Thank you for approving me for this title! However, I unfortunately was unable to download/read this book prior to it being archived on Netgalley. I hope to read and review this book on my own soon, and hope to read other books from this author and publisher. Thanks again!

I received this free eARC novel from NetGalley. This is my honest review.

This has been on my TBR pile for so long, and I'm glad I finally got around to it. I really enjoyed the storyline and seeing the characters change throughout the story was a great character development. The plot was great and kept my attention. I'm glad I got the chance to read this and will be on the lookout for more in the future!

So, where shall I start? Let's start with the fact that I'm thoroughly impressed with Frayed by Kara Terzis. As a psychological thriller, it meets all the requirements with intensity, suspense and multiple character arcs that keeps you guessing. I had my speculations as to the outcome, but there were many times that I did second guessed and wondered. Was I still surprised? Yes, but it also felt too random, though looking back there were hints. Yet, those hints can also be brushed off as character or plot nuances. So in truth, Frayed still had me. It's sad and dark and good. As a story, as a debut story, it works, from characters to plot. I do find the pacing erratic, which I guess can attribute it being a thriller, but there are times I felt the wording doesn't flow as well or the word choice didn't line up with the characters. Despite that, I did enjoyed it and finished in one sitting, and if you like psychological teen thrillers, this is one for you.

We start off with the letter to Kesley being written by her younger sister Ava. The story jumps right into Ava's life as she is waiting on her best friend to drive her to school. Lia tells Ava that Rafe is back in town and wants to meet with her. This is apparently a huge deal because he was friends with Ava and Kesley before Kesley's murder, and hasn't been seen since before she died. So, of course, the girls think he might have had something to do with it.

There are parts throughout the story where Ava goes back to writing Kesley's letter, but they do not detract from the story, it all flows together nicely.

Ava of course talks to Rafe against her best friend's advice. But she starts to learn some new things about her sister and everyone around her. Ava finds out her boyfriend cheated on her with her sister, and then after forgiving him; she catches him and her best friend together.

Of course after that Ava gravitates more towards Rafe, even though her foster mother objects. But We soon find out that Rafe isn't the one we need to worry about. There is still a killer on the loose.

Ava is your average shy girl, only talks to a select few people at school. She is upset that her sister's murder isn't solved and starts to suspect people around her, Rafe, her now ex-best friend, at first even the girls of the local troublemaker gang K.A.R.M.A.

Ava soon finds out that Kesley was not only part of K.A.R.M.A but that she brought all the girls together. This is when things get interesting in the story, and just so I don't ruin it all... Know that I never saw the ending coming, I had my suspicions of who the killer was throughout the book, but I never would have even thought to suspect the one who actually killed Kesley.

This sounded really good to me: I love psychological thrillers with unreliable narrators. And I had more likes than dislikes, so I would definitely recommend the novel to YA thriller fans. I think the novel had loads of potential, but I thought there was too much filler to hold my interest. Also, a lot of the dialogue felt unnatural to me. I did feel like the ending was very original and unexpected. I enjoy books that surprise me and Frayed definitely did.

MY THOUGHTS

I had low expectations for this book. I don’t know why, but I did. Maybe it’s because it was relatively short (I breezed through it in about an hour or two). But once I got into it (about 25% in), I started to really like it. It was a psychological thriller, like Beware That Girl, it really messes with your head on trying to figure out who the murderer is. I was mad at myself for not putting the pieces together, because after I knew the answer, I was like, “oohhhhhh, duhhhh.”

Like I said, I was mad. But there was something about this book, and the way it was written that didn’t let me get invested in it fully. Let me explain.

PROS

I’m sure, like most books, you’re used to reading some word building, some jumping right into the adventure.

THIS BOOK STARTED OFF AS A LETTER.

I say that, but really the whole book is a letter. But it starts as a letter. And it builds the world for you. The main character, Ava, is obviously seeing a psychologist/therapist. Why? We’re not sure, we just know that he wants her to write a letter to Kesley, her dead sister. The whole story is her letter. And with it being her letter, we’re given everything the main character feels is prudent to making amends or coping with whatever she’s seeing her therapist for.

NO ONE’S GOOD.

I think that’s one of my favorite things about a lot of books. The characters have flaws, and in many books, it works very well. In this book, it works excellent. Of all the characters, there’s some mystery to them. There’s some reeking hint of deceit. And there’s some lingering effects of betrayal… or even suspicion. I loved suspecting everyone. The suspect for the murderer constantly changed for me the more we read (which is probably what Terzis intended).

CONS

BECAUSE THE BOOK’S A LETTER, THERE ARE STRANGE MOMENTS WHERE YOU FORGET THAT IT IS, AND SO THE WRITING IN THOSE PLACES WHERE YOU’RE REMINDED IS… ODD.

You’d be in the middle of a conversation, and then all of the sudden, Ava would need to leave. And while she was leaving, there was this existential monologue/soliloquy that I didn’t realize was apart of the letter until the very end of the story when I was reminded that it was. It came off more, in the story, like the character was bemoaning the death of her sister, and while it was tragic, it seemed like she was … well, holding onto the murder as much as possible.

THE WRITING WAS OKAY.

Again, I say I was prepared to be disappointed. While the plot and the characters were great, the writing (and I think this is mostly because of the way the story would be interrupted by the character’s inner turmoil letter-soliloquies) lacked something. It wasn’t awful, not by any means. I just needed to see more. I needed something that captured me from the first page. I needed… a wow factor.

OVERALL

This book is one that I would recommend if you like psychological thriller murder/mysteries. If you’re someone that likes reading stories that are written as a letter, yet… not? (The story is told like a normal story, it just also happens to be a letter… a long letter.) Or, if you’re that person that watches movies and tries to guess what happens next.

4/5

Maybe this was a problem caused by reading an eARC, but often it was difficult to tell which was the letter and which was backstory. Even during the obvious letter parts the writing sounded like it was supposed to be backstory (and there's far too much description in each than necessary - surely Kristen would know what things looked like at home). DNF.

I had our library purchase this book because never before have I been so shocked by an ending. Well done!

I thought the book was okay, the writing and the characters, especially the MC... but there was a flatness to it which is hard to explain. That lacking thing kept me from fully enjoying the book.

Ava’s sister was murdered. Determined to uncover the truth about what happened, Ava delves deeper into the truth, aided by Rafe, her sister Kelsey’s best friend who skipped town after Kelsey was killed. Then there’s KARMA, the girl gang intent on bothering Ava, and whom Ava is convinced had something to do with Kelsey’s death, until the also join Ava on her search for the killer. As Ava digs deeper she finds out some terrible truths about her sister, and even her very own self.

Although it's not a completely original idea, I really enjoyed this book and the way the author decided make the revelations. It's a well written mystery, Nothing is ever quite as it seems and this little book does deliver on it's promise...

An amazing thriller that made a young girl come to terms with her sanity and whether or not she could get justice for her sister, Frayed really touches close to home and makes you sit on the edge of your seat waiting for what's next!