Reviewer: Anuprova Bhowmik
The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes follows Cassie Hobbes, a seventeen-year-old girl with a natural ability to deduce someone's behavior just by observing them and piecing together bits of information she finds from them. This ability garners the attention of the FBI, and they reach out to her and ask her to join their "Naturals" program, where teenagers like her who also have natural gifts help solve cold cases. Although Cassie is originally wary of joining the team, she eventually relents because of her personal connection to cold cases: her mother was brutally abducted a few years back, and her body was never found.
Once she reaches the FBI headquarters, she meets the other teenagers who were also recruited for the program. The program consists of five teenagers: Michael, Sloane, Lia, Dean, and of course, Cassie. Each of them has a special ability, with Michael being able to read emotions, Sloane being the statistics expert, Lia having an uncanny ability to lie and recognize lies, and Dean being a profiler, just like Cassie. Although they are not authorized to work on active cases yet, they still train like regular agents so they can be ready when the time comes. However, this all changes when Cassie realizes that she has a connection to the new serial killer and that they might be responsible for her mother's disappearance. Cassie, Along with the other Naturals, rushes to find the killer before any harm comes to any of them.
Overall, I thought that this book was really well written. Although it takes a lot of time to set up the exposition (about a third of the book), once the action really starts, the plot picks up the pace and you are left with a thrilling adventure. The mystery was not anything out of the ordinary, but what sets this book apart from other mysteries is Barnes' ability to think inside the mind of a serial killer. Throughout the book, Cassie finds herself thinking like the killer so that she can understand his motives and plans and stop him before someone else is hurt. There are also small dialogues from the killer at the end of every few chapters, which really showcases Barnes' talent for making the story even scarier. Personally, I found those sections to be too gruesome, so I started skipping them after the first few, but if you don't mind reading them they could definitely add to the tension and make the book more chilling. The book ends on somewhat of a cliff-hanger, but it is the first of a series, so I will definitely be reading the sequels.
I hope you've enjoyed my last post for this year, and have a great summer!
The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes follows Cassie Hobbes, a seventeen-year-old girl with a natural ability to deduce someone's behavior just by observing them and piecing together bits of information she finds from them. This ability garners the attention of the FBI, and they reach out to her and ask her to join their "Naturals" program, where teenagers like her who also have natural gifts help solve cold cases. Although Cassie is originally wary of joining the team, she eventually relents because of her personal connection to cold cases: her mother was brutally abducted a few years back, and her body was never found.Once she reaches the FBI headquarters, she meets the other teenagers who were also recruited for the program. The program consists of five teenagers: Michael, Sloane, Lia, Dean, and of course, Cassie. Each of them has a special ability, with Michael being able to read emotions, Sloane being the statistics expert, Lia having an uncanny ability to lie and recognize lies, and Dean being a profiler, just like Cassie. Although they are not authorized to work on active cases yet, they still train like regular agents so they can be ready when the time comes. However, this all changes when Cassie realizes that she has a connection to the new serial killer and that they might be responsible for her mother's disappearance. Cassie, Along with the other Naturals, rushes to find the killer before any harm comes to any of them.
Overall, I thought that this book was really well written. Although it takes a lot of time to set up the exposition (about a third of the book), once the action really starts, the plot picks up the pace and you are left with a thrilling adventure. The mystery was not anything out of the ordinary, but what sets this book apart from other mysteries is Barnes' ability to think inside the mind of a serial killer. Throughout the book, Cassie finds herself thinking like the killer so that she can understand his motives and plans and stop him before someone else is hurt. There are also small dialogues from the killer at the end of every few chapters, which really showcases Barnes' talent for making the story even scarier. Personally, I found those sections to be too gruesome, so I started skipping them after the first few, but if you don't mind reading them they could definitely add to the tension and make the book more chilling. The book ends on somewhat of a cliff-hanger, but it is the first of a series, so I will definitely be reading the sequels.
I hope you've enjoyed my last post for this year, and have a great summer!
The summary that you provided was both informational and intriguing but also managed to not give away any spoilers which I appreciate. Your opinion on the book also allowed me to realize whether I would enjoy reading this book or not. Overall, great review!
ReplyDeleteYOO I'VE BEEN LOOKING JUST FOR A MYSTERY/THRILLER AND ITS COME RIGHT TO ME. I am HYPED to read this one, since I just finished some other ability-based short stories and some thrillers and am geared for more. Like Sarah stated above, your review is both enticing and informative, which helps display the book's qualities without giving away any critical information. Thanks for this review!
ReplyDeleteThis book sounds very intriguing, and I'm excited to read it! You really did do a great job of describing the plot and the story, and you clearly stated what you thought made the book so awesome and provided a clear reason why it was good instead of just saying so. It was nice that you also made sure to tell us about the gruesome scenes, and I appreciate your cliffhanger warning as well. :)
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