This is the third book in the Riley Donovan mystery series, but it can be read as a standalone. Riley will make a good detective when she gets older, but her snooping got her into trouble a few times since she’s a high school kid.

I almost put this short book down in the first chapter because of how annoying the character Ashleigh is. She complains, whines and makes rude comments throughout the entire book. A few characters are written this way and it makes the characters seem like they’re about 10 years old instead of high schoolers. I figured out the killer and that person made much more sense than the person who was originally accused.

Small town girl and two friends give out exposition on a missing girl as they hand out flyers and then join the search, finding the body soon enough.
I mention exposition because in this case it was well done, unlike most ham-fisted attempts in such short stories. There’s a Twin Peaks feel throughout, making me wonder if maybe the victim wasn’t as goodie-two-shoes as she let on.
For such a short novel, there sure were a lot of suspects; just when the cops and Riley think they know who done it, someone else pops up. It’s a little exasperating, as the author doesn’t throw breadcrumbs for the reader to play along and have a chance at solving it. But despite that it’s still worth the read, as the writing and characters are where this short is strong.
3.5 pushed up to 4/5

Out of Tune

A Riley Donovan Mystery



by Norah McClintock

Orca Book Publishers

Mystery & Thrillers , Teens & YA

Pub Date 24 Oct 2017

I am reviewing a copy of Out of Tune through Orca Book Publishers and Netgalley:

Alicia is a talented violinist at Riley Donovan High-school is found murdered, bludgeoned to death. Her body found in a field located on the outskirts of town. Her musical rival Carrie immediately becomes a suspect. Riley is not convinced that Carrie is the murderer though.

Despite the fact that Riley’s police officer aunt tells her to stay out of it, Riley goes searching for the truth anyway, not wanting someone innocent to get in trouble for a crime they did not commit.

I give Out of Tune five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

I really enjoyed this book! While the pacing is just a little slow in the beginning but I found that once I got a few chapters in I didn't want to stop.
When a classmate goes missing and turns up dead Riley Donovan solves the case and finds the killer.
The ending was actually quite unexpected, especially for me. The writing was okay, the plot was awesome, and the ending was mind blowing. I recommend for ages 10 & up
4 stars

This is a cute book. A good middle school read with fun and quick dialogue!

When a school mate is found dead Riley takes on the role of detective to clear the name of the accused. In doing so she uncovers a number of secrets being kept in their town.

Out of Tune works as a murder mystery. It's got a grisly murder and a fair number of secrets and suspects. There is enough suspense and interest to keep a reader moving to the end.

The characters are in high school suggesting that the target audience is middle and high school but the book lacks the edginess that teen audiences tend to prefer.
In addition, we don't learn enough about the main character Riley to truly connect with her. She lives with her aunt and we learn that they've recently moved to town. The author alludes to a previous murder solved by Riley and so I presume there was a previous book in which the questions of Riley's living situation were addressed but those questions were unanswered in this book and it left me feeling detached from the main character.
Finally, the accused made an appearance in a few chapters but did not participate in the investigation of the crime, which was fine, but since Riley didn't really have a connection to the accused, it was hard as a reader to become emotionally invested in Riley's quest.
In summary, a quick read with some interesting aspects but it may not appeal to the intended audience.

When a high-school violin player, Alicia, has been missing for two days, Riley is pulled into the search by one of her best friends, Charlie, who’s had a crush on Alicia for years.
The next day, an organized search has them founding Alicia’s body…
A couple days later, Carrie, the main suspect since she was Alicia’s violinist rival (and other stuff), finds Riley to ask her to prove her innocence…

This is part of the Riley Donovan series. I can’t find which book this is exactly. This author Goodreads page is kind of a mess and even if, as a librarian, I could sort everything out, I wouldn’t know how…

ANYWAY. I could tell at some point that this was part of a series, for example, when Carrie asks Riley for help, she mentions the cases she solved before, etc.
But it wasn’t essential in the intrigue. the main intrigue of the book was the case, Alicia’s murder. It was well told and I felt like a genius since I figured out before the reveal. I didn’t mind figuring it out, I was looking for a short but interesting mystery & thriller book, and that was exactly what I got.

I liked Riley, even though we didn’t find out much about her. She was the main character but seemed on the background compared to the other characters, like she was just a medium to the murder solving.

Still, a nice, simple, effective mystery....

This was a cute little book, perfect for middle schoolers and some high schoolers, which I didn't realize when I requested it. It was short, clean, and had a good, thought-out mystery. I'd definitely recommend it for young teenagers who enjoy mysteries.

This was well thought-out and quite smartly done, if a little short. I'd say it is aimed at slighty younger readers tban me too, maybe early teens (no 'unsuitable' scenes if you get me). Tried to do some investigating because there seemed to be some hints towards previous books but nothing that leads to confusion, but I came up a little short. There is a LOT of Norah McClintock books on Goodreads apparently, and a few Riley Donavan mystery ones but they didn't seem to have descriptions etc so who knows. I've just read One of Us Is Lying which was AMAZING, so this kind of paled in comparison.

Music and murder merge together as one in this thrilling novel that will captivate readers.

Nice young mystery solved by a very resourceful young sleuth