Rating: 4 out of 5.

This is an exciting psychological thriller set at a liberal arts college in South Carolina. Margot’s best friend Eliza died 3 weeks after graduation and Margo blames Eliza’s boyfriend for her death. Margot goes into a deep funk, but ultimately decides to attend the college she and Eliza planned to attend together. Margo spends her freshman year cloistered with her plain jane roommate, never making other friends or participating in social events. The only thing she does notice is Lucy, who is bold and dangerous – and reminds her so much of Eliza.

At the end of freshman year, Lucy approaches Margot and invites her to move into an off-campus house with two other girls, Sloan and Nicole. The house is owned by the next-door fraternity and one of Margot’s roommate is dating the fraternity president. Suddenly Margot is coming out of her shell, partying, and having fun. She and Lucy grow very close and by the end of summer are almost inseparable – until one of the fraternity boys from next door is found brutally murdered and Lucy goes missing without a trace. Suddenly Margot and her remaining two roommates are in the middle of a murder and missing person investigation, and cracks are forming.

Told in short chapters that alternate between the time just before and after Eliza’s death before college, and the present timeline while Margot lives in the off-campus house, the book is an addictive read. I had a hard time putting it down and read it in a day and a half. The book is a great example of an unreliable narrator and kept me guessing as to what was going to happen next and what the truth really was. Pretty much everyone was despicable in one way or another, other than perhaps Nicole and Sloan. But even they had their moments. The middle was a bit slow, but it quickly picked up the last fourth of the book until the climatic ending. If you like psychological, suspenseful books with plenty of twists and turns, pick this book up now.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Minotaur Books. All opinions are my own.