BEFORE
Everyone out in Devil’s Lake, Michigan, knows the three Malloy sisters: perfect big sister Kit; tomboy Tessa, who shares more with Kit than most people realize; and Lilly, the baby of the family, determined to make her own mark. Yet as close as they are, there are certain things sisters don’t tell one another. And one of them is keeping a secret that will turn their little world inside out.

NOW
No one knows exactly what happened to Kit in the woods that night—all they have are a constellation of facts: icy blue lips and fingers cold to the touch, a lacy bra, an abandoned pick-up truck with keys still in the ignition. Still, Tessa, even in her fog of grief, is certain that her sister’s killer wasn’t Boyd, the boy next door whom they’ve all loved in their own way. There are too many details that don’t add up, too many secrets still tucked away.

But no matter how fiercely she searches for answers, at the core of that complicated night is a truth that’s heartbreakingly simple.

Told in lush, haunting prose, Frozen Beauty is a story of the intoxicating power of first love, the deep bonds of sisterhood, and a shocking death that will forever change the living.

Thank you so much to Edelweiss for this advanced copy of a thrilling murder mystery! I was hooked from the synopsis itself, having been the daughter to a single mom with two sisters herself, so the mostly female cast of characters felt so familiar to me; like home. I love a story with good twists and turns, and although I don’t see myself as a very good sleuth in the slightest, I still don’t think anyone with more honed observation skills would have predicted the end of this one!

We enter the broken lives of the Malloy sisters after one of them, Kit, is found dead. She suffered from hypothermia and a head wound, and was found in the back of her childhood friend’s truck. The narrative goes back and forth from the remaining sisters trying to figure out how to pick up their lives and live again to flashes of the past as we slowly piece together who Kit really was. It’s always scary to think how much you don’t know about a person; especially when you’ve grown up beside them. Everyone has their secrets, and the Malloy family is no stranger to that. The familial bond is tested more than once as Boyd, their friend, is put on trial for the murder and Tessa does everything in her power to prove her innocent, while Lily is figuring out who she is in the wake of Kit’s passing and encountering growing concern about her two best friends who are falling apart before her very eyes.

I liked how, past the tragic end of a girl who had her whole life in front of her, this was also a story about the end of childhood and faerie tales, and the beginning of young adulthood and the dangers and anxiety that follows. Too often we are deceived into thinking that there’s a pattern we must follow. If you haven’t had sex, you’re a prude. If you haven’t tried drugs or alcohol, you’re not cool. If you haven’t lined your while future out in front of you, you’re a slacker. Even now, I appreciate reminders that life isn’t a race, and your life is your own. This shined brightest in Tessa, who felt extremely close to Kit in a way that made her feel like a lesser copy. We also see it in Lily as she combats being the younger sister who feels invisible most of the time.

This book has its fair share of romance, intrigue, heart, and tragedy that I really believe lends the narrative to being for any reader. It’s engaging and I loved the usage of poetry in Kit’s diary entries that showcased the author’s background in writing. It was also mixed media of sorts, which is something I actively seek out in books; having not only the aforementioned diary entries but also text and phone conversations. All in all, it was a beautiful and heartbreaking read that made me want to hold the women in my family a little closer.

5/5 stars