REVIEW: Nothing More to Tell (book) by Karen M. McManus

Nothing More to Tell is a YA mystery. I bought my copy new.

Review:

A stupid mistake may have cost Brynn the future in journalism that she'd planned. In an effort to make up for it, she's become an intern with Motive, a true-crime show. She's hopeful that they'll use her idea for a show, investigating the murder of Mr. Larkin, her favorite teacher at Saint Ambrose. 

Four years ago, three Saint Ambrose students, Tripp, Charlotte, and Shane, found Mr. Larkin's body in the woods behind their school. Around the time of the murder, Mr. Larkin was looking into the theft of some money. After his death, the envelope of money was discovered in Charlotte's locker. The fingerprints of Shane, the boy Charlotte had a huge crush on, were found on the rock that killed Mr. Larkin. Things weren't looking good for them, especially Shane, except Tripp's account of events matched theirs. Tripp wasn't a friend of the two other kids at the time, so what motive would he have had to lie?

Brynn is convinced that there's more to the story than the three of them ever shared, and now that she's back at Saint Ambrose she's determined to find out the truth.

This started off so-so - many of McManus' characters read the same to me, at least at the beginnings of her books. There's always that one attractive guy with secrets and a chip on his shoulder, and the brainy and determined girl he's secretly crushing on. In this book, that was Tripp and Brynn. 

Eventually, Tripp and Brynn started to feel more like their own people, and Brynn's investigation into the web of mysteries surrounding Mr. Larkin's death hooked me. There was a lot going on - the secret Tripp was hiding that was slowly destroying him, Tripp's horrible mother, the question of Mr. Larkin's past and what brought him to Saint Ambrose in the first place, whatever was going on with Charlotte and Shane, and more. McManus included some effective red herrings, and I can honestly say that there was a lot about the way things worked out that took me by surprise.

For the most part, all the various pieces worked well for me. I loved Brynn's younger sister, Ellie, and the romance that developed between Brynn and Tripp was sweet. The stuff with Mr. Larkin was complicated, but not to the point of disrupting my suspension of disbelief. I know those bikers were on-page for, like, two seconds, but I got a kick out of their interaction with Brynn and Tripp. I was also glad Regina existed, for Tripp's sake, and of course Al (the fluffy Samoyed best boy) was a treat.

I couldn't quite believe in Brynn's internship - you'd have thought everyone on the show could see the PR disaster coming from a mile away - but I was willing to roll with it, and it at least gave readers that excellent moment when Brynn was trying to get Tripp to trust her again. 

All in all, this was an enjoyable read. Although it's a standalone, those familiar with McManus' other books will probably appreciate the brief mentions of some of her other characters and storylines (hey, true crime is Motive's thing, right?).