Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer

Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer
Katie Alender
304 pages
Releases: September 24, 2013
Publisher: Scholastic
Source: NetGalley
★★★★☆

You can read the Goodreads summary here.

You can't deny the catchy cover here, which is mainly the reason I requested this book from NetGalley.  But aside from the eye-catching cover, Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer contains a pretty interesting plot. Colette Iselin - whose family originally hails from France - is headed to Paris on a class trip with her spoiled best friends.  But when the girls arrive in France, they become aware of a serial killer on the lose, who has been beheading victims.  Soon Colette is seeing visions of a young woman dressed in 18th century clothes and with the help of her charmingly adorable tour guide, Colette investigates to uncover her connection to Marie Antoinette and the murders.

This the the first book by Katie Alender that I've read (although I do have Bad Girls Don't Die on my shelf waiting to be picked up) and I wasn't disappointed.  Alender has the ability to weave and interesting and fast paced plot.  I started the book late last night, battling insomnia as usual, but found myself fighting sleep off later to try and finish the book.  (I'm getting too old for this kind of reading, haha!)  What gripped me right away was the mystery between Colette and her relationship to Marie Antoinette.  Before leaving home, Colette found a necklace with a special symbol on it that belonged to her grandmother and then, upon visiting Versailles, Colette starts seeing the symbol everywhere in association with Marie Antoinette.  Could they be related somehow?  The mystery unravels into something of a secret society, something fans of Dan Brown and the like will really enjoy.  And that's not even to mention the murders that tie in as well!

Aside from the gruesome, paranormal murder mystery on Colette's hands, which is sure to be a draw to any reader, I actually found Colette's personal journey much more interesting.  Her two best friends are two of the most spoiled, ridiculous, slap-worthy characters I've ever read in YA literature.  Props to Alender for creating such nasty but enjoyable characters!  Anyway, Colette was headed down the same self-centered path until her parents split and she's suddenly without money.  Reality slowly hits Colette in the face and with the help of said charmingly adorable tour guide, Jules, she really grows as a person throughout the novel.  I love a story where the main character grows like this.  I also love a story with a little romance, which wasn't lacking in this book, either, and reminded me a little of Anna and the French Kiss.

Four stars!  Paranormal fans will surely enjoy Marie Antoinette's new hobby and contemporary fans will drool for the relationship between Colette and Jules.  Marie Antoinette is a fast paced, quick read so add it to your fall reading list!