Three teens venture into the abandoned Monroe estate one night; hours later, only two emerge from the burning wreckage. Chloe drags one Reznick brother to safety, unconscious and bleeding; the other is left to burn, dead in the fire. But which brother survives? And is his death a tragic accident? Desperate self-defense? Or murder?
Chloe is the only one with the answers. As the fire rages, and police and parents demand the truth, she struggles to piece together the story of how they got there-a story of jealousy, twisted passion, and the darkness that lurks behind even the most beautiful of faces…
Dangerous Boys was not exactly what I had expected. It was very much a psychological thriller but, unlike Dangerous Girls, the main focus isn’t on solving the murder: it’s on the characters, and how they evolve over the course of the story.
The mystery itself was just as enthralling as that of Dangerous Girls, even if it was much slower paced. Every scene is important, offering up clues as to which brother survived, and the deeper you get into the book, the more chilling it becomes. Haas shows how every bad thought we have slowly strips away the masks that we wear, until our sinister, inner demons are on full display. She shows how the people in our lives help shape the people that we are to become – for better or for worse – and how seemingly inconsequential actions can have dramatic effects.
Overall, I enjoyed reading Dangerous Boys, but not quite as much as I enjoyed Dangerous Girls. That being said, though, Abigail Haas is definitely on my “authors to watch” list, and I look forward to reading any other “dangerous” books she comes out with next!
