Dead Ringers: Volumes 1-3 by Darlene GardnerMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
I had received a copy of Dead Ringers: Volumes 1-3 from NetGalley.
Jade Green wakes up to find herself in a deserted carnival. She has no idea what happened to her except that she was on her way to her friend Becky's house. She learns that she had been missing for days and she has no memory of what happened. According to Roxy, her boss at the carnival where she works, Jade went skiing with her but Jade denies she was with Roxy. She is now trying to live her life as it was before she disappeared. But having a mother who is known all over town for being "crazy" -- she is a paranoid schizophrenic -- most people believe Jade is as crazy as her mother.
Jade has had a big crush on Hunter for as long as she can remember. And while trying to play hero by rescuing Hunter's sister from the fun house, she suddenly blacks out and snatches of memory come to her. Jade gets flashes of a clearing, a chair, being hooded and tied up, and a clown injecting her with a syringe. Becky, her best friend, finds her and as Jade tells Becky what she remembered, Becky tells her that telling people that a clown abducted her, will simply solidify the belief of most that she is as nutty as her mom. So Jade decides to keep it to herself.
Max Harper is a new boy in town and Jade is suspicious of him. Max tried to make Jade understand that he believes she is not crazy. But Jade has reason to be suspicious. She also knows she is not schizophrenic like her mom. When she tries to get to know more about Max, they both find a body on the beach -- it is the body of the famous Black Widow. Things are starting to get more and more suspicious and the mysteries just keep piling up.
Max tells Jade that he had been missing too. He, like her, has no memory of what happened during those days that he was missing. As they both try to figure out what had really happened to them, they try to locate the clearing Jade has a memory of. They learn that it was the spot where a famous singer had committed suicide. And as they try to find more information about the area by speaking with a journalist, they find his body in a motel room.
The two teens manage to speak with the Black Widow's twin sister who claims that her "dead" sister is not really dead. Jade thinks the sister is crazy but Max somehow believes her. The sister tells them that she received a phone call from her "dead" sister wherein the Black Widow says she is in someone else's body.
Max and Jade are now trying to make sense of things. They are convinced that something is definitely not right and that someone is not who they appear to be and that they need to be very careful because they may find themselves the next victims.
Dead Ringers is a YA murder mystery spanning three novelas -- volumes 1 to 3. The first novela is entitled Illusions, followed by Invertigo and the last one is entitled Spider. The story is fast-paced and is interesting to read. The author has a sense of humor which I enjoy. It is best to read the novelas in sequence and one after the other to make the most out of the story. All in all, a good read.View all my reviews
