Synopsis:
Maddie Fynn is a shy high school junior, cursed with an eerie intuitive ability: she sees
a series of unique digits hovering above the foreheads of each person she encounters.
Her earliest memories are marked by these numbers, but it takes her father’s premature
death for Maddie and her family to realize that these mysterious digits are actually
death dates, and just like birthdays, everyone has one.
Forced by her alcoholic mother to use her ability to make extra money, Maddie identifies
the quickly approaching death date of one client's young son, but because her ability
only allows her to see the whenand not the how, she’s unable to offer any more insight.
When the boy goes missing on that exact date, law enforcement turns to Maddie.
Soon, Maddie is entangled in a homicide investigation, and more young people
disappear and are later found murdered. A suspect for the investigation, a target for the
murderer, and attracting the attentions of a mysterious young admirer who may be
connected to it all, Maddie's whole existence is about to be turned upside down. Can she
right things before it's too late?
My Review:
I’ve always loved the novels I’ve discovered by Victoria Laurie. It is true that the genre was really different, as she writes a chick-lit series with ghosts. But I was curious to see what the author could write in another genre, a paranormal YA with a thriller touch. Yes something really different. Since her childhood, Maddie is able to see the death dates of all the people she meets or when she looks at a picture. This is a difficult gift to wear but it helps her and her mother to earn some money. Yet it is also a job that can bring many problems and the proof is with her latest client. In fact, our young heroine discovers the future death of the young son of her client and she does not believe her. Yet Maddie and her best friend are doing all they can by reminding the young woman to be careful. Unfortunately, despite their warnings, the boy is kidnapped and our girl becomes the ideal suspect. She was already considered as a witch and mocked by more than one, but now everyone thinks she is the culprit, starting with the police. When the disappearances increase and that bodies are
discovered, Maddie will have to survive whatever happens to her. Trying to understand
what is happening, to convince the police that she really has a gift and to avoid
becoming a victim herself … Yes Maddie will have to manage a lot of things, but that’s
not all because she will try to avoid abuse in schools or bad people attention.
It’s hard to see what the girl has to go through, the police does not believe in her gift and
is convinced that she is the culprit. She is 16 years old but has to manage verbal attacks,
accusations and even the police attention toward her best friend. I was very curious to
find out who was the culprit and I confess that I did not see it coming. I was very surprised
to learn about his identity at the end of history. Surprised also about the identity of Aidan,
the boy for whom she has a weakness. So yes I had a great time with this novel. It was
interesting to discover Maddie, to see her love for her alcoholic mother, or even the
indispensable help of his uncle who loves her more than anything and who wished to
take her to live with him.
In conclusion, it was a good discovery, even if it is true that I had already read something
like this. I loved to monitor the investigation of these disappearances and I am curious to
read more now if we have a second novel.
