Maddie Fynn is a shy high school junior, cursed with an eerie intuitive ability: she sees a series of unique digits hovering above the foreheads of each person she encounters. Her earliest memories are marked by these numbers, but it takes her father’s premature death for Maddie and her family to realize that these mysterious digits are actually death dates, and just like birthdays, everyone has one.
Forced by her alcoholic mother to use her ability to make extra money, Maddie identifies the quickly approaching death date of one client's young son, but because her ability only allows her to see the when and not thehow, she’s unable to offer any more insight. When the boy goes missing on that exact date, law enforcement turns to Maddie.
Soon, Maddie is entangled in a homicide investigation, and more young people disappear and are later found murdered. A suspect for the investigation, a target for the murderer, and attracting the attentions of a mysterious young admirer who may be connected to it all, Maddie's whole existence is about to be turned upside down. Can she right things before it's too late?
Publishes in US: January 13th 2015 by Disney-Hyperion
Genre: ya visions/psychic
Source: Disney Hyperion via Netgalley
Series? no
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I wanted to read When because the concept of Maddie seeing the death dates really intrigued me. I am not always all over the murder mystery types but with that extra element it did grab my attention.
Maddie is a character easy to sympathize with. She sees death every time she looks at people, even a picture. From a young child she saw these numbers, and realized what it meant when her dad passed on the number, date, she'd always seen attached to him. With this, Maddie has a dilema if she should tell people about their death dates, but her mom has nudged her into it because while they have checks coming in from a wrongful death suit, her mom drinks, a lot, and that money comes from Maddie's clients as they call them, who pay for Maddie to tell them their dates.
When she tries to warn the family of a death date and that person ends up dead, she is all of the sudden in the spotlight of the FBI who looks into the disappearance and then the murder and torture of the one she tried to warn. With all eyes on her, suspicious that she did it, or had involvement in the death, her lawyer uncle tells her not to tell any more death dates. Which is understandable. But of course, another new number comes around, and she waivers on if she should warn them. She is already being questioned, she's had several bad experiences with people not believing her, and she feels guilt over her dad, and the dead teen, and she doesn't want to add to that.
I like the friendship that was spotlighted. She's been friends with the awkward but totally golden hearted Stubby (oh how I loathed that nickname-- but we can't have it all).
It was wrapped up well and my questions were answered. I would read another Laurie book again.
My question to you, my lovely readers:
Would you want to know your death date?
