(4.75 stars) 
 MY MIND WAS JUST BLOWN FIVE HUNDRED BILLION TIMES. I legitimately had, like, 97239634 jaw drops during this. 
 Be forewarned- I don't know if there'll be spoilers in this or not. Okay, there will. PLEASE, DO NOT READ THIS IF YOU ARE GOING TO READ THIS BOOK. PLEASE. 
 okay. so, first off, this book was SO interesting. I honestly love unsolved crime things- Buzzfeed Unsolved is GREAT- but this BLEW ME AWAY. About 50 pages from the ending, I was thinking about what I would give this; I was thinking about 4 stars, maybe 4.25, and that's why I deducted .25 stars currently; it didn't COMPLETELY mind-blow me until those last 10-ish pages, but it was still hecka awesome. 
 I didn't expect much from this, but it had such an interesting synopsis and I've heard such great things about Pretty Little Liars that I wanted to see. I am SO GLAD it's a series. SO. GLAD. 
 I love the pacing of THE AMATEURS. It's perfect to tell the story. Come to think of it, everything is perfect; the characters, the set-up... e v e r y t h i n g. 
 ~more spoiler-y section up ahead~ 
 (view spoiler)[Every single clue was absolutely INSANE. All the twists and turns were absolutely glorious and I am so glad I experienced them- the plot twists were SO TWISTY. The tiniest details! The most obvious connections! AAAA! Like the crane, and the hat, and everything. 
 I'm glad that Seneca's dad found out where she was, cause c'mon, really? He would've found out. 
 Okay, the ending. I WAS GONNA SAY, before the last 10 pages, I felt sorry for Brett and how he and Aerin didn't get together- although I love Thomas (if that's his name?)- now, NOPE. AND HE'S GONNA GO AFTER HER. WHAT. WHAT. I'm assuming that's what the sequel's gonna be about? AND THAT HE KILLED SENECA'S MOM TOO. I can't BELIEVE I didn't make all the connections. Wowowowowowow. (hide spoiler)] 
 I'm just so mind-blown. I loved THE AMATEURS. Read it ASAP, everyone; I b e g you.