It’s 1982, and the innovative FBI Behavioral Science section is breaking new ground. Emma Lewis and Travis Bell, two teenagers with valuable skills, are recruited to interview convicted juvenile killers for information on cold cases.

When they’re drawn into an active case targeting teenagers, everything starts to unravel. Over Travis’s objections, Emma becomes the conduit between the FBI and an incarcerated serial killer, nineteen-year-old Simon Gutmunsson, who is a super-intelligent sociopath. And although Simon seems to be giving them the information they need to save lives, he’s also an expert manipulator playing a very long game.

What a great way to start my reading this year, with this awesome #LoveOzYA book by Aussie writer Ellie Marney. It’s like a YA Silence of the Lambs set in the 80s (I know, right?!) and I absolutely devoured it. Very gripping and compelling – please, teach me how to pace a book like this – with a host of engaging & interesting characters including the strong, damaged & persistant protag Emma. I could vividly picture every scene, including 80s moustaches and cars, telephones with long cords, and the eerie cell containing the teen serial killer Simon.

I don’t read a lot of crime/thriller but I loved this book, and if you aren’t normally YA reader I still think you’d enjoy this too. Highly recommended.