Envy (Empty Coffin #1)

3.3

3.4 (4)

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Author(s)

Gregg Olsen

Publisher

Splinter New York

Age Range

12+

Release Date

August 23, 2011

ISBN

9781402789571

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Murder is such a dirty word…

New York Times bestselling adult true crime author Gregg Olsen makes his YA debut with Empty Coffin, a gripping new fiction series for teens based on ripped-from-the-headlines stories…with a paranormal touch.

Crime lives--and dies--in the deceptively picture-perfect town of Port Gamble (aka “Empty Coffin”), Washington. Evil lurks and strange things happen--and 15-year-olds Hayley and Taylor Ryan secretly use their wits and their telepathic “twin-sense” to uncover the truth about the town's victims and culprits.

Envy, the series debut, involves the mysterious death of the twins' old friend, Katelyn. Was it murder? Suicide? An accident? Hayley and Taylor are determined to find out--and as they investigate, they stumble upon a dark truth that is far more disturbing than they ever could have imagined.

Based on the shocking true crime about cyber-bullying, Envy will take you to the edge--and push you right over.

Editor reviews

2 reviews

Suspenseful and eye opening.

November 01, 2011 (Updated: November 01, 2011)

Overall rating

3.3

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Characters

N/A

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I was very interested in this book when I learned about the cyber-bully case it is based on. After all, that took place not too far from where I grew up. This book kept me on the edge of my seat and I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't "easy" to figure out. The premise of the story is based on a cyber-bully case that took place in Missouri, but the similarities stop there. It's not just a retelling of that incident, and it has a bit of a paranormal twist to it, which I thought was pretty unique.

Hayley and Taylor Ryan are twins. They share a special telepathic bond that helps them communicate with each other and helps them see things that others may not. When their friend, Katelyn, is found dead in her bathtub, the whole town is left thinking it was a suicide. But Hayley and Taylor are not so sure. They start looking for clues to help them figure out what really happened to Katelyn.

The entire book was suspenseful. From page 1 the reader cannot help but wonder what is going to happen. I loved the eery feel to this book and how it gave me the creepy crawlies long after I stopped reading it. It's a good thriller. Pure and simple. Mr. Olsen does a great job bringing his characters to life and making them unique. Hayley and Taylor, even though they are twins and are very close, are complete opposites. That was refreshing. I was thankful that I wasn't reading about 2 of the same characters, which he easily could have done.

There are plenty of twists and surprise moments throughout this book. If you are looking for a great thriller, I highly recommend this book. I cannot wait for the next book of the series!

Jillian Van Leer Top 50 Reviewer 304 reviews

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User reviews

4 reviews

Overall rating

3.4

Plot

3.3(4)

Characters

3.5(4)

Writing Style

3.5(4)

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

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Envy (A Room with Books review)

August 26, 2012

Overall rating

1.7

Plot

2.0

Characters

1.0

Writing Style

2.0

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

N/A

Envy, sadly, didn’t captivate me.

Envy takes third-person omniscient to the extreme. The book followed so many characters that I had trouble remembering them all and keeping their names straight. I understand what Olsen was trying to do in getting all the side-stories to come together in the end to provide a clear picture, but it just didn’t do that for me. I got bored and distracted by all the side-stories constantly wondering when I was actually going to find out anything about Katelyn’s death.

The mystery wasn’t all that captivating in and of itself either. First of all, I found almost everything unconvincing since they ruled the girl’s death an accident due to espresso machine. Maybe I know nothing and some people really do make coffee in their bedrooms or bathrooms, but it just seemed completely absurd to me. Another thing that didn’t really work for me was The Accident. It was constantly being built up and built up and then it just seemed to amount to very little.

Another thing that bothered me was the fact that it’s classified as YA but despite the fact that it has quite a few teenaged characters it often felt more Adult. Characters were often talking about the sex lives of the adults in town and their secret behind-closed-doors lives. It didn’t really work for me.

The Nutshell: My opinions are my own, so someone else might not have the same issues as I did, but I still have to say that I won’t be recommending Envy.

Miss

Jasmine Top 50 Reviewer 326 reviews

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Envy

May 27, 2012

Overall rating

4.3

Plot

4.0

Characters

4.0

Writing Style

5.0

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

N/A

Great read!

Good Points

** spoiler alert ** Wow this book was really inspirational. When I started I knew it was a true story but I didn't know how true. Now that I’m done with it I realized how much of it really was true. I really loved this book I couldn't put it down the whole time I was reading it. In the beginning I was so surprised because I just figured she committed suicide because that's what the author made it seem like, but then when the twins Hailey and Taylor started trying to find out what really happened to her I started thinking about the reason that I thought she killed herself. In the first part of the book it said her grandparents weren't going to pay for her college anymore and she ran upstairs crying so I figured that school was really important to her and that's why she killed herself. But then when the twins started finding things out little by little I started to agree that she wouldn't have killed herself. By the last couple chapters of the book when Tegean, Mindee and Starla were explaining what happened I kept saying "OMG OMG!!" Especially when Colton’s mom ran over Moira with the car. I was like where did that come from???? But she did the right thing because I could guarantee that Moira was going to right a nasty story about the twins. And I have to agree at first I did suspect Jake to because he just seemed no good, but he really didn't do it. I'm glad that we got to find out the whole story in the end on what actually happened to kaitlen. I felt so bad for Tegean though I almost cried when he was talking about the way his mother and sister treated him, and then I almost cried again during the part when he was in Kaitlin’s room and he was saying that he was the person she'd been messaging I felt so bad because he was so young and im sure he probably did really like her. Anyway in the end this was a really great book and I’m very glad I picked it up.

Paige Top 100 Reviewer 53 reviews

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Lots of suspense

November 13, 2011

Overall rating

3.3

Plot

3.0

Characters

4.0

Writing Style

3.0

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

N/A

First Impressions: I’ve read other books written by Gregg Olsen so I was excited to find out that he was coming out with Envy, his very first Young Adult book. I have always loved how this author uses real life crimes and turns them into incredible stories. What makes most books so good, is if they have the ability to connect the reader to the story and the characters. By basing his books off of things that have actually happened, his stories always end up hooking me right in.

First 50 Pages: The first few chapters held me captive. Seriously? What author would do a better job at weaving together true crime, mystery, and paranormal fantasy into a fast paced young adult novel than Gregg Olsen? I loved it right from the beginning and it only got better as the book progressed.

Characters & Plot Points: I loved the true crime and mystery elements in this book. They are something that you don’t typically find in any young adult books. I think it was a smart idea the author had to add in the paranormal elements as well. This book reminded me an updated, more theatrical version of The Hardy Boys, without the boys. That’s the best I can explain it. It is a true, good old mystery novel that I hope will get more teens to enjoy the mystery genre.

As for the characters, while I found some of them rather obnoxious, it is a bit scary that Gregg Olsen is able to channel in a teenage girl so well. When it comes to male authors, sometimes they can do a less than superb job at creating believable female characters. Not in this book though, since I think the author did an amazing job with each of the characters, especially Starla. She is the reason I would never wish to go back in time to high school. What a great villain she makes!

Envy is refreshingly bold with its themes, especially cyber bullying. It’s one of those topics that are just starting to work its way out of the closet, even though its been victimizing people for years. One thing I will say is that I wish this book had been a bit more graphic, so that it would have been able to really drive the author’s points home. I hope to see more of that in the next novel.

Final Thoughts: Overall, this was an enjoyable read. I’ve always loved this author’s style of writing and his use of true crime weaved into fiction. I can’t wait to read the second book in this new, addictive series!

Good Points

Suspense, lots of action