Review: The Dead and Buried by Kim Harrington

The Dead and Buried by Kim Harrington
Publisher: Scholastic
Publication date: January 1st 2013
Source: NetGalley
My rating:  3.5 stars

 

 A haunted house, a buried mystery, and a very angry ghost make this one unforgettable thriller.

Jade loves the house she's just moved into with her family. She doesn't even mind being the new girl at the high school: It's a fresh start, and there's that one guy with the dreamy blue eyes. . . . But then things begin happening. Strange, otherworldly things. Jade's little brother claims to see a glimmering girl in his room. Jade's jewelry gets moved around, as if by an invisible hand. Kids at school whisper behind her back like they know something she doesn't.

Soon, Jade must face an impossible fact: that her perfect house is haunted. Haunted by a ghost who's seeking not just vengeance, but the truth. The ghost of a girl who ruled Jade's school — until her untimely death last year. It's up to Jade to put the pieces together before her own life is at stake. As Jade investigates the mystery, she discovers that her new friends in town have more than a few deep, dark secrets. But is one of them a murderer?

The Dead and Buried is one of my favorite combinations for a story: mystery, suspense and a little romance thrown in for good measure. 

Jade is thrilled to be starting school where there’s more than thirty students in her whole grade.  Growing up she lived in a rural town, and longed to be in a big city and school.  Somehow, her dream has come true.  Even the house her family has moved into seems too good to be true: new, big and beautiful.  When Jade receives strange looks from her classmates, she soon finds out why her parents were able to afford the big and beautiful house. Murder houses are always discounted.  Jade finds out the most popular girl in school, Kayla Sloan died under suspicious circumstances, where she now lives.  When her little brother, Colby starts seeing a “glimmering girl” in his room, and she is anything but Casper the friendly ghost, Jade must dig further and find out exactly what happened. 

As she investigates, Jade finds out Kayla had a lot of potential enemies.  She delighted in manipulating and crushing people, so there’s no shortage of suspects.  Among the possibilities is, Donovan.  He’s got eyes as striking as blue topaz and a thoughtful personality that intrigues Jade, and she’s drawn to him.  He provides that little bit of romance that I always crave in my reads!

Jade was an admirable and determined character.  She cared more about her little brother’s welfare than her own.  Even though Jade never met Kayla, her presence is everywhere and still impacting lives, and not in a positive way.  If you’ve ever seen the movie Rebecca* or read the story and enjoyed it, this will appeal to you because there’s a lot of similarities.  Rebecca is even mentioned as Jade’s class assignment. Kayla’s presence overshadows everything and everyone, even in death.  

The mystery had me guessing until the very end.  I had suspicions, but was a little surprised.  I had goose bumps reading some of the scenes because some of them were downright creepy, and I loved those suspenseful feelings.   This was a fast, addictive, and fun read.   You could easily finish this in one sitting. 

*As a side note, I recently read Rebecca, and I enjoyed the Hitchcock movie more.  The book had me drowning in descriptions, and to me, lost some of the dramatic and suspenseful effect that the movie radiated brilliantly.  Hitchcock was the man!