Siren by Tricia Rayburn

Title: Siren

Author: Tricia Rayburn

Published: July 13, 2010 by Egmont USA

Pages: 352

ISBN: 9781606840740

Source: ARC from Around The World Tours

Description: Seventeen-year-old Vanessa Sands is afraid of everything—the dark, heights, the ocean—but her fearless older sister, Justine, has always been there to coach her through every challenge. That is, until Justine goes cliff-diving one night near the family’s vacation house in Maine, and her lifeless body washes up on shore the next day. Though her parents hope that they’ll be able to find closure back in Boston, Vanessa can’t help feeling that her sister’s death wasn’t an accident. After discovering that Justine was keeping a lot of secrets, Vanessa returns to Winter Harbor, hoping that Justine’s boyfriend might know more. But Caleb has been missing since Justine’s death. Soon, it’s not just Vanessa who’s afraid. All of Winter Harbor is abuzz with anxiety when another body washes ashore, and panic sets in when the small town becomes host to a string of fatal, water-related accidents in which all the victims are found, horrifically, grinning from ear to ear. Vanessa turns to Caleb’s brother, Simon, for help, and begins to find herself drawn to him. As the pair try to understand the sudden rash of creepy drownings, Vanessa uncovers a secret that threatens her new romance—and will change her life forever. 

I Give This ...

This book caught my eyes by the cover and the description.  Having a particular fondness for the ocean, and the idea that this book was somehow about mermaids, it became a must read for me.  While, not entirely true, mermaids is close to what the supernatural creatures truly are.  It didn't take me long to figure out what was involved (the book title alone is a fairly valuable clue).  Vanessa was interesting as the main character.  It's not very often the main character is not overly confident, has fears, and doesn't come across as whiny.  She strikes me as someone everyone wants to know, but no one truly does.  I liked that because I think it helps show her devotion to her sister, her parents, and to Simon and Caleb.  I liked Simon, but sometimes his scientific babble got on my nerves a little.  I could see how the storms in the area intrigues him though.  I just wished he would have tried to be a little bit more down to earth about it.  I loved how Caleb proved how much he loved Justine.  I was under the impression it was just a summer (or every summer) fling, but by the end of the book I fully understood just what Justine and Caleb meant to each other.  Paige was a fun secondary character.  She's a little naive though in the grand scheme of things.  It's a lot for her to not have notice.

The story itself had a lot of mystery woven in.  It almost felt like a who done it with a supernatural twist.  There's a lot of clues, tracking, sneaking around, etc that gives it that mystery feel.  Vanessa has to add it all up and think outside the box to figure out what is going on.  In solving the problem of what was trying to destroy the town, Vanessa discovers who she really is.  I didn't see it coming, but I still wonder about it.  It seemed to easily put together.  The ending also seemed a little to scientific for me.  It also felt rushed.  There is room for a sequel, and I would be more then willing to see were the author takes this next.