Review: "To Catch A Killer," by Sheryl Scarborough

Erin Blake has one of those names. A name that, like Natalee Holloway or Elizabeth Smart, is inextricably linked to a grisly crime. As a toddler, Erin survived for three days alongside the corpse of her murdered mother, and the case—which remains unsolved—fascinated a nation. Her father's identity unknown, Erin was taken in by her mother's best friend and has become a relatively normal teen in spite of the looming questions about her past. Fourteen years later, Erin is once again at the center of a brutal homicide when she finds the body of her biology teacher. When questioned by the police, Erin tells almost the whole truth, but never voices her suspicions that her mother's killer has struck again in order to protect the casework she's secretly doing on her own. Inspired by her uncle, an FBI agent, Erin has ramped up her forensic hobby into a full-blown cold-case investigation. This new murder makes her certain she's close to the truth, but when all the evidence starts to point the authorities straight to Erin, she turns to her longtime crush (and fellow suspect) Journey Michaels to help her crack the case before it's too late.

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I first picked up this book because of the title and its cover. I know how they say "Don't judge a book by its cover," however, I still do sometimes. And this book cover was simple but it looked rather enthralling.

And it was... kind of.

Erin Blake is not the average teenage girl. Her mum was murdered, then her teacher, and now the killer may be after her... it's a lot. I actually find a few similarities between Erin and I: she is interested in forensics as am I. That's one of the reasons I was interested by this book - forensics, murder, FBI, etc.

Whilst this was an interesting read, it was a bit amateurish. Erin is definitely quite capable of helping in the investigation but her emotions cloud her judgement quite a many times. For instance, when she finds an extremely important piece of evidence, instead of handing it over to the police, she keeps it to herself. Also, once again, the book portrays the police as incapable and untrustworthy.

One thing that truly annoyed me was the whole insta-love. Honestly, there is a close-to-zero chance that a simple and average girl gets the most popular guy in school by talking to him a few times. But of course Erin gets Journey whilst she investigates the murder with his help. And it's not like it's very gradual and the characters have developed as such or Erin and Journey know each other very well. No. They just have some "special connection" (both of them were close to their bio teacher due to parental issues). Also, Erin actually seems to trust Journey more than her friends because of their ''special connection". I found that quite irritating because who abandons their friends for a boy? And that too, best friends who have been there for you through thick and thin?

Nevertheless, I did enjoy how at the starting of each chapter there was a little memo about how to do an investigation properly or little tips like that. Most of them were written by Erin's uncle, Victor, so it provided a bit of insight as to what Erin read in her uncle's books. Victor is quite an intriguing character. He is an FBI agent and he treats each person very differently. With Erin, he treats her as an equal almost - despite the age difference - and he cares about her in almost a paternal-like way. And that's why the ending has such a riveting twist.

To Catch A Killer was an okay read. I feel like the characters could have been more developed and some of the supporting characters should have had more of a story. That's why I found this story a little plain. However, the plot made the book captivating and I enjoyed it because of that.

Overall rating: 3.5 stars