The Girl in the Park by Mariah Fredericks

Title: The Girl in the Park
Author: Mariah Fredericks
Release Date: April 24th, 2012
Publisher: Random House
Pages: 224
Format: Electronic Copy
Acquired: ARC; Netgalley
Age Group: Young Adult

When Wendy Geller's body is found in Central Park after the night of a rager, newspaper headlines scream,"Death in the Park: Party Girl Found Strangled." But shy Rain, once Wendy's best friend, knows there was more to Wendy than just "party girl." As she struggles to separate the friend she knew from the tangle of gossip and headlines, Rain becomes determined to discover the truth about the murder. Written in a voice at once immediate, riveting, and utterly convincing, Mariah Frederick's mystery brilliantly exposes the cracks in this exclusive New York City world and the teenagers that move within it.

I have had my head stuck in the Paranormal and Romance/Erotica novels that something like a good mystery is actually really refreshing. A break from everything else is always nice.

The last time I read a good mystery book like this has been a while (that is where ghost, werewolves, faeries, vampires, and time travelers do not count), like back to my Nancy Drew days.

I admit that it took me a while to get into it. I just felt like Rain was very disconnected character and for me, it was like she wasn't all there. Thinking about it I almost feel like the author had intentions for doing that, but still, it was hard to get into. But as the novel started to pick up, Rain's character started to shine through a little more and I could almost see her being assembled right before my eyes.

And I loved how the author really made the pain of the loss hit home. With Wendy's death, family and friend's grieved over this, and it takes the reader right into the book.

There were so many pieces that had key roles, especially when looking into how the media handled the entire situation. It was sad and in some cases even an eye-opener. This looks at the sad, but true side of Manhattan elites and their role is in all of this.

In a lot of ways, for me, this book hit a little too close to him because I am from Manhattan, but she gives an absolute true account, because people do behave this way. But, Fredericks was also kind enough to not pass judgment on them; she states what it is and goes from there. 

This book had it all: loss, sadness, mystery, drama - everything. I recommend this book be put on someone's summer reading list because this will be one of those touching books that can be looked back on and think, "Wow."

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and look forward to more of Fredericks work.