Stevie‘s review of 18 Months by Samantha Boyette
Contemporary Young Adult Lesbian Mystery published by Bold Strokes Books 12 Dec 16

One of my main criteria for assessing mysteries is the identity of the villain. Are they convincing and do their motivations make sense? Are they someone whom readers and the protagonists can spot, without the former getting annoyed at the latter’s missing of obvious clues? In stories featuring amateur or accidental investigators, is there a good reason why the police haven’t already looked at this person? After that, of course, I need a good cast of characters, along with a setting and plot that I can feel comfortable with for the duration of the book. Not too comfortable, obviously – this is a crime story – but I need to understand what makes the protagonist want to live in that location (if indeed they aren’t just desperate to get out) and how the plot carries them along the twists and turns of their investigation. A likable protagonist is generally a plus too, but in young adult stories, one with understandable flaws is sometimes more believable.

Alissa Reeves used to be one of the popular girls – or rather part of the crowd that most of her classmates aspired to join but few were let into – but now she’s an outcast, after declaring her affections for Hannah Desarno. She’d expected that, having almost lost her place in the clique 18 months ago when the others caught her kissing Lana Meyers. Back then she was a coward and accused Lana of coming onto her, getting the other girl into a whole heap of trouble, but now she’s prepared to stand up for her relationship with Hannah. Unfortunately, Alissa hasn’t told Hannah the whole story, and Lana can’t contradict what she’s been saying; 18 months ago, Lana disappeared: her dismembered body showing up some months later. Now Hannah’s started getting curious, and Alissa is forced to tell her the truth of how she betrayed Lana and their relationship.

The girls quarrel, and the next day Hannah fails to show up at school. Alissa worries that both her girlfriends have fallen victim to the same predatory killer – even after Hannah’s parents claim to have heard from her – and then someone starts leaving messages for Alissa, claiming to be holding Hannah prisoner. The police believe Hannah’s parents over Alissa – except for one young officer who isn’t convinced either way – and so Alissa is left to seek out the truth by herself, occasionally helped by a companion from her preteen years, whom she abandoned for the popular crowd, but who now wants to revive their previous friendship.

I enjoyed all the twists this story took and was convinced by most of the characters’ motivations for helping or hindering Alissa’s investigations. While I had my suspicions about the killer, I was only partly right, but their motivations mostly made sense when it came to the big reveal. An author whose work I’ll be looking out for in future.

Grade: B

Summary:

Alissa Reeves came out for Hannah Desarno. Hannah is smart, beautiful, and has just gone missing. Worse, she isn’t Alissa’s first girlfriend to disappear. Eighteen months ago, Alissa was caught kissing bad girl Lana Meyers. Too scared to admit her feelings for Lana, Alissa let her friends blame Lana. Weeks later when Lana disappeared, no one in their small town thought much of it until months later when her body was found.

With Hannah gone, Alissa finds herself following clues that will help her discover what happened to both girls, and the truth will change everything.

Read an excerpt.