Death by Bikini - Linda Gerber

bi-ki-ni (bi-ke-'ne) - noun
1. Sexiest of all bathing suits.
2. Sure-fire method for attracting teenage boys.
3. Best way to show off toned abs.
4. Quickest way to end up dead on the beach. . .

Summary (from the back of the book):

A bikini can be very dangerous.

Aphra Connolly has the type of life most teenage girls envy. She lives on a tropical island and spends most of her time eavesdropping on the rich and famous. The problem is that her family's secluded luxury resort allows few opportunities for her to make friends - much less to meet cute boys. So when a smoldering Seth Mulo unexpectedly arrives with his parents, she's immediately drawn to him. Then a girl turns up dead on the beach - the strings of her bikini top tight around her neck - and alarm bells sound. What exactly are Seth and his family hiding? And is it too great a coincidence that they turned up just one day before a murder? As the plot thickens, Aphra finds that danger lurks behind even the most unexpected of faces. . . .

Review:

I had heard only good things about this book, but I didn't really know what I was expecting. I mean, a mystery where a girl dies on the beach with her bikini straps tied across her neck? That could go one of two ways: either really good or really, horribly done.

Linda Gerber did a great job of making sure it was really good. There was an amazing mix of romance, mystery, and an exciting setting of the jungle.

The book is really fast paced and it gets exciting really quick. That was one of the reasons why I loved it - I found it really hard to put down.

The storyline was origional. That is what makes this book even better. There's an excellent mixture of mystery and romance, and at the same time Aphra struggles with normal teen issues: parent issues. When the Mulo's come to the island, Aphra's father grows further away from her and she also struggles with the fact that her mother left her and her father.

Death by Bikini is a quick, fast paced book that is perfect for these back-to-school days. (And as fall comes, it will keep you thinking it's summer with the jungle setting.)


hope.