Death and the Girl Next Door

Death and the Girl Next Door is the first Young Adult novel from NYT bestselling author Darynda Jones. The publisher is St. Martin’s Press. From the back cover.~

Ten years ago, Lorelei's parents disappeared without a trace.  Raised by her grandparents and leaning on the support of her best friends, Lorelei is finally beginning to accept the fact that her parents are never coming home.  For Lorelei, life goes on.

High school is not quite as painful as she thinks it will be, and things are as normal as they can be.  Until the day the school's designated loner, Cameron Lusk, begins to stalk her, turning up where she least expects it,  standing outside her house in the dark, night after night.  Things get even more complicated when a new guy—terrifying, tough, sexy Jared Kovach—comes to school.  Cameron and Jared instantly despise each other and Lorelei seems to be the reason for their animosity.  What does Jared know about her parents?  Why does Cameron tell Jared he can't have Lorelei?  And what will any of them do when Death comes knocking for real?  Thrilling, sassy, sexy, and inventive, Darynda Jones's first foray into the world of teens will leave readers eager for the next installment.

I am a really big fan of Darynda Jones, and count her Charley Davidson series as one of my favorite series ever. I was really excited to see Death and the Girl Next Door was available from NetGalley. I also really enjoy reading YA books, and really wanted to see how Jones would do with that genre.

While I liked the idea behind this story, it really didn’t work well for me. I liked the main character Lorelei and her two best friends, Brooklyn and Glitch, but the story seemed to me a little all over the place. I was able to figure out some of what was going on before it was revealed, but still felt lost while reading much of the story. It was set up as the first book in the series, and necessary information for the series was explained, but not until late in the book.

While this book didn’t really work for me, I think there are others who will really enjoy it. The official release date for both print and digital is set for October 2, 2012 and can be purchased from your favorite online retailer or local bookstore.