Two Sides to Every Murder
by Danielle Valentine
G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers, June 2024, $18.99
Author Danielle Valentine, author of How to Survive to Survive Your Murder, returns with her latest YA thriller. In 2008, Camp Lost Lake in New York State was the site of a double murder and a disappearance, leading to its closure and rumors of the Witch of Lost Lake, a woman ready to kill anyone who trespassed on her territory.
Sixteen years later, the camp is being opened once again and two teenage girls decide to go, each looking for answers to pressing questions in their own lives. Olivia D’Angeli just found out her dad isn’t her biological father, but believes her mother, who was once director of Camp Lost Lake, may have left something at the camp that points to who her real father is. Reagan Knight, whose mother Lori Knight was the prime suspect in the murders, is determined to prove her mother’s innocence and find out who the killer is.
At the camp, Olivia and Reagan meet and it quickly becomes apparent their quests are somehow connected. Then a figure in a trench coat and a witch’s mask appears at the camp, armed with a bow and arrows—the same type of weapon used in the murders over a decade ago—and begins a grisly new chapter in the camp’s history. Now the teens aren’t just trying to solve a mystery, they’re fighting to stay alive as a killer hunts them down—and their adversary is an excellent shot.
The reader is introduced to a variety of characters with different connections to each other and to the mystery unfolding, and will be pulled in by the determination of both protagonists to find the truth. Valentine paints a vivid picture of the camp and the eerie woods surrounding it, which adds to the creepy atmosphere prevalent throughout the book. With a sinister, unknown murderer running free, there’s a tense undercurrent to the story as readers anticipate the next attack, wondering who will be killed next and who—if anyone—can be trusted.
Two Sides to Every Murder is a fascinating YA thriller with a complex plot and a challenging mystery, with underlying themes of family and friendship and some shocking revelations right up to the final pages. It's certain to entertain readers looking for suspense and chills with their next mystery.
