she’s awkward and a little off-putting, try not to be too offended. She’s just grown up a little too fast. 

 

This is the third debut novel I’ve rated five stars this year, a story about children that’s not necessarily meant to be read by children. A book about childhood but not necessarily meant to be read by someone who’s currently going through it. 

 

This book is both compelling and engaging from the start, as we’re introduced to committed, brave, sarcastic, and genius Ava as she sneaks out of her family’s flat and out to her makeshift animal body farm, where she’s been deeply engrossed in learning all about the decomposition of different animals for some time. We learn so much about this book’s protagonist in these opening scenes, and I dare a reader not to become immediately attached to her. This attachment only grows and solidifies as the book goes on, making the stakes in this book feel extremely high as your concern for Ava’s welfare tightens that suspenseful rope around you. 

 

That feeling of dread and suspense is also held in place by the concern and care for the book’s children, teenagers, and domestic pets. (Oh, yeah, if you’re sensitive to any sort of animal-involved triggers, please seek out content warnings for this book before reading). 

 

All of that heavy emotional lifting is mitigated by one Detective Seth Delahaye, who genuinely enjoys being a cop because he wants to do the right thing (not to be mistaken for the good thing) and takes an immediate shine to the knowledgeable and no-nonsense Ava. In Ava’a world, adults are people you don’t trust, and Delahaye knows that. His open acceptance of Ava’s expertise and the trust he puts in her efforts to help with the case is a really appealing depiction of an adult who knows sometimes you just have to trust your gut, even if your gut takes you to a fourteen-year-old girl who is smarter than you. 

 

I loved how the 1981 setting was faithfully depicted in every aspect of the novel, from the criminology and pathology to the underlying social and economical themes. It’s a truly fantastic novel and well worth the read. 

 

I was provided a digital copy of this title by the publisher and author via Netgalley. I’d like to thank the publisher for also sending me a finished copy of this title. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you. 

 

File Under: 5 Star Review/Amateur Sleuth/Crime Thriller/Historical Fiction/Historical Mystery/Kidnapping/Literary Fiction/Murder Thriller/Serial Killer/Suspense Thriller