This series presents readers with nice, tidy mysteries and work as an excellent introduction to the genre, besides being...
Another easy-reading mystery from McClintock.
Robyn reluctantly agrees to volunteer at a homeless shelter, where a mentally disabled man knocks her down. Excluded from the shelter for a time as punishment, the man freezes to death on the streets. Feeling guilty, Robyn decides to try to discover who he was. She enlists friends to interview people in the neighborhood and other shelter residents, uncovering clues. Meanwhile, a sinister-looking man chases her, and shortly thereafter, someone mugs her, taking her best evidence. She continues following clues, however, until she cracks the case, learning that the homeless man didn’t start out that way. McClintock uses a just-the-facts-ma’am style that fits the mystery genre and keeps the text uncomplicated for reluctant readers. She relies on plenty of happy coincidences, such as meeting exactly the right people at just the right time to uncover major clues. Robyn also enjoys a bit of romance and copes with a delicate family situation with her divorced parents. She comes across as an attractive character, good in school and compassionate toward all. Yet she also demonstrates a toughness and determination that allow her to solve the case. This title publishes simultaneously with Book 5, Shadow of Doubt.
This series presents readers with nice, tidy mysteries and work as an excellent introduction to the genre, besides being plenty of fun. (Mystery. 11-16)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-7613-9396-2
Page Count: 232
Publisher: Darby Creek
Review Posted Online: June 26, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2012
Intertwined spectral and real worlds deliver double the thrills.
Leaving his actual body behind in prison, Smoke can move through the world as a ghost in this fantastic yet real portrait of a survivor seeking answers.
John “Smoke” Conlan has survived a brutal beating from his father, a murder conviction, and prison life. His uncanny ability evidently triggered by the beating, Smoke exists inside and outside the fictional Greater Denver Youth Offender Rehabilitation Center (unrealistically represented as a maximum security prison). Smoke keeps his physical body protected on the inside thanks to the balance of favors earned outside his body. On one such errand, he discovers that a young waitress at a seedy dive can actually see him. Smoke’s vivid present-tense narration is filtered according to his concerns. He insists that he is innocent of killing his favorite teacher but guilty of killing a fellow student in self-defense, keeping readers teetering between a belief that the punishment is justified and cheering Smoke on to fight for freedom. The narrative’s romance is chaste, and it tempers the intensity brought to the story by the threats of guards, fellow inmates, and outside criminals. Though the complex plot is based on an impossible premise, readers will be flipping the pages, watching the diverse cast (Smoke is white) race toward the climax.
Intertwined spectral and real worlds deliver double the thrills. (Paranormal suspense. 11-16)Pub Date: May 3, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4847-2597-9
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Hyperion
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An atmospheric and entertaining thriller perfect for snowy night chills.
A group of teens stranded in a snowstorm discovers a murderer in their midst.
While traveling on the highway to a state theater competition, Nell and her friends Min, Raven, Adam, and Jermaine are caught in a dangerous blizzard. Their teacher, Mrs. McElroy, who is driving the minivan, decides to stop for the night at the run-down and shady-looking Travel Inn and Out. The motel is labyrinthine and spooky, with dingy corridors and walls adorned with moldering kitsch. Nell and the gang meet another group of kids who are also stranded by the storm, making fast friends. A game of Two Truths and a Lie starts out flirty and fun but devolves into something more sinister when one slip of paper reads “I like to watch people die,” and “I’ve lost count of how many people I’ve killed.” The snow falls and the winds howl, and soon power and cell service are lost, cutting off the motel patrons from the outside world. As the first victim is discovered and the body count begins to grow, the terror becomes palpable. Everyone at the motel seems to have an insidious secret: Will Nell be able to uncover the killer before they strike again? An homage to Agatha Christie, Henry’s locked-room mystery is tautly plotted, with quick-moving nail-biting chapters, relatable characters, and a deftly wrought setting that paradoxically manages to feel both claustrophobic and sprawling. Nell is White; there is diversity among the secondary characters.
An atmospheric and entertaining thriller perfect for snowy night chills. (Mystery. 12-16)Pub Date: May 24, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-316-32333-8
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Christy Ottaviano Books
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2022
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