Manic Monday Indie/Self-Published Author Feature
Week #4
Identical twins, Miranda and Nastasia Moralez, couldn’t be more different. Being the head of the cheerleading team, Natasia is the most popular girl in the school. Miranda is not, taking photographs in her spare time for the school paper. Life is normal until a tragic accident takes the life of one twin. Miranda quickly realizes that the car crash that took her sister’s life was no accident. It was planned. Now, Miranda has to find out who wanted her sister dead before she succumbs to the same fate.
Author: Sandra Madera
Title: Shattered
Genre: Young Adult >Short Story >Mystery/Suspense
Publication Date: April 2013
Links to Purchase: Barnes & Noble (Free)
Reviewer: Megan
My Review: 4.5 out of 5 Stars
I really enjoyed this short story by Sandra Madera. I thought it was really well written, well put together and had a great plot. I was left in suspense throughout the whole story and found myself liking or disliking characters, that in the end were justified. There is one detective (all who have read will know who I mean) that I wanted to bitch slap at every turn of the page... being a criminal justice professional myself, I kept thinking who the hell is this (BLEEP) and how is no one keep her in check. Then.... it all became clear.
I LOVED the ending. I really thought it was fantastic. What a great twist of events and the author did a great job of bringing the whole thing together. It wasn't predictable at all and kept me guessing. I even judged a couple of the characters, just as the author wanted us to do I'm guessing.
The only thing I didn't like, but it helped tie the book together, was that these two identical twins seemed to barely know one another. Most twins I know are inseparable, run in the same circles, and are very similar. Not the case with shattered. Like I said though, it helped tie the mystery and suspense together so I get it... but I think I would have liked to see it come from a different angle. Fear maybe? Or threats? So much juicier and SO much more personal had she wanted to tell her and couldn't... (that's all I will say about that.)
I highly recommend this fantastic short story to anyone who likes YA Mystery and Suspense!!
