2 Stars
“You wanna know what goes bump in the night? I do. I’m the fucking monster.”
Welllllll . . . . .
WARNING: I really channeled my inner Dorothy Zbornak on this one. Don’t bother complaining about the gif usage. If you aren’t a fan of The Golden Girls you probably don’t belong anywhere near my review space to begin with.
The Creeping is the story of Stella – the “one who got away.” While playing with her friend Jeanie as a kid something happened and Jeanie was never seen again. Fast forward 11 years to the discovery of a dead girl who really bears a resemblance to Jeanie. Is it just coincidence or are the two incidents connected. And is it true what they say . . . .
“If you hunt for monsters, you’ll find them.”
So the premise was filled with a lot of awesome. Although unrealistic, I didn’t mind Stella trying to morph herself in to a supersleuth in order to solve the mystery of Jeanie’s disappearance and there were plenty of red herrings thrown about which made solving the puzzle a bit more difficult. What I had a problem with was the execution and the characters. I can’t remember the last time I read such unlikeable characters that I wasn’t supposed to dislike.
Let’s begin with our leads, who upon discovering a corpse and in the wake of the possible reappearance of a murderer decide to take their friendship to a new level . . .
“I wouldn’t need you to pull me in for a kiss. All you’d have to do is say the word and I’d be all over you.”
Next we add in the stereotypical mean girl BFF . . .
No YA novel is complete without an absentee parent. This time it’s ‘cause dear ol’ Dad is an attorney who has to work like 24 hours a day and can never take a day off – even when his daughter thinks she might end up the next victim of a serial killer . . .
And last but most certainly not least an anti-slut shaming message is continually brought up. Because that’s exactly what every good mystery/thriller needs to keep the story moving . . . .
If I may, let me just say I. DO. NOT. GET. characters repeatedly pointing out how messing around with a bunch of different dudes doesn’t make them a slut. They’re right. It doesn’t – but NEVER SHUTTING THE F UP about how “okay” they are with their behavior while being super self-conscious of said behavior makes it sound like they really aren’t. Dear Authors, please start writing these girls with a little more gumption and an “it is what it is” type of attitude instead of this apologetic mamby pamby B.S. Thanks in advance.
Bottom line is this one had a lot of potential, but the delivery failed pretty hardcore for me : (
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