Barnes, Jennifer Lynn. The Naturals. New York, NY: Hyperion, 2013. Print.
308 pages
The FBI has set up a program for gifted teenagers called the "Naturals." Cassie, the protagonist, has the gift of reading people. She is recruited into the program and learns that every other teenager in the program has secrets. Dean, another expert people reader, is the child of a serial killer. They work closely together in their training and eventually Dean learns Cassie's secret--her mother was murdered and the case was still unsolved. When Dean and Cassie learn about the FBI's current case, one that seems eerily connected to her mothers' murder, the "Naturals" come together to keep Cassie safe.
Jennifer Lynn Barnes works as a professor of psychology. She has degrees in both psychology and psychiatry and has a degree from Yale. This shows in her writing. A lot of this read almost like a textbook on forensic psychology. The prose often felt clinical and the content was heavy on expository about how to profile an UNSUB. This is the first book in the series, so it might be that Barnes was setting up the rest of the series by focusing on how Cassie learned to profile and perhaps things will pick up in the subsequent books. I will give the second book a fair shot before I decide to stop reading the series entirely.
Aside from the clinical prose, the characters were moderately developed and the plot did pick up pace toward the end. The resolution of the case was interesting, though not entirely surprising. It may be that I'm so accustomed to reading adult mysteries that adjusting to the tamer YA mystery was difficult. I just wasn't drawn in to the tension or excitement, but I might have if I was reading this at 15 years old. I think this is a great book for its target audience.
Would I read it again?
No, but I will give the next book in the series a shot.
Recommended for
Teenagers who want a good mystery/thriller
Not Recommended for
Readers who are used to adult mysteries--this will be too tame for you.
Word Bank
- phenomenological (p. 78)
3 stars out of 5
Jennifer Lynn Barnes' website: http://www.jenniferlynnbarnes.com/bio.html
Jennifer Lynn Barnes on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/164187.Jennifer_Lynn_Barnes
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