Review: Shadow Hills

Shadow Hills

By Anastasia Hopcus

Publication date: July 13, 2010

Synopsis:

Since her sister’s mysterious death, Persephone “Phe” Archer has been plagued by a series of disturbing dreams. Determined to find out what happened to her sister, Phe enrolls at Devenish Prep in Shadow Hills, Massachusetts—the subject of her sister’s final diary entry. Phe immediately realizes that there’s something different about this place—an unexplained epidemic that decimated the town in the 1700s, an ancient and creepy cemetery, weird "townies"—and somehow she’s connected to it all. But the deeper she digs, the more entangled Phe becomes in the haunting past of Shadow Hills. Finding what links her to this town…might be a deadly mistake.

My review:

Shadow Hills combines a great suspense plot with paranormal romance to produce a real page turner. I enjoyed trying to figure out the mystery behind the strange visions Phe was having. Phe is a strong, gutsy heroine and I admired her determination. Her chemistry with Zach really sizzled. I enjoyed the romance but what I really loved about the book is the paranormal element with the visions, the supernatural abilities of the characters, and the history of the town. It reminded me of one of my favorite episodes of the PBS series Secrets of the Dead. Phe’s visions were truly creepy and the identity of the killer was unexpected.

I think Anastasia Hopcus did a fantastic job in creating the back story for the unusual residents of Shadow Hills. I still had some questions at the end but hopefully those will be answered in the second book as I believe this will be a series. Shadow Hills is a fantastic paranormal suspense novel and I look forward to great things from Anastasia Hopcus.

Readalikes: Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins, Deception by Lee Nichols, Guardian of the Dead by Karen Healey, Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting

I borrowed an ARC of this book to read as part of an ARC tour. Thanks to Jami at YA Addict for hosting the ARC tour and giving me the opportunity to read Shadow Hills!