Review: The Naturals

The Naturals 
Jennifer Lynn Barnes
308 pages (Hardcover)
Goodreads - Amazon - Barnes&Noble

Blurb: 

Seventeen-year-old Cassie is a natural at reading people. Piecing together the tiniest details, she can tell you who you are and what you want. But it’s not a skill that she’s ever taken seriously. That is, until the FBI come knocking: they’ve begun a classified program that uses exceptional teenagers to crack infamous cold cases, and they need Cassie.

What Cassie doesn’t realize is that there’s more at risk than a few unsolved homicides—especially when she’s sent to live with a group of teens whose gifts are as unusual as her own. Sarcastic, privileged Michael has a knack for reading emotions, which he uses to get inside Cassie’s head—and under her skin. Brooding Dean shares Cassie’s gift for profiling, but keeps her at arm’s length.

Soon, it becomes clear that no one in the Naturals program is what they seem. And when a new killer strikes, danger looms closer than Cassie could ever have imagined. Caught in a lethal game of cat and mouse with a killer, the Naturals are going to have to use all of their gifts just to survive. 

Review: 

I heard about The Naturals a few months before it came out and it sounded like it was going to be a really great book. I'm glad to say that it didn't disappoint me. In fact, I read it in a day because I wasn't able to put it down 

The novle was very fast paced, which I really liked. There weren't any parts in the middle of the story where it seemed to lag. 

I also really liked the cast of characters. Cassie was really interesting and I especially liked the mental processes she went through while profiling. I also very much enjoyed hoe realistic she was, even though she was "different." The rest of the characters, shane, Lia, Michael, Dean, and some of the rest, were also really fun and I liked there bickering and reactons to each other. Cassie's profiling training with the FBI agents was also extremely interesting. 

The other aspect of the novel that I loved was the mystery. Every few chapters there would be a snippet from the killer's point of view and they really added to the story. I didn't expect the ending at all, to be honest. 

The only small issue I had was the similarity between The Naturals and Kimbely Derting's The Body Finder series. However, there were enough differences that it was still enjoyable. 

Overall, I give it a hangover level of 5 out of 5. 

Want to purchase the book? Check out the links at the top! 

Review: Red Knife

Red Knife 
William Kent Krueger
320 pages (Hardcover)
Atria Books
Goodreads - Amazon - Barnes&Noble

Blurb: 

The newest book in William Kent Krueger's award-winning Corcoran O'Connor series finds the charismatic private investigator caught in the middle of a racial gang war that's turning picturesque Tamarack County, Minnesota, into a bloody battlefield.

When the daughter of a powerful businessman dies as a result of her meth addiction, her father, strong-willed and brutal Buck Reinhardt, vows revenge. His target is the Red Boyz, a gang of Ojibwe youths accused of supplying the girl's fatal drug dose. When the head of the Red Boyz and his wife are murdered in a way that suggests execution, the Ojibwe gang mobilizes, and the citizens of Tamarack County brace themselves for war, white against red.

Both sides look to Cork O'Connor, a man of mixed heritage, to uncover the truth behind the murders. A former sheriff, Cork has lived, fought, and nearly died to keep the small-town streets and his family safe from harm. He knows that violence is never a virtue, but he believes that it's sometimes a necessary response to the evil that men do. Racing to find answers before the bloodshed spreads, Cork himself becomes involved in the darkest of deeds. As the unspeakable unfolds in the remote and beautiful place he calls home, Cork is forced to confront the horrific truth: Violence is a beast that cannot be contained.

In "Red Knife," Krueger gives his readers a vivid picture of racial conflict in small-town America, as well as a sensitive look at the secrets we keep from even those closest to us and the destructive nature of all that is left unsaid between fathers and sons, husbands and wives, friends and lovers.

Review: 

Red Knife is a book that my sophmore English teacher assigned the class to read. At first, I didn't think it would be a very good book, I've never been a person that was interested by mysteries that took place in Minnesota. I mean come on, I live in the state and I know how boring it really is. I gave it a try though, English was my best class and it looked like a short, easy read that I could quickly finish. 

Once I started the book and got through the first chapter I realized just how much I was going to LOVE this story. While you're reading it you believe that you have it all figured out and that you know who is at fault, then new evidence turns up and the loop is thrown off. I myself take pride in how quickly i can solve murder mysteries in my head, whether it be in a book, show or movie, but this book had me stumped and it was a refreshing feeling. Now, Red Knife is the eighth  book in Krueger's Cork O"Conner series, which can be found on Goodreads. 

I had the pleasure to meet Mr. Krueger last April, at a book festival that has become an annual event in my small town of Saint Peter. Sadly, I wasn't able to talk to him for very long, but from our short conversation I can inform you all that he is a kind man who very much enjoys writing and giving advise to young adults that are interested in writing. 

Overall, I give this book a hangover level of 4 out of 5. 

Want to purchase the book? Check out the links at the top!