Review: Beautiful Dead book 3 - Summer - Eden Maguire

Not alive.  Not dead.  Somewhere in between lie the Beautiful Dead.

Six months have passed since the last mysterious teenage death, but Darina is still traumatized by the murders of Summer Madison and her own beloved Phoenix.  She searches constantly for the Beautiful Dead, longing for their return.

Springtime sees Darina once more in Phoenix's arms.  But spring is also a reminder of the hail of bullets that killed Summer in a random shopping mall shooting almost a year ago.

Can Darina and the Beautiful Dead catch Summer's crazed killer?  Will Darina's love for Phoenix survive the task?  One thing is clear - it's not finished yet, not by a long shot ...

Beautiful Dead Series:
Jonas
Arizona
Summer
Phoenix

Visit the Beautiful Dead website for more information

Review:
It's been nearly a year since Darina's friend Summer was killed in a random shooting at a shopping mall.  Darina was a witness to the shooting and now it is up to her to try and find the killer so that Summer can finally rest in peace.  Was the shooting really as random as it seemed and if it was how on earth is Darina supposed to track down the killer?  At the same time she must cope with her grief over the death of her boyfriend Phoenix and prepare herself for when he must leave her forever.

This is the 3rd book in the Beautiful Dead series and although you can probably read it as a stand alone story I think you'll find it easier to follow the background story if you read the books in order.  I don't think there was much information about what the Beautiful Dead actually are in this installment so you may find it confusing if you're new to the series.

Darina is still struggling to deal with both her grief at the deaths of her boyfriend and her friends but also with the existence of the Beautiful Dead.  It's been about 4 months since she helped Arizona solve the mystery of her death and since that time she has had no contact with Phoenix or any of the other Beautiful Dead.  She is plagued with doubts about whether they really exist or if they were a product of her grief fueled imagination.  I understand that she is desperately missing Phoenix and would do anything to spend time with him again but I have to confess I was hoping she would have started to deal with things better by now.  I'm beginning to get a little bored with her attitude and the way she is acting and it's putting me off picking up the final book in the series.

One of the things that annoys me most is the way that the Beautiful Dead (Hunter in particular) treat her.  They need her help in order to investigate the deaths but Hunter is completely unwilling to allow her access to the Beautiful Dead and doesn't want her spending time with Phoenix.  The way he is constantly threatening her and being so nasty grates on my nerves and if I was in Darina's position I think I would have walked away from the whole mess and told them to sort out their own problems.  I'd really like to see Darina stand up for herself a bit more but it's hard when Hunter is holding all the cards and she misses Phoenix so much.

While this is a series I like I'd have to say it isn't one that I love.  The plot was a little slow to get going but was interesting once it built up momentum.  I enjoyed the mystery surrounding Summer's death but had guessed fairly early on who was behind it.  There was one particular plot line about Logan that really annoyed me - how could that have been allowed to happen? - but it was definitely a twist that I hadn't expected.  While I am starting to get a little bored with the series the books are quick and easy reads that I get through in 1 or 2 sessions and I will definitely read the final book at some point because I want to know how the overall story arc plays out.

Source: Library

Other Reviews:
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