Review: The Dead and Buried by Kim Harrington

Publisher: Scholastic
Published: January 1, 2013
Pages: 304
Source: For Review from Scholastic Canada
Rating: 4 Stars

Jade loves the house she's just moved into with her family. She doesn't even mind being the new girl at the high school: It's a fresh start, and there's that one guy with the dreamy blue eyes. . . . But then things begin happening. Strange, otherworldly things. Jade's little brother claims to see a glimmering girl in his room. Jade's jewelry gets moved around, as if by an invisible hand. Kids at school whisper behind her back like they know something she doesn't.
Soon, Jade must face an impossible fact: that her perfect house is haunted. Haunted by a ghost who's seeking not just vengeance, but the truth. The ghost of a girl who ruled Jade's school — until her untimely death last year. It's up to Jade to put the pieces together before her own life is at stake. As Jade investigates the mystery, she discovers that her new friends in town have more than a few deep, dark secrets. But is one of them a murderer?

In short: The Dead and Buried by Kim Harrington is a tightly plotted murder mystery with relatable characters.

The Dead and Buried is my first foray into Kim Harrington's writing and I have to say it was an absolutely positive experience. Kim Harrington specializes in murder mysteries and it was with this knowledge that I entered into The Dead and Buried expecting to get a good one. Though perhaps slightly predictable, the mystery was indeed well executed. It was tightly plotted, fast paced, and often surprising. I enjoyed this The Dead and Buried quite a bit, actually; it was a breath of fresh air in the wake of some less than impressive books I've read recently.

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the characters and the romance in The Dead and Buried. Not that I was expecting to hate those things or anything, but I just had been expecting character development to take a back seat to the murder mystery, considering the shortness of the book. But I found Jade to be completely relatable, mature, and level-headed and the romance to be sweet and genuine. I also very much appreciated the time that went into the development of the secondary characters. It was these aspects of The Dead and Buried that I enjoyed most, even more than the well thought out mystery, and that's what surprised me. I was also surprised at how un-annoyed I was with all the high school drama; I usually HATE that stuff.

I can't say The Dead and Buried is a book that is particularly memorable or left much of an impact on me. But do I care much about that when what I got out of it was an entertaining mystery with relatable characters? Not particularly. Kim Harrington has herself a new fan in me!

Other Reviews:
The Nocturnal Library
Stories & Sweeties
Supernatural Snark

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