Deadly Little Secret (A Touch Novel)

Deadly Little Secret

Laurie Faria Stolarz

Hyperion

Released December 23, 2008

Summary (from Amazon):  Some secrets shouldn't be kept...

Up until three months ago, everything in sixteen-year-old Camelia's life had been fairly ordinary: decent grades; an okay relationship with her parents; and a pretty cool part-time job at the art studio downtown. But when Ben, the mysterious new guy, starts junior year at her high school, Camelia's life becomes anything but ordinary.

Rumored to be somehow responsible for his ex-girlfriend's accidental death, Ben is immediately ostracized by everyone on campus. Except for Camelia. She's reluctant to believe the rumors, even when her friends try to convince her otherwise. She's inexplicably drawn to Ben...and to his touch. But soon, Camelia is receiving eerie phone calls and strange packages with threatening notes. Ben insists she is in danger, and that he can help--but can he be trusted? She knows he's hiding something... but he's not the only one with a secret.

Review:  I LOVED this book.  From the first page, I was hooked, and until the "bad guy" was revealed, I considered everyone a suspect.  

The characters were so vividly painted.  Each had his/her own identity, and while Camelia and Ben were the two main characters, all the others played huge supporting roles.  This helped to conceal the identity of Camelia's stalker until the very end.  In fact, I kept second guessing myself and named a new suspect with almost every new chapter.

And of course, the whole idea of a mystery is to keep the reader on the edge of his/her seat trying to figure out the ending.  This book does just that!  

I find it so difficult to review a book that is fantastic.  I can never find the words to describe all the thrilling aspects of the book.  This book is no different, so I will just say, if you are looking for a mix of mystery, suspense, romance, and chills, look no further!  Deadly Little Secrets has it all and more!

This is the first Laurie Faria Stolarz book I've read, but trust me, I'll be reading more!  

So now it's your turn...If you've read DLS, did you like/dislike it?  Why?  If you've not read DLS, but have read some of Laurie's other books, which should I tackle next?

*By the way, sorry for my absence this weekend.  I just returned (late last night) from a trip to Chicago, which was fantabulous!