top of page
Heartbreak Homes

Heartbreak Homes

A gripping locked-door YA murder mystery told from multiple perspectives from Governor General’s Award – and Crime Writers of Canada Award – nominated author of The Grey Sisters and Blood Will Out.

 

The back-to-school blowout filled with drinks and drugs isn’t Frankie’s scene, but she would do anything for her childhood best friend, Jessa, whose recent ugly duckling transformation has her hanging with a new crowd and vying for pretty boy Malcolm – the popular senior throwing the all-out rager on his father’s deserted development property.

 

Martin hasn’t heard from his old friends since his father lost everything and moved them across town. Until the party invitation. Between working double-shifts and avoiding his father’s sad-guilty routine, Martin decides to blow off some steam. But the party house is a monument to the bad real estate deal that left half the town in financial ruin – and the heart of all that has gone wrong for him and his family.

 

Cara and her crew of lost girls have been squatting in a model home on the property, stealing for their survival. The party is the perfect mark – privileged kids, abundant alcohol, and dark corners. The girls score big with their haul, but the celebration is short-lived when they learn their temporary home is at risk of discovery. They could be split up and forced back onto the unsafe streets.

 

In the wake of a brutal brawl, the guests find their host lifeless in a tangle of blood-soaked sheets. And Malcolm’s murder is only the first. Escalating violence drives Frankie, Martin, and Cara to forge new bonds, and together unmask a killer. Narrated from multiple perspectives, Heartbreak Homes is about what compels us to kill – and the true face of justice.

Join the Conversation Today...

 

WRITE A REVIEW
average rating is 4.7 out of 5, based on 3 votes, book lovers sharing their thoughts

100 % would recommend

Thanks for submitting a review! 😘

arielaonthego

Location:

Saint John, New Brunswick

average rating is 4 out of 5

Time Published

Heartbreak Homes Book Review

When I first found out about this book during a monthly meeting, I was very excited because this novel promised YA fiction, multiple POVs, a murder mystery, and an interesting cast of characters and this really didn’t disappoint. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, the writing style was literally so perfect, and oh my gosh, it was so easy to read. The multiple POVs were cleverly used to create natural cliffhangers which was so fun to read and honestly my favourite part with multiple POV books. This book starts out with some teens getting drunk and high at a house party thrown by this rich guy, and of course something goes wrong, because how does something NOT go wrong when you have dozens of high schoolers who are drunk and high? There are three main characters, Frankie, Martin, and Cara. I’ve got to say that I really liked and admired Cara’s character. There’s just something about that one character that isn’t really a criminal but kind of is because their only way of surviving is to steal things, but other than that they’re pretty good people? Yeah. That’s Cara.

I had a fun time reading this book, but I also had a lot of issues with it. The main thing being that my values and the values in this books don’t align. I just don’t agree with teens drinking and going to house parties and hooking up, and I don’t really like reading about it either. That said I still give the book 4 stars because I think it deserves 4 stars, and maybe even 5.

All of the characters were written in a way that you could relate with them and sympathize with them enough despite how bad of a person they might be. So I liked all of the characters, and I even did some fanart!

I recommend this book.

Alicia Maheux

Location:

Nova Scotia

average rating is 5 out of 5

Time Published

HeartBreak Homes

HeartBreak Homes by Jo Treggiari, is definitely one of my favorites, maybe even my most favorite now. I am a big fan of Jo Treggiari’s books and I rate this book a 5/5 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

I really enjoyed the plot twists, the relationships, and the emotions in this book. I always enjoyed the mystery of this author and their books, this one was no different than the others. You won’t regret giving this book a try, if you’ve ever read books like, The Last Time I Saw Her, The Goodbye Girls, or just any teen mystery novel and enjoyed it, this is the book for you, and I guarantee you’d enjoy it, if not, it wouldn’t hurt to try, and support a local author.

The book is from three different perspectives, Frankie, Cara and Martin. Frankie’s not the type to hang around big crowds of drunk, high, and sometimes violent and reckless people, but her best friends sudden transformation has her feeling like it wouldn’t “kill” or “hurt” anybody if she just goes to this big rager with her best friend, hosted by pretty boy Malcolm on a deserted development property that Martin’s dad lost everything in, forcing him and his son to pull away and relocate across town. He’s also the same pretty boy that Jessa, Frankie’s best friend is vying for. Everybody seems to be familiar with each other but a few unexpected visitors show up to this rager, hoping they could take some things, like food, smokes, alcohol, blankets or tools. Anything that could help these lady’s survive while they squatted in a model home on the property. One of these girls is Cara, so you get to see her perspective as well as Martin and Frankie’s.

I recommend this book.

Savannah

Location:

NB

average rating is 5 out of 5

Time Published

Heartbreak Homes

👻Book Review👻
I was given the ARC of Heatbreak Homes by @jo and published by @nimbus for free as a #youthambassador for @digitally_lit Let me just say this was a 5/5 star book and absolutely my new favourite!!

From the start I knew this book would be right up my alley! This is a great mystery, thriller book with LGBTQ+ representation that was super well written.

This book was extremely well written and was told from multiple perspectives by Frankie, Martin and Cara. If you know me I’m a sucker for books written from multiple perspectives. The sensory details in this book were incredibly well done and I felt myself getting lost in the story as I read.

Every chapter ended on a cliffhanger that made want to keep reading. I couldn’t put this down and read this book in maybe 3 days. The plot was so good and the plot twist of who the murderer was really shocked me.

I will say this book contains mention of sexual assault so be TW if you pick up this novel! Overall I highly recommend this book for any mystery and thriller lovers, you will 100% enjoy this read. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I recommend this book.