Take a murder mystery, mix in a high school group of kids in the vein of The Breakfast Club, and there you'll findSecrets, Lies and Scandals. We have the bad boy, the good girl, the boy who comes from a family with way too much money, the queen bee, and the boy who gets involved without meaning to. Wrap all of that together, sprinkle on a heaping helping of drama, and you're ready to become immersed in this book. I've seen a lot of other readers compare this to the show How to Get Away With Murder, and I can absolutely see that! It's just much more in the YA vein.

One of my favorite parts of this book is the diversity of the characters. I really appreciated that Amanda K. Morgan took the time to add in a variety of backgrounds and upbringings. I especially appreciated that even though some of the characters may have been marked for failure, like our requisite "bad boy", they were still multi-layered and working on themselves. It made for a much better read, that didn't feel flat at all.

Unfortunately, as amazing as the characters were, the mystery itself didn't deliver all that it seemed to promise. Initially, I was pretty intrigued. Any time young people are put into a compromising situation like that, it's completely interesting to see how they'll navigate it. Soon though, things felt like they were on a rail. I could see what was coming next, anticipate what people would do, and it took some of the fun away from reading this book. Even the twist at the end, which I appreciated, wasn't able to keep me from feeling like there could have been more. I actually would have loved more drama.

Overall though Secrets, Lies and Scandals is a solid story. I see a lot of people appreciating Morgan's lush characters as much as I did. Plus, I'm a little over the top when it comes to murder mysteries. Although this might have been a bit too tame for me, I'm sure there are many out there who will find it the perfect balance! Definitely worth a TBR add. ( )

This was a decent young adult thriller surrounding a group of very different teenagers connected by a single death. It read a lot like an updated version of Killing Mr. Griffin, and it was fun to be brought back to those books I remember reading and swapping among my friends when we were younger.

I liked that Morgan really tried hard to make characters that everyone saw as stereotypes have layers, and for the most part she succeeded. The suspense was really taut in places, and dragged some in others, but on the whole, this was a quick read that kept me interested. ( )