You'll Be The Death of Me, by Karen M. McManus
Books like this - young adult American high-school murder mysteries - are my literary guilty pleasure. I say that because there is usually not much 'literary value' to them, but they are always extremely entertaining. And it is good to remind myself from time to time that while it always important to read literature that has a deep and weighty meaning with social or philosophical implications or a groundbreaking and trailblazing style and form, there is no shame in reading books that don't have any of those features, for the pure thrill of the ride. What is the point of literature, after all? Sometimes, purely to entertain. And this book achieved that magnificently.
A couple of chapters in, and this book seemed to have all the ingredients for a classic piece of trashy YA fiction. Chapters that alternate perspectives, a high school setting, and of course its associated character tropes. It seemed that we had the quiet and insecure nobody, the conscientious and straight-laced goody-two-shoes, and the unattainably attractive cool guy. A suitably unlikely trio to be bundled into the midst of a murder case, an experience through which they would inevitably become firm friends.
But after a few more chapters, it became apparent to me that this first impression wasn't actually quite accurate. There was far more than met the eye to all three of the main characters. And I don't mean that in a cheesy, dark-and-scandalous-secrets kind of way - although naturally this was indeed the case for all three of them... I mean that these characters were 3-dimensional, multi-faceted, complicated, believable. Although initially they all seemed to be stock characters straight out of the teen fiction instruction manual, they actually weren't.
I think part of what made this book so compelling was McManus's mastery of character and motivation. These characters made decisions and acted certain ways - both within the timeframe of the narrative, and in the past (having repercussions within the book's timeframe) - that were entirely true to their personalities. McManus evidently had a very clear sense of what matters to these characters, what makes them angry, what hurts them, who they care about, how they want to be viewed. And therefore the action throughout was driven by all these things. The characters were spurred by their jealousy and bitterness, their love for their families, their desire to uphold a reputation, their shame, their obligation, their fear. So many realistic motivations, all of which were fully developed and explored. The subplot of their developing relationships with one another was almost more enthralling than the actual murder mystery!
And that's also why the chapters of alternating perspectives worked so brilliantly. (No shame in sticking to the genre convention when it works so well.) Flicking between the perspectives of each member of the trio meant McManus could expertly highlight the intricacies of their thought processes and what they were hiding from each other, not to mention it gave scope for some excellent cliffhangers when each narrator was in a different place. There's nothing so thrillingly page-turning as when Character One is plunged suddenly into extreme peril at the end of the chapter, and then the next chapter doesn't resolve it but moves on to Character Two, who suddenly works out the answer to the mystery that keeps stubbornly cropping up, but they don't articulate what the answer is, and then the next chapter is Character Three, also in life-threatening danger...
The pace and intensity created through these cliffhangers, as well as the shocking plot twists, sudden realisations and scandalous reveals was characteristically outrageous.
So it didn't really matter that the Ivy-Mateo romance was predictable from the first time they appeared in a scene together. And it didn't matter that the whole book was just more of the same of everything else McManus has published. Because it was sharply written, masterfully structured, and overall extremely well executed. A killer thriller. And McManus completely deserves the title 'queen of teen crime' - she does it so well.
This book doesn't have 'literary value'. It won't be studied at A-level, it doesn't necessarily have a deep and poignant moral message, it won't be hailed as a timeless classic on the literary canon. But when I saw it in the library, I couldn't resist it. And once I'd opened it, it kept me so enthralled I couldn't put it down, and I finished it in about 2 days. And that, for me, is absolutely a valid marker of a good book. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Thanks, Annabel, for this appetizing review that makes even someone as old as me eager to page through the book. More importantly, loved your frank and unpretentious assertion that you enjoyed reading the book for what it is (non-high-brow stuff that yields genuine pleasure), instead of any high-nosed disdain for books that are read for sheer enjoyment. Thank you very much for being candid and honest, rare qualities in a world that thrives on pretense.
Thank you so much for such a lovely comment! I do look for value in everything I read – whether it’s ‘literary canon’ or not – and it’s great to see that this is appreciated. 🙂