Review: The Maple Murders (Riverdale #3)

Title: The Maple Murders (Riverdale #3)
Author: Micol Ostow
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Source: Purchased
Format: Paperback
Release Date: October 15, 2019
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Riverdale is clamoring with excitement over news that an old town tradition is suddenly being revived: the Riverdale Revels. 

The festival supposedly has a long history, dating back to the town’s settlers’ first successful maple tapping. But there’s no record of the Revels anywhere. Archie, Betty, Veronica, and Jughead think there must be more to the story. And when a skeleton is uncovered in a 75-year-old time capsule on the first night of the festival, they know they’re right. 

But a dead body in a maple barrel isn’t the only drama surrounding the Revels. The Royal Maple pageant (open to all Riverdale teens) is in full swing, but “accidents” keep befalling the contestants, including the gang’s friends. 

Someone is clearly trying to put an end to the Revels once and for all — but who? And more importantly, why? Can Archie and his friends put a stop to the sabotage before someone puts a stop to them?

This original novel features a story not seen on the show!

Review:

The mayor of Riverdale, Hermione Lodge, has decided to hold the Riverdale Revels. That is an old festival that dates back to before the town was founded. Since they didn’t get to open the town’s time capsule on its 75th anniversary, they decide to open it to start the celebrations. However, when they open the Blossom Maple barrel that served as the time capsule, they find human remains. Jughead, Betty, Archie, and Veronica have to investigate where this mysterious body came from and why it was put into the Riverdale time capsule.

This is a great story set in the world of Riverdale. The characters sounded just like the actors on the TV show. I could practically hear them speaking the lines on the page. The story also showed the wide variety of characters, from the main characters of Archie and Betty to the minor characters of Kevin and Josie.

There were a couple of extended flashbacks that weren’t necessary to the plot. I didn’t even realize they were flashback scenes until the narrative returned to the present. Though these scenes were set off with a different typeface, they distracted from the main plot since they didn’t have to do with the present story.

I enjoyed this Riverdale mystery.

What to read next:

Other books in the series:

• The Day Before
• Get Out of Town
• Death of a Cheerleader

Have you read The Maple Murders? What did you think of it?