Wicked Deep

The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sometimes there are books I inhale. Wicked Deep was one of them. I read it more or less in one sitting and ignored my family to do so. It's not that it's the most amazing book I've ever read, but it was paced in a compelling way in order to make me want to do nothing but finish.

Wicked Deep takes us to the small town of Sparrow. Every year the residents of Sparrow are terrorized by the ghosts of three sisters that were drowned as witches two hundred years ago. Every year on June 1st, they arrive and inhabit the bodies of unsuspecting teenage girls and lure boys to their deaths in the water.

For this story, we follow Penny, her friends, and a mysterious stranger who arrives on the island right in time for the murders to occur. It seems that everyone has a secret as they work towards figuring out the mystery of the murders.

One of the things I liked best about this book was the pacing. It was definitely a quick read. There were plenty of details and history surrounding the orginal girls was provided. But it didn't feel overdone. The story was compelling and even with the darker subject matter, it was relatively light.

There is a twist, something I did suspect…but the author did so well in covering it up that I found myself forgetting that I had the thought in the first place.

There was a pretty quick falling in love trope at play here. I realize that it's how YA is from time to time, doesn't mean I care for it. But as with so many books in which the world building is so strong, I do wish this wasn't a standalone. I am definitely looking forward to the author's next novel.

View all my reviews