Review: Cryer's Cross

Title: Cryer's Cross
Author: Lisa McMann
Published: 2011
Pages: 240
My Rating: 4/5

The small town of Cryer's Cross is rocked by tragedy when an unassuming freshman disappears without a trace. Kendall Fletcher wasn’t that friendly with the missing girl, but the angst wreaks havoc on her OCD-addled brain.

When a second student goes missing - someone close to Kendall’s heart - the community is in an uproar. Caught in a downward spiral of fear and anxiety, Kendall’s not sure she can hold it together. When she starts hearing the voices of the missing, calling out to her and pleading for help, she fears she’s losing her grip on reality. But when she finds messages scratched in a desk at school - messages that could only be from the missing student who used to sit there - Kendall decides that crazy or not, she’d never forgive herself if she didn’t act on her suspicions.

Something’s not right in Cryer’s Cross - and Kendall’s about to find out just how far the townspeople will go to 

keep their secret's buried.

I haven't read Lisa McMann's Wake series mainly because I'd heard so many mixed things about it, and I wasn't sure if I was going to like it. The thing that drew me into reading this book was mainly the mention of the main character having OCD. I've never read a book that has a character with OCD in, and I was highly looking forward to reading this. Not just because of that, but also for the mystery story as that interested me.

Cryer's Cross was a very atmospheric and chilling story. I wouldn't go quite as far as to call it a Horror, as I've seen some call it. But it was definitely very creepy at times, especially at the end. The suspense throughout the book kept me reading on and on, and I almost finished it in one sitting (which I do very rarely). This being said, it was a very short book, being only just over 200 pages. But it was the perfect length for the story!

I was very skeptical when I first got this book about how McMann was going to treat the OCD of the main character, Kendall. I've had OCD for as long as I can remember and have seen way too many stereotypical versions of the disorder in fiction represented as someone being overly neat or clean with no real substance. McMann however, was SENSATIONAL (yes, I capitalized that) at getting into the head of someone with OCD. Some of the descriptions and phrasings were so accurate in describing the rituals in Kendall's mind; I couldn't have put them better myself. She really did her homework, and it helped me relate to the main character so much.

Overall, I really enjoyed this little story. The writing was snappy and to-the-point, which helped along the story a great deal. The suspense was enchanting and I was rocking on the edge of my seat and the creepy ending.