One Last Breath

January 1, 2024
Trulee and Rio, who's new to town, find themselves engrossed in unraveling a pair of unsolved 20-year-old murders. It's late May in sweltering Mount Orange, Florida, and recent high school grad Trulee plans on spending the summer with her boyfriend, East, working her summer job at the local newspaper, and free diving at Hidden Glen Springs. While she's diving one day, Tru meets Rio, and the two girls feel an instant connection and simmering spark. Both skilled divers, they're drawn to the water's depths--and the missing evidence that could be hiding there from the gruesome murders of Bailey and Celeste, two teen girls who were attacked while camping in the area decades prior. Tru and Rio are obsessively focused on solving the crime when they slowly realize they could be the killer's next targets. The page-turning mystery sustains readers' interest, and amid red herrings galore, they'll be desperate to solve the whodunit. Suspense drips from every scene, and the alarming and scary elements build expertly toward a thrilling climax that will surprise even devoted fans of the genre, although some may find the resolution slightly too convenient. The well-rounded characters are carefully crafted and believably express a range of emotions. A natural queer sexual awakening unfolds that's full of spine-tingling pining, lust, and love. All main characters read white. Fast paced and thrilling. (Mystery. 14-18)

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February 19, 2024
Eighteen-year-old Trulee Langstaff’s rural Mount Orange, Fla., town has always been shadowed by the Hidden Glen murders, the unsolved double homicide of best friends Celeste and Bailey. More recently, Tru has also been grieving the tragic death of her older sister Dani in a hit-and-run. On the eve of the Hidden Glen murders’ 20th anniversary, Tru meets 18-year-old Rio, a beautiful and secretive foster runaway who’s camping out at the site of the crime. The girls bond over their shared obsession with free diving, and soon learn that they’ve also both been inexplicably drawn to the Hidden Glen murders their entire lives. Delving into feverish investigation, Tru and Rio unearth unexpected connections to Celeste and Bailey and, as the past and present begin to blur, come to the chilling realization that they could be the next victims of the killer at large. Though some twists strain credulity, Sain (Secrets So Deep) weaves together a grounded depiction of the stifling closeness and quirky personalities of a small Florida town, beautiful descriptions of free diving in freshwater springs, and a propulsive, true crime–informed murder investigation to craft a page-turning thriller. The protagonists cue as white. Ages 14–up.

February 15, 2024
Grades 9-12 Murder, suspense, and reincarnation blend together in Sain's latest psychological thriller. Tru is spending the summer after graduation working at the tiny local newspaper, free diving at the local springs, and pursuing her obsession with the 20-year-old unsolved murder of two young women, Bailey and Celeste. The murders inexplicably haunt Tru, whether she's asleep or awake. Enter Rio, another free diver from the north part of the state, who is drawn strongly to Tru, as well as to the murders. The two girls find they have a very personal connection to Bailey and Celeste: in their past lives, Tru and Rio were the murder victims. The two start to piece together fragmented memories to finally identify the murderer. The plot is engrossing and fast-paced, with plenty of misdirection that only increases the tension, although the paranormal twist of reincarnation, while a nifty concept, is occasionally too convenient or else inconsistent. Still, the reader is kept guessing, and Sain pulls no punches in telling her story.

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March 29, 2024

Gr 10 Up-High school graduate Trulee has long been plagued by the senseless unsolved double murder her small Florida town is known for. Despite the crime happening before she was born, Tru feels an inexplicable connection to Bailey, one of the victims. As the 20th anniversary approaches, a mysterious girl, Rio, comes to town with a similar connection to the other murder victim, Celeste, and they can't help but try to figure out what the police have not. The book is marketed as a supernatural thriller, but paranormal fans may want to skip this one unless the concept of reincarnation is appealing. The first half moves at a glacial pace, trudging through every tedious action of Tru's days accompanied by her monotonous, repetitive inner monologue. Then the plot moves so quickly readers will feel they have whiplash. They will be guessing who the murderer is until the absolute end, and probably won't see it coming. The romance subplot between Tru and Rio feels forced, especially because Tru has a long-term boyfriend. It's difficult to relate to Tru or Rio because of their alluded reincarnation of Bailey and Celeste-it's hard to discern which traits and emotions belong to which girls, and it feels like we don't really scratch the surface of them. All the characters are white-presenting except for one side character. Contains cursing, underage drinking, and drug use. VERDICT An OK read for those in the mood for some suspense-or those who can make it through the first half. Recommended for collections where Sain's other works are well loved or where the thriller genre needs a boost.-Kara Jonson

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