Envy (Empty Coffin #1) by Gregg Olsen (ARC Review)

Genre:	Young Adult, Mystery, Crime
Publication.Date	September 6th 2011
Pages:	352
Published By:	Splinter
Website	Gregg Olsen | Empty Coffin
	Envy - Goodreads
My review copy:	Provided by the publisher (thank you!)
Where to get:	Barnes and Noble | Amazon      | Book Depository

Murder is such a dirty word…New York Times bestselling adult true crime author Gregg Olsen makes his YA debut with EMPTY COFFIN, a gripping new fiction series for teens based on ripped-from-the-headlines stories…with a paranormal touch.
Crime lives--and dies--in the deceptively picture-perfect town of Port Gamble (aka “Empty Coffin”), Washington. Evil lurks and strange things happen--and 15-year-olds Hayley and Taylor Ryan secretly use their wits and their telepathic “twin-sense” to uncover the truth about the town's victims and culprits.
Envy, the series debut, involves the mysterious death of the twins' old friend, Katelyn. Was it murder? Suicide? An accident? Hayley and Taylor are determined to find out--and as they investigate, they stumble upon a dark truth that is far more disturbing than they ever could have imagined.
Based on the shocking true crime about cyber-bullying, Envy will take you to the edge--and push you right over.

(goodreads.com)

Please note:  Quotes are from an ARC and will be verified against a published copy.

“Merry Christmas, loser,” she said.
She pulled inside of herself, into that place where there was only a little relief.
The bathtub was nearly full. Steaming. Just waiting.
Katelyn had no idea that, not far away, someone else was doing the exact same thing—just waiting for the right time to make a move.
As fresh tears rolled down her cheeks, Katelyn took off the rest of her clothes, threw them on the floor, and plunged herself into the tub.

The fifteen-year-old was slumped over the edge of the old claw-foot tub, her eyes tiny shards of broken glass, her expression void of anything. Her long, wet hair dripped onto the floor.

“I’d rather know how. I mean, really, an espresso machine in the bathtub? That’s got to be a first ever.”
Taylor nodded, brushing away her tears. She could see the absurdity of it all. “Some snarky blogger is going to say this is proof that coffee isn’t good for you.”
“And write a headline like ‘PORT GAMBLE GIRL MEETS BITTER END,’” Hayley added.

Neither girl knew it right then, but the night Katelyn Berkley died was the beginning of something that would change everything.
Everything.
Every. Single. Thing.

     

     Envy is a Young Adult debut novel from the fantastic New York Times bestselling true-crime author, Gregg Olsen. It’s one deliciously dark and eerie read. I devoured it, thoroughly enjoying its creepy atmosphere! Most importantly, the content of this book lives up to its gorgeous cover, which means that if you’re one of the judge-the-book-by-its-cover readers (like me!), you can rest assured - you won’t be disappointed! In fact, you’re in for a quite a treat! 

     Katelyn Berkley, a 15-year-old girl from the small town of Port Gamble, Washington is found dead in her house. Her body, discovered by her alcoholic mother, is slumped over the edge of the old claw-foot tub. There’s also a mini espresso machine floating in the bathtub. An ESPRESSO MACHINE in the BATHTUB – how weird is that? What could possibly have happened? Did Katie commit a suicide? Why would she choose to electrocute herself with a coffee maker of all things? Or maybe it wasn’t a suicide at all? Sure, she was depressed lately due to the falling out between her and her best friend. And no, her family is not by any means a perfect one, but was it enough to make her want to end her life? Or is there something more to the story? Is there SOMEONE else behind her tragic death? 

    Sounds like a typical whodunit story? Well, it’s not! There’s so much more to this book than just the mystery of Katie’s death (which BTW is not what you’d originally assume – in the words of Stephen King, do not assume, assuming makes an ass out of you and me! Get it? Ass+U+Me)! What we have here is a solid, well thought-out and skillfully executed plot, rich palette of really intriguing characters, whole bunch of unexpected twists and turns and a breathtakingly gritty atmosphere. All that sprinkled with a bit of supernatural (not too much,though, just a tiny little bit!) to top off the already delicious read! 

     The lead protagonists of this story are twins, Hayley and Taylor Ryan. These two are not your typical teen girls, although you might not be able to tell that at first. They both attend the local high school and are busy with the regular day-to-day teenage stuff: boys, friends, homework. Their father is a well-known and successful crime book writer and their mother used to be a psychiatric nurse at a state mental hospital in Seattle. The world of crime, murder, mystery and creepiness is nothing new to them. Daily dinner talks about stranglers, serial killers, murder plots and thousand ways to die are basically a routine around the Ryan’s family household. There are very few things that could possibly disturb or shake them, but unfortunately a sudden death of a class mate is one of them. See, there’s something very special about Hayley and Taylor – not only is their sisterly bond extremely strong, but they can also sense certain things. A sixth sense?  An ability to communicate with the dead? Some other mysterious paranormal power? We don’t know that yet, but whatever it is, it makes them very sensitive to their surroundings. They are able to feel things that no one else can detect. Sometimes they’re drawn to certain objects, other times they have visions. Neither twin can explain the sensations, but they both know one thing for sure– they are never wrong. And when they visit Katelyn’s house, they get a feeling that Katelyn did not want to die. Something happened here, someone did that to her, and Hayley and Taylor are now the only ones who can uncover the mystery of Katie’s death. Will they be able to find the person responsible for their friend’s death? To find the answer to this and other questions you are going to have to read the book yourself! And don’t expect to have everything served to you on a silver platter. Gregg Olsen is the master of mystery. He will keep you guessing all the way to the end and even when you hit the back cover you still won’t have all the answers. Quite to the contrary, you will be left with even more burning questions and painful craving for the next book in Empty Coffin series. 

     Hands down, this was really one awesome read. It’s definitely not your typical YA book. There are no vampires, faeries, zombies, angels or any other mystical creatures. There isn’t much of the paranormal stuff, either. It’s a good old crime mystery with a sneak peak of something truly dark and supernatural lurking in the dark. The supernatural part is very vague and almost non-existent, but that only makes it spookier. Olsen did a really great job balancing it out, focusing mainly on the crime mystery and letting us get to know the lead characters in the process – brilliant move! At the same time, the way the book ends suggest that we’re about to step into an unknown, scary and possibly supernatural territory. That makes me want to read the next book even more! Oh, and did you know that the murder mystery is based on an actual cyberbullying crime that took place back in 2006? Go get yourself a copy! It’s worth every penny.

❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤

Vacation Special: 

me reading Envy on top of the mountain in Glacier National Park, Canada.

I carried it all the way up to the top.

And it was WORTH IT.