I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

To Right the Wrongs by Sheryl Scarborough
Series: Erin Blake #2
Published by Tor Teen on February 27, 2018
Pages: 320
Format: Hardcover
Source: the publisher
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads

Barely three weeks after catching the killer of Erin's mother and their biology teacher, Erin and her crew are back, up to their elbows in forensics projects. But this time it's with the full approval of their parents.

With Uncle Victor at the helm, Erin and her best friends, Spam and Lysa, are prepping a new classroom for CSI summer camp, where they will serve as camp counselors. Meanwhile, Erin's super-hot new boyfriend, Journey, is graduating, just in time for him to take a position as Victor's intern in the new CSI lab on campus. Journey and Victor are going to take another look at the evidence in the murder trial that sent Journey's father to prison. The girls are under strict orders not to meddle with the murder case, but that's easier said than done...

I’m torn between giving this book 3.5 stars or 4 stars. When I finished book one, To Catch a Killer, I REALLY wanted a sequel. I do love that To Right the Wrongs tied up some loose ends, but it also left a few things dangling. It makes me wonder if there will be a book three – and I’m totally okay with that! Despite some hiccups with this book, it was still really enjoyable and the ending had me like WHOA!! But also… totally called it!

I’ve never been a huge fan of Erin. I love the forensic sleuth side of her, but otherwise she’s just.. childish and selfish. I understood her reasoning for her behavior, but that didn’t make it okay. I was disappointed with the way she treated Journey in this book. It felt like their relationship took a backseat to everything else. Part of that was definitely Journey’s fault – he was very distant with Erin, behaving as if he didn’t trust her and he should have. I still 100% shipped them, but I really wanted MORE from them as a couple, and I’m disappointed we didn’t get that MORE.

Also, side-note: I had MAJOR Rob (1-800-WHERE-R-U) vibes from Journey.. Anyone else read those books and notice that? Just me?

I liked Lysa and Spam a LOT more in this book than I did in book one. In book one, they kept oscillating between acting like loyal friends, and acting as if Erin was purposefully leaving them out of things. But in To Right the Wrongs, they worked WITH Erin, and they both definitely had a lot of character growth because of that shift in attitude.

I really didn’t trust ANYONE in this book. Like, it would be faster to list the people I DID trust 100%. But as I got further into the book, I started looking at each suspicious character in a more critical way. And then I was able to narrow down who I thought was TRULY suspicious, and who seemed like they were suspicious just to throw readers off the mark. In the end, my instincts regarding the person I was MOST suspicious about turned out to be correct. And when the big reveal happened, I was just like “I KNEW IT!!!!!!!”

There are several characters I’d like to mention by name, and discuss in greater detail, but that would end up being super spoilery and I’m trying to keep this review to a spoiler minimum. But let’s just say: I despised Blankenship until the end; I didn’t trust Arletta Stone or the coach, and was shocked by the way their stories ended; I loved Lyman, though we were clearly supposed to be suspicious of him; and I was indifferent to Clay but had this weird gut feeling…

Anyway, that’s all on that subject, lest I spoil everything with my vague descriptions.

Overall, this book definitely started out slow. And I honestly enjoyed To Catch a Killer a LOT more. However, To Right the Wrongs was still very intriguing. It kept me on the edge of my seat, trying to guess who the killer was and how things would end. The characters all experienced a lot of character growth, and the book definitely tied up a lot of loose ends. I’m anxious to see if there will be a third book in this series, because I love the forensics and Nancy Drew/Veronica Mars feels. Also, the “90s/00s feels – by that I mean, as stated in my review of To Catch a Killer, “It completely reminded me of a 90s/00s teen novel, and I LOVED IT!”

So if you love books about forensics, Nancy Drew, Veronica Mars, or thrillers in general, I HIGHLY recommend you pick this series up! It’s definitely a wild ride and, slow bits aside, will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very last page.

I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

To Catch a Killer by Sheryl Scarborough
Series: Erin Blake #1
Published by Tor Teen on February 7, 2017
Pages: 320
Format: Hardcover
Source: the publisher
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads

Erin Blake has one of those names. A name that, like Natalee Holloway or Elizabeth Smart, is inextricably linked to a grisly crime. As a toddler, Erin survived for three days alongside the corpse of her murdered mother, and the case—which remains unsolved—fascinated a nation. Her father's identity unknown, Erin was taken in by her mother's best friend and has become a relatively normal teen in spite of the looming questions about her past.

Fourteen years later, Erin is once again at the center of a brutal homicide when she finds the body of her biology teacher. When questioned by the police, Erin tells almost the whole truth, but never voices her suspicions that her mother's killer has struck again in order to protect the casework she's secretly doing on her own.

Inspired by her uncle, an FBI agent, Erin has ramped up her forensic hobby into a full-blown cold-case investigation. This new murder makes her certain she's close to the truth, but when all the evidence starts to point the authorities straight to Erin, she turns to her longtime crush (and fellow suspect) Journey Michaels to help her crack the case before it's too late.

To Catch a Killer was a mystery thrill-ride of a book. It started off a bit slow, but once things picked up, I was constantly on my toes, suspicious of everyone and trying to follow the evidence. This book was billed as being NCIS meets Veronica Mars and I could DEFINITELY see the Veronica Mars comparisons.

I was a little indifferent to Erin in the beginning. The more immersed she became in her investigation, the more I liked her. I could see things through her eyes, as if I was the investigator trying to solve the mystery. I loved the way she threw herself into the investigation, committed and willing to do whatever she had to to get answers. I also really liked her relationship with Journey. It didn’t feel like insta-love. It was organic, a slow but steady progression from friends with crushes to more.

I’m not sure how I feel about Spam and Lysa. At times, they were amazing, supportive friends. At other times, they were really frustrating and treated Erin like she was purposely leaving them out. I definitely loved their involvement in the end, but I’m not sure if it makes up for their earlier behavior.

Rachel reminded me of Jenna from The Vampire Diaries (specifically from season one). She was trying so hard to parent but flailing helplessly. Serious question: why are adults never honest with their kids, especially in YA novels? Why do they always think they know best? Why do they always keep secrets? It’s such a tired cliche and it grated on my nerves a bit.

I really loved Victor. Erin needed someone on her side, someone who listened to her and believed her. Rachel tried, but she was a bit clueless. She was also dealing with her own thoughts and feelings and I think she was a bit stuck in the past – for obvious reasons, of course, but I think it clouded her judgement where Erin was concerned. Victor came into the picture just when Erin needed him the most. And then the way his story ended? That thing and the other thing but spoilers but WHOA. I REALLY need there to be a sequel so we can see if Erin’s suspicions are correct!

There are two characters I really want to talk about, but it’s hard to without spoilers. Let’s just say, I was very suspicious of these two characters and I wasn’t surprised when we finally learned the truth in the end.

My favorite thing about this book – and this is going to sound so weird, I don’t even know if it’ll make sense – was the tone. It completely reminded me of a 90s/00s teen novel, and I LOVED IT! It reminded me of an old-school Caroline B. Cooney novel (The Face on the Milk Carton) and of Sara Shepard’s The Lying Game series.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It was fun playing detective alongside Erin. The forensics aspects were especially epic. I’m a huge, huge forensics buff, so this was definitely my favorite part! I really hope there’s a sequel because that ending was crazy and I NEED ANSWERS! So yeah, I definitely recommend this one to fans of Veronica Mars, CSI, NCIS – Basically, if you’re a fan of ANY of the crime/forensics procedurals, I think you’ll really love this one!