Things have been complicated for Hannah Wagnor since her best friend Lillian died six months ago, because her best friends ghost still haunts her, and because someone in their sleepy town is killing girls and leaving their bodies in the woods behind Hannah’s house. Lillian has become obsessed with the murders and to appease her friend’s spirit, Hannah begins to investigate the crime scene photos developed at the photo store where she works. The girls notice similarities between the murders that the police haven’t released to the public, a eerie paper valentine left with each body, the sign of the serial killer.
Diving deeper into the mystery the girls begin to piece together the case as one girl after another goes missing. The police are looking into Hannah’s new boyfriend, can she prove he is innocent and find the real culprit before another girl turns up in the woods?
I have been reading a lot of mysteries lately and I liked the juxtaposition Yovanoff creates between Hannah and Lillian (who couldn't be more different). It would be easy, on first glance, to write Lillian off as a traditional mean girl (bullying others, always having to cut other people down, using back-handed compliments), but Yovanoff doesn't let Lillian fall into that trope. Although Lillian might be all those things, she is also strong, she speaks her mind, and she stands up for herself. When Hannah needs these traits the most, she borrows them from Lillian, showing how not everyone (or every personality trait) is wholly good or wholly bad. With rich, complex characters, and a great plot, this book will satisfy paranormal and mystery fans alike.