Review: No One Else Can Have You by Kathleen Hale

No One Else Can Have You

By: Kathleen Hale

Pub. Date: January 7, 2014

Publisher: Harper Teen

Pages: 384

Source: Edelweiss

Small towns are nothing if not friendly. Friendship, Wisconsin (population: 688) is no different. Around here, everyone wears a smile. And no one ever locks their doors. Until, that is, high school sweetheart Ruth Fried is found murdered. Strung up like a scarecrow in the middle of a cornfield.

Unfortunately, Friendship’s police are more adept at looking for lost pets than catching killers. So Ruth’s best friend, Kippy Bushman, armed with only her tenacious Midwestern spirit and Ruth’s secret diary (which Ruth’s mother had asked her to read in order to redact any, you know, sex parts), sets out to find the murderer. But in a quiet town like Friendship—where no one is a suspect—anyone could be the killer.

I received this galley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you Edelweiss and Harper Teen.

As soon as I saw that amazing and original cover, I knew I wanted to read No One Else Can Have You. Almost every book out there has a picture of a pretty girl looking into the distance, because that gives me a great sense of what the book is going to be about {sarcasm}. So I was instantly intrigued by this one. Then I read the synopsis, and I was hooked! I am so glad that this book lived up to the height that was already in my head.

The story starts off with the most gruesome murder scene I have ever read. And that was only the first page!! Turns out the girl who died was Ruth's best friend, Kippy. Ruth doesn't know what to do with herself now, but since the police aren't really taking the murder seriously, she believes it is up to her to find out who killed her friend. On top of that, Kippy's mom gave Ruth her diary to edit out any of the "dirty parts". Could that be anymore awkward!! While reading the diary, Ruth learns that Kippy didn't really like her that much, and just put up with her. God, if I found out that my best friend actually hated me, and now she's dead, I don't even know how I would react!

For a book that is about murder, I laughed so hard. It was so funny! I think my favorite part was Ruth's eulogy to Kippy. Best. Eulogy. Ever! I read it a few times, just because I was laughing to hard.

I also loved how the book wasn't as concrete as I thought it would be. I could not figure out who the murderer was until the very end. Maybe a chapter or two before Ruth figured it out. I hate when I figure out who the killer is in the beginning of the story!

This is Kathleen Hale's very novel and I am so excited to read what she comes up with next. She can easily become one of my favorite authors!