Dangerous Girls: Suspect #1

I read Dangerous Girls last year, and it is still vivid in my mind as this novel surprised me with its plot twist. The premise that that of our main character isolated on an island, who must not only find a way to fight for her freedom but in addition, prove her innocence when she finds herself, along with her boyfriend, accused of murdering her best friend. Let’s see what happened!

Summary of Dangerous Girls

The plot sounds typical for a young adult thriller story. Told in a first-person point-of-view, Dangerous Girls uses flashbacks and present day interrogations following the murder case.

It is about a group of friends having fun on their spring break, a very typical scene. However, this was supposed to be Anna’s, a transferee student, time to shine after as she always put herself in the corner. All is going according to plan until Elise, Anna’s best friend, is found brutally murdered at a luxury beach house. Everyone points to Anna and Tate, her boyfriend.

Through the course of a lengthy investigation, all of the evidence now only points to one person – Anna. What will she do now? Will she find the true culprit or face incarceration? Nothing can prepare you for this ending..

Review

The world is bigger than high school.

This sentence struck me differently as we know how people love labels and categories especially in high school where students equally neglect and worship people who achieve a certain popularity . Anna provides a transferee student’s perspective where she was initially bullied but then was able to find her way into the limelight. Like any other high schooler, Anna had a rough path to follow to eventually to fit in.

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As one can see, status symbol is a big deal in Dangerous Girls. This became clear as all eyes were on Anna since no one else wanted to face the possibility of being the accused. Stories were altered and twisted to fit the narrative that Anna was the possible murderer.

I’m swept up in her exuberance too, in the tiny space of warmth and easy friendship, like a square of sunshine falling on the cold winter floor.

This is how Anna described her relationship with Elise. They bonded over sleepovers, parties, and lunches which were enough at first. This was enough at first but as time went by, their pastimes included sneaking out to go to rock shows, and dive bars. Elise became Anna’s constant companion until she decided to open up to others.

Anna’s narration of the past clearly describes the girls so that the reader understands them well. It was sufficient to show how Anna really felt as a real and a tangible human being. The way she and other parts of the story were written worked for me.

In addition, I am amazed at how Abigail Haas wrote the novel in a multi-format of interrogation dialogues, and different news pegs. Mystery stories do not need to revolve only around the case, in today’s mystery novels the characters are at the center of the intrigue. These character driven stories deal with many aspects like friendship, family, and love. Dangerous Girls showed this part of the mystery where the author carefully wrote enough little details or hints to lead us to what was about to be discovered.

You see? How simple it is, how one little piece of information changes everything. How it all just falls into place. Betrayal.

Throughout the trial dates, interrogations, and being in custody , Anna’s stayed true to her memories to defend herself. She came to a point where telling the truth was not the answer anymore. Readers will surely find themselves rooting for her freedom as she experiences traumatizing events in an unfamiliar country.

Final Thoughts

As the title demonstrates, Dangerous Girls portrays the perilous side of high school for girls in general. You never truly know what runs in every girl’s mind until the end. The complexity and intricacies of the mystery elevated the story not to mention the emotional appeal of the main character. In conclusion, this is one of the most underrated, deeply layered, and intriguing mystery stories I have ever read. I’ll surely check out the author’s other novel entitled Dangerous Boys.