Wish You Were Dead by Todd Strasser

Wish You Were Dead by Todd Strasser
"Str-S-d:
I’ll begin with Lucy. She is definitely first on the list. You can’t believe how it feels to be in the cafeteria and turn around and there she is staring at me like I’m some disgusting bug or vermin. Does she really think I WANT to be this way? I hate you, Lucy. I really hate you. You are my #1 pick. I wish you were dead.

The day after anonymous blogger Str-S-d wishes the popular girl would die, Lucy vanishes. The students of Soundview High are scared and worried. Especially frightened and wracked with guilt is Madison Archer, Lucy’s friend and the last person to see her the night she disappeared. As days pass with no sign of the missing girl, even the attention of Tyler, an attractive new student, is not enough to distract Madison from her growing sense of foreboding. When two more popular students disappear after their names are mentioned on Str-S-d’s blog, the residents of Soundview panic. Meanwhile, Madison receives anonymous notes warning that she could be next. Desperate to solve the mystery before anyone else disappears, Madison turns to Tyler, but can she trust him when it becomes clear that he knows more than he’s sharing? The clock is ticking. Madison must uncover the truth behind the mysterious disappearances . . . before her name appears in Str-S-d’s blog."- summary from Amazon

This book got better as every page flew by. I was originally a bit against the book because it felt like we were being set up for this one guy to be the one behind everything and there wasn't really a mystery to it. Toward the last fourth of the novel, more people became suspects, but it still felt a bit off. When the reveal happened (well, ok, a little before since I did some sleuthing around that point), I was shocked and it was a great twist, if maybe a little cliche (I've seen it happen at least once before in another book, but I may be forgetting other instances). The novel is very suspenseful and scary, and is told from different viewpoints. Madison is the main character and the one we see the most of, but there's also the Str-s-d blog entries, various omniscient scenes, and the crazy ramblings of the killer. This was a difficult book to put down and when the climax was happening, I was on the edge of my seat and shaking like crazy (not a good thing when you're at work and co-workers can see you, lol). It definitely exceeded my expectations and was a wild ride; Strasser definitely knows how to write a thriller and I'm eagerly waiting for the next two books in the series. I'm not sure what's coming next, whether it'll take place in the same town or be elsewhere, but I'm excited to see where Strasser will go with this!