It’s been a year since the Catalog Killer terrorized the sleepy seaside town of Camera Cove, killing four people before disappearing without a trace. 

Like everyone else in town, eighteen-year-old Mac Bell is trying to put that horrible summer behind him—easier said than done since Mac’s best friend Connor was the murderer’s final victim. But when he finds a cryptic message from Connor, he’s drawn back into the search for the killer—who might not have been a random drifter after all. Now nobody—friends, neighbors, or even the sexy stranger with his own connection to the case—is beyond suspicion. Sensing that someone is following his every move, Mac struggles to come to terms with his true feelings towards Connor while scrambling to uncover the truth.

Thank you a million times over to NetGalley for this book that has just about taken over my life the past few days! It was so incredibly hard to put down, and I was never bored or felt like things were dragging on. It was like a roller coaster made only of loops and drops; every twist and turn took my stomach and my heart with it as I desperately tried to piece together this series of crimes with our protagonist, Mac.

Never in a million years would I have guessed the ending, which really lends itself to how realistic this narrative is. It seems that we lean toward the easy answers; not wanting to open up wounds or dig under that fine layer of rock before it gives way to soft, loamy soil. That is, those of us not driven by one of the most powerful forces there is; guilt.

There are survivors to every tragedy, and this one is no exception. When Mac discovers a note from his late best friend Connor, he is driven to the point of no return as he struggles to reconcile the thought in his head that he may have been able to prevent the murder, and the only thing he can think of to do is to solve it himself as the local police have let a year pass by with no concrete answers.

Through this search we are introduced to a myriad of characters, all of whom as rich and leap off of the page with life. Whether it’s the rest of Mac’s friend group or the others touched by the tragedy in this small coastal town; everyone is dealing with their grief in their own way, and keeping secrets that have hindered not only their lives, but the investigation itself.

This world that we are thrust into is buzzing with deceit, yes, but also with the beating hearts of those left behind. It is alive, and can feel it long after the last lines have come and gone. I can’t wait to share this with my friends!

5/5 stars