Book Review: Get Dirty by Gretchen McNeil

Goodreads Overview:

The members of Don’t Get Mad (DGM) aren’t just mad anymore . . . they’re afraid. And with Margot in a coma and Bree stuck in juvie, it’s up to Olivia and Kitty to try to catch their deadly tormentor. But just as the girls are about to go on the offensive, Ed the Head reveals a shocking secret that turns all their theories upside down. The killer could be anyone, and this time he—or she—is out for more than just revenge.

The girls desperately try to discover the killer’s identity as their personal lives are falling apart: Donté is pulling away from Kitty and seems to be hiding a secret of his own, Bree is under house arrest, and Olivia’s mother is on an emotional downward spiral. The killer is closing in, the threats are becoming more personal, and when the police refuse to listen, the girls have no choice but to confront their anonymous friend . . . or die trying.

Jacque's Review:

I have read several murder mystery series and they are usually independent stories.  You could pick up any book in the series and follow the mystery from beginning to end without any difficulty. That certainly is not the case with this series.  Get Dirty is a continuation of the story that began in Get Even. We were left completely hanging at the end of the first book with multiple dead bodies, no suspect, and a main character on the brink of death. 

This book picks up pretty much where Get Even left off. Bree is in juvie/house arrest and Margot is in a coma for most of the book. With the loss of Bree and Margot's skill sets, Olivia and Kitty decide to recruit some additional DGM members to help solve the cases. Nobody knows who to trust and it appears the school and the police don't want to look any further than pinning the murders on the members of DGM. They just don't know who the members of DGM are. Their only hope is to solve the murders before the evidence stacking up against them becomes insurmountable.

I really enjoyed the characters and the story, but I didn't feel like it gave readers a realistic opportunity to solve the mystery. There were some crazy revelations at the end that pulled everything together, but I honestly can't think of many clues along the way that I should have picked up on that would have shed much light on the situation. 

Overall, I gave both books 4 stars and was entertained by the story, but it would have been better if it had been condensed into one book. Some of the events in the second book were a bit far fetched and in my opinion could have been eliminated. In contrast, the first book had me sitting on the edge of my seat in anticipation.  I stayed up late to read the final few chapters because I simply HAD to know who the perpetrator was. This could have been a 5 star mystery if everything had concluded there. As it was, I felt like the additional time invested in reading a second book to solve one mystery was a bit more than I had originally bargained for and detracted from the overall enjoyment of the story.