Malcolm, unlike Ellery, has lived in this small town, where gossip spreads like wildfire, his entire life. Way too often in mystery/thriller novels, the main characters just act without thinking about potential dangers (especially of the murderous variety). What I loved most about her is that she actually thought things through. She’s obsessed with true crime and solving mysteries.

Ellery is the new-kid Nancy Drew of this novel, albeit without the plaid skirt or magnifying glass. When a series of threatening messages begin to plague the town regarding the fast-approaching Homecoming dance, Ellery and Malcolm both begin to search for answers while trying to keep themselves safe from suspicious characters. This book is set in small town Echo Ridge, Vermont, and follows Ellery and Malcolm, two very different main characters who both have a complex relationship with the scandals of their town. Which is why in Echo Ridge, it’s safest to keep your secrets to yourself. The thing is, secrets are dangerous–and most people aren’t good at keeping them. And the longer she’s in Echo Ridge, the clearer it becomes that everyone there is hiding something. Her mother has them her grandmother does too. Then, almost as if to prove it, another girl goes missing.Įllery knows all about secrets.

And before school even begins for Ellery, someone’s declared open season on homecoming, promising to make it as dangerous as it was five years ago. The town is picture-perfect, but it’s hiding secrets. Now Ellery has to move there to live with a grandmother she barely knows. And only five years ago, a homecoming queen put the town on the map when she was killed. Her aunt went missing there at age seventeen. Ellery’s never been there, but she’s heard all about it.

Echo ridge karen mcmanus