At first glance, teenager Bridget seems just a quiet girl, the kind most people would simply ignore, and that’s quite all right with her, because she  has more than the usual teenager’s problems.  Bridge can read minds, and the constant intrusion of other’s thoughts  into her own brain is like the buzzing of a thousand bees.  She’s had only one real friend since early childhood, Emma, who doesn’t gets freaked when Bridget seems to know what she’s thinking even before she does; Emma just assumes it’s because they’ve been friends for so long.

Currently, however, Bridget has a much worse problem than the intrustion of people’s thoughts.  She’s stumbled upon a body in the girl’s locket room, Stacy, one of the cheerleaders, and the murderer’s tuned into her, and she’s been seen by the body by Rory, class nerd.  It takes some fancy verbalizing to distract him from thinking she’s the culprit.  And it’s more than unnerving that the killer is now inside her head.

Then, Bridget meets Terrence, the school’s latest heartthrob, a new transfer from London. Terrence seems immediately interested in Bridget, which is more than a little odd since he was supposed to go to the prom with the just-killed Stacy.  Even more remarkable, Bridget can’t read his thoughts, and being around Terrence becomes heavenly for the quiet of mind it brings.

It isn’t long before there’s more mystery abounding as an FBI agent shows up.  He’s investigating Stacy’s murder, tying it to some others, but he seems to know more about Bridget, and her long-deceased father, than he should.  Bridget isn’t waiting around for the FBI to solve the case, however.  With Rory’s help, and the killer’s taunting thoughts being thrust into her mind, she decides she’s going to find out why she’s being targeted by a serial killer and she’s going to work it in between the high school proms, dates with Terrence, and her class science project.

MY OPINION:  Anyone who thinks a Young Adult novel can’t be tense, hasn’t read this one.  In fact, I wasn’t even aware it was YA until I got a few pages into the story and realized  most of the characters were teenagers.

Thoughtless is fast-paced, exciting, and (as stated above) tense.  Besides dealing with the usual teenaged angst, Bridget is also running a race against time with a serial killer who has the ability to control other people’s minds and make them commit his crimes for him.  The characterizations are true-to-life.  Leave off the telepathy and Bridget’s your usual teenager, wanting a date for the prom, not wanting to settle for just any guy but yearning after the new hunk in school, fighting with her mom, confiding in her best friend.

Several times, I was certain I knew who the killer was, then I’d change my mind, then I’d go back to my original choice.  The story keeps you guessing, and the climax itself is worthy of an “adult” novel.

RATING:  5

Thoughtless is available from Smashwords, http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/137314

This novel was supplied by the author and no remuneration was involved in the writing of this review.