Notes from Ghost Town by Kate Ellison

Notes from Ghost Town by Kate Ellison
"Olivia Tithe was excited for the summer and spending it with her best friend, Stern. But that was ruined when he was mur­dered...by Olivia's mother. Flashing forward, Olivia's life has been transformed since that awful night.

After her mother's incarceration, Olivia must move on, but she hates her father's new fiancée, Heather, and with her dad's new real estate development (she calls it Ghost Town) in the works, she barely sees him. But a new boy, Austin, has kindled feelings inside her that she hasn't felt since Stern's death.

Arriving at the same time as this new guy is a mysterious note that brings Stern's murder back to the forefront; Olivia knows that she must discover the truth behind her friend's death once and for all."- summary from Amazon

I absolutely adored Ellison's debut The Butterfly Clues (and also may have scared her with my enthusiasm for it at last year's BEA) and was excited to read this sophomore effort from her. It's seriously just as good as her debut- there's a great, atmospheric feel to Ellison's writing that just really pulls you in. The mystery at the center of it too really helps as well; it's very intriguing and has so many layers to it. The ending was absolutely amazing.

Olivia is a great main character, and I liked seeing her interactions with Stern and Austin. It's nice also seeing the girl have a male best friend (albeit a dead one) and a separate love interest (although probably mainly because her best friend is dead, but still!). It showed some depth to her character and different sides of her when dealing with both.

Overall, definitely a book to check out and if you haven't read The Butterfly Clues, get on it!

FTC: Received e-galley from Netgalley. Link above is an Amazon Associate link; any profit goes toward funding contests.