I'm torn between 4.5 Stars and 5 Stars for this one. I think I'll go with 4.5. It's almost perfect.

This is the first thriller I've read in a while that actually made me nervous for the characters. Usually I don't wind up caring enough for the main character to ever really feel that they are in danger. I did feel that in this book. And even though Pippa made some very dumb decisions, such as not to trust anyone with the truth of the threats against her and to go into many situations alone, they did make sense in the context of the story.

Okay, so Pippa "Pip" Fitz-Amogi is a senior in high school who decides to take on the unsolved suspected homicide case of Andie Bell as her Senior Capstone Project. She doesn't have delusions of solving the crime, but she does want to investigate how media played a role in the case. She does secretly have some hope that she might uncover something that could point to the alleged killer's innocence. Nearly irrefutable evidence points to the guilt of Sal Singh. He had no alibi, blood under his fingernails, and a confession text message sent to his father. His body was found shortly after Andie Bell's disappearance. It sure looked like a textbook suicide.

But Pip isn't so sure. The Sal she knew could never have mistreated anyone, much less killed them. And he wasn't the type to just kill himself. Something was missing.

Over the course of the project, Pip very brazenly interviews those close to Andie Bell and those connected in any way with her disappearance. She sleuths through facebook profiles, personal cell phones, and even gives a try at breaking and entering. She has very little drive for self preservation, so when she gets threatening notes to stop digging around in the case, she ignores them. She starts working with Ravi Singh, Sal's brother, who also has a vested interest in proving his brother innocent.

This book is a quick read. You'll be turning the pages nonstop until you're finished. There are some situations where Pip acts so boldly that it doesn't quite feel believable for a seventeen year old sheltered girl who's more concerned with her grades than anything.

Slight spoiler here...

Spoiler

There's ALMOST no romance in this book and I loved that. Pip and Ravi were focused on working the case. Pip had zero romantic thoughts throughout all but the last five pages of the book and it felt like that really worked. The characters had chemistry as friends.
They didn't have that romantic spark or act in a romantic way. So, the kiss at the very end didn't really make sense to me. I think it could have ended more ambiguously on this issue with their clasped hands behind the podium at Pip's presentation. That could have been read simply as support for a massive public appearance and speech or as something more for those that wanted it.
Personally, I didn't ship these two characters together. Since Pip had no romantic or sexual thoughts through the first 99% of the book, it almost felt like aromantic or asexual representation. I'm definitely not against romance in books, but I don't care for it to come in randly in the last moments without proper build up. It just didn't feel real.

** For parents and teachers, this book does obviously explain a crime. There are some violent acts described in the book, some physical altercations and also a description of suicide. There are no sexual acts in the book, but roofies and rape are mentioned and treated as serious and morally reprehensible crimes. Drugs are present at parties and Pip does witness some drug use and drug deals as a part of her investigation. She herself does not partake. **