Book Review: HALF IN LOVE WITH DEATH by Emily Ross

Half in Love with Death by Emily Ross

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


A well-written mystery! Emily Ross did a terrific job of building the plot and developing the characters in this story set in the 1960s. Life was so different without the Internet and cell phone technology (but that was not the point of this story).

One thing that struck me throughout this story was that oftentimes teenagers don't trust adults enough to confide in them. Why is that? What are adults doing wrong in that realm? If you're an adult, it's something to ponder and ask yourself if the teenagers around you would WANT to talk to you. And if you're a teenager - ask yourself if there are any adults in your life that you thoroughly trust. Why or why not?

Emily Ross is a talented wordsmith. Some of my favorite lines from the book include:

"Darkness was erasing the green from the grass, the blue from the sky." (page 7)

"I knew about the Hi-Ho Club where Tony took Jess sometimes. I'd never been in it but I'd imagined myself there, imagined the colored lights, the sparkling dresses, the love swirling all around." (page 31)

"I missed winter so much. Here, the closest thing to snow was the cold stars that sprinkled the sky." (page 62)

"When I returned with her, things would be different. Maybe she would even be different. Maybe she'd be a person you could talk about without saying 'if only.'" (page 143)

HALF IN LOVE WITH DEATH was a finalist in the International Thriller Awards, and I believe it earned that honor for its expertly layered suspense. I needed to keep turning the pages to find out what was going to happen next and how the story would be resolved.

I look forward to the next book by Ross.



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