Holly Hernandez and the Death of Disco by Richie Narvaez

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from Great Escapes Book Tours. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Holly Hernandez and the Death of Disco

by Richie Narvaez

Series: Holly Hernandez Mysteries #1
Series Rating:
Published by Pinata Books on May 31, 2020
Genres: Young Adult, Mystery
Pages: 248
Format: Kindle
Source: Great Escapes Book Tours
Goodreads
Get Your Copy at: Amazon, Book Depository, Barnes & Noble, IndieBound

Holly Hernandez voted “Miss Bright of ’79” and valedictorian at her previous school is excited to start fresh at Flatbush Technical High School, one of the most competitive public schools in New York City. She’ll be one of the thousands; anonymous. But her dreams of a normal school life disappear when her mother, a homicide detective, has to investigate the murder of Mr. Friedman, the social studies teacher.

One of her classmates, Xander Herrera, quickly becomes the primary suspect. The tall, awkward boy is socially inept, but Holly doesn’t think he’s a murderer. She is intent on exonerating him—but he wants nothing to do with her. To Xander, Holly is the overly enthusiastic student who always sits in the front row and answers all the teachers’ questions—correctly. He hates perky people!

Eventually cleared of the crime, Xander is determined to find the killer before Holly. As they race to solve the case, their separate investigations lead to a slew of suspects, including another teacher seen arguing with Friedman and a mysterious person named Steve who met with him several times before his death. Could it have been a disgruntled student? Ultimately, a trophy for a disco-dancing contest leads the intrepid young detectives to the Mission Venus nightclub and a murderer intent on killing again!

Holly Hernandez and the Death of Disco by Richie Narvaez is about two genius kids trying to outwit each other and solve a case.

Who will solve the case first? Holly or Xander?

Holly Hernandez and Xander Herrera

Holly Hernandez and Xander Herrera are our two main characters and sleuths. She is the daughter of a police detective and the daughter of a scientist. Holly is a smart kid but sometimes not so smart on blurting things that make no sense. This is how this rivalry started between these two. I like about Holly because she is starting at a new school for high school, where she is trying to make friends even if that is hard. There is a lot to like about her and not really a lot to dislike about her.

Xander Herrera is only in this mess because of Holly falsely accusing him. He is a strange kid who doesn’t talk but grunts and doesn’t participate in class. Xander has had a hard life, and sometimes to make up for it, he pulls pranks, but that doesn’t mean killer. I like this character a bit because he is intelligent and trying to do a lot better than his own mother did for him. He is also trying to show people that he isn’t like the stereotype that they place him under. 

Holly is the studious one that likes to participate in classes and is preppy. Xander is studious, but he doesn’t really want to participate in classes since he was made fun of it in his last school. These two characters are so different from each other but also the same in some ways.

The Mystery

Their social studies teacher was killed during the day and by someone that he knew. That leaves a lot of suspects for these two teenage sleuths but the cops as well. Xander and Holly have two very different reasons for solving this mystery while also having one in common. To find justice for their teacher despite the reasonings for why they are trying to solve a mystery, they have no real reason for solving. It just goes deeper the more that they are investigating and turning up clues. I was honestly stumped until the sleuths were solving it each on their own, then it clicked. 

4 Stars

Holly Hernandez and the Death of Disco by Richie Narvaez are worthy of four stars and a recommendation. I enjoyed this book a lot, and I loved almost everything about it. The one thing that drove me a bit insane and took me out was when Daniel Calara would talk in song lyrics that I had no clue where song lyrics, created by the author himself, until the end of the book. It took me out of the book as I tried to figure out what the context was between what he said and what I just read. Other than that, I loved the story and how everything fits in with the title of the book.

Tour Giveaway

Prize:  (1) Signed Copy – Holly Hernandez and the Death of Disco by Richie Narvaez (U.S. Only)

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Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Holly Hernandez and the Death of Disco by Richie Narvaez. Don’t forget to enter the giveaway!

Until the next time,

Happy Reading!

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

• 2020 Cloak and Dagger Challenge
• 2020 Craving For Cozies Reading Challenge
• 2020 Cruisin' Thru The Cozies Reading Challenge
• 2020 Goodreads Reading Challenge
• 2020 New Release Challenge

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