Jennifer Lynn Barnes earned the title of New York Times Bestselling Author for writing the book “The Inheritance Games.” This book sold over five million copies and is rated 4.14 stars out of five with 900,000 ratings on Goodreads. The newest book in the series, “Glorious Rivals,” will be published in the summer of 2025, and many people eagerly anticipate its release. But before Jennifer Lynn Barnes became famous, she released the book “The Naturals” in November 2013.
This book follows the life of Cassie Hobbes, a 17-year-old girl who can know things about people just by looking at them. This unique gift causes her to get approached by Michael Townsend, a boy around her age who works for the FBI. He invites her to join the Naturals program, a part of the FBI that recruits people her age to solve cold cases. Cassie eagerly accepts his invitation for her reason for solving her mother’s murder.
I was attracted to this book because one of my friends recommended it, and I also enjoyed Jennifer Lynn Barnes’ other books. I am thrilled that I read it and would rate it at an 8/10. I could read this book in one sitting, and it wasn’t full of “dead air” time. The plot was complex and full of surprises I hadn’t anticipated. It was like a typical mystery novel and was masterfully written so that many clues were dropped in front of you, but you couldn’t piece them together until the end. The culmination of the plot made perfect sense, unlike some of the other books I have read. The ending was not a complete cliffhanger, but it still left enough loose ends for it to be a series. The characters were also delightful, and some of them were also relatable. The book also had some anger-related themes, making it a learning experience. I enjoyed reading “The Naturals” over the Inheritance Games and recommend reading this book. (Warning: this book contains depictions of blood, gore, torture, and physical violence.)