Butterfly Grave by Anne Cassidy

It's almost Christmas time when Joshua's uncle, Stu, has a near fatal accident, leaving him in hospital with head injuries. Determined to help, Rose and Joshua head to Newcastle to visit. 

But even Joshua's uncle has a dark past touched by murder and it looks as though his injuries are anything but accidental. As Rose becomes increasingly preoccupied with the deaths she has witnessed, and Joshua more and more paranoid about who might be watching them, a brutal killing occurs. Somebody really does not want Rose and Joshua to find their parents.

But who? And why?

I received this book from Bloomsbury for an open and honest review. 

Star Rating

 

I didn't realise until after reading this book that it is actually a novel in a series by Anne Cassidy called 'The Murder Notebooks'. Having missed out on her other installments, I was able to follow the story easily and therefore would not say it's necessary to read them as a set. However, upon finishing 'Butterfly Grave' I am now desperate to know what has become of Rose and Joshua's parents and will definitely be reading the next in the series. 

This book tells the story of Joshua and Rose, a step brother and sister whose parents mysteriously vanished five years ago.  The relationship between the pair is strong and, as they set out to discover what happened to their parents all those years ago, unfortunate happenings bring them even closer together.

At the beginning of the story, Joshua's uncle has a serious accident and is taken to hospital in Newcastle. Traveling up to take care of Stu, Joshua and Rose embark on a new discovery as they find a stack of evidence relating to an old murder case in the uncle's flat. Enlisting the help of their friend Skeggsie, the teens start to conduct their own investigation, with surprising results. 

As the teens delve further into their investigation more and more secrets are uncovered leading to a tragic incident that provided another twist to the story. In order to gain more stars from me the book needed a few more shocking twists and turns with a few red herrings thrown in for good measure. However, Butterfly Grave is a quick, easy read and would be great for teen readers with an interest in crime fiction.