The Perfectionists: A Thrilling YA Murder Mystery - Hardcover

Shepard, Sara

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0062074695 ISBN 13: 9780062074690

Publisher: HarperCollins, 2014

Synopsis

Don’t miss the Freeform TV series, Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists!

From Sara Shepard, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Pretty Little Liars series, comes a series that’s perfect for fans of One of Us Is Lying and We Were Liars.

Ava, Caitlin, Mackenzie, Julie, and Parker are all driven to be perfect—no matter the cost.

At first the girls think they have nothing in common, until they discover that they all hate the same person: handsome womanizer Nolan Hotchkiss, who's done things to hurt each of them.

They come up with the perfect plan to murder Nolan—jokingly, of course. They'd never actually go through with it. But when Nolan turns up dead in the exact way they'd discussed, the girls suddenly become prime suspects in his murder.

Only, they didn't do it.

So who did? Unless they find the real killer, and soon, any one of them may be the next to die…

 

• A Chilling Whodunnit: Five girls. One “joke” murder plot. When the most hated boy in school winds up dead in the exact same way, the game becomes dangerously real.
• Prime Suspects: Ava, Caitlin, Mackenzie, Julie, and Parker know they didn’t do it, but their “perfect” plan has made them the police’s number one targets.
• Secrets and Lies: In the pressure-cooker world of Beacon Heights High, everyone has something to hide—and Nolan Hotchkiss knew all their secrets.
• Psychological Thriller: A race against time to find the real killer before their perfect lives unravel completely... or one of them becomes the next victim.

About this title

About the Author

Sara Shepard is the author of two New York Times bestselling series, Pretty Little Liars and The Lying Game, as well as the series The Perfectionists. She graduated from New York University and has an MFA from Brooklyn College.

From the Back Cover

In Beacon Heights, Washington, five high school seniors know that you don't have to be good to be perfect.

Musical genius Mackenzie is desperate to get into Juilliard, even if it means playing a duet with her best friend's boyfriend. Beautiful Ava isn't above using her assets to get an A. Athletic Caitlin is one goal away from a soccer scholarship—if she can call a time-out on her relationship drama. Popular Julie has it all—literally, thanks to her hoarder mom—and will do anything to keep her family's secret. And former It Girl Parker is experimenting with her wild side.

The five girls think they have nothing in common, until they discover they all hate the same person: rich, entitled Nolan, who's done terrible things to each of them. They come up with the perfect murder—a hypothetical murder, of course. It's all wishful thinking . . . until they wake up one morning to find that their wish came true. Nolan was killed—in exactly the way they planned. The thing is, they didn't do it. So who did?

Suddenly the girls are the prime suspects in the murder. And they need to find the real killer before their perfect lives are ended—for good.

Reviews

Gr 9 Up—Image is everything at Beacon Heights High, where only the best is good enough for the ultracompetitive teens of this affluent Seattle suburb. The highest grades, the chicest clothes, the wildest parties are part and parcel. In this bubble of pressure and privilege, no one is more popular—or more feared—than Nolan Hotchkiss. Cruel and hypnotic, he seems to know everybody's dirty little secret. And everybody seems to have one, including Parker Duvall, Ava Jalali, Caitlin Martell-Lewis, Julie Redding, and Mackenzie Wright. Each girl has her own reason to hate Nolan, and each one has something to hide. When his dead body is discovered with the words "Monster" and "Liar" scrawled in Sharpie on his face, the five emerge as murder suspects. Did they really do it—or are they being framed? Fans of the author's "Pretty Little Liars" series (HarperCollins) will recognize that certain plots (deceit, secrets, murder) and structural elements (chapters rotate among the lead female characters) have been recycled; unfortunately, the new series feels derivative by comparison. An additional purchase, based on the strength of the author's popularity.—Susan Wengler, Saint Dominic Academy, Jersey City, NJ

Edition details

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 2014
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0062074695
• ISBN 13: 9780062074690
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 336