In our most recent episode, Claire and I talk about Win, Lose, Kill, Die by Cynthia Murphy. Cynthia was supposed to join us for this one, but she was unable to make it due to unforeseen circumstances. We're bummed, but we had fun cosplaying, so it was worth it. Here we are in our recording picture, Claire being Head Girl and me showing off my gruesome face gash.
Why is Claire Head Girl and why do I have a face gash? And what's the deal with Tiger Balm? WELL! Claire and I dressed up to chat with Cynthia because we like to dress up when we talk to our author friends. Claire is the main character of our book, Liz, who ends up as Head Girl of her posh boarding school after all the other head girls die under mysterious circumstances, often involving Tiger Balm (please use Tiger Balm only according to package instructions). One such incident involves my character, Taylor, getting a ghastly face wound that may or may not have been exacerbated by the medicinal cream and/or other nefarious schemes.
Throughout the book, we follow Liz as she attends Morton Academy and takes part in a secret society called Jewel and Bone. Members of the society are the head boy and girl of the academy plus deputies and prefects, but then... mysterious things start happening and the head girls begin dying left and right. There's also a cult from the 1990s involved and Nokia phones and other great 90s references. (The creepy groundskeeper is named Billy Loomis!) The book features short chapters written from the unknown killer's POV and it's pretty easy to figure out who it is, but the reveal at the end is spectacular even if you decipher the clues early. Make sure you read the book, listen to our episode and check out our summary for all the juicy details.
I love a good murder mystery, and, let's face it, they're pretty much the only contemporary YA novels I like, but you know what makes everything better? Throwing in a boarding school and cults and violent deaths.
Wait... I shouldn't have said that.
Until next time,
Amanda
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