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SHOW ME THE EVIDENCE by Alane Ferguson

SHOW ME THE EVIDENCE

By

Pub Date: March 1st, 1989
Publisher: Bradbury

Whatever this page-turner--written in language just a cut above a Nancy Drew mystery--lacks in believability it makes up for in suspense. Lauren's best friend, Janaan, is recovering from the shock of her little brother's crib death; Janaan, who had been babysitting at the time, has felt responsible. Then, on the very day that Janaan decides to join Lauren and her charge, Rachael, Rachael dies too. Coincidence? ""No!"" says a grieving woman who has also lost her young child and remembers Janaan touching him on the day of his death. The police question the girls, and Janaan is near collapse when Lauren realizes that each child was buried within a day and without embalming. . . On to the cemetery for a confrontation with a bizarre voodoo type, handing out a special brand of slow death. Janaan's emotional state after Adam's death, plus talk about her Arab father's attitudes and politics, adds drama and some clever misdirection. The girls' loyal but stormy relationship increases tension; each is jealous of the other's contrasting appearance, and their different family situations add flavor if not character development. That's all right; read this one for its good, old-fashioned, impossible plot.