Wish You Were Dead by Todd Strasser

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Wish You Were Dead
by Todd Strasser
pub: Sept 2009
240 pages

Synopsis:


I’ll begin with Lucy. She is definitely first on the list. You can’t believe how it feels to be in the cafeteria and turn around and there she is staring at me like I’m some disgusting bug or vermin. Does she really think I WANT to be this way? I hate you, Lucy. I really hate you. You are my #1 pick. I wish you were dead.
The day after anonymous blogger Str-S-d wishes the popular girl would die, Lucy vanishes. The students of Soundview High are scared and worried. Especially frightened and wracked with guilt is Madison Archer, Lucy’s friend and the last person to see her the night she disappeared.
As days pass with no sign of the missing girl, even the attention of Tyler, an attractive new student, is not enough to distract Madison from her growing sense of foreboding.
When two more popular students disappear after their names are mentioned on Str-S-d’s blog, the residents of Soundview panic.
Meanwhile, Madison receives anonymous notes warning that she could be next. Desperate to solve the mystery before anyone else disappears, Madison turns to Tyler, but can she trust him when it becomes clear that he knows more than he’s sharing?
The clock is ticking. Madison must uncover the truth behind the mysterious disappearances . . . before her name appears in Str-S-d’s blog.


Oh boy, Wish You Were Dead is capital-C Creepy! I loved it and was sucked in from the first pages.


An anonymous blogger starts talking about the kids that are mean to her at school. Then it escalates to wishing those kids are dead, and guess what? They go missing.

Our protagonist, Madison, feels responsible since she had taken the first girl, Lucy, home the night she was kidnapped but didn't watch her go in. That's when Lucy got snatched. When other kids start disappearing too, Madison begins investigating.

The chapters are short which helps to move the story along at super speed. The point of views change from the anonymous blogger, to Madison and then best of all, we get to hear what the kidnapper/killer is saying to his or her captives (we don't know who the killer is until the end).


Man, that puppy is psycho. The dialogue with his/her captives gives you goosebumps. The poor kids get not only physical torture but psychological as well.


Madison and Tyler are good characters who seem to follow a logical path on their investigation. There are a couple of subplots that play out well in the end, a few red herrings and interesting twists. And as far as relationships went, they were portrayed well.


Strasser also does a good job of making you feel ambivalent about the kids who get kidnapped. I mean, you start thinking that if they hadn't been such jerks, perhaps they wouldn't be in this mess, but on the other hand, they don't deserve this, so it gets you thinking.

No fantasy in this one. Just nasty nutso serial killer stuff. The pace is fast and I was flipping pages well into the night to finish it. Trouble was I was the only one up and jumped every time a weird noise rattled the house. Had to be a windy night, right? I brought one of the dogs in my room for backup. Don't laugh!

I don't want to give too much away so I'll just say this is a wonderful creepy thriller filled with suspense and nail biting moments. A fun who-dun-it!


The Cover: Totally fits the content. Creepy!


First Lines:

Prologue - kind of:

Today at school Lucy Cunningham looked at me like I was something the cat coughed up.


It starts out from the blogger's point of view. I thought this was good. Funny but sad.

The 1st Chapter:

The red taillights of Tyler Starling's ugly purple car disappeared into the dark. It was just after three a.m., chilly and quiet. Lucy Cunningham stepped off her front walk and strolled down the dark tree-lined street.


Good. I'm anticipating Lucy's luck to run out.



Strasser has written several other books so be sure to visit his website and blog, and check out the book trailer below.


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