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S.T.A.G.S. is a young adult mystery thriller by author M.A. Bennett. In case you didn't know, S.T.A.G.S. stands for St. Aidan the Great School, is a book that is touted to be awesome for fans of The Secret History and Pretty Little Liars. I am a big fan of both of those books, so that coupled with the boarding school setting, I was pretty pumped for S.T.A.G.S. And S.T.A.G.S. delivered on what it promised, a twisty thriller. And though S.T.A.G.S. is set at a boarding school, a bulk of the novel took place at a country manor where this "hunting" weekend is set to take place.

I loved the premise of S.T.A.G.S. I think that was my favorite aspect of the story.  And the writing and storyline were both excellent. They kept my attention the entire time and I loved the eerie feeling of the story. But the characters didn't always live up to the plot in my opinion. I liked Greer well enough, but I didn't completely love her. And I not entirely sure why. There wasn't anything I could pinpoint that I really disliked. I was just way more invested in the storyline than I was the characters.

But the storyline was pretty great. I loved the way the story is presented. Pretty early on we learn about a murder and we also know the murderer, which is totally unique. (It kind of reminded me of episodes of the tv show Monk, where we watch the murder take place, and then we spend the rest of the episode finding out the how and the why.) We didn't know the why, which had me totally intrigued. And I have to say, I really really enjoyed watching this story unfold. MA Bennett did a really great job making it very interesting. It does seem reminiscent of The Secret History by Donna Tart. 

Overall, Plot driven readers will likely enjoy this suspense thriller. The setting was great and the writing was excellent. There were many areas of the plot and mystery game that I absolutely loved, but I don't want to get into specifics because they are every much a part of the plot that gets revealed as Greer and her friend pulls back some layers and dive into the mystery. It is worth discovering for yourself. I liked the characters well enough, but I wasn't completely won over by them all. Fans of this book will be excited to find out that it is going to be made into a movie. I am really excited for this news because I think it will translate really well to the big screen.  

This review was originally posted on Book Briefs