THE ADVENTURES OF JACK LIME

In three soft-boiled capers a narcoleptic teenage sleuth braves sneering punks, bad-news bombshells, beatings (including one from a suspect’s little sister) and more to get clients out of tough fixes. Or, sometimes, not. Totally serious and tightly focused whether the MacGuffin be a (supposedly) stolen bicycle, a kidnapped hamster or a missing member of the school’s Academic All-Stars Trivia Tournament Team, Jack resolutely follows trails of clues wherever they may lead—even if it means methodically going through the school’s garbage, getting chucked into the river or waking up in the hospital after suddenly dozing off during stressful encounters. Refreshingly, in the final case Jack himself comes out the loser when he falls victim to an elaborate sting—his revenge, if any, deferred, perhaps, to a sequel. With its tongue-in-cheek Raymond Chandler–esque first-person narration (“I was supposed to be minding my own business. So, of course, I stuck around”) laced with gleefully clichéd slang, this is perfect for Chet Gecko grads. (Mystery. 10-12)