A Good Idea

By: Cristina Moracho

Narrated by: Alex McKenna

In this “chilling mystery” (BuzzFeed), two best friends’ plan to reunite at college is interrupted when one of them disappears.

“Sharp as a fistful of broken glass, dark and twisted as the woods at night, A Good Idea is rural noir at its creepy, literary best.”—Laura Ruby, National Book Award Finalist and Printz-winning author of Bone Gap

“A discomfiting, gripping mystery with plenty of sharp edges.”—Kirkus Reviews

Can the right kind of boy get away with killing the wrong kind of girl?

Finley and Betty’s close friendship survived Fin’s ninth-grade move from their coastal Maine town to Manhattan. Calls, letters, and summer visits kept them close, and in the fall of their senior year they both applied to NYU, planning to reunite as roommates. Then Betty disappears. Her ex-boyfriend Calder admits to drowning her, but his confession is thrown out, and the entire town believes he was coerced and Betty has simply run away. Fin knows the truth, and she returns to Williston for one final summer, determined to get justice for her friend, even if it means putting her loved ones—and herself—at risk.

Critic reviews

“Sharp as a fistful of broken glass, dark and twisted as the woods at night, A Good Idea is rural noir at its creepy, literary best."—Laura Ruby, National Book Award Finalist and Printz-winning author of Bone Gap

“A Good Idea is a dark, unsettling thriller—I couldn't put it down until its haunting end. All the feel of classic noir, twisted up for a new generation.”—Amanda Panitch, author of Damage Done and Never Missing, Never Found

“I read this book breathlessly. Moracho has crafted an irresistible page turner.”—Kate Scelsa, author of Fans of the Impossible Life

“A Good Idea is a harrowing and beautifully crafted thriller about how far we're willing to go for the people we love—whether or not they deserve it. Cristina Moracho has talent to burn.”—Sarah McCarry, author of About a Girl

“A chilling mystery set in the '90s that errs on the side of noir, this story will leave you captivated and intrigued.”—BuzzFeed

“Lushly evocative writing sets an atmospherically dark and foreboding tone from the start, and secrets are harbored by nearly every character . . . A discomfiting, gripping mystery with plenty of sharp edges.”—Kirkus Reviews

“A powerful look at moral gray areas and the fluidity of forgiveness. Moracho’s characters are realistically and heartbreakingly flawed, and her fast-paced, windy narrative presents new wrinkles at every turn.”—Publishers Weekly

“Moracho’s setting, a sleepy coastal town swathed in superstition and sea, shines. Edgy, atmospheric, and sometimes steamy, this is a thoughtful portrait of grief and an engaging examination of the risks we take for the ones we love.”—Booklist

“The writing is richly noir, and the characters are engaging. Teens who like mysteries, twisted and dark, and those who like secrets all around will enjoy this thriller.”—VOYA

An absolute must listen/read!

This is such a great book! Really keeps you in suspense! Also the narrator is from the book "the animators" she has such an awesome voice! But like I said this is a must read/listen because "there are no secrets in a small town" I can't wait to listen to it again in another year when I have forgotten who did what to who. LOL 20 stars!!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

More about smoking than murder

For starters, this is a YA novel? The characters are 18-ish, smoking every five minutes, screwing every five minutes, drinking and using drugs. I’m not oblivious to the fact that kids do these things, but it reads false here and forced. Seriously, every other page someone is lighting up and smoking. The MC should be in rehab.

The narrator is almost as annoying as the MC. I couldn’t stand either of them. Her voices were laughably bad at time, offensive at others. It didn’t help sell a story that was already bad to begin with.

The writing is mediocre at best. Again, she vividly describes opening a pack of cigarettes and chasing down pills, but everything else was boringly described and uninspired—to put it mildly.

This was one of the worst murder mystery thrillers I have ever read. I literally didn’t care who did it and hoped they killed the MC to end it all.

Awful awful awful read. And I don't say that lightly.

Hated it

This book was about nothing and it went nowhere. Full of cheap outrage over a girl that the reader never knew. Why should the reader care about someone that was badly written about.