There is a part of me that thinks I am suffering a little from series overkill with this fifth book in the series, as it really didn’t grab me in the same way as the others.
This instalment begins with Ali’s presumed killer locked up, and A is assumed dead. Naturally, just when you think things are going to calm down, the whole story goes off in a direction you weren’t expecting. We are treated to Spencer acting in increasingly irrational ways; Emily decides she fancies a boy; Hanna gets together with a nice boy but is so determined to remain popular that she acts in truly appalling fashion and Aria gets a little close for comfort to her mum’s new boyfriend.
Although we have already met Kate, Hanna’s step-sister to be, she really steps up here and is more than a little irritating. The show certainly benefits from clever editing, but even in the books I am struck by just how dumb the adult characters are shown to be. How can all this stuff be going on around them and nobody notice?
While I am able to gloss over the increasingly frustrating clothing references (perhaps it’s my age) I was really not enjoying this. However, it picked up towards the end and does just enough to get our curiosity about Wilden aroused. While I will continue reading the series, it won’t be for some time…back to Netflix where we haven’t got some of the best characters bumped off!