This Book Kills

by Ravena Guron

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

What happens when fiction becomes real — and bloody? When a short story lands her as the prime suspect in a murder investigation, Jess races to prove her innocence and find the killer before they strike again.

I'll make it clear from the start: I did not kill Hugh Henry Van Boren. I didn't even help…Well, not intentionally.

All Jess Choudhary wants is to keep her head down, do her work, and make it through high school without any problems. As a scholarship student—and one of only two students of Indian heritage—her future at the elite school depends on her ability to keep a low profile and spotless record. But when one of the most popular and richest kids in the school ends up dead in the exact same way as a character in a short story she wrote, Jess unintentionally finds herself at the center of the investigation.

And then Jess receives an anonymous text thanking her for the inspiration.

As rumors run rampant about who the murderer could be, Jess knows if she doesn't solve this mystery herself, she'll finally have something in common with Hugh: she'll be dead too.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781728296913
Publisher:	Sourcebooks
Publication date:	09/03/2024
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	368
Sales rank:	317,515
File size:	716 KB
Age Range:	14 - 18 Years

About the Author

A born and bred Londoner, Ravena writes MG and YA, usually featuring antiheroines or snarky narrators. She is a lawyer with a degree in biochemistry and hopes to use the knowledge gained from her experiences to plot her books, whether that's wild MG fantasy adventures, or twisty YA murder-mysteries.​

Editorial Reviews

2024-07-04
Sixteen-year-old Londoner Jesminder Choudhary is horrified when one of her classmates is killed—especially when she finds out that the murder scene was re-created from one of her writing assignments.

When news breaks of Hugh Henry Van Boren’s death, Jess receives a chilling anonymous text: “Thanks for the inspiration. I couldn’t have killed Hugh without you.” Jess, who’s of Indian descent and a scholarship student at Heybuckle School, knows that she would make an easy scapegoat for the outraged parents of her classmates if they discovered the connection with her story. When it appears that the police are unable to properly investigate the crime, and the Van Borens’ private investigator proves incompetent, Jess and her best friend, Clementine-Tangerine Briggs, take matters into their own hands. Could the killer be Millie Calthrope-Newton-Rose, Hugh’s ex-girlfriend who was furious at him for cheating on her? Could it be someone in Jess’ Gifted and Talented class who had easy access to her murder mystery assignment? Or is there a connection between Hugh and the Regia Club, a secret society that wields immense influence at the school? The book is structured as a retrospective written by Jess, whose reliance on a scholarship heightens her awareness of her wealthier, mostly white, classmates’ privileges and entitlement. She has a sharp sense of humor, which comes through in her sarcastic commentary and well-timed breaking of the fourth wall. The supporting cast includes some queer representation.

A proper prep school puzzler.(Mystery. 13-18)

Kirkus Reviews