Title: The Champions
Author: Kara Thomas
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publication date: August 27, 2024
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Summary
Hadley and her family have just moved to Sunnybrook, infamous for the deaths of five cheerleaders years ago. The killer was eventually brought to justice, and Sunnybrook has finally been able to move on. However, now the town’s focus has shifted to the football team, who won the state championships two years in a row.
When an accident befalls a member of the football team, shortly after Hadley is assigned to cover the team for the newspaper. She starts getting strange emails warning her to stay away from the football team. When a second player is mysteriously killed, Hadley begins to wonder what dark secrets the team is hiding. In order to get to the bottom of it, Hadley has to delve into Sunnybrook’s dark past.
Review: The Champions
Thanks to Delacorte and NetGalley for an advanced copy of The Champions by Kara Thomas to review! It has honestly been a while since I read The Cheerleaders, but I didn’t have too much trouble jumping into this sequel. Though I wouldn’t recommend reading this one first, as there are definitely spoilers for the first book in this one. And you might miss the importance of some of the side characters without the background context.
While I don’t think this book was as well executed as the first book, it’s still got a great mystery at the core. In true Kara Thomas style, there are twists and turns thrown in throughout, making you guess what you know. This one does get a bit dark, so be warned if rape/sexual assault is a trigger for you because there is a pretty in-depth description of it in this book.
The cast of characters, while maybe not the most likable at times, are interesting to read about and really help drive the overall mystery forward. This book isn’t as tense as The Cheerleaders, but there are still moments of panic. As usual, Thomas utlizes cliffhangers to keep up the pace and keep you reading. Especially in the second half of the book.
Though this isn’t Thomas’s best book, if you enjoy mystery/thrillers in general, you’ll still enjoy this one! Especially if you loved the first book.
4/5 stars