Gossip Girl meets One of Us Is Lying with a dash of The Secret History in this slick, taut murder mystery set against the backdrop of an exclusive prep school on Long Island.

In Gold Coast, Long Island, everything from the expensive downtown shops to the manicured beaches, to the pressed uniforms of Jill Newman and her friends, looks perfect. But as Jill found out three years ago, nothing is as it seems.

Freshman year Jill’s best friend, the brilliant, dazzling Shaila Arnold, was killed by her boyfriend. After that dark night on the beach, Graham confessed, the case was closed, and Jill tried to move on.

Now, it’s Jill’s senior year and she’s determined to make it her best yet. After all, she’s a senior and a Player–a member of Gold Coast Prep’s exclusive, not-so-secret secret society. Senior Players have the best parties, highest grades and the admiration of the entire school. This is going to be Jill’s year. She’s sure of it.

But when Jill starts getting texts proclaiming Graham’s innocence, her dreams of the perfect senior year start to crumble. If Graham didn’t kill Shaila, who did? Jill is vows to find out, but digging deeper could mean putting her friendships, and her future, in jeopardy.

My Review

Well, isn’t that odd? There’s no favorite quote at the top of this review. That’s because there were too many great ones to choose from. (Do you detect the sarcasm?)

Reading this book is remembering something from your childhood. We’ll use Doritos as an example here.

Do you remember craving something like Doritos? Asking your Mom or Dad to pick some up at the grocery store because that’s where they are headed. You sat there and waited patiently for them to return with a bag of cheesy goodness. They get home and hand you a bag of not what you asked for. Instead of Doritos, you get cheese triangles. Wtf is this? You try one anyone anyway because you’re told that they’re the same. But you take that first bite and it’s an utter disappointment. That is this book in a nutshell.

I should have known what I was getting myself into when they compared it to One of Us is Lying. I couldn’t even finish that book and here I thought this one would be different. I’m too old to be playing these games but I gambled anyway. I’m sad at myself.

The characters were nauseating and none of them had any good qualities. I wish I could have pushed them all off of a cliff and it would have been end of story. I almost gave up a few times but I persevered and pushed on through hoping it would get better. Wrong! So very wrong!

They Wish They Were Us was a waste of time. The mystery was mediocre and instantly solvable. Where’s the fun in that? The only redeeming quality it has is the cover. This book should be titled, Runaway or Don’t Waste Your Time, or better yet… I Wish I’ve Never Read This.