Tag: YA Thriller

‘Thieves Gambit’ by Kayvion Lewis

Rebecca RouillardLeave a comment

Seventeen-year-old Rosalyn Quest is the youngest member of the notorious Quest Crime family and she has been trained in the criminal arts since she was a small child by her ruthless mother.

When she receives a mysterious email inviting her to compete in the Thieves Gambit, she ignores it at first. But when she finds herself in an impossible situation, she signs up and is whisked away on a private plan to an undisclosed location to join up with several other criminal teens to compete in a winner-takes-all heist competition. The winner gets a wish – something that Rosalyn desperately needs. But when she arrives she finds an unwelcome addition – her arch-nemesis, Noelia Boschert, daughter of a rival crime family based in Europe.

Ross has been conditioned her whole life never to trust anyone, but when the other contestants team up on the first challenge and she is almost eliminated, she realises that she will have to work with her fellow competitors, even if she doesn’t fully trust them. And then there is the magnetic Devroe, who seems determined to win her over. But nothing is as it seems and the stakes are even higher than Ross realises.

Ross has a brilliantly devious mind and I particularly enjoyed the clever ways she outwits the other competitors as well as the organisers. This is an excellent heist novel, full of twists, turns and surprises. A cover quote describes it as ‘high octane’ a phrase Ross also used to describe her own family, and this is definitely accurate – the action is relentless and thrilling.

‘Thieves Gambit’ is a welcome addition to the usually male-dominated action-thriller category and is perfect for fans of ‘Alex Rider’, ‘Six of Crows’ and the ‘Oceans 11’ movie franchise.

‘Love You To Death’ by Gina Blaxill

Rebecca RouillardLeave a comment

Mia has a stalker. There’s another girl at school who is imitating Mia’s style, stealing her clothes and following her in the streets. But when Mia’s copycat turns up dead, she realises that there is something more sinister going on and that her own life might be in danger. When the police fail to take Mia’s concerns seriously she teams up with an unlikely ally to investigate the murder.

I bought a copy of ‘Love You To Death’ at Gina’s book launch, but as soon as I got home it was swiped by my 16-year-old so I had to wait for her to finish reading it first. When I finally got hold of it, I couldn’t put it down and read it one day. 

‘Love You To Death’ is a rollercoaster ride of twists and turns that will have you suspecting literally everyone in the book and it kept me guessing right up until the end. Gina Blaxill is excellent at creating creepy situations – Mia is always foolishly dashing off into deserted areas by herself in the middle of the night. (Why are you getting off the bus Mia? Stay on the bus!)

In addition to the suspenseful thriller elements, the book also includes a powerful message about the way women’s voices are ignored when it comes to stalking, about society’s tendency to blame the victims of stalking, and how male violence escalates. 

‘Love You To Death’  is a dark, thrilling read about obsession and murder, perfect for fans of Karen McManus.

‘Let’s Play Murder’ by Kesia Lupo

Rebecca RouillardLeave a comment

Veronica picks up an ancient VR headset to please her little brother who is critically ill in hospital, but as soon as they start playing she finds herself inside a different world. It is ‘The Game’ – an urban legend in VR gaming circles that turns out to be true. The Game is an incredibly realistic and immersive murder mystery. None of the players can leave until they’ve solved the case and the winner will receive a huge cash prize. 

But soon after they start to play, the game takes a deadly turn. All of the players are concealing something from their real lives and all of them have a motive for murder. And the game itself is also out to get them – will any of them make it out alive? 

VR is a tricky proposition to write (I know, I’ve tried!) because it’s difficult to raise the stakes in an environment that is all in your head – the contemporary version of it was all a dream. Except in this case it isn’t, and the virtual world starts to bleed into the real world. 

‘Let’s Play Murder’ is a mash-up of locked-room murder mystery, horror, ghost story and thriller, and the whiplashing twists and turns of the plot kept me guessing. A fast-paced, gripping and terrifying read.