It’s Spring Break of senior year. Anna, her boyfriend Tate, her best friend Elise, and a few other close friends are off to a debaucherous trip to Aruba that promises to be the time of their lives. But when Elise is found brutally murdered, Anna finds herself trapped in a country not her own, fighting against vile and contemptuous accusations.
As Anna sets out to find her friend’s killer; she discovers hard truths about her friendships, the slippery nature of truth, and the ache of young love.
As she awaits the judge’s decree, it becomes clear that everyone around her thinks she is not just guilty, but dangerous. When the truth comes out, it is more shocking than one could ever imagine…
Wouldn’t we all look guilty, if someone searched hard enough?
Dangerous Girls is an incredibly difficult book to review, given that any preconceived notions will dampen this reading experience. It’s incredibly well-crafted, suspenseful, and so much darker than I had expected.
The trial itself was very authentic and carefully researched. It was frustrating, enraging, and so incredibly intense, making it very easy for me to become completely invested in its outcome. Anna’s account of the event was completely enthralling, and it was easy to see how the media could become caught up in painting her as a “cold blooded killer” – and somewhat scary to think about how this actually happens.
Dangerous Girls‘ strongest feature, though, is the way in which it is told. The present murder trial is interspersed with flashbacks starting from how Anna and Elise met and leading up until the present day. While this helped me piece together who the murderer was, it also caused me to suspect absolutely everyone. Despite this thick layer of suspicion, I still wasn’t expecting the reveal at the end, and I can honestly say that I’m still reeling from it.
Overall, Dangerous Girls was a twisted, psychological thriller that completely messed with my mind. And I loved every minute of it.
