REVIEW: Dead Time by Anne Cassidy

I'm really surprised by how much I loved Dead Time by Anne Cassidy. I've never read anything by her before, and I wasn't sure how much I would like reading a YA mystery/crime novel but once I'd started, I was really sucked into this story. 

I really liked how there were a few different strands to the story and Dead Time certainly felt like the first book in a series with the amount of questions still left unanswered by the end.  For me, I think Dead Time finished in an intriguing way and I hope to get back to this series soon to see where things will lead!

I found it difficult to warm to our main character, Rose, straight away.  She's a bit of a loner and she doesn't seem particularly interested in being socialable or friendly in anyway.  But I kind of got that about her.  She had it great for a little while ... Years ago when it was Rose and her mother and her mother's boyfriend and his son, Joshua.  They had three years living together as a family but Rose's life changes entirely when her mom and her boyfriend disappear, she isn't allowed to see Joshua anymore and she's shipped off to live with her cold and distant grandmother.  I can see why the experiences Rose has gone through has made her into the person she is at the start of this book. 

Now it is years later, and as Rose is off to meet Joshua again for the first time. On her way there, Rose witnesses a brutal attack on a schoolmate which pulls Rose into some deadly business.  As she continues to ask more questions and other people end up getting hurt, Rose begins to wonder if these murders have anything to do with the investigations that Joshua is doing into the disappearance of his father and Rose's mother. 

This book is all rather tense and fast-paced.  I had no idea where things were going or who the murderer was until it was revealed in the book, which is always fantastic.  The third person narrative helped keep things a mystery but I really hope there is more answers in the next book in the series.  I found the growing romantic feelings between Rose and Joshua to be rather sweet but very tentative. I'd like to see more of my favourite characters - Henry, the police offer and Skeggsie, Joshua's computer hacker mate.  All in all, I thought this was a great first book in the series and I can't wait to read more!