Rosebush by Michele Jaffe

Rosebush by Michele Jaffe
"Instead of celebrating Memorial Day weekend on the Jersey Shore, Jane is in the hospital surrounded by teddy bears, trying to piece together what happened last night. One minute she was at a party, wearing fairy wings and cuddling with her boyfriend. The next, she was lying near-dead in a rosebush after a hit-and-run.

Everyone believes it was an accident, despite the phone threats Jane swears were real. But the truth is a thorny thing. As Jane's boyfriend, friends, and admirers come to visit, more memories surface- not just from the party, but from deeper in her past . . . including the night her best friend Bonnie died.

With nearly everyone in her life a suspect now, Jane must unravel the mystery before her killer attacks again. Along the way, she's forced to examine the consequences of her life choices."- summary from Amazon

I must start off this review by saying how much I've been waiting for a new Michele Jaffe book, so I may be a bit biased when it comes to how much I loved it. Like, I may have been starving so much for Jaffe's awesome writing that I loved it more than I should. I highly doubt that though.

Anyway, this book sucked me in from the beginning. There's a prologue that sets the stage and takes place right before the climax, with Chapter 1 going back in time several days earlier. I really enjoyed Jane's character and she had a lot of depth to her, a lot of secrets, a lot of angst, as well as very loyal to her friends. The other characters are just as fleshed out and it's interesting seeing all their interactions especially as the reader is trying to figure out who could have tried to kill Jane. I had two suspects, but ended up being way off. The killer though does make sense and it's not so out of the blue that you're left scratching your head.

I was actually really surprised at how well Jaffe was able to go so in depth with her characters, be serious (though there are some funny conversations sprinkled throughout), emotional, keep the suspense going, among many other things. This book is a complete departure from her previous books, but it's a direction I wouldn't mind seeing her continue in for the future (though I do still want funny books from her; maybe alternate?).

The writing is so beautiful as well and Jaffe does a wonderful job with setting the atmosphere no matter what setting it is. I really liked how the flashbacks of The Night and Jane's past flowed in and out through the storyline. It was handled really well.

Overall, this is a wonderful thriller with a small side of romance. I highly recommend this book, as well as Jaffe's previous YAs- Bad Kitty and the sequel Kitty Kitty (most hilarious mysteries you'll ever read).

FTC: Received ARC from publisher (thanks Jocelyn!). Link above is an Amazon Associate link; any profit goes toward funding contests.