Review: No One Else Can Have You by Kathleen Hale

Title: No One Else Can Have You

Author: Kathleen Hale

Publisher:  HarperTeen
Publishing Date: January 7th 2014

Pages: 380
Genre:  YA Mystery/Suspense

Series: Stand Alone
Source: ARC 

  

Small towns are nothing if not friendly. Friendship, Wisconsin (population: 689 688) is no different. Around here, everyone wears a smile. And no one ever locks their doors. Until, that is, high school sweetheart Ruth Fried is found murdered. Strung up like a scarecrow in the middle of a cornfield.

Unfortunately, Friendship’s police are more adept at looking for lost pets than catching killers. So Ruth’s best friend, Kippy Bushman, armed with only her tenacious Midwestern spirit and Ruth’s secret diary (which Ruth’s mother had asked her to read in order to redact any, you know, sex parts), sets out to find the murderer. But in a quiet town like Friendship—where no one is a suspect—anyone could be the killer.

This was a Waiting on Wednesday book for me and I was so excited when I received the galley to read. I was happy to dig in as soon as I could get to the book and well it's really going to be hard for me to put my thoughts into words. I liked the book. There were so many things about the book I enjoyed. Much of the writing style really had me going. It was different and I liked it. The mystery was a good  one and it had all the elements I needed. I thought all the characters were kooky and likable. Even in their worst moments. There was something about the book that kept me from loving it. I think I expected more and so when I read the book I was a tiny bit disappointed. It was a good read but not a wow read. 

Kippy has had one friend, a best friend, for as long as she can remember. One dreadful night, on the way to Kippy's house, Ruth was murdered. Hung and stuffed like a scarecrow. Ruth is determined to find out who killed her best friend, Ruth. There is a suspect and even though he is found to be the only suspect and is being held by local police, Kippy is sure he didn't do it. Along with the help of Davey, Ruth's brother,  Kippy is sure to solve the crime. 

I think this book had a bunch of great things going. I think one of my favorite things about this book was the writing style. The voice of the book, which is in 1st person so its Kippy's voice, was unique, quirky, and fun to follow. The tone was just right for the type of read, and I just had a ton of fun reading the story. It was one of the most original I have read in a while. That does say a lot for the type of book, a mystery thriller, I read a lot of those. I love it when they stand out. 

The characters were definitely the best part of the book. Kippy wasn't the perfect character. She was flawed, a little nutso, and sometimes a bit whiny, but I liked her. She was just nuts enough I could appreciate her. She really kept me entertained. 

Some other great characters in the book were Kippy's father Dom.He was a bit clueless but he was doing the best he could do when it came to raising Kippy on his own. Davey was pretty sweet, a little crazy too. liked him. Even Officer Staake had some good qualities. He was very clueless, not the best officer, but he added just the right amount of jerk but not a jerk to the cast of characters. 

Ruth, I didn't like. She left plenty to be desired and I am not sure why Kippy was even friends with her. Even in death Ruth came across as a selfish witch and still Kippy did everything she could for her. Sad really. Kippy did find some pretty cool and loyal friends in the end. All crazy like her and much nicer than Ruth. 

The mystery was also pretty good. I didn't have it figured out and to me, it wasn't very predictable at all. I enjoyed the time that Kippy was taking to investigate the murder and it was great to follow the clues she unraveled. The journal entries from Ruth's diary also added to the interesting read. The only issue I had with the story was the detour in the middle of the book. I felt the story took kind of a left turn into nowhere for a short moment. I didn't quite understand why the story tool this left turn. It made a little bit of sense with the characters background, I just didn't think ti fit well in the story. It felt kind of like filler to me. It wasn't  long before the story got back on track and it was a fast track to the ending. Which takes me to the pacing. 

The pacing started off good, slowed down, took the left turn, then sped up again to a page turning rate. I didn't mind the slow down too much, only the left turn that followed, like I mentioned. SO all in all the pacing was pretty good. It was geared just right for a suspenseful read. 

It was good.  A satisfying read but I did enjoy it. I look forward to seeing more from this author.