SPIRIT SEEKER

Nixon (The Shadowmaker, 1994, etc.) crafts an emotionally charged thriller about a teenager who proves her friend innocent of his parents' murders. When Cody's parents are stabbed to death, the circumstantial evidence points to him, and only Hollyhis closest friend and the daughter of the homicide detective on the caseis convinced that he didn't do it. As the case against Cody solidifies, Holly's belief becomes an obsession that drives her to skip school, defy her parents, and grasp at straws; with the aid of a clairvoyant, she even slips into the Garnetts' blood-spattered living room to call on the victims' spirits for help. Nixon misdirects readers with her usual expertise, building suspense with each twist of the plot and so thoroughly incriminating Cody that she has to resort to an ancient clichÇthe real killer explains himself to Holly and Cody while a tape recorder's runningto bring out the truth. No matter: Enriched with family troubles, guilty secrets, and a whiff of the supernatural, this page-turner will please the legions of Nixon fans. (Fiction. 12-15)