Review: The Headmaster's List

The Headmaster's List by Melissa de la Cruz
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was an interesting murder mystery. I liked it even though I find myself struggling to like the genre's tropes: obsessive teens, clueless parents, the token little sister, the podcaster, clueless police who don't do their job, the 'twist' that ends up not being THE twist.

De La Cruz manages to do all of the above, but she is more likable than some of her author contemporaries. The main character of the novel is a likable, smart POC who cannot remember the night that her boyfriend's car crashed going 120 mph and killed a 15 year old boy in the back seat. She starts to investigate the crash at the same time that her boyfriend goes on trial for manslaughter.

Here is the issue: I figured it out within the first page. The twist was so obvious. I was almost annoyed to the point that I couldn't read anymore. I don't feel like they even tried to hide what really happened that night. It's clear that the author and publisher knew it, so they have added in a secondary twist, that was STILL not that shocking. True, you have some teens that are new to the genre that would have no idea, but I think there are many teens who are smart enough to figure it out.

And that is the issue with the entire teen murder mystery genre. The adults are all idiots who are genuinely horrible people. (I actually wanted to hurt the headmaster in the second chapter.) The students are all accidentally on drugs or are allowed to act outrageously. The mysteries are never really mysteries.

So, that is my review. This novel by Melissa de la Cruz was mediocre, but still better than that of her contemporaries.

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