Metaville by Charlotte Brough

Metaville is a thriller told from various POVs.

 

The Point is a successful teen drama with some crazy twists and turns that has starred a number of twenty-somethings for years. But now, tragedy has struck. Bobby Palmer, one of the more seasoned actors on the show has gone missing. And even though no body has been found, it is presumed that he has died. With all of the actors being very close, having to shoot the scene where he dies in the show will be one of the hardest, yet almost requiring no acting, pieces to pull off.

 

First you have Mason – he who came off another successful teen drama but is plagued by addiction issues. His complete opposite twin, Shauna, is the golden girl, who works in movies and bails Mason out of the serious issues he finds himself in. Mason is in love with Callie, who plays his love interest, but theirs is a complicated relationship. Added into the mix are regulars Tim, Maya, and Will, who, together with Mason and Callie, know a little about the last night Bobby was seen alive.

 

When Bobby’s jacket is discovered, the secrets are pushed down a little deeper but as the actors all start getting threatening messages about the truth coming out, they know that someone is out to get them. And that someone seems to know a lot – could it be one of them?

 

This story is cleverly told using different POVs so that you get to learn much more about the feelings and history of each character. Behind the scenes is very often way more intriguing than the plot line! So, most of these personalities and actions seem to need to be taken with a grain of salt, as, like in Riverdale, they truly hit some bizarre times. Mason’s experiences being the most obvious. It’s like they are a bunch of youngsters playing in an adult world where bad choices are the norm and they are linked because of an incident where not everyone has all the facts (a la I Know What You Did Last Summer).

 

If you look carefully, you can make a good guess at the ending and how the secret is unveiled but not all is obvious from the beginning and the author manages to weave a great storyline keeping all the guesswork together.

 

The editing was great and the story was an easy read. The author has a lovely writing style where even when the plot goes skew sometimes, you never feel as though you are pulled out of the world. A great read where you can just switch off and read something for a good “fun” thriller.

 

Many thanks to Voracious Readers Only for the copy.