SKETCHY

Bea’s artistic talents take on a psychic dimension when a classmate is raped and left for dead.

With only three months of sobriety under her belt, Bea struggles every day with her addiction to drugs and alcohol. Moreover, her vintage clothes, wild hair and reputation put her on the fringes in her new school. Now without mind-altering substances to blunt her senses, Bea is astounded to discover that she can see into people’s thoughts when she sketches them. “I can draw the truth out of people…literally,” she marvels. When a murderer/rapist suddenly begins to terrorize her hometown of Ann Arbor, Mich., Bea’s extraordinary ability draws her into the case. One of the victims is a girl in the popular crowd at school; she was found still alive but claims to remember nothing. Bea’s impulsiveness gets her into tense situations, but her grit and hard-won experience help her piece the puzzle together. Her frequently foulmouthed, present-tense narration reveals all: her longing for “something stronger,” her alienation and her ability to use her acute understanding of the addict’s personality to gain insight into the murderer. Bea’s tough exterior and tumultuous inner life will draw readers in, and they will sympathize with her as she struggles to become her best self.

Urgently paced, this teen murder mystery weaves in elements of the supernatural to draw a vivid tale of suspense.