The Lost Causes by Alyssa Embree Schwartz, Jessica Koosed Etting

🌟🌟🌟 out of 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Synopsis:

Misfits. Outcasts. And the only ones who can find a killer.

They’re the last people you’d ask to help with anything, much less a murder investigation. The rich girl, the obsessive, the hypochondriac, the addict and the hot-tempered athlete—people think they’re beyond help. Lost causes. But where the world sees losers, the FBI sees its only hope.

With the help of a dangerous serum, the FBI erases the teens’ past problems and unlocks a psychic ability within each of them. In return, all they have to do is help find the killer who’s turned their small town upside down.

But as they close in on a suspect, they expose a conspiracy that puts them directly in harm’s way and makes them wonder who—if anyone—they can really trust.

If anything happens to them, will anyone even care?

 **I received this copy from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**

I did not see many of the twists and turns in this book coming! I enjoyed being able to sit back and know as much as the characters as the story progressed. I found it interesting that I didn't find this frustrating whereas with other books I would have. I think that this is due to the flow of the writing in this particular book.  The book has an appropriate pacing and I found that I didn't have to wait long before another part of the mystery would be revealed or something else would happen to keep me on the edge of my seat.

I had to get used to the point of views switching back and forth in the book because they were not clearly labeled. There were times where I found myself backtracking to make sure that I understood who was speaking at certain moments in the book.

I found all of the characters engaging  which is rare for me. I usually dislike at least one of the characters in a book but I found that I could relate in some way to each of "the lost causes". They are each dealing with some type of mental health issue and are not coping with them very well. Each of the them provide a unique voice to the story as well different psychic abilities. I found it interesting that their abilities seemed to coincide with the issues that they were dealing with. I would explain why but I don't want to give away too much. The characters reminded me a lot of the characters from The Breakfast Club but with special abilities.

I'm sure that there is going to be a sequel considering that there were a few unanswered questions as well as a huge breadcrumb left at the end of the book. Personally, I'm hoping that the authors delve more into one of the FBI agents past. I know that there is more to him than meets the eye. He is a puzzle that I want to solve.