Title: Bad Things Happen Here
Author: Rebecca K Barrow
Publisher: Simon Teen
Genre/s and Tags: Young Adult, Mystery, Thriller, Contemporary, Queer/LGBTQIA+, Fiction, Mental Health
Goodreads synopsis:
I Killed Zoe Spanos meets The Cheerleaders in this haunting mystery about an island town with a history of unsolved deaths—and a girl desperate to uncover the mystery behind it all.
Luca Laine Thomas lives on a cursed island. To the outside world, Parris is an exclusive, idyllic escape accessible only to the one percent. There’s nothing idyllic about its history, though, scattered with the unsolved deaths of young women—deaths Parris society happily ignores to maintain its polished veneer. But Luca can’t ignore them. Not when the curse that took them killed her best friend, Polly, three years ago. Not when she feels the curse lingering nearby, ready to take her next.
When Luca comes home to police cars outside her house, she knows the curse has visited once again. Except this time, it came for Whitney, her sister. Luca decides to take the investigation of Whitney’s death into her own hands. But as a shocking betrayal rocks Luca’s world, the identity Whitney’s killer isn’t the only truth Luca seeks. And by the time she finds what she’s looking for, Luca will come face to face with the curse she’s been running from her whole life.
Buy Links:
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Full Review:
Thank you to Colored Pages Blog Tours and the publisher for my review copy in exchange for an honest review and promo. All opinions are my own.
Oh my god!!! I LOVED THIS!! Could not put it down. I did not want to stop reading it.
Luca Laine Thomas lives on the gorgeous island of Parris. Parris seems like an idyllic escape, but its history is marred by a curse—the scattered unsolved deaths of young women. Luca has felt the island’s curse watching her for as long as she can remember. Three years ago, the curse took her best friend and she feels the curse lingering waiting to get her next. When the police show up to Luca’s house to tell her family her sister has died, Luca decides to take matters into her own hands.
I’m new to the thriller genre, but whew queer thrillers? I love them so much. This one, Dead End Girls, Ace of Spades, The Many Half-Lived Lives of Sam Sylvester? Sign me up for all of them immediately. When I started Bad Things Happen Here, I didn’t expect to inhale the book in one sitting. The story and writing were so gripping I did not want this book to end! I loved the journey and investigation we go on with Luca at the head.
Luca was such an easy character to root for. She’s fat, queer, Black/biracial, disabled and constantly feels like she doesn’t belong in Parris. The curse only makes it more apparent. I loved seeing her explore her sense of self and become more confident in who she is and what she deserves.
This was my first book by Rebecca Barrow, but it certainly won’t be my last!
Rep: Black/biracial fat sapphic cis female MC with depression and intrusive thoughts, Asian American sapphic cis female side character, Black/biracial cishet female side character, various white side characters.
CWs: Murder, death, death of child, blood, violence, injury/injury detail, mental illness (depression, intrusive thoughts). Moderate: Racism, infidelity, police intimidation, self harm, grief, suicidal thoughts, drug use, car accident and DUI, vomit. Minor: fatphobia.
Forever In A Story 