Every Breath by Ellie Marney

Title: Every Breath

Author: Ellie Marney

Genre: Crime

Publisher: Allen and Unwin

Published: 29^th November 2022

Format: Paperback

Pages: 352

Price: $19.99

Synopsis: A smart and sizzling YA thriller from the New York Times bestselling Australian author of None Shall Sleep and The Killing Code.

What if Sherlock Holmes was the boy next door?

Rachel Watts has just moved to Melbourne from the country, but the city is the last place she wants to be.

James Mycroft is her neighbour and schoolmate – intriguing, troubled, and passionate about forensics.

Things start going south when, after sneaking out one night, they find the murdered body of their friend. Mycroft knows he can’t let it go, and Watts knows she has to help, even if it means opening old wounds and complicating their friendship.

But they have more than just the murder to worry about: Mycroft is acting out more than usual and Watts’s family is struggling. As tensions run high and words cut deep, can they solve the mystery, evade the killer, and work out what they mean to each other?

· 
Commended, ALIA Top Ten Most-Borrowed YA Books, 2015, AU

·  Short-listed, Inky Awards, Gold Inky, 2014, AU

·  Short-listed, Ned Kelly Awards, Best First Crime Novel, 2014, AU

·  Short-listed, Davitt Awards – Best Debut, 2014, AU

~*~

Rachel Watts and her family have been forced to move to Melbourne after their farm has been taken by the bank, and she doesn’t want to be there. She’s struggling with fitting in and accepting what has happened, even though she is doing well at school and has friends and is sort of friends with her neighbour from two doors down, James Mycroft.  But Mycroft has his own problems that he is trying to hide from – so when Mycroft and Watts (yes, this is a Sherlock Holmes retelling for young adults) stumble across the body of a friend, they throw themselves into investigating it to avoid their problems – Mycroft’s deep secret which is why he is so fascinated by forensics, and Rachel’s struggles with being in the city. But as they investigate, Rachel starts to find out more about Mycroft, all whilst she deals with conflicting feelings, a desire to be as far away from the investigation as possible, and the fighting at home that feels like it is tearing her family apart – and very well might do when it all comes to a head. But Rachel and Mycroft persevere – even when they open old wounds, complicate their precarious friendship, and find themselves in dangerous situations as they work to find the killer.

This is the first in a series – and I am hoping to be able to get my hands on the second two so I can find out what happens with Watts and Mycroft. I think what made this book work so well was the friendship between the two characters at the beginning of the book, and the way it developed as they investigated the murder and tried to help the police – despite Detective Pickup not really wanting their help – but he begrudgingly accepts their help at times. I was so into this book as I read it, wanting to find out what happened, and I always love a good amateur detective novel, especially when those detectives are teenagers and get into all sorts of mischief around their city and school.

I’m not surprised about this book’s shortlist achievements – it certainly deserves it and I think should have won. I’ve read a few of Ellie Marney’s books now and she has a very cool knack at writing teens who investigate crimes – the next book that Ellie has written that I am planning to read is one I have had on my shelf for ages called None Shall Sleep – as there is a sequel coming out next year and I have been advised to read None Shall Sleep first! In this book, I loved the way forensics and investigative techniques were incorporated, and the way the personal lives of the characters came out. In letting things come out slowly, Ellie allowed us to come to understand Mycroft when we needed to, especially as the story is written through Watts’s perspective – much like the original Sherlock Holmes stories are often written through the eyes of Watson. There are a few clever little nods to this throughout the book, and that’s what makes it work really well, and what I loved about it.

I had to delay getting to the end – I was right near the end when I was interrupted, but I suppose that made sitting down and reading the final pages so much more satisfying – and it was an ending that was excellent. All the suspects were lined up, and I did try and guess who it was – I may have had my suspicions at one stage, and I felt unsettled at the end – because I knew that they were facing the killer, and the tension ramped up as I hoped that everything would turn out well for Mycroft and Watts.

I am so keen to read the next book and I will be keeping an eye out for them – and I hope to do so soon!

What a great book!