In the novel, Fatality, by Caroline B. Cooney, Rose is caught in an intriguing police investigation. When the book begins, we meet Rose, a young girl who is contemplating stealing her diary back from the police officers who took it. What precious words are written in the diary, we don't know, but they must be important. Rose is being interrogated in a murder investigation and refuses to speak, only sharing that she "didn't see anything." Yet, with the retrieval and destruction of her diary, the police and her parents can hardly accept that answer. They assume that she must know something and that it was written in her journal, but no one can get it out of her. Through this tangled web we meet Rose's parents, her brother Tabor, and her school friends/acquaintances, Chrissie, Alex, and Anjelica, whose father is also involved in the investigation. As the reader learns more, the case begins to unfold and things become clear, but, we are still left in the dark about the diary entry. Does Rose know something and had she written it down? Who is she protecting? When Rose almost gets run down by a dark truck, her family urges her to give up whomever it is she is protecting. Unfortunately, it might be too late...
I don't typically enjoy thrillers, but I was hoping to read a good one to get into them. Unfortunately, I'm still fishing for the perfect thriller to grab and hold my attention. Fatality is not your typical thriller. It takes place after the crimes have occurred and therefore, is not very suspenseful. The ending is unexpected, yet not climactic enough to be satisfying. I liked that Cooney put in a few different conflicts to spice up the story, but overall, it just didn't do it for me. On a positive note, the plot was intricately woven involving many characters in a few different story lines. Also, it was nice that the plot didn't just involve murders, chases, and escapes like some others in the genre. Ultimately, I liked the book and would recommend it to my students. But if you're expecting a suspenseful and compelling story with many twists and turns, this isn't the book to choose.