No One Else Can Have You by Kathleen Hale

Prepare yourself for a disturbing crime YA drama, that will keep you guessing until it's too late.

“The cop looks directly at her for the first time, blinking.  He starts to tell her that she called in a disturbance, not a body, but she keeps going. 

                ‘Fancy red thread all through her lips.’  Her eyes are wide.  ‘Straw coming out through some of the stitches.  They tore apart our scarecrows and that’s what they did with the filling.  From the looks of her cheeks, her whole mouth’s been stuffed full.’

The officer drops his pen.”

And so begins our story.

 

No One Else Can Have You by Kathleen Hale is set in the small rural town of Friendship, Wisconsin with a small population of 688.  There has been a gruesome murder, and now no one feels safe.  Kippy has lost her best friend Ruth Fried, and Mrs. Fried has given her Ruth’s journal to edit the sexual content.  Kippy soon learns there was more to Ruth than she had thought.  Ruth’s boyfriend, becomes the prime suspect, but since she was having an affair with an older main, Kippy is not too sure this is an open and shut case.  Now armed with Ruth’s journal and the help of Ruth’s older, cute but suffering from PTSD from the war brother Kippy must figure out who in her town was sadistic enough to murder a young girl and stuff her like a scarecrow, before she becomes the next victim. 

This was a great mystery/thriller.  With so many characters and small population, almost anyone is suspect… at some point I considered Kippy and even Davey (Ruth’s brother).  The shocker at the end isn’t so much of a shocker.  It’s obvious, but again well played by placing the crime in a small town; it’s much easier to hide the obvious.  It was also a very humorous book.  Kippy isn’t an awesome person overall, there is nothing wrong with her, but she can be funny for sure. 

3 out of 5 stars! Thank you Edelweiss.