Review: Stone Cove Island by Suzanne Myers

Stone Cove Island by Suzanne Myers

Publication Date: November 11, 2014
Page Count: 240
Published by: Soho Teen
Source: eArc received from publisher in exchange for an honest review

Synopsis from Goodreads:

The Stepford Wives meets Stephen King in this debut mystery: a sleepy New England beach town is wrecked by a hurricane that reveals an unthinkable 30-year-old secret.

When a catastrophic hurricane devastates Stone Cove Island, a serene New England resort community, everyone pulls together to rebuild. Seventeen-year-old Eliza Elliot volunteers to clean out the island’s iconic lighthouse and stumbles upon a secret in the wreckage: a handwritten, anonymous confession to a thirty-year-old crime.

Bess Linsky’s unsolved murder has long haunted the island, and the letter turns the town inside out. Everyone who knew Bess is suddenly a suspect. Soon Eliza finds herself in the throes of an investigation she never wanted or asked for. As Stone Cove Island fights to recover from disaster, Eliza plunges the locals back into a nightmare they believed was long buried.

This turned out to be a really good YA murder mystery with an unpredictable outcome. Well written and easy to read, it managed to capture my attention from beginning to end.

Eliza and Charlie were both likable, but I didn't get to know either of them very well. While I enjoyed the romance between Eliza and Charlie, their relationship developed a bit too quickly for my taste. But I actually liked how well they worked together to solve the mystery, and the romance wasn't the main focus of the story, so it was all good in the end.

With each new character that was introduced, I couldn't help but wonder who the murderer was. Everyone that Eliza came in contact with was a suspect. As Eliza and Charlie delved deeper into the island's dark past, long buried secrets finally came to the surface. When all is said and done, will Eliza ever be able to view her quaint hometown and it's residents the same way ever again?

The story was easy enough to follow, but it did become a little complicated at times with all of the characters and their back stories. The build up of the mystery was compounded by the secretive nature of the residents and Eliza's determination to discover the truth regardless of the consequences. Overall, Stone Cove Island was enjoyable enough and held my interest throughout. I just wish there had been more build up and suspense. This was a clean YA book that would be perfect for a younger teen reader.

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars