A Round up of Young Adult crime fiction: Genuine Fraud by E. Lockhart and Before I Let Go by Marieke Nijkampe

I love my Young Adult crime fiction, especially as for my Ph.D in Creative Writing, I'm looking into the 'teen voice' in adult crime fiction.  I think adult crime fiction has a lot to learn from YA fiction.  Here's my review of a couple of YA crime fiction books I've read recently.  The first is Genuine Fraud by E Lockhart, author of We Were Liars, a serial killer novel. The second is Before I Let Go by Marieke Nijkampe, best selling author of This Is Where it Ends.  This is a tense psychological thriller.



Genuine Fraud by E. Lockhart  (Initially released in Sept 2017, the

Available here

Paperback is due for release in May 2018)

Lockhart has taken inspiration from Patricia Highsmith's The Talented Mr Ripley. It was an interesting study of the teen psychopath and was beautifully plotted.  It started at the end of the narrative and jumped back to fill in the gaps, not always chronologically.  I like this technique as a reader as it makes me feel the author is aware of my intelligence. Lockhart's characterisation throughout was edgy and on point.  She created just the right amount of mystery at the start followed by a generous amount of not so obvious clues to lead the reader to the denouement. The relationship between the main characters was intriguing from the beginning and Lockhart skillfully kept it enigmatic. Engrossing and challenging.

Available here

Before I Let Go by Marieke Nijkampe (January 2018)

This is best described as a psychological thriller with a touch of superstition and a whole load of heart.  It looks at themes such as friendship and teen mental health in a small confined and remote Northern Alaskan community.  Two friends who have shared everything for years are separated when one, Corey,  goes off to study outside the community, leaving Kyra, who has Bipolar disorder, is left to fend alone in a community that does not understand her and has always ostracised her.  Weeks before Corey is due to return, Kyra dies and Corey returns to a very different community with a lot of questions to answer.  Corey, now the outsider, has a taste of what her friend must always have experienced and determined to get to the bottom of her friend's death, Corey refuses to be silenced.  Before I Let Go was very tense, yet beautiful.  Although, not a particular fan of superstition or supernatural reads, this element lent a poignancy to the narrative that was very appealing. A definite must read from me.