{Audiobook} Review: Premeditated by Josin L. McQuein

Title: Premeditated
Author: Josin L. McQuein
Narrator:  Jessica Almasy
Series: n/a
Length:  8 hrs 36 mins
Publisher: Audible, Inc.
Publication Date: October 8, 2013
Source: purchased
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Audible

A week ago, Dinah’s cousin Claire cut her wrists.

Five days ago, Dinah found Claire’s diary and discovered why.

Three days ago, Dinah stopped crying and came up with a plan.

Two days ago, she ditched her piercings and bleached the black dye from her hair.

Yesterday, knee socks and uniform plaid became a predator’s camouflage.

Today, she’ll find the boy who broke Claire.

By tomorrow, he’ll wish he were dead.

After reading devouring Arclight earlier this year, I knew I'd be picking up Premeditated as soon as I could get my hands on it.  I do love a good revenge story, but that synopsis had me sold.  And apparently that is how the author queried the story!  That is fabulous in and of itself.

But the writing, the narrative voice...it's everything I'd hoped for after a debut like Arclight.  Dinah goes to extreme lengths to inflict retribution on the guy who broke Claire's heart so fully that she harmed herself in her despair.  But despite the rather dire circumstances, this story still manages to be humorous and clever and avoids gloomy when it can be helped.  I can't say, however, that I didn't see that ending coming.  I don't think that's because the story was overly predictable, just that the author was nonchalant in providing details, meaning that I was thoroughly engaged by this story and carefully tucked away every detail I could.  I'm intuitive like that.

The characters themselves were rich and well-fleshed out.  Dinah is quirky in her own right -- and I know most cringe at the use of that word, but I mean it in the best possible way -- and she's sacrificing a lot on her cousin's behalf, transforming herself from goth girl to prep school charmer.  That's enough to cause anyone to be a little quirky.  And then there are the two boys, neither of which is who he seems.  Brucie and Tabs rounded out the cast as Dinah's best friends, sidekicks, and fellow revenge-seekers, and they provide a lot of the comedy, as well.

I definitely felt that this story had a very Veronica Mars-vibe to it.  I mean, Dinah dons a disguise, infiltrates the "it" crowd, and falls for the wrong guy.  That premise has Veronica Mars written all over it.  Not that I'm complaining.  Dinah's even snarky like Veronica.  And awesome.  And badass.  Can you tell I liked her character?  Maybe even more than I should have?  :D

And the narrator chosen to perform this audiobook was fabulous.  Took me a minute to adjust to her, but she pulled off that snarky, quirky thing so. Freaking. Well.  And managed not to make all of the characters sound like that.  I'll definitely be checking out her other work.

Suffice it to say, Josin McQuein is going on my author auto-buy list.  I had already planned on picking up the sequel to Arclight, but now I'm just planning on reading everything she writes, maybe without even reading summaries going forward.  That's always fun...the little bit of risk that comes along with it is worth it, sometimes.  So, yeah, if you like darkly funny capers reminiscent of Veronica Mars, I highly recommend this one.  Also, if you like it when bad guys get their just desserts, I'd say this one is for you.  Revenge is a dish best served cold...then they won't know what hit 'em!

About the author:

Josin L. McQuein was born and raised in Texas and can trace every place she's lived in by the movies that were filmed there. She currently lives with three crazy dogs in a town so small that the buffalo outnumber the people and things like subways and consistent internet service are creations of that far away fantasy land called "Civilization."

Find Josin:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Labels: audiobooks, favorites, josin l. mcquein, murder mystery, must-read, psychological thriller, random house, reviews, spies and espionage, tough subject, tx authors