Blood will tell by April Henry review

Don’t kill me! Ha, see what I did there. In all seriousness though, I’m terribly sorry I haven’t posted a review in so long, and I’m not going to make excuses– I’ll just get into it!

Quick summary:

“Blood will Tell” is a Young Adult, Mystery book written by Author, April Henry. It is also the second book in “A Point Last seen” mystery series. ( I don’t think you have to read them in order, I didn’t.) The story has different Pov’s, but in second person.one from Nick, Ruby, Alexis, and the killer. A quick summary of the plot reads: Nick has always looked up to his father, a soldier who earned a medal for his bravery and who died fighting for their country. He’s always wanted to enlist in the army even though his mother insists he doesn’t, and for some odd reason no one ever mentions his father. He joins SAR (search and rescue) so he can prepare himself for when he joins the military. Along with Nick, two of his friends are also in SAR, for their own  personal reasons. Ruby, who is unusually smart, and Alexis, who likes the fact  that she can help others. One of their assignments is  unusually close to where Nick lives which makes detectives suspect that Nick knows more than he’s letting about the murder of a young woman just a couple blocks away. They also use the fact that he draws violent pictures in his sketch book, owns several knives ( victim was stabbed ), and is in SAR as a reason he may be the killer. Nick knows for sure he didn’t do it, but can he and his friends find enough proof to prove he’s innocent before the police arrest him for the murder of a woman he has never even met before?

Rating: Okay, for a rating I gave this book a 3.7 out of 5 stars.

Negatives: Obviously I want to get the bad out of the way before I go into the good stuff. I thought the “romance” was unnecessary . I think Henry was trying to make a love triangle with Nick, Alexis and Bran, but Alexis was obviously not into Nick at all and Bran just gave her the cold shoulder anytime he was mentioned. Near the end we find out why, but the reason was so lame.

accurate depiction of me @ the romance:

There was also the fact that when Nick was taken in for questioning HE.WOULD.NOT.SHUTUP. Maybe it’s because my dad is in law enforcement or that I want to become either a forensic scientist or lawyer, or it may be the darn fact that I know my rights, but I know not to talk without a lawyer or guardian if I’m being questioned, especially if I am Nick’s age ! ( okay to be fair I do read my Dad’s law dictionary for fun and I watch Law and order and Castle like they are drugs, but this is sooo basic.) Before, Ruby called him to tell him he shouldn’t say anything he was blabbing on about how he was innocent and the detectives were obviously pressuring him to confess. PSA for all who do not know already: You have the right to remain silent ( to be fair they never read him his rights) , sometimes being quiet is better than opening your mouth to assure them you are innocent.

Me @ Nick’s blabbing and lack of knowledge:

Positives:

Now on to the good stuff!  The story was suspenseful ( not in the Stephen King thriller way but still!) . Me being me, I made conspiracies about who the killer was, but I ended up being wrong ( which is rare by the way) ! Oh, and that twist with Nick’s father, I definitely did not see that coming. I was clutching the book at the end when all the action was going down. I would put this book at a middle grade level. It was a good paced read and I applaud Henry for having all the different pov’s especially the killer’s. I enjoyed the book so much I decided to go hunting for another one of Henry’s books. I ended up picking out “The girl who was supposed to die.” which I finished in in one day and a review of that book along with the others I’ve finished will be up soon.