Find Me

`Find Me' is a wonderful psychological thriller about a hacker girl who takes on a sociopathic, some-what homicidal maniac who has chosen her sister to be his next target. It delves into the world of a girl who has limited time to solve the mystery, before the only family member she cares about is taken from her.Wicket is a girl who has a criminal father and a mother that died when she was a child. She could be taken as a character that is exceptionally whiny and ungrateful, but, to me, she was a character who had lost faith that anything good was ever meant to happen to her - that somehow because of her past, and what she had to do now, it didn't make it permissible for her to be happy. And, as a result, she was extremely cynical.As strange as it may seem, this brilliantly cynical character had a love interest in this novel. Griff. And he's a boy who had secrets of his own. There's that vibe of insta-love, but it's not strong, well, I don't think it's that strong. They've known of each other for some time so it's not boy meets new girl etc. It's kind of sweet and it's through him and another character that she learns that happy endings are possible.The story is told from Wicket's point-of-view and it flows at steady pace. I think in some places it was moderately slow, but by that time, I was already hooked on the story line. The diary entries that began at the start of each chapter sort of told the story of another character - one who wasn't there to tell her own. It led each chapter and added to the suspense, because you learned more and more about what went on before she was killed.I won't deny that it was somewhat predictable. I suspected who the bad guy was about two-thirds the way through the story and it wouldn't surprise me if some other readers caught on sooner. Luckily, I didn't mind the predictability because I liked seeing what happened with the heroine once she knew.The ending made me think that there may be a sequel to this book. I hope there is because I'm a fan of this kind of character and the ability she has.Overall, I really enjoyed this book and couldn't help wishing that it had been a little longer. It's quite a short book. I would recommend `Find Me' to anyone who likes mystery and a suspenseful thrill to his or her books.

Wick Tate's life has been pretty much a train wreck. Her father is a fugitive drug dealer and scammer who physically abused her and her younger sister Lily. Her mother couldn't deal with things and killed herself by jumping from a building four years ago. Wick has learned not to trust anyone because she's been let down too often. She deals with stress by hacking, a skill her father and his scary partner in crime, Joe taught her. In fact, she's so good that she's making money digging into various internet sources for women who believe their husbands and boyfriends might be cheating on them. Wick's saving as much as she can so she can take Lily someplace safe. The two girls are living with Todd and Bren, a financially successful couple who are unable to have children. Lily feels comfortable, but Wick's naturally distrusting of everyone. That sense is exacerbated by the stealthy nighttime visits to their home by a cop named Carson. Wick tells Lily he's after their dad, but worries that he knows about her hacking skills and is trying to bust her. When the diary of Wick's former friend Tessa shows up on her doorstep after Tessa supposedly committed suicide by jumping from a third story ledge, the words “Find Me” are written across the cover. Numerous pages are missing, but when Wick starts reading what is there, she begins to suspect that Tessa might have been murdered by someone older that she was having an illicit relationship with. When Wick starts using her hacking skills to find out who left the diary and who Tessa was involved with, she is surprised by not only who left the diary, but what else that person tells her. Then, her classmate Griff, who is her computer lab partner, starts helping her as well as falling for her. Trusting him is hard, letting herself believe he really likes her is harder. When her father reappears and forces her to help with his latest scam, Wick gets another surprise, but it pales in comparison to the one when she begins to unravel the web of concealment Tessa's abuser created. Romily Bernard does an above average job of creating false trails as you are pulled along by Wick and Griff as they try to figure out who the bad guy is. The ending is a dandy one that had me flipping pages at warp speed. I've already ordered the sequel. This is an excellent choice for school and public libraries that like to add quality mysteries to their teen holdings.