Title: The Dead and Buried
Author: Kim Harrington
Format eGalley
Source: NetGalley
From Goodreads: "A haunted house, a buried mystery, and a very angry ghost make this one unforgettable thriller.
Jade loves the house she's just moved into with her family. She doesn't even mind being the new girl at the high school: It's a fresh start, and there's that one guy with the dreamy blue eyes. . . . But then things begin happening. Strange, otherworldly things. Jade's little brother claims to see a glimmering girl in his room. Jade's jewelry gets moved around, as if by an invisible hand. Kids at school whisper behind her back like they know something she doesn't.
Soon, Jade must face an impossible fact: that her perfect house is haunted. Haunted by a ghost who's seeking not just vengeance, but the truth. The ghost of a girl who ruled Jade's school — until her untimely death last year. It's up to Jade to put the pieces together before her own life is at stake. As Jade investigates the mystery, she discovers that her new friends in town have more than a few deep, dark secrets. But is one of them a murderer?"
My Opinion: Jade has always wanted to move to a bigger town and a bigger house, and she's finally gotten her wish. Unfortunately, when school starts and she realizes that everyone is whispering about her behind her back and she is the last one to find out why, she goes from excited to peeved quickly. When she confronts her father and stepmother, she finds out that the only way they could afford the bigger and much newer house was because a girl had died there, Kayla Sloan; a girl who would have been in her class that year and who was one of the most popular, charismatic, and yes, vicious students in the school. All of the kids, even her friends, were afraid to cross her because if she was mad at you, or even just bored that day, she could make your life a living hell. The biggest problem, though, is that her death was a mystery in that she either tripped and accidentally fell down the stairs in the house, or was pushed. When Jade has a party and some of the kids decide to try to contact Kayla's spirit via a Ouija board, they are a little bit too successful, and that's when the trouble really begins.
I read Kim Harrington's books Clarity and Perception a while back and really liked them, so I was excited when NetGalley approved my request for The Dead and Buried. I loved the premise and when I got into it, I liked the characters for the most part. Jade was enough of a rebel that she befriended who she wanted to regardless of popularity, which I really enjoyed. I really wanted to love Donovan because he was the moody artsy boy who I usually go for in books, but he always seemed to be hiding something, and that made got a bit wearing. Kane was okay, but I was usually pulling for Donovan anyway, so that didn't really bother me. I guess my biggest problem was one that has already been noted in previous reviews: There just seemed to be something missing from this book that would have taken me from liking it to loving it. And I'm not going to mention what happens at the end (obviously!) but I felt kind of let down and wanting more when I finished the book.
I'm still a big fan of Kim's and will definitely read any future books she writes, but I have to say that this one just wasn't as great as I was hoping it would be. I would give it 3 1/2 stars :)
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