Customer Reviews

Death by Bikini

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I enjoyed Linda Gerber's SASS books, but I got an even bigger kick out of seeing what she could do when cut loose from the constraints of an already-established publisher's series to really show her stuff. The result, Death by Bikini, is a terrific read--literally a beach read, but also simply a fun, fast-paced suspense story with a strong central character: Aphra Behn Connolly. Aphra's father owns and manages a private resort on a remote tropical island. Aphra is used to meeting rock stars, movie stars, politicians, and other celebrities who are trying to get away from their lives and scandals, but the guest who really attracts her attention is a boy who says his name is Adam.

It isn't long before an aging rocker's girlfriend is found strangled on the beach (by her bikini ties, natch). Aphra is already trying to find out Adam's true identity and why he's in hiding with his parents. Now she must also figure out who killed the blonde in the bikini. Another mystery, why Aphra's mother has vanished from her life without an explanation, turns out to be related to the first two puzzles.

Aphra is a curious and likable teen. She's far from perfect, yet she basically has her feet on the ground. She's more of a Mandy Moore type than one of those Paris Hilton clones who have been popping up in a lot of YA fiction lately to bicker about shoes with their best friends. The last decade or two has yet to produce a really good contemporary replacement for Nancy Drew, but Aphra Connolly is definitely in the running. According to a note at the back of the book, Aphra will be back soon in her next adventure, Death by Latte. I look forward to catching up with Gerber's heroine in Seattle!

Sixteen-year-old Aphra Behn Connolly leads a life that most teenage girls only dream about. But she would trade it in for something a little more conventional and normal in a heartbeat. Sure, her days are filled with gallivanting around the tropical island she calls home, and peeking into the lives of the rich and famous who stay at her father's paradise-like resort; but things aren't all peachy keen. For one, her mother abandoned the family when Aphra was just twelve-years-old; and two, she has absolutely no contact with people her own ages. While her best friend, Cami, is back in South Carolina, gearing up for prom, dating boys, and working towards attaining her driver's license, Aphra is stuck all by her lonesome in paradise. Of course, things aren't that bad. Until a suspicious family arrives on the island to shake things up, that is.

Aphra Connolly isn't exposed to cute boys that often. As the youngest employee and resident of a fancy tropical resort, Aphra simply knows how to keep the visitors happy, and stay out of their business. But that doesn't mean that she doesn't know a cute boy when she sees one. And Seth Mulo is one cute boy. Unfortunately, he's accompanied by a suspicious man and woman who give Aphra "imposter" vibes. Apparently these are his parents. Aphra can see the resemblance, but it doesn't keep her from being suspicious. But Aphra is willing to toss her suspicions to the wayside to stay friendly with Seth - the first guy she has ever found herself completely drawn to. When one of the other visitors - a female - however, turns up dead, strangled by her bikini, Aphra knows that something sinister is at work. For four years this island has Aphra's home, and it has been anything but dangerous. Now Seth's family has brought along some sort of sinister secret with them, and has put the whole island at risk. It's obvious that Seth and his parents are hiding something. They're also hiding from someone. Aphra doesn't know what, or who, but she's determined to find out. But she can't do it alone. Aphra will need Seth's help to learn the truth, and to save all of the people she loves. But if she's not quick, the truth may come too late; and the tropical paradise she has grown to know and love, may just turn into a place of evil.

Linda Gerber's precision and skill in writing captured my attention a little over a year ago when I read her contribution to the S.A.S.S. series, NOW AND ZEN. At that time, I didn't feel that she could ever top that bit of writing. I was wrong; for she has done just that with DEATH BY BIKINI. Aphra is relatable from the get-go. Her typical teenage concerns and paranoia's have been felt by teenage girls the world over, even though her situation may be a bit more unconventional. Aphra is fast-talking, quick witted, fiery, spunky, and a whole lot of fun. Seth, on the other hand, is the resident heartthrob. He possesses hunk status, yet he has a sensitive side that will instantly make readers fall head over heels from him. The two of them make a dynamic duo, and the chemistry between both Aphra and Seth just radiates from them whenever they share a scene.

Aside from Bennett Madison's now-defunct LULU DARK series, there are so few mystery books on the market geared directly to teens. Gerber is breathing life into a dying breed of books. Through Aphra and her many misadventures, Gerber is resurrecting the teen mystery genre. Combining elements of I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER, and INDIANA JONES, with ROMANCING THE STONE, and NANCY DREW, Gerber makes mystery fun, playful, and a complete necessity to the teen lit world. Aphra is a bikini-clad Nancy Drew - you won't be able to resist her!

Erika Sorocco
Freelance Reviewer

Anyone would love Aphra Behn's life. She lives on an isolated island, home to a cushy resort owned by her father. Her days are filled with attending to the guests, taking long swims in the ocean, and exploring the lush island. The only hitch? She's always alone.

So when the Smiths arrive with their teenage son, she's ecstatic. Maybe she can actually make a friend. But the circumstances surrounding the Smiths' arrival don't add up. Why did her dad put them in the villa under renovation? Why didn't he check them in? And how did they even get on the island? And when another guest washes up from the ocean dead, strangled by her bikini strings, Aphra is convinced that no one will be safe until the Smiths are off her island.

This suspenseful novel moves at lightening fast speed. Gerber cunningly draws readers into Aphra's paradise-esque life that anyone would envy. Her character is made intriguing by dropping sly hints about her past periodically throughout the book. But Gerber's delivery ensures that's not the only thing to keep readers going as the strange mystery unravels into something big that can't be resolved easily. Pay close attention, because this is one novel that doesn't slow down a bit, and will assuredly be the start of a fresh, fun, and exhilarating new mystery series for teens.

I'm an avid mystery reader (Agatha Christie, Nancy Drew and A-Z Mysteries anyone?) and having not read a good mystery novel in over a month, I bumped this up on my ever-growing TBR pile. I wasn't disappointed, but it definitely wasn't what I was expecting.

The plot boils down to basically this: A girl is found dead on the beach of a private island resort owned by Aphra's father, seemingly choked by her bikini straps. Everyone believes the straps simply got tangled and that it was an accident. Aphra, however, gets the tingling sensation that there was some foul play. And so she turns to the rest of the guests on the resort, all of whom look like they have something to hide, and embarks on an investigative endeavor to find the dead girl's killer.

My thoughts in a nutshell:

Not so much a mystery. Despite how marketing worked it, I had the culprit figured out ten pages after the crime took place. I suspect any reader will too (especially rabid whudunnit fans like myself). The other components of the story, such as Aphra's relationship with Seth, her mother's enigmatic background and whereabouts, and the island life in general were much more compelling.

Snappy characters. This novel relies on its plot more than its cast to move forward, which reflects in sometimes more told-than-shown character interaction and development. I would've enjoyed seeing more of the Aphra/father dynamics or a bigger revelation out of Seth about his family. Exploring those characters would've made for a more rounded book, in my opinion. I'm not saying the characters were underdeveloped, because I could get a definite sense of personality from all of them, but I think a bit more of their lives could've been touched here and there. The set-up's all there--it just needs to be used more.

Breezy writing. Loved this. Linda Gerber knows how to handle fast-paced novels without dawdling on insignificant details. Even though the mystery wasn't a challenge, she set it up well (albeit requiring some suspension of belief here and there), focusing on all the right parts. The action passages, in particular, were well-crafted and vividly described.

Bombshell ending! The ending was a big bomb dropped on me and before I even had time to digest it--ZAP!--it was over. This is my biggest gripe on the execution. Preparing for the sequel, no doubt, but come on! Don't like cliffhangers.

All in all, despite some of my criticism, something in this book worked, which is why I'm giving it four stars, not three. Hopefully the next book, Death by Latte, will touch on this issues I desperately want to know more about.

Rating: 7/10

Aphra Connolly has a life that most teenage girls would kill to have. She lives on a tropical island where lots of famous people go to vacation. However, Aphra doesn't see her life on the island as that amazing. Her mother didn't move with Aphra and her father, and she hasn't seen her in about 4 years. When an unannounced guest arrives and makes her father start acting weird, Aphra is sure something is going on. Then the guarded Seth arrives with his family, and something is going on with them, too. Aphra's drawn to him and wants to know more about him. This is when Aphra finds a body on the beach. She's not sure what's going on all of a sudden on the island, but she's determined to find out.

Death by Bikini was a fast read and it definitely had it's moments where it sucked me in. But in the end, I thought the story could have been developed better. I wasn't really feeling Aphra's attraction to Seth, because I didn't feel it was developed enough.

There is currently one sequel to this book, with another coming out in May. I'm sure I'll be picking them up to read more about Aphra and find out more about Seth.

I didn't look closely enough at description so ordered this book along with Death by Denim and Death by Latte - this has all 3 in it. Good series, though. My girls (ages 15 & 12) love it.

I found this book at the library and instantly loved it its adventurous and awesome in every way. I read all the other books of the series and loved those to! One of the best series I've ever read!

This book; Death by Bikini, written by Linda Gerber is a great book for the ages of 11-17+. I have the entire series of the Death by series and they are my third favourite books to read. I implore anyone who enjoys reading: mystery, love and/or action books.

Death by Bikini was a great mystery and I really enjoyed it. Throughout the book there are new twists and turns. The book is about a girl named Aphra who lives on a isolated island with her father. Her father built villas for the wealthy and famous to rent out. Everything was going like normal until a suspicous family checked into the island. Aphra was trying to figure out why her dad was trying to hide them. So Aphra looked up the family and uncovered the real truth. She found out that the family had been lying about there identities.
Everything was going fine until one day Aphra found a guest washed up on the beach strangled by her bikini strings. Aphra then thought that the murderers were the Mulos, who lied about their identities.
Aphra was working one day and another suspicious guest checked in. His name was Mr. Watts. Aphra snuck out to go ask the Mulos if they new about her mother, who had left them four years ago. The Mulos said they could not share any information about her mother.
Aphra kept getting closer to figuring it out. The only thing stopping her was a huge storm that was coming towards the island. As the storm was coming her dad out of nowhere got very ill. To help, another guest Hisako tried to help and go find herbs to help him.
Aphra thought that her and Hisako were friends. Aphra was getting worried about her dad so she went out to look for Hisako in the storm. Aphra was running through the pitch black forest when all of a sudden she hears gunshots coming from behind her. It was Hisako. Hisako hadn't known it was Aphra.
Aphra then was about to get shot when out of nowhere Seth jumped and saved her from the bullet, taking the bullet in his arm instead. They then fell into the ocean. They then stayed under water because Hisako would shoot if they went to the top. They then escaped through a tunnel that led to a cave. They then waited and waited until they realized Hisako was gone. They escaped and then they captured and knocked out Hisako. They took her back to the plantation house to have her arrested.
For all the deetails and ending you will just have to read the book. I strongly recommend it.

[...]

My Thoughts: We meet Aplra who works on an island with her dad. Her mom left a long time ago. Every day is the same, people checking in and out, Aplra helping out, doing her usual day routine. Than a family shows up, she is immediately drawn to the young boy her own age, Seth. She tries to find out more and more about them, and she starts to develop feelings for Seth. Her dad warns her to stay away from him! She realizes she must know now what is going on and why they are there. She realizes they are hiding out. This book is really cute! I liked Seth! He reminded me a lot of the friends I had when I was a kid. She learns where her mom is, she learns why the family is there. Read this book if you want to know the ordeal they are in! What happens between Aplra and Seth? Wheres her mom? Pick up a copy and find out!

Overall: I loved this one! It was a fast short cute read! And, it will fit in your purse so you can carry it around with you! I really liked Seth and I want to find out what happens to him in the next two books!