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The Naturals (The Naturals, 1)
Cold cases are about to get hot. Don’t miss this exhilarating crime thriller—perfect for fans of Criminal Minds and A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder—from Jennifer Lynn Barnes, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Inheritance Games. Seventeen-year-old…
- Release Date
- 2013
- Length
- 254 pages
- Publisher
- Hachette UK
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Our Review
About the book
Seventeen-year-old Cassie Hobbes has an uncanny talent for reading people, a skill that lands her in a secret FBI program for teenagers with natural gifts for profiling, deception and analysis. When a serial killer begins a pattern that seems tied to Cassie’s own past, the students are drawn into a case they were never meant to work.
Our review
Imagine Criminal Minds as a boarding school full of brilliant, damaged teens, and you have this clever YA crime thriller.
The hook is excellent, and Barnes makes Cassie’s profiling ability feel concrete rather than magical; we see her read posture, clothing and speech the way a detective reads a crime scene. The ensemble of fellow Naturals, each with a different specialty, gives the book a team-up energy, and Barnes wisely threads Cassie’s personal history, a mother who vanished years earlier, into the main mystery. Short killer’s-perspective chapters add genuine chill.
The premise doesn’t hold up to scrutiny; an FBI program letting minors near active homicide cases strains belief from the start. The love triangle also feels obligatory and pulls focus from the stronger investigative storyline. And the final reveal, while surprising, isn’t entirely earned by the clues. Still, for teens and adults who enjoy procedurals with a YA spin, it’s a smart, fast-moving series opener.
What we loved
- A distinctive premise with teen profilers
- Cassie’s believable, observational way of reading people
- Chilling interludes from the killer’s point of view
Keep in mind
- The setup requires a big suspension of disbelief
- A distracting love triangle
Read it if you like
Fans of Criminal Minds, Maureen Johnson’s Truly Devious, or Holly Jackson’s A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder.
The verdict
A sharp, entertaining series opener that trades realism for momentum, best for readers who enjoy a procedural with heart.
