Review: It Should Have Been You by Lynn Slaughter

Summary/Cover Image from Amazon: 

Living in her sister's shadow has never been more dangerous.

Five months ago, Clara Seibert’s twin sister was murdered. Struggling under the weight of newfound and unwanted attention, the only thing that makes Clara feel normal is ghostwriting an advice column for her school’s newspaper―until she starts receiving threatening emails in her staff inbox.

“It should have been you...but soon."

Convinced that her email stalker blames her for her sister’s death and is out for revenge, Clara undertakes her own investigation to clear her name and avoid a similar fate. Can she solve the murder before it’s too late?

Review: 

YA thrillers have been on fire lately - Karen M. McManus' One of Us Is Lying, Amanda Searcy's The Truth Beneath the Lies, and now  Lynn Slaughter's It Should Have Been You. 

When It Should Have Been You first appeared in my mailbox I was intrigued. The premise sounded interesting, and I was looking forward to trying one of Page Street Kids new YA titles. As it turns out, this book blew me away! It's Veronica Mars meets One of Us is Lying. It's well written, suspenseful, and compelling. It's a book that calls to be read in one sitting because once you start you just can't stop.  

It Should Have Been You begins the story of Clara Seibert, the twin left behind. When Clara's sister was brutally murdered in their own home, Clara's life was turned upside down. Her family has fallen apart, her mother can barely stand to look at her, and her sister's fan base believes Clara is the killer. It doesn't help that Clara is having a hard time grieving. Her sister and her were never close - she barely knew her - so how can you truly grieve someone, a twin to make matters worse, that you didn't know the first thing about? When Clara starts receiving threatening letters, claiming it should have been her, she decides she needs to take action: she needs to find out who's behind this before they kill her next. 

Part of what made It Should Have Been You so fantastic was Clara. Clara is stronger than she gives herself credit for. She's also wickedly smart, a good friend, and an even better advice columnist. I loved that Lynn Slaughter brought Clara's hobbies out front and center. It was always interesting to see what questions she would get for her advice column, and it brought out such a wise, helpful part of Clara. Honestly, she'd be the person to go to if you have a problem! I also found her relationship with her sister Moura to be fascinating. With this kind of book you'd figure her and her sister would have been super close, but that wasn't the case at all. Clara barely knew her beyond the superficial level, and as it turns out, her sisters was hiding a lot of secrets. 

The plot in this kept me on my toes the whole way through! I never could quite pin down who the bad guy was, and the times where I was sure I was right, I ended up being completely wrong. What made it even more thrilling that everyone seemed to be a suspect at some point. Constantly, I was double guessing everyone's motives, especially when it came to Moura's inner circle. What I loved even more was how well Lynn Slaughter pulled everything together at the end. I don't want to say too much, but I will say everything was a lot more connected than I could have ever imagined! Additionally, there was a touch of romance in this as well as that was believable as well as swoon-worthy. It also brought upon a pretty fun reveal towards the middle, which seriously had me laughing out loud. 

Overall, if It Should Have Been You is any indiction of what Page Street's YA line will be like, we're in for quite the treat! I can't suggest this one highly enough, and I look forward to Lynn's next book. 

5 stars!! 

It Should Have Been You is now out!

Source: ARC provided by publicist/publisher for review - thanks Deb and Page Street Kids! 

Add on Goodreads! 

Buy Links: 

Amazon | BN | Indiebound 

Author Links: 

Website | Facebook | Twitter