Book: Wanted by Sara Shepard

Pages: 111, Hardcover

Wanted is book #8 in the Pretty Little Liars series.  And if I thought that book # 7 was action-packed, there a lot to think about in Wanted. 

Since the girls think that Ali’s real killer is on trial, they all start feeling relaxed.  That doesn’t last long, because Ali has an identical twin named Courtney.  She’s spent her life in institutions because of “health issues” and her existence is kept a secret by her family.  However, once being released from the hospital, she tries to resume her sister’s life, and has tentative relationships with her sister’s old friends. 

Courtney later reveals that she is the real Alison, and has the proof to back it up.  Her twin, Courtney, pretended to be Alison on the night of the murder, and while the girls were skeptical, they begin to trust her.  The girls, however, are surprised to learn that she is both A and the killer. 

It turns out that the Ali that the girls had befriended years earlier was actually Courtney, who managed to trick everyone into believing she was Alison.  The real Alison was sent to the Preserve and was angry at the girls for unknowingly ruining her life.  That’s why she tried to kill them in the woods, why she killed Jenna (who found out years earlier) and is now trying to kill them by setting the Di Laurentis’ Poconos house on fire and trapping them inside. 

They learn Alison killed Ian and kidnapped Spencer’s sister Melissa, but the Liars and Melissa manage to get in time.  Alison, trapped inside the house, is assumed to be dead, but her body is never found.  It’s hinted that she’s still alive, and moved somewhere else, living under an assumed name. 

So, it’s definitely a little convoluted, but still a good read.  Everything seems to be resolved, and it’s supposed to be the last book in the series.  But since there are at least 3 more, it seems like Shepard is going to get as much out of the series as she possibly can.  Don’t get me wrong, the books are good, and I enjoy them, but at some point, I’d just like to see the series be resolved and come to a real conclusion. 

It still gets a 4 out of 5, though.