- Title:
- The Shattering
- By:
- Karen Healey
- Pages:
- 311
- Rating:
- 3
“If you want to find out who murdered your brother, follow me.”
Keri, Janna, and Sione have one thing in common: Their older brothers are dead. Each death was ruled a suicide, but there were no notes, no warnings, and no explanations.
So they’ve worked out a theory: Their brothers were murdered – and weren’t the only victims.
As the search for the serial killer goes on, mysterious forces are unearthed and suspicion is cast on the those the three trust most. When secrets shatter around them, can they save the next victim? Or will they become victims themselves?
This supernatural thriller from award-winning author Karen Healey (Guardian of the Dead) teems with suspense, loss, revenge, and magic.
I new this was YA going in, but only twigged to the LGBTQ stuff as the first chapter unfolded. It didn’t put me off, and in fact, toward the end of the book … “And I survived being outed. I managed to tell Mum and Dad before they could hear it from anyone else. Janna sat beside me on the couch. Mum cried. Dad went quiet. Then they both hugged me and told me how much they loved me and that they would never stop.” I’d never really considered things like this before but now, when I read this paragraph (I trimmed the original a little) I can’t help but see my own daughter sitting there, terrified but with the resolve you gain from deciding to reveal something like this to your parents. How would I feel? How would I react? As a parent, it’s something I might have to consider. And, do you know, the answer is “just fine.” I’d grill my daughter’s boyfriend to within an inch of his sanity were he long term and steady and have no qualms about treating a girlfriend (in the romantic sense) in exactly the same way. I hope I can hold to that. I hope that fifteen, twenty years down the road, if it ever comes to that point, I’ll remember that paragraph of text, remember my thoughts back then, remember my own resolve, too.
As a story, this works very well, it’s quite good. The narrative structure is great,especially with the magic working our three friends so they hate each other, you really get into each of their heads as things develop. The shattering (no pun intended) climax at the end of chapter twenty-nine made me catch my breath, and if even I, heterosexual and solidly male enjoyed this story for what it was and how it was written, I see no reason why it can’t apeal to such a wide audience, even if the arrow it flings is aimed at a more focused target.