ALA Booklist

Three months after teen sleuths Seneca, Aerin, Maddox, and Madison (aka the Amateurs) uncovered secrets about the murder of Aerin's sister, an Instagram star goes missing d she looks eerily like Aerin's sister. Shortly after, a message appears on the Case Not Closed message board, for cold cases, and the group receives a letter from their former friend (and suspected killer) Brett, challenging them to solve the case. There is enough backstory that readers can jump right into this plot-driven mystery, where the characters' development is of less concern than proving their amateur-detective status. Indeed amateurs, they constantly impede investigations, and the number of people who readily offer information is a bit unbelievable. As the second book in the series, this functions as a placeholder, setting up developments in the overall mystery without answering any questions left at the end of The Amateurs (2016). Dedicated fans will pick it up, but it's a supplemental purchase only where the first was popular.

Horn Book

The young sleuths from The Amateurs--Seneca, Maddox, Madison, and Aerin--reunite to bring closure to the murders of their loved ones by following clues left for them by an elusive serial killer. With minimal character development and superfluous romantic subplots, the appeal of this contemporary crime novel is a twisty plot driven by the murderer's cat-and-mouse game with the teenage detectives.

Kirkus Reviews

The teenage detectives from The Amateurs (2016) return, sent on a chase by their adversary. It's three months after Seneca, Aerin, Maddox, and Madison discovered who killed Seneca's mother and Aerin's sister, but the escape of the killer—their former friend, Brett—is haunting them. Then Chelsea Dawson, an Instagram-obsessed white girl, disappears. The next day, the disappearance is inexplicably posted on Case Not Closed, a cold-case message board, with a post from Brett that draws the Amateurs' suspicions. While biracial Seneca takes the lead in the investigation, torn between catching Brett and dealing with her confusing feelings for white boy Maddox, white girl Aerin is weepy and distracted by thoughts of her sister. Korean-American Madison barely registers in solving the case or with readers, and Maddox seems mostly concerned about how white boy Jeff, Chelsea's ex and a suspect in her disappearance, is apparently putting the moves on Seneca. Throughout the novel, Brett is spinning his web to teach Chelsea a lesson and make the Amateurs realize they're outclassed. While there's enough back story to explain their first case, the immature and two-dimensional foursome are amateurs in both name and ability. Unlike the first, this so-called mystery is utterly lacking in suspense or tension, overflows with leaps of logic, and offers nothing to indicate the teen detectives are any match for Brett—a fatal flaw. Skip. (Mystery. 14-16)

Voice of Youth Advocates (Thu Apr 28 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

In this second novel in the Amateurs series, Seneca Frazier, Maddox Wright, Madison Wright, and Aerin Kelly pursue the serial killer, Brett Grady, who kidnaps YouTube celebrity Chelsea Dawson, threatening to kill her if the group does not decipher his cryptic clues within a given time. Beautiful females and muscled males with seemingly unlimited time, sufficient funds, and minimal professional involvement mix much romance with mystery. Grady’s disguises and direction by misdirection confound the sleuths, discredit the narcissistic Chelsea, and leave the police clueless—despite two previous murders and a kidnapping. Instead of closure, the final pages present another crime and a new Grady identity, a twist that seems inconsistent with the targeted characters, pulling the reader into the next sequel. This fluffy but page-turning tale has a distinct soap opera flavor as the hunters figure out that they are the hunted and struggle to understand the who, what, why and how of Grady’s final goal. If the reader has not read the first book of the series, the many characters and their match-ups might be confusing, even though Shepard provides extensive exposition. Short chapters that end in powerful hooks will pull in the most reluctant reader, but the approach and subject matter holds appeal mostly for female readers. Order this book for Shepard’s fans who will be delighted with her latest offering.—Lucy Schall.