If you’re looking for something to get you through the long Pretty Little Liars hiatus, Sara Shepard’s latest novel, The Amateurs is just the fix you need.
About ‘The Amateurs’ by Sara Shepard
For some users, the online amateur crime solving community, Case Not Closed, is simply a means for escaping the monotony of everyday life. For Aerin Kelly, it was a possible solution to the question that had plagued her for almost five years: who killed her sister, Helena Kelly?
When she took to the website that was acclaimed for its success in solving many cold cases, the last people she expected to reach out were high school senior, Maddox Wright, and college freshman, Seneca Frazier. She had been expecting someone a little more experienced, but desperation got the best of her and she decided to give them a chance.
That decision catapulted a group of five unlikely friends into an exciting mystery with new clues and suspects at every turn. Unfortunately, while they’ve got their eyes on suspects, somebody has their eye on them, and is determined to stop their investigation in its tracks. The group has no choice but to learn to trust each other and work together. Not only to solve the mystery of Helena’s murder, but also to ensure that they all make it out alive!
‘The Amateurs’ review
Sara Shepard, who’s previously authored the Pretty Little Liars book series, The Lying Game, The Heiresses and The Perfectionists, has created yet another world that you’ll find it nearly impossible to walk away from.
Shepard excels at writing fun, twisty mystery stories that are packed with strong, beautiful friendships and more than a little romance. The Amateurs follows that same winning formula. It will have you rapidly flipping the pages to see who’s responsible for Helena’s murder, who will fall in love, and how this group of misfits will learn to work together.
The most intriguing part of The Amateurs is the Case Not Closed community. The website accepts cases that have gone cold and allows its users to take part in solving them. It gives users access to information and evidence that would never be available to the public in hopes that the group will be able to find something that the local law enforcement missed.
For any Veronica Mars and Olivia Benson wannabes out there, this surely sounds like a dream come true. There’s a reason why things like Making a Murderer, The Jinx and Serial are so huge. Everybody’s fascinated by this stuff and they’re especially fascinated if they can take part in it from the comfort of their own home.
For Seneca Frazier, the Helena Kelly case simply wouldn’t allow her to stay behind her computer screen. The details of the case hit closer to home, for her, than she wanted anyone to realize. So, when Maddox Wright, her online friend from Case Not Closed, invited her to visit the actual scene of the crime for some sleuthing, she couldn’t resist.
Thus, the first two pillars of the ragtag group of investigators were formed. Seneca and Maddox’s relationship was definitely one of the most interesting of the book. Seneca showed up to Dexby expecting a girl to meet her, but was instead greeted by a tall, cute, track-scholarship-holding guy. Jackpot, right? Well, Seneca didn’t see it that way, which is what made it so intriguing to watch this relationship evolve.
When Aerin Kelly, Helena’s grieving sister, Madison, Maddox’s perky and lovable step sister, and Brett, another Case Note Closed user, joined the team, things only got more interesting. Take five completely different strangers and put them in any situation with stakes as high as those in The Amateurs, and things are bound to get exciting, tense, and confusing. Shepard treats these scenarios with the respect they deserve, and allows her characters to grow through them.
Characters that could easily be reduced to one-dimensional stereotypes in a different format thrive in Shepard’s writing style, as she switches off the point of view with each chapter. Seneca, Maddox, Aerin and Brett each get their turn to tell their side of the story. This allows us to see, first hand, how the events of the case are affecting them, and even why they were drawn to it in the first place.
The Helena Kelly case, itself, is just the kind of mystery that you’d expect from one of Shepard’s stories. The constant introduction of new suspects and theories makes for a really fun reading experience. The element of danger that she adds to the pursuit is just enough to keep you invested in every moment and the final twist will leave you begging for the next book in the series!