by Catherine A. Winn ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2015
Still, if the plot and characterizations don’t make much sense, the story has enough suspense to satisfy undemanding mystery...
When someone kidnaps her baby brother, the police accuse 15-year-old Shelby of his murder, and the national media run with it.
Shelby gets hate email and death threats, and the press besieges the family, but nothing can stop Shelby from slipping out the unwatched back way to do her own investigation at the park where the kidnapping occurred. There, she gets into more trouble with the police but meets Matt, who may or may not become a romantic interest. Offering to help, Matt takes her out to look for the white van Shelby insists was involved in the crime. (Why is it always a white van?) Events finally take some pressure off Shelby, but she’s determined to solve the crime. She thinks ahead of the police at every step, possibly at her own peril. Winn’s writing moves along nicely, although she relies on more than one credulity-straining incident to solve major problems. Her initial portrayal of the police detectives comes across as outrageous with their over-the-top persecution of Shelby, but she later redeems them with words if not with their actions. Her characterizations of Shelby’s parents are equally one-dimensional, initially portraying them as selfish and uncaring and then instantly switching their portrayals to sympathetic after the kidnapping.
Still, if the plot and characterizations don’t make much sense, the story has enough suspense to satisfy undemanding mystery fans. (Mystery. 12-18)Pub Date: May 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-92934-510-6
Page Count: 230
Publisher: Poisoned Pencil
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
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by Holly Jackson ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 2, 2024
Readers will be captivated by this twisty thriller and its uncompromising protagonist.
The mother Annabel Price thought was dead returns with a story about where she’s been—but 18-year-old Bel knows she’s lying.
Ever since Rachel Price’s unexplained disappearance 16 years ago, true-crime fans have come up with plentiful theories about what happened. Bel and her family members, who are white, cobbled together lives for themselves after a jury found Bel’s father, Charlie, not guilty of murdering his wife. Beset with medical bills for his elderly father, Charlie recently agreed to participate in a documentary about the unsolved mystery. Black British filmmaker Ramsey Lee is well into the process of interviewing the Prices when his project gets an unanticipated boost after an exhausted, disheveled Rachel staggers back into town. Rachel is eager to resume her role in the family, but the inconsistencies in her accounts raise alarms for Bel. With the help of the youngest member of the filmmaking team, Bel sets out to learn what really happened. Along the way, someone else disappears, and Bel uncovers a tangle of lies that make it impossible for her to trust people she thought she knew. When things come to a head the night of her grandfather’s 85th birthday party, Bel ends up in a race for her life. The last quarter of the novel tears along at a breakneck pace before arriving at a satisfying and unexpected conclusion.
Readers will be captivated by this twisty thriller and its uncompromising protagonist. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: April 2, 2024
ISBN: 9780593374207
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2024
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by Holly Jackson ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 4, 2020
A treat for mystery readers who enjoy being kept in suspense.
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New York Times Bestseller
Everyone believes that Salil Singh killed his girlfriend, Andrea Bell, five years ago—except Pippa Fitz-Amobi.
Pip has known and liked Sal since childhood; he’d supported her when she was being bullied in middle school. For her senior capstone project, Pip researches the disappearance of former Fairview High student Andie, last seen on April 18, 2014, by her younger sister, Becca. The original investigation concluded with most of the evidence pointing to Sal, who was found dead in the woods, apparently by suicide. Andie’s body was never recovered, and Sal was assumed by most to be guilty of abduction and murder. Unable to ignore the gaps in the case, Pip sets out to prove Sal’s innocence, beginning with interviewing his younger brother, Ravi. With his help, Pip digs deeper, unveiling unsavory facts about Andie and the real reason Sal’s friends couldn’t provide him with an alibi. But someone is watching, and Pip may be in more danger than she realizes. Pip’s sleuthing is both impressive and accessible. Online articles about the case and interview transcripts are provided throughout, and Pip’s capstone logs offer insights into her thought processes as new evidence and suspects arise. Jackson’s debut is well-executed and surprises readers with a connective web of interesting characters and motives. Pip and Andie are white, and Sal is of Indian descent.
A treat for mystery readers who enjoy being kept in suspense. (Mystery. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9848-9636-0
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2019
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