Set in Florida, this is a cold-case mystery about a gay football player who is murdered after starting at a wealthy high school. There is a dual timeline & a minor coming of age element with our current day amateur sleuth going through her first serious relationship while in a rags-to-riches scenario. There is a lot of billionaires to keep track of, as well as a sub-plot involving addiction, so there is a lot going on.
The book was just ok. It was interesting enough to finish it, and I liked that the endearing sidekick was neurodivergent. But the story was not realistic. For example, the ‘box in the attic’ type trope was used twice. And as the main characters are high school kids, I often felt like I was reading a Scooby Doo mystery. This was especially true at the end of the book, when the murderer confesses to everything instead of killing our amateur sleuth (all the while claiming that they will.)
I won a free copy of this book (thanks to the author & publisher!) and am voluntarily providing an honest review. ( )