Book Review: The May Queen Murders by Sarah Jude

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The May Queen Murders
Author: Sarah Jude
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Mystery
Release Date: May 3rd 2016
Review Source: HMH Books for Young Readers

Stay on the roads. Don’t enter the woods. Never go out at night.

Those are the rules in Rowan’s Glen, a remote farming community in the Missouri Ozarks where Ivy Templeton’s family has lived for centuries. It’s an old-fashioned way of life, full of superstition and traditions, and sixteen-year-old Ivy loves it. The other kids at school may think the Glen kids are weird, but Ivy doesn’t care—she has her cousin Heather as her best friend. The two girls share everything with each other—or so Ivy thinks. When Heather goes missing after a May Day celebration, Ivy discovers that both her best friend and her beloved hometown are as full of secrets as the woods that surround them.

The May Queen Murders caught my attention a couple of months ago. The synopsis had me itching to dive in and find out what was hiding behind this town. Mystery thrillers aren't usually my thing but The May Queen Murders felt more of a movie than a book. I always manage to get sucked into those Lifetime movies and The May Queen Murders felt just like one of those. 

We get thrown into the lives of Ivy and Heather, their cousins, sisters really born only three weeks apart they've never known how not to be with one another. You can say Ivy is very superstitious she sees bad omens warning her something awful is going to happen. She tries to make Heather realizes these things are true, but of course in true Heather fashion she just brushes it off. Next thing you know, Heather winds up missing. 

Through out the whole book I thought I had it all figured out. I knew what was going to happen by the time I got to the end. I got every thing right until the very last reveal. Bravo for pulling that one on us Jude! As much as I did enjoy trying to figure out the mystery behind it I wasn't thrilled with getting so much information dumped on us during the last act of the book. I felt like I needed an extra chapter just to help me gather everything I had just learned about. Other than that, I thoroughly enjoyed The May Queen Murders.