*I received a free ARC of this book. The decision to review and my opinions are my own.*

Downside Up is a murder mystery / crime thriller, with the added dimension that the main character is a secret ‘roofing’ addict.

Jenna spends a large portion of the plot either climbing or hiding around her neighbours’ rooftops, in her own spin on the parkour trend, which gives us a standard mystery plot, but from a different point of view than usual, which I found an intriguing twist on the standard.

This book also fulfils my main pre-requisite for a mystery novel, which is not being able to guess whodunnit. I firmly believed the killer was a certain character throughout the story, and thought myself pretty damn clever for seeing past the author’s feints to work it out…so obvious! Only to find out that I had been thoroughly red-herringed during the final reveal. It’s very rare that happens these days as my instincts have been honed with practice, so it was a nice surprise to find that I can still be both hoodwinked and bamboozled.

I really enjoyed the characterisation here as well. It was nice to see an orphan adopted by family members who are neither perfect saints, nor evil villains, but flawed people doing their best with what they have. Aunt Clair in particular was a breath of fresh, if selfish and aggravating, air.

Downside Up is the first in a trilogy, so I am fascinated to see how Jenna’s character will develop now that this first, personal, mystery has been solved and her life course has been altered somewhat as a result. I’m especially interested to discover if and, if so, how her roofing addiction will fit into further plots, as it struck me as something of a situationally-dependent skill! I look forward to finding out in the next two installments…