Book Review: "I Killed Zoe Spanos" by Kit Frick

"It was an accident, but...I killed Zoe Spanos."

Twisty, compelling, and even a little creepy, Kit Frick's I Killed Zoe Spanos is a YA thriller worth reading. It'll hook you almost immediately, with well-drawn characters, lots of crazy twists and turns, and a mystery that keeps you guessing. Can you ask for much more than that?

Anna is looking forward to spending the summer in the Hamptons town of Herron Mills, where she'll be working as a nanny for a wealthy family. She's glad to be putting the rest of her life behind her, as she and her best friend Kaylee spent far too much time over the last year partying, drinking, taking recreational drugs, and hooking up with boys. She's ready for responsibility in this ritzy town, just before she gets ready to head to college.

Almost immediately after arriving in Herron Mills, Anna keeps hearing about her resemblance to Zoe Spanos, a local girl who went missing a few months earlier. Crazily enough, Zoe actually worked as a nanny for the same family Anna is working for now; in fact, the young girl in Anna's care, Paisley, wanted Anna to be her nanny because of her resemblance to Zoe.

The more time Anna spends in Herron Mills, the more she feels as if she's been there before, the more she feels a connection to Zoe. This can't be possible, of course, because she never met Zoe, and she'd never been to any of these places before. But why is she starting to remember spending time with Zoe and Kaylee? And why is it, when Zoe's body is found, that Anna confesses to her murder and the police believe it, even though her confession is clearly not true?

Frick knows how to tease out a mystery and she does it so well here. I'm so cynical when it comes to thrillers and mysteries, but I really wasn't sure how she would resolve things here. What is the truth? Who is lying? Was I missing some key connection? I couldn't turn the pages fast enough.

I don't know that I loved the ending but it didn't ruin the book for me. There was so much I enjoyed about I Killed Zoe Spanos, including the weaving in of a true crime podcast, and it once again cemented how much I like Frick's storytelling. I'll be waiting for her next book!