ALIBI Volumes I-IV: The Complete Series

July 23rd, 2012 Kimberly Review 14 Comments

23rd Jul
ALIBI Volumes I-IV: The Complete Series
ALIBI Volumes I-IV: The Complete Series
by Annie Miles, John Byrne, Isabel Eckersley, Sorrel Provola
Genres: Mystery
Source: Publisher
Goodreads
Rating: One StarOne StarOne StarOne Star

Abigail Shelton is dead.
Spring Valley's golden girl is found floating face-down in her boyfriend’s pool, hands bound behind her back, head bleeding, drugs and alcohol in her system. Her friends are the only suspects – and they all have reasons to want her dead. Everyone has an alibi, but no one is innocent. ALIBI is a 4-part young adult e-book series. Each one-hundred-page installment reveals the perspective of a different character: the secret love, the nemesis, the boyfriend, the best friend. As their tales unfold, we learn that Abby is not as perfect as everyone believes, but she’s not the only one with secrets to hide. This page-turning tale of suspense, betrayal, murder, and lust will keep fans of Gossip Girl and Pretty Little Liars up and reading well past curfew.

Alibi Volumes I-IV is a collection of four one hundred page novellas, that each delivers the POV of a suspect. Written by four different authors this murder mystery offers a refreshing and unique twist. I was captivated from page one of the first book and became immersed in the characters. The synopsis states that each has an alibi and no one is innocent. I found this to be delightfully true and consumed this in a single evening.

The tale begins after the death of Abigail Shelton at the police station. Through flashbacks, each of the suspects takes us through the weeks leading up to and including the night of the murder. Twists, sub-plots, and flawed characters make this an exciting read. Since I do not want to spoil the tale for you; I will treat this as a single book. In the novellas, we meet each suspect and read their POV regarding the events that occurred. They are all flawed and the interrelationships between them were complicated and crazy! All of them have reasons to feel guilty and were up to no good, but only one of them committed the crime. Discovering their secrets, motives, and fears was an awesome experience.

The players; Charlie is an Australian who is in the states to try to get a football scholarship. He is smooth with the ladies and juggling a few secret relationships. He is residing with his cousin, Ace. Did I mention he has a secret as to why he left his homeland for his senior year of high school? Palmer is an overachiever, a bastard and the daughter of a maid. She juggles school and a job to help her mother keep their home. She discovers who her father is and that changes everything. Ace is the spoiled, gifted son of a politician and executive. He lacks self-confidence and feels like things are falling apart. He was Abigail’s boyfriend. Rowan is Abigail’s best friend and nerd of the group. She can be manipulative and often feels invisible. Abigail our victim can be sweet, demanding, and at times cruel. I cannot say I was particularly fond of any of them but I was intrigued.

The world-building in this collection was fascinating and refreshingly unique. I am amazed at how these four authors collaborated to make these different POV’s flow together into a tight, well-written, suspenseful murder mystery. Each of the characters was well fleshed out and I believed each tale that unfolded. As I read each POV my opinion of whom the murderer was changed and I was delighted by the experience. My favorite novella of the group was Rowan.

I highly recommend Alibi Volumes I-IV to fans of murder mysteries, different POV’s and strong, flawed characters. I applaud the authors and Twisted Literary for putting together this intriguing read. I will be on the lookout for more exciting things from them.

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About Kimberly
Kimberly is a coffee loving book addict who reads and listens to fictional stories in all genres. Whovian, Ravenclaw, Howler and proud Nonna. She owns and manages Caffeinated PR. The coffee is always on and she is ready to chat. Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

14 Responses to “ALIBI Volumes I-IV: The Complete Series”

  1. Ajoop. S

    I loved the ALIBI series as well! The characters were intriguing but as you said, I’d probably stay faar away from them in real life. This book was fantabulous! Awesome review, Kimba 🙂

  2. Book Savvy Babe

    my first thoughts..when I saw Spring Valley in the blurb my mind immediately starting recalling the Sweet Valley High song…remember that one? Sorry, DH and I were re-living old memories this weekend, I guess that’s why my mind when there. Anyhow, I don’t read too much YA, but I like the concept of this one. Sounds like a good read 🙂 Book Savvy Babe

  3. J.J. Bonds

    I love the idea of getting 4 stories all with a different perspective! I haven’t found a lot of good YA mysteries like this so I’m really looking forward to reading Alibi! Great review!

  4. Rebecca (Kindle Fever)

    Oh, you definitely have me intrigued. 😮 I love finding these awesome-looking books I’m totally new to though! I’m really glad you enjoyed them so much and I soooo have to look into these some more 😮 Great review, K!

  5. Dalene

    Now that sounds like some YA book I could wrap my hands/head around. Sounds very well done. I’m not a fan of novellas, but syncing them together sounds perfect. I am definitely going to get my hands on this one. Great review!

  6. Danny

    Need.To.Read.Now!! I am sooo happy you liked it so much because I have it sitting on my Kindle waiting to be read, yet I never gotten around to pick it up! I love flawed characters :)) Also, I think it’s such a great idea, having 4 authors with 4 POV to solve a mystery:)

  7. Heidi

    I have seen this one around and I am totally intrigued by a novel made up of four novellas from four different view points. I think it would be lots of fun and it is super creative! I am glad to hear you say it works and it all flows together. I will have to pick this up!

  8. Barbara W.

    It sounds very Clue-like, which is different from what I’ve been reading. I like the little novella collection idea, especially if they were all sort of icky characters. Great review, you have me missing my days of reading whodunits now! I may have to break out one that’s on my TBR shelf. 🙂

  9. Audrey/Ink and Page

    Cool concept – I like it, kind of like that movie Go that was out many more years than I care to remember. Long before Katie Holmes was Mrs. Cruise anyway.

  10. Chapter by Chapter

    Fantastic review Kim. We also loved this collaboration of novellas! Everything flowed together quite nicely that it is pretty surprising that it’s from four different authors! Can’t wait to see what Twisted Literary comes up with next!

  11. Nick

    Oh wow ! This actually sounds really interesting. I saw another blogger friend of mine post of review of it, and she too, like you, really enjoyed it. I’m definitely going to have to check it out soon!
    I love books with a good mystery and this set of novellas seems to have exactly that. It’s really interesting that 4 different authors wrote the 4 books. There must have been a lot of co-operation on their part.
    Lovely review, Kim ! 🙂