BOOK REVIEW: When

This is a book review for When by Victoria Laurie.

Maddie Fynn is a shy high school junior, cursed with an eerie intuitive ability: she sees a series of unique digits hovering above the foreheads of each person she encounters. Her earliest memories are marked by these numbers, but it takes her father's premature death for Maddie and her family to realize that these mysterious digits are actually death dates, and just like birthdays, everyone has one. Forced by her alcoholic mother to use her ability to make extra money, Maddie identifies the quickly approaching death date of one client's young son, but because her ability only allows her to see the when and not the how, she's unable to offer any more insight. When the boy goes missing on that exact date, law enforcement turns to Maddie. Soon, Maddie is entangled in a homicide investigation, and more young people disappear and are later found murdered. A suspect for the investigation, a target for the murderer, and attracting the attentions of a mysterious young admirer who may be connected to it all, Maddie's whole existence is about to be turned upside down. Can she right things before it's too late?

"I'm not exactly sure when I started seeing the numbers." And with that opening line, this gripping, suspenseful story begins. The resulting mystery was so compelling that I couldn't put the book down. I had preordered it in Amazon and read it within a few hours. This book wasn't just about a compelling mystery. It is also about a family trying to cope with grief and it's about fate and destiny. If someone knows when they are going to die (but not the how), can it be changed? I thought Maddie did a great job dealing with her "gift" the best way she could. I loved the pacing of this story. I thought the storyline moved very quickly, which kept me glued to the page. There was also a surprise ending. I thought I knew who the killer was, but then I found out I was wrong. There was a twist to who the killer was that I honestly didn't see coming. Now sometimes I can be clueless about things so perhaps others would have predicted it. The only issue I really had with the book was that the crush on Aiden seemed forced and out of place. There really wasn't a focus on romance, there was just a sprinkling of it here and there. It seemed like more of a distraction to me. I had never read this author's work before but I intend to read more of her stuff.

I give this book a 4/5.