JACK

The bestselling author of the Repairman Jack thriller series moves into the young-adult market with a prequel about the teenage Jack, who is just discovering his talents. At age 14, Jack’s interests focus on his friends, especially his friend Eddie’s sister, black-clad Weezy. The trio find a body and a mysterious black cube in the forest, both connected to a secret society of possibly ancient origin. Although Wilson drops a tinge of the supernatural into the book, he hews to a basic detective-story plot, with plenty of suspense to keep readers charging ahead. Despite the unrealistic premise, the text makes it easy for readers to suspend disbelief as Jack learns that he has a talent for figuring his way out of difficult situations. Wilson deftly keeps interest high with well-drawn characterizations, modulating the thrills with details of day-to-day life in the early 1980s. Cracking good fun for teens. (Fiction. YA)