Official Review: True Colours by Adam Scopp

[rssllue]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "True Colours" by Adam Scopp.]

---

2 out of 4 stars

---

Share This Review

---

This is a review of the book, True Colours by Adam Scopp originally published in 2015. It spans 225 pages on my iBooks display and was a pretty fluid read. This book would be best classified as being in the Young Adult, Mystery genre.

This novel tells the story of three teenage friends, who have lost one of their own to an unusual murder in the otherwise quiet town of Pennyworth, England. The original four were a tight-knit group who now feel diminished by the loss of their close friend, Reggie. The police have had no leads and the case has gone cold. So, eight months after his funeral, the survivors, Max, Lauren and Taye, begin their own investigation into the murder. Very quickly, Lauren gets accosted and warned to back off, and Max begins to be taunted by the killer via email. The friends scramble to try and find out who is behind the killing, while trying to balance school, the killer’s games and a budding romance between Max and Lauren. When another murder occurs, things start to get worse for the people of Pennyworth very rapidly.

The story is told in first person format throughout, shifting mainly between Max and Lauren’s perspectives. There are other peripheral characters that contribute to the story to varying degrees. Max’s Mom, who is a detective for the local police force, takes up the case after the second murder is committed. Taye’s Mom, is also a member of the local police force, but does not play as big a role in the story. The same is true for Lauren’s Mother and Father, along with Reggie’s Mom. Lux, is a friend of Max’s from school, who contributes to trying to solve who the killer is as well.

Throughout the first half of the story, I was quite engaged in the mystery and the attempts of trying to find out who was the killer (even though Max drove me nuts by not telling his Mom about the killer’s emails!). It was plotted out pretty well for about half of the book. Though, it did slow down a bit when the romance popped up (but that can be expected somewhat) but it still held my attention on the basic thrust of the story. But about halfway through, it kind of all fell apart for me. Things started to occur that just didn’t seem to jibe with who the characters were up to that point in the book. I was hoping that some deeper kind of explanation would be revealed by the end of the story, but I was left unsatisfied in this hope. What seemed like such great promise, fizzled out for me in the last half of the book.

I was looking, early on to give this book a good rating, but with the letdown in the latter half, I am unable to do so. Therefore, I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars. It has some promise, but just comes up short in delivering on it.

******
True Colours
View: on Bookshelves | on Barnes and Noble

Like rssllue's review? Post a comment saying so!

[gali]

Great review! A pity it came up short as it sounds interesting.

[rssllue]

Thank you. It was indeed an interesting idea.

[bluemel4]

Great review. It seemed like the book had a lot of promise. Most Y.A. novels have an annoying habit of not including the adults in major events or decisions. It drives me a little bonkers when it happens.

[zeldas_lullaby]

Great review! I was disappointed that this book fell apart, because I love the teen murder-mystery premise. I'm always up for a good whodunit.

Most Y.A. novels have an annoying habit of not including the adults in major events or decisions. It drives me a little bonkers when it happens.

Likewise.

[rssllue]

Thank you both for saying so! It is a blessing to hear the feedback.

[zeldas_lullaby]

You're welcome! I think the author could perhaps re-attack the second half of this story, because I see a lot of potential in it.

[rssllue]

I agree! I think that it definitely has something that can be made into a really good story.

[chytach18-]

With no robots or any other creatures from fantasy world, this book seems to be quite unique. It`s a pity that the author couldn`t hold on reins for long enough. Great review, though.

[rssllue]

Thank you very much.

[Levi]

Great review, my bearded friend. Sounds like a cool story that could have better execution.

[rssllue]

Thank you! I agree with that assessment as well!