Name: Trouble Is a Friend of Mine
ISBN: 9780147515438

Stephanie Tromly

After her parents' divorce, Zoe Webster moves from Brooklyn to upstate New York where she meets the weirdly compelling misfit, Philip Digby, and soon finds herself in a series of hilarious and dangerous situations as he pulls her into his investigation into the kidnapping of a local teenage girl which may be related to the disappearance of his kid sister eight years ago.

Trouble Is a Friend of Mine

Sherlock meets The Breakfast Club in this story of a wisecracking girl who meets a weird but brilliant boy and their roller-coaster of a semester that's one part awkward, three parts thrilling, and five parts awesome After her parents get divorced, high school junior Zoe Webster moves with her mother from Brooklyn to upstate New York, determined to get back to the city and transfer to the elite private school her father insists on. But then she meets Philip Digby--the odd and brilliant and somehow attractive?--Digby, and soon finds herself in a series of hilarious and dangerous situations all centered on his search for the kidnapper of a local teenage girl who may know something about the tragic disappearance of his kid sister eight years ago. Before she knows it, Zoe has vandalized an office complex with fake snow, pretended to buy drugs alongside a handsome football star dressed like the Hulk, had a serious throw down with a possible religious cult, challenged her controlling father, and, oh yeah, saved her new hometown. For fans of John Green and David Levithan, this is a crime novel where catching the crook isn't the only hook, a romance where the leading man is decidedly unromantic, a friendship story where they aren't even sure they like each other, and a debut you won't soon forget.

Trouble is a Friend of Mine

Maria

нет надежнее способа испортить детектив, чем добавить туда наркоторговцев или банду гангстеров. ну вот серьезно, любая тайна сразу же становится плоской и скучной

однако, у книги есть продолжение, и кажется, там развязка поинтереснее. почитаю как-нибудь

laura

Really fun quick read! It is basically a sherlock holmes in the contemporary world and i really loved it. i Hope we see more of these characters cause by the end i grew to enjoy both characters. So many twists that i did not expect!

b.andherbooks

Zoe and her mom have moved to a crappy city in Norther New York after Zoe's mom FINALLY figures out Zoe's overbearing business-guy dad is cheating on her. Starting a new high school is never easy, and Zoe really just wants to move back to NYC and attend a prestigious private school that will hopefully get her into Princeton. Mostly friendless, Zoe floats through the first few weeks of school, until one day Digby tumbles into her bedroom. Outfitted in a black suit, Digby draws Zoe into his orbit. He's on a mission, and he needs her help. Too bad for Zoe, this may mean a lot more trouble then she ever intended.

This was so much fun. It reminded me of a John Green road trip novel crossed with Veronica Mars meets the Breakfast Club. The characters were all vividly portrayed, and the hint of romance is just the right amount, especially since these characters are in high school! Don't even get me started on the 1920s themed-Prom and the hijinks that ensue. While many plot points are so over the top (see plastic explosives)and it was a bit hard to follow the threads of the mystery, I loved this! I hope Tromly writes more.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!

Lynn Braden

Trouble is a Friend of Mine is a laugh-out-loud story about Zoe Webster who is living with her mother after her parents' divorce. By starting the story telling us about an impossible predicament that Zoe is in, the reader is immediately drawn into the action, which rarely lets up. Most of the rest of the story is in flashback, explaining how she ended up in this situation. "Trouble," in the form of Phillip Digby, who recruits a reluctant Zoe into helping him track down a missing girl. The result is a mad-capped adventure into the unusual and unpredictable life of Digby and his quest. There are quite a few poignant moments also, especially when we find out Digby's real reasons for looking for the missing girl. 
This story is truly special. Digby is a character reminiscent of Veronica Mars with even more unique, quirky behavior. We are never quite sure what Digby will get himself and Zoe into, but it is always entertaining. The last few chapters offer so many twists and turns, that it is hard to keep up. I really liked this book and hope that there will be a sequel.

Lisa ✩ @lifeinlit

2.5 stars

“Sherlock meets Veronica Mars meets Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” is EXACTLY on point with how I would define this book. I think people will flock to this book and totally love it! I think it will be a big hit! Sadly, for me that didn’t happen. I finished reading this book, put it down… and just kind of stared at the wall. What had I just read?

Zoe’s parents are recently divorced, causing her to relocate to a new school. Her father is urging her to go to a new preppy school, and she tends to agree with whatever her father suggests. Digby shows up at her house one day asking some pretty strange questions, which is how these two meet and eventually become friends. Digby is pretty quirky and comes up with a plan, with the help of Zoe, to find a teenager that recently went missing. This starts their adventure, which is filled with all kinds of drama, sticky situations, and even a bit of criminal activity.

What I liked: It was pretty darn funny at parts. Digby is totally hilarious and it’s impossible not to laugh at some of his dialog. What I didn’t like: The parts that weren’t funny were just… boring. Like it was a movie that you play in the background while cleaning the house because it’s better than silence, but that you’re not really fully invested in and kind of not paying attention to in its entirety. (Does that make sense?)

A totally random thing that irked the bejeezus out of me… the constant use of “he said” and “she said”. I know, pretty nitpicky for me to even bring this up, right? But when I’m listening to an audiobook and every sentence ends with “he said” and “she said” constantly, it really gets annoying for me. It got to the point that I was only hearing those phrases and it was grating on my last nerve. I suppose this was done as a way to speed the dialog up a bit, which was successful since the dialog was extremely speedy. But I just have this pet peeve when so many sentences in a row end with these phrases. It’s like nails on a chalkboard to me. *shudders*

I truly believe others will enjoy this more than I did. And there’s proof over at Goodreads since it has received a few 4 and 5-star reviews already. I’m just not one of the few that really enjoyed it. I’m so sad about this because from the synopsis I was sure I was really going to love it. It just wasn’t a book that I really felt impacted me in any way, and I really didn’t care much about it while reading. Like I mentioned earlier, it was just kind of playing in the background and I didn’t feel as though I was invested in the story at all. (This is most likely a case of “it’s not you, it’s me,” so don’t let my review sway you away from reading this book. Check out the other reviews on GR before making your decision.)

Audiobook Impressions:
This is the first narration I’ve listened to by Kathleen McInerney. And while I wasn’t blown away, I also don’t have any issues with it. She did a consistently good job, performing each character and making it unique enough to always know who was speaking. No complaints here.

(Thanks to Listening Library & Kathy Dawson Books for the review copy!)

Find this review and others like it at Lost in Literature!

 Bruna Acioly Leão

This audiobook was fun! I guess the main problem I had with this story was the whole "one of the guys girl" trope and how the main character wasn't very nice to other women.

That did put me off a bit, but the mystery plot was so exciting, and once it get to listening to it, the book just flows. I also liked the way the romance was developed.

I do wish we had had more of a conclusion at the end though, because I feel like not everything on the character's lives got resolved.

I do see the Sherlock/Veronica Mars comparison!

Kate

2.75* 'Trouble is a Friend of Mine' was described as a cross between Veronica Mars and Sherlock, so of course I immediately wanted to read it. Unfortunately it didn't live up to my expectations. I'm conflicted because on one hand I had a lot of problems with this book and then again, on the other hand, I just felt it had so much potential. I think the main issue I had with this book is that it was just unrealistic, I couldn't buy into the story. I enjoyed the plot in places and at times it was exciting but mostly I just didn't believe that the things going on were happening to a group of sixteen year olds, two of which had known each other for a matter of hours before someone was shot and manipulating the police? I almost wanted to add in a few chapters at the beginning for Digby and Zoe to actually get to know each other, then maybe add on a few years to their age and it might have been a more believable read. I didn't dislike the book, It had a lot of elements to it which were enjoyable but overall I just felt it sadly didn't live up to its potential.

Megan During

When Digby first shows up on her doorstep, Zoe Webster is not impressed. He's rude, he's smart, and he doesn't take 'no' for an answer. But before she knows it, Digby has dragged her into a series of hilarious and dangerous situations all related to an investigation into the kidnapping of a girl from their high school. A kidnapping that may be connected to the tragic disappearance of his own sister eight years ago. Peppered with razor-sharp dialogue, this is a romance that is decidedly unromantic, a crime novel where catching the crook isn't the only hook. A debut novel you won't forget. A mystery where catching the crook isn't the only hook. A romance where the leading man is decidedly unromantic. A story about friendship where they aren't even sure they like each other.

Trouble Is a Friend of Mine

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