Little Monsters—Kara Thomas

Kacey is the new girl in town, having recently moved in with her biological father (who she's really just learned of and met) and her stepmom, along with a new stepbrother and a preteen half sister who adores her. So not only is she dealing with a lot of transition, she's also having to deal with the hellhole that is high school. She's made two close friends, Bailey and Jade, and the three of them are inseparable, though Kacey can sometimes get peer pressured into activities when all she wants to do is sit at home.

One night, Bailey and Jade show up to pick up Kacey for a seance in an old barn. Her younger sister is in her room when Bailey and Jade stop by, and insists that they both go. When a piece of the barn falls, almost killing them, a series of events are set in motion. The following night, there is a big party and Kacey doesn't want to go so Bailey and Jade go without her, but Bailey never makes it home. Enter the mystery: what happened to her, and why does the evidence seem to suggest that Kacey had something to do with it?

I thought some of the twists were interesting, if disturbing, but ultimately I didn't find a lot of depth or motivation behind those twists. They were there for the sake of sensationalism, but there wasn't a lot of development to get to the point where I believed them. And I didn't appreciate how all but the final reveal played into the stereotypes about especially teenage girls being "crazy" and obsessive, to the point of murder.

The book has been touted as a Pretty Little Liars read-alike, but I haven't actually read that one myself (though I generally know the premise). But I might recommend it as a fiction alternative to any Murderinos—with the caveat of being aware of the things I mentioned above—as it brings up a lot of questions about psychopathy and what makes a murderer.