Author: A.C. Arthur
Genre: adult, mystery, romance, thriller, death, crime fiction
Published: October 27, 2015
Publisher: Alloy Entertainment
Purchase: Amazon
When Nathan Hamilton was accused of killing Landy Connor just weeks before their college graduation, he lost everything—his friends, his reputation, and the love of his life, Tenile Barnes. For ten long years, the murder has remained unsolved, nothing but false leads and dead ends. Desperate to bring Landy’s killer to justice and win back Tenile’s heart, Nathan starts his own investigation. But the first break in the case comes at a high price: Landy’s old roommate Nicole is kidnapped... possibly by the same person who killed Landy.
Nathan and his old friends comb through every memory, every photograph, and every trace of evidence for clues about who killed Landy then and who has taken Nicole now. As they separate fact from vicious rumor and piece together what really happened that night, they discover that the truth is darker and more twisted than they ever imagined. The killer is close, waiting in the shadows, ready to strike again.
In the shocking sequel to Rumors, will the friends finally reveal Landy’s killer . . . or will Nicole be the next to fall?
* * *
OVERALL, Revealed is an intriguing mystery novel that had its decent amount of thrilling pace and and romance. I like how it focused on solving the mystery unlike before but was disappointed at how it barely move until the last few chapters of the novel. The revelation disappointed me but the ending, how everyone was at the end, satisfied me.
The first book left me hanging. It made me interested in picking up the next and final book but not convince enough to buy it. Unexpectedly though. Ally Entertainment sent a NetGalley invite to those who read and review the first book. So yeah... Long story short, I was able to get a chance to read and review Revealed by A.C. Arthur.
If there's any book that I can be compare to the Rumors duology, it's The Perfectionist duology. Aside from the fact that they're both dualogies, they both have a murder mystery on hand, and a set of first class people being surrounded by lies and rumors.
The Mystery! Revealed picked up where Rumors left off. It still had that one big question: who killed Landy? Is he the same person who killed Landy's brother? The first book was all introduction and more questions. Rumors, however, focused on the mystery - taking action, looking through clues, and really finding out who killed Landy.
Solving the Case. I like how Revealed really moved the story - uncovering the mystery. A couple more characters were explored which were merely mentioned in Rumors. I felt that their late appearance in the story seems convenient - they stood there as additional elements for the story, to add complications, excitement perhaps. They greatly stirred the story even misleading me. Admittedly, A.C. Arthur almost had me.
I was never attached to anyone. I like how their each of their relationships gradually grew strong as the story goes but I never really root for anyone. Nathan and Tenile's relationship was plainly there. I see how the trust between them was solidify by certain events in the novel and I liked it. I felt no connection with them though. Justin and Nicole's relationship was the pair I liked more here. I like how they had struggle in the beginning, how they put space between them, and how they were in the end. It felt great. No connections made to me though since I hated Justin. He felt very proud and maybe part selfish. Finally, Tracy and Kareem's relationship was so uneventful that I never really care about them. It's like everything was being smooth sailing until the last few chapters of the novel.
There were only a few investigations occur. Nathan's private investigator felt useless and almost MIA throughout the novel. It irritated me. Like, what the hell is his purpose? A for-show kind of thing? I have to get this out of my system though, since Nathan's appearance and declaration that he'll reinvestigate Landy's murder, nothing really happened, aside from the craziness, cheating revelations, and unexpected death. I hated how he was completely set aside.
Revelation. I was greatly disappointed in this part. The only clues that leads to the murderer were mentioned in the same chapter he was revealed. I might have accepted it if it was well executed and there was a foreshadowing. But no, I do understand his case but I was irritated how as if everything was plainly dumped into a few chapters.
If there's any book that I can be compare to the Rumors duology, it's The Perfectionist duology. Aside from the fact that they're both dualogies, they both have a murder mystery on hand, and a set of first class people being surrounded by lies and rumors.
The Mystery! Revealed picked up where Rumors left off. It still had that one big question: who killed Landy? Is he the same person who killed Landy's brother? The first book was all introduction and more questions. Rumors, however, focused on the mystery - taking action, looking through clues, and really finding out who killed Landy.
"Yes," Tenile said, following with a sigh of her own. "I swear, this town thrives on rumors and gossip as if they're some kind of drug." -loc2195
Solving the Case. I like how Revealed really moved the story - uncovering the mystery. A couple more characters were explored which were merely mentioned in Rumors. I felt that their late appearance in the story seems convenient - they stood there as additional elements for the story, to add complications, excitement perhaps. They greatly stirred the story even misleading me. Admittedly, A.C. Arthur almost had me.
I was never attached to anyone. I like how their each of their relationships gradually grew strong as the story goes but I never really root for anyone. Nathan and Tenile's relationship was plainly there. I see how the trust between them was solidify by certain events in the novel and I liked it. I felt no connection with them though. Justin and Nicole's relationship was the pair I liked more here. I like how they had struggle in the beginning, how they put space between them, and how they were in the end. It felt great. No connections made to me though since I hated Justin. He felt very proud and maybe part selfish. Finally, Tracy and Kareem's relationship was so uneventful that I never really care about them. It's like everything was being smooth sailing until the last few chapters of the novel.
"I'd find you. I'd search to the ends of the earth until I found you. Because this time, Nicole, I'm never letting you go. Never." -loc3024
There were only a few investigations occur. Nathan's private investigator felt useless and almost MIA throughout the novel. It irritated me. Like, what the hell is his purpose? A for-show kind of thing? I have to get this out of my system though, since Nathan's appearance and declaration that he'll reinvestigate Landy's murder, nothing really happened, aside from the craziness, cheating revelations, and unexpected death. I hated how he was completely set aside.
Revelation. I was greatly disappointed in this part. The only clues that leads to the murderer were mentioned in the same chapter he was revealed. I might have accepted it if it was well executed and there was a foreshadowing. But no, I do understand his case but I was irritated how as if everything was plainly dumped into a few chapters.
OVERALL, Revealed is an intriguing mystery novel that had its decent amount of thrilling pace and and romance. I like how it focused on solving the mystery unlike before but was disappointed at how it barely move until the last few chapters of the novel. The revelation disappointed me but the ending, how everyone was at the end, satisfied me.
* * *
What I Like: (1) how it generally gave a satisfying ending to everyone involve, (2) the development on each of their relationships, (3) how it kept me thinking
What I Didn’t Like: (1) the revelation - how there was not enough foreshadowing, how every information leading to the culprit was dumped into one chapter (disappointingly it was dumped at the latter part of the novel), (2) there was no connection between me and any of the characters, (3) how certain characters felt entirely useless (I'll be like; why the hell are you there?)
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| 2.5 |
~I received this book in exchange for an honest review~
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