ALA Booklist

Fan-favorite Shepard turns to amateur sleuthing in this new series starter. Obsessed with an online site for cold cases, 18-year-old Seneca is drawn to that of a missing rich girl named Helena, who was discovered murdered five years ago. Seneca decides to solve the case herself after a call for help is posted on the Case Not Closed site from Helena's sister. Over spring break, Seneca works with two friends from the site, Maddy and Brett, and Helena's sister Aerin. Together the group tries to uncover clues in this unsolved mystery while also navigating personal relationship drama. Additional complications are added to the mix with a track-coach-turned-stalker and Aerin's possible relationship with a local cop. Shepard fills her cast with diverse characters, but this backfires with many unfavorable mentions of race and some stereotyped portrayals. Even so, the mystery is sure to please fans of Shepard's previous titles, but savvy readers may find themselves solving things along the way. A decent series starter with a promising future. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Shepard's Pretty Little Liars series was a smash hit, so this is likely to reach best-seller status.

Kirkus Reviews

This mystery brings online friends together in their attempt to solve a murder, sparking more than one possible romance.Aerin's 17-year old sister, Helena, disappeared five years earlier, and the white girl's remains were found much later. Although the police investigated and the story was big news at the time, the murderer was never found. Now 16, Aerin, also white, sends out a plea for help to an online forum wherein amateur sleuths try to solve old murders. In response, Seneca, a biracial (black/white) college student whose mother also had been murdered, decides to travel to Aerin's snooty Connecticut town to see if she can make any progress on the case. There she meets her online buddy Maddox, who she thought was an Asian girl but turns out to be a white boy. Brett, another white online forum participant, rounds out the team. Varying levels of trust and disclosure amp up the tension and complicate the investigation. Shepard at first seems unable to decide whether she's writing a mystery or a romance, as she teams up Seneca and Maddox, who might have another girlfriend, and Aerin with a local police officer. Eventually, however, the story begins to weave all the characters together into a solution to the mystery, with appropriate red herrings and veiled clues. A twisty and ultimately satisfying romantic whodunit. (Mystery. 12-18)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Shepard (the Pretty Little Liars series) dishes up another exciting whodunit, this time focusing on a group of teens who are tied together by the killing of high school student Helena Kelly and a website for amateur sleuths. Seneca, 19, became interested in cold cases after her mother-s murder four years earlier. Along with online friend Maddy (whom Seneca believes is a girl until they meet) and Helena-s younger sister, Aerin, Seneca resolves to find Helena-s murderer. The trio is joined by Brett Grady, grandson of a fashion heiress who was also brutally murdered, and Maddy-s stepsister, Madison. Using Seneca-s deductive skills and following new clues, the teens slowly discover the shocking identity of the killer and the secrets Helena was hiding. Shepard creates robust characters with their own motives for getting involved with the investigation; as she unravels the truth, the author lulls readers into a false sense of security before expertly pulling the rug out from underneath them. This is a delicious start to the Amateurs series. An Alloy Entertainment property. Ages 14-up. Agent: Andy McNicol, William Morris Endeavor. (Nov.)

School Library Journal

Gr 8 Up-Five years after the murder of Dexby teen Helena Kelly, her killer is still at large and her younger sister, Aerin, is consumed by grief and lack of closure. Seeking help in solving the crime, Aerin posts to Case Not Closed (CNC), an online forum that specializes in solving cold cases. Eighteen-year-old Seneca Frazier and 19-year-old Maddy Wright, two amateur sleuths who frequent the board, are among those who answer the call. The ragtag duo, joined by Maddy's stepsister Madison and fellow CNC member Brett, show up on Aerin's doorstep ready to start the investigations anew. As the skilled group begin to make headway, explosive relationship dynamics threaten their efforts. The teens must also deal with increasingly physical attacks as they chase down clues. The first in a new series, the narrative is told from multiple points of view, with chapters in this page-turning thriller alternating among four main characters. Lighthearted moments break up the tension, but the characters' logic often requires a suspension of disbelief, while pacing can be uneven and dialogue stilted. Love triangles are distractingly prevalent, with all four main characters somehow involved in one, and the relationships mainly give way to love at almost first sight. Additionally, Shepard seems to take pains to reveal that Seneca is biracial and Madison is Asian American, but the knowledge adds little to the story. VERDICT A fun but additional whodunit for libraries with a demand for Shepard's other series, as well as fans of Ally Carter's "Gallagher Girls" or James Patterson's "Confessions." Alea Perez, Westmont Public Library, IL

Voice of Youth Advocates

Drawn together by their work in an online cold case community, Maddox and Seneca spend spring break in Connecticut working on the five-year-old case of Helena Kelly. Joined by the sister of the murdered girl, Aerin, as well as Madison and Brett, the five teens try to find the killer. They unearth all kinds of clues not found in the official investigation. All the while, someone is sending messages that demand the teens stop their investigation, and the messenger is using intimidation and physical attacks. Twists and turns abound as the teens continue to make progress while dealing with heavy interpersonal issues, such as the death of a loved one, sexual harassment from a coach, and family trauma.Even given the fact that some of the teens enjoy a life of wealth and privilege, the group seems to have access to resources beyond their years as seniors in high school and freshmen in college, especially when they follow a lead that takes them to New York City. The teens experience crises that threaten to derail their quest for answers, and there are love triangles aplenty. This entertaining mystery offers a resolution to this case, but a revelation at the end of the book sets up the next book in the series. Shepard's fans ready for a new sleuthing series will enjoy this first installment and look forward to the next case.Erin Wyatt.