Book Review: Dead Girl Moon by Charlie Price

Title: Dead Girl Moon
Author: Charlie Price
Publication Date: October 30, 2012
Length: 272 Pages

As their hardscrabble lives intertwine in a small, corrupt Montana town, Grace, a scheming runaway, JJ, her drifty fostercare sister, and Mick, the son of a petty thief, discover the body of a young woman. Afraid to come forward, the teens try to hide their knowledge of the crime, because they believe the murderer is one of the corrupt officials and businessmen who rule their town. But after a series of false moves and dumb mistakes, the teens are soon suspects themselves in a murder investigation threatening their freedom—and maybe their lives.

MY REVIEW

Dead Girl Moon is about dirty politics, murder, and damaged teens. With a setting in my home state, I thought I would enjoy the setting. I however was not impressed, by not only the setting, but the story as well. The idea is not a bad one, but certain elements had me discouraged from the beginning. I will say I did finish the whole thing, and I liked the murder mystery behind the story. 

The murder mystery of the young women was decent. The killer is unknown throughout the book until the very end. It is what made me stick through to the very end, but it is the only reason I stuck through until the end. If other elements such as characters and other story lines would have been more believable, I think I would have enjoyed Dead Girl Moon. 

The main character Grace comes from a very abuse home, and runs away to Montana. The first unbelievable story line starts there. Upon walking into Social Services, Grace is direct to the office of a man in league with other corrupt officials that run the town. He manages to place her in foster care without asking anything except her name, which of course she made up, and a five-minute conversation. No birth certificate, date of birth, or anything identify paperwork what so ever. He also manages to get her a job, without a social security number, and a foster home with a drug dealer. I know that this is supposed to show the dirty politics and corruption of the local government, but it is not realistic in the slightest. 

I also could not get behind any of the characters, they just felt very one dimensional to me. Without a plausible story line and under developed characters, I just could not connect with the story. I hate giving a bad or negative review, but a lot about this book did not sit right with me. I think the murder mystery was a great plot development, but the story surrounding it could have been more fleshed out and realistic. It is not a horrible book, it is just not a great one. 

 **Unabridged Bookshelf received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review**

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