I loved this book, my favourite in the trilogy. It's great to read about my own city and characters in it and the depiction of rural Australia was spot on. I very much enjoyed the introduction of the Harris Derwent character and look forward to reading more of his story in future works. ( )

Aarrgghh what was with the kiss with Harris. It happened and then is never addressed again.

No feelings of guilt or anything from Rachel ( )

Rachel Watts and James Mycroft are back home in Melbourne but haven’t recovered physically or psychologically. And a couple of local murders send a clear message: they are both still in danger.

I really liked that this story deals with trauma and with consequences. Rachel is struggling with night terrors and panic attacks, and her parents are furious about the way she took off for London. Meanwhile Mycroft is throwing himself into researching his parents’ killer, to the point of becoming a recluse. Their respective coping strategies are a potential for conflict -- she’s trying to forget, he’s obsessively trying to find answers -- but also mean that they are both actually, in their different ways, avoiding dealing with things. This is interesting.

Then they take off on their own again, instead of properly enlisting the help of adults -- and yes, I can see their reasoning, and that being traumatised teenagers affects their ability to clearly anticipate consequences. I still was a bit frustrated. There’s also more violence and action in the final act than I really want from mysteries. But I guess it’s a fitting for this book -- and indeed for this trilogy -- to end in the place where Rachel grew up.

Quibbles aside, this trilogy has been tense and satisfying, and I appreciate that this is a Sherlock Holmes-ish story about Australian teenagers.

“Rachel, you’re a crap liar. Why aren’t you sleeping?”
“I don’t know.” I feel naked without the concealer. “It’s fine, Mai. It’ll pass.”
Mai throws up her hands. “Rachel, come on. Is being this delusional some kind of disease? Because, no shit, I will donate for the cure [...] you’re my best mate. And I hate to be the one to point out the nose on your frickin’ face, but you have PTSD. Jesus, you're as bad as Mycroft.” ( )

Smart, sexy, YA crime set in Australia. Original Holmes and Watson update. Recommended. ( )

Rachel Watts takes a trip back home to her now-abandoned farmstead with her brother, Mike, and during their brief stay they reunite with Mike's mate, Harris, who's more than ready to leave country life. Harris, in hopes of finding work, returns with Rachel and Mike to the city and crashes at the Watts home. Rachel -- still feuding with her mum -- is also trying to recover from the trauma she experienced after following James Mycroft to London, where they'd been held captive and tortured in the previous book number two (Every Word) of the trilogy. She now shuns the touch of others and has night terrors with recurring bad dreams. Rachel, at her brother's urging, agrees to take self-defense instructions from Harris. And so, it appears James Mycroft may have a rival.

James Mycroft, meanwhile, remains preoccupied with his forensics assistant's job and trying to discover the real story behind his parents' murder/car accident back in England eight years earlier. There have been taunting and intimidating postings on James' website, Diogenes, and these comments are coming from a Moriarty-like bad guy using the handle Wild. Then, while James is away meeting with someone who may supply answers about his father's years-ago involvement in the British intelligence service, a death of an innocent gal that too-closely resembles Rachel occurs. Soon after James returns, there's another suspicious death -- this one a teen boy resembling James. Could these two deaths be murders that only appear to be accidents? Is this Wild character behind it all?

As if all that isn't enough to keep a reader hooked, other things are going on too. High school dance fisticuffs. A Sherlock Holmes-like disguise pulled by James. A cipher to decode. And some heartfelt tender moments when James, who prides himself on being observant, realizes he's missed cues from Rachel and must make amends. You can't help rooting for Rachel Watts and James Mycroft as the plot unfolds. It's clear that they're still adjusting to each other and learning the with-all-your-faults-I-love-you-still piece of their partnership. You may want to see them hold on to their youth, and yet... you know it's the right time for Rachel and James to come of age.

Action-packed with an explosive finish, EVERY MOVE is a satisfying conclusion to a sizzling series. ( )