Review: KILLING RUBY ROSE by Jessie Humphries (Skyscape, 2014)

From Amazon: In sunny Southern California, seventeen-year-old Ruby Rose is known for her killer looks and her killer SAT scores. But ever since her dad, an LAPD SWAT sergeant, died, she’s also got a few killer secrets.

To cope, Ruby has been trying to stay focused on school (the top spot in her class is on the line) and spending time with friends (her Jimmy Choos and Manolo Blahniks are nothing if not loyal). But after six months of therapy and pathetic parenting by her mom, the District Attorney, Ruby decides to pick up where her dad left off and starts going after the bad guys herself. 

When Ruby ends up killing a murderer to save his intended victim, she discovers that she’s gone from being the huntress to the hunted. There’s a sick mastermind at play, and he has Ruby in his sights. Ruby must discover who’s using her to implement twisted justice before she ends up swapping Valentino red for prison orange. 

With a gun named Smith, a talent for martial arts, and a boyfriend with eyes to die for, Ruby is ready to face the worst. And if a girl’s forced to kill, won’t the guilt sit more easily in a pair of Prada peep-toe pumps?

Genre: YA Mystery/Thriller

Audience: Young Adult

Length: 306 pgs

Rating: 3

Review: A solid, good book. Really well written with some out-of-the-ordinary characters and some serious decision making and hard stuff. Still witty and funny though! I often judge a book by how quickly I read it (once I hit half-way on this one it was hard to put down) and how compelled I am to read the second in the series, if it has one (not that much, in this one's case). But...I'm not sure how fair that is in this case. The book wrapped up really well and is a great standalone. But...on the other hand, I'm not so into the characters that I want want more.

There were some moments of unbelievability for me--mostly, for a scene or two when these happened, I had to suspend my belief for a second. A couple had to do with character motivation and how I thought I'd seen the character developing and then that contrasting with the situation she was in. Without giving a big spoiler, I can't explain it beyond that. However, the story still worked well and this didn't detract from my experience too much.

Content

Language - 4 (damn, hell, and ass all used frequently. Two b*****, and two sh**, a handful of cases where pretend swearing is used, like "effin" or "a-hole")

Sex - 2 (There is talk about desire and wanting to go further. Nothing happens.)

Violence - 4 (Ruby is a tough, physical girl and she is put in tough, physical situations several times.)

Overall Rating - PG-16