You Will Be Mine

January 1, 2018
A serial killer terrorizes a group of university friends in the weeks leading up to Valentine's Day.White university student Lylah has complicated feelings about Valentine's Day, as it marks the day her parents died two years prior. Though she has adjusted to her new life at school, where she lives with five friends and housemates, old anxieties arise when her housemates begin receiving mysterious, threatening notes a few weeks before Valentine's Day. What is initially dismissed as a sick holiday prank becomes deadly serious when one of them is discovered brutally murdered on campus. The police become involved, providing rather ineffective security to the group of friends as they are stalked and hunted around town by an unknown murderer. Lylah and her friends jump to a hasty assumption about the killer's identity early on and begin referring to the killer by the name of a former friend whom they suspect, improbably convinced that it must be him, excluding any other possibilities in the process. Classic slasher tropes are invoked frequently and repetitively, to highly implausible effect. The result of these unlikely plot developments, combined with flimsy dialogue and weak characterization, requires so much suspension of disbelief that it renders the story more comical than horrifying.An unconvincing attempt at a holiday-themed thriller. (Thriller. 14-18)

COPYRIGHT(2018) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

February 1, 2018

Gr 9 Up-The author's latest keeps readers on edge as they are immersed into the daily activities of a group of college students who are dealing with social life, relationships, and a murderer on the loose. The story opens two weeks before Valentine's Day-a holiday Lylah hates because it marks the anniversary of her parents' death. Lylah, Chace, Sienna, Charlotte, Isaac, and Sonny are second-year college housemates who start to receive mysterious letters addressed to certain members of their group. Within a few chapters, two of the friends have been targeted and killed, while the remaining three are fearful for their lives. Lylah is convinced that the murderer is a former spurned lover of hers, and works with her housemates and the police to lure him into a trap. As the murderer becomes more bold, another character is dispatched, prompting Lylah to do whatever it takes to confront the killer. As the story concludes, a final twist wraps up the plot nicely, and readers will be satisfied with the results. The characters in this accessible and engaging read do not disappoint; Preston's thriller vibe throughout is excellently sustained. VERDICT A great addition to the thriller shelves. Recommended for fans of Stephen King, Jennifer Barnes, and Ally Carter.-Ruth Stiles, Hammondsport Central School, NY

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 12, 2018
Themes of betrayal and jealousy dominate Preston's (The Cellar) romantic thriller. With Valentine's Day only days away, Lylah is in no mood to celebrate since it's also the second anniversary of her parents' unexpected death. She was 17 and her brother, Riley, was 21 when their parents' car crashed. Finally, her life has regained a sense of normalcyâshe's a media student attending college, living off campus with five housemates and even crushing on one of them. But everything changes when an envelope addressed to Sonny, one of her housemates, arrives at their doorstep. Next, Sonny is murdered, his heart removed. Fear and suspicion set in as the police begin investigating the crime, and Lylah fears she could be the next victim. Horror fans may relish the grisly details of the crimes, and Preston is skilled in building an atmosphere of paranoia and claustrophobia, yet readers do not gain a full understanding of character motivations and, as a result, may not be fully invested in their fates. Ages 14-17. Agent: Jon Elek, United Agents.