Early Review--Aftermath by Kelley Armstrong

Three years after losing her brother Luka in a school shooting, Skye Gilchrist is moving home. But there's no sympathy for Skye and her family because Luka wasn't a victim; he was a shooter.

Jesse Mandal knows all too well that the scars of the past don't heal easily. The shooting cost Jesse his brother and his best friend--Skye.

Ripped apart by tragedy, Jesse and Skye can't resist reopening the mysteries of their past. But old wounds hide darker secrets. And the closer Skye and Jesse get to the truth of what happened that day, the closer they get to a new killer.

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest and voluntary review. I was in no way compensated for this review.
Kelley Armstrong has pretty much proven that there is no book that she can’t write and it turning out to be totally amazing! Aftermath is the third YA thriller she’s written and it was just as chilling and eerie as I had hoped it to be! That it deals with a school shooting and in our current time was a little bold, but then I am reminded that books are written a good while before they publish and honestly, Kelley’s take on this real life matter (though told with a fictional story) was an interesting one for it dealt with the sister of one the shooters, and naturally, there was always something not right about what happened that day and our heroine, Skye is about to discover what her brother’s role really was.

Three years ago Skye’s older brother and two of his friends were involved with a school shooting where they were the actual shooters. Four people died and many more were injured, her brother was shot and killed by the police as well, but he wasn’t one of the four, that number was reserved for the victims. Skye had move away with her mother from the town she grew up in, trying to be able to find some normalcy but sadly, things were never quite the same for a lot of people viewed her in negative light. When she’s forced to move back to her old hometown once child services got wind that she was practically living on her own while her mother and grandmother were hospitalized she moves in with her aunt.

Naturally, she doesn’t receive a warm welcome and it seems someone is very upset that she has moved back as she starts receiving threatening messages. Then come the messages that aren’t so threatening but suggest that her brother might not have been one of the shooters after all, simply that there is more to the case that the police might have overlooked.

Joining Skye in her somewhat investigation is her old best friend and crush, Jesse. Though Jesse’s brother was one of the killed students, so she was afraid that he might resent her for what her brother and his friends did. Jesse however doesn’t hold such blame. There is a messy complication of feelings and whatnot going on between the two, but naturally, things get worked out sooner rather than later for Skye will need someone on her side in the thick of all this hate.

I’ll admit that the book might have had a few slow points, ones in which we’re left wondering what is going on. A lot of scary things start to happen to Skye and yet no one believes her, leading others to wonder if she might be going crazy and Skye starts to question things herself. When there’s the chance that a stalker or even killer is hounding you, making you go crazy is definitely a scary way to do it! There’s always these little things that happen to Skye and as the reader you almost wonder if there’s a logical explanation, then the events start to escalate and it’s pretty clear that someone is out to get Skye!

And what would this book be without just a little bit of romance? Skye and Jesse were childhood best friends who were on the cusp of being something more right before the shooting happen that tore apart their lives and it’s clear that some of those budding feelings still exist. Their romance was something that just started to form throughout the story, it in no way took over or even played a huge role. Which I really liked that since this is definitely more of a thriller mystery than a love story. The fact that Skye and Jesse were childhood friends before all this warmed my cold heart as I have a soft spot for those kinds of romances! Too many unrequited childhood crushes growing up I guess! Lol! Not that I’d ever actually admit to having said crushes now!

The final reveal of the whodunit kind of surprised me, which I liked! I guess in a sense, maybe it shouldn’t have. I can’t really recall if I suspected the perpetrator or not the first go around, maybe, but I know I dismissed it. I don’t think I ever really had a definite suspect, which tends to happen with me and mysteries! I get too wrapped up in things and I am forgetting to look for clues! Which makes the actual reveal even more fun because I get to be surprised right along with the characters!

Aftermath was yet another finely told thriller by Kelley Armstrong! There is pretty much nothing this woman can write that I will back away from! I’ve loved all her books to date and still have a few in my TBR pile to read because she simply writes way too fast sometimes! Lol! Will forever buy a book with her name on it, so if you haven’t read any of her books yet, you can easily take any recommendation from me for her! I recommend anything with her name on it in a heartbeat!

 
Overall Rating 4/5 stars


Aftermath releases May 22, 2018