March 1, 2022
Two high schoolers team up to investigate a classmate's death and discover that their small California town is positively aboil with secrets. Seething at the oddly lackadaisical response of local police to the disappearance of her former BFF on Halloween, 17-year-old Agatha Christie fan Alice Ogilvie enlists Iris Adams, her peer tutor, to launch an inquiry that not only bears immediate fruit in the form of a battered corpse at the base of nearby seaside cliffs, but leads to a veritable flood of obvious but conflicting clues and revelations that point to, and away from, foul play. Which was it? As the two gather and struggle to make sense of their evidence in traded-off chapters (with help from a squad of enthusiastic would-be fellow sleuths and a savvy public defender with flexible ethics), readers quickly twig to the fact that they themselves are nursing secrets. Along with frequent references to Christie's books and tumultuous personal history, the co-authors stir in classic mystery tropes and complications aplenty. Though evidently all White, the students at Castle Cove High are split between fabulously wealthy A-listers and working-class kids; as events speed along to a surprise denouement (albeit not in a drawing room) with a violent but decisive resolution, class tensions play out, sometimes viciously, between the protagonists as they warily circle one another on the way to a firm bond. A generous dollop of homage to the grande dame of mystery plus buckets of clues and conundrums to savor. (map, abuse resource list) (Mystery. 13-18)
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March 14, 2022
Alice Ogilvie is one of the rich, popular kids who rule California’s Castle Cove High. After basketball star Steve Anderson dumps her for her best friend, Brooke Donovan, Alice vanishes without a trace for five days, hoping to garner sympathy and attention. Then Alice reappears unscathed, and everyone is furious; she endures months of house arrest as punishment, then returns to school a pariah, prompting her to crash the in-crowd’s Halloween bash. Her appearance causes Brooke to flee, en route passing Alice’s tutor, Iris Adams, who is out walking. But when Brooke misses school the next day, and most people think she just “pulled an Ogilvie,” Iris and Alice unite to find her—Alice out of guilt and a desire to use the detective skills she learned reading Agatha Christie, and Iris for the reward money offered by Brooke’s grandmother. Iris and Alice co-narrate, allowing Glasgow (You’d Be Home Now) and Lawson (The Lucky Ones) to fully develop both characters. Despite an outlandish denouement that undercuts the story’s impact, the mystery thrills and gratifies thanks to escalating stakes and devastating reveals. Subplots involving domestic abuse and parental neglect confer depth. Most characters cue as white. Ages 14–up. Agents: (for Glasgow) Julie Stevenson, Massie and McQuilkin Literary; (for Lawson) Andrea Morrison, Writers House.
May 1, 2022
Grades 8-12 When Alice went missing for several days after being dumped by her basketball jock boyfriend, Steve, she refused to discuss where she'd been once she returned home to Castle Cove. But history seems to be repeating itself because now Alice's ex-best friend, Brooke, has disappeared--and she just happens to be dating Steve. While many believe Steve is behind it all, Alice and her tutor, Iris, aren't so sure. Motivated by the reward being offered by Brooke's grandmother and inspired by the classic works of Agatha Christie, Alice and Iris take up the case and begin sleuthing. What follows is an entertaining mystery with a girl-detective angle that will appeal to the Veronica Mars crowd. Full of witty writing, banter, and adventure, the story takes unexpected turns, and readers will delight at the girls' creative ways of drawing upon Agatha Christie to solve Castle Cove's biggest head-scratcher of all time. For fans of Rebecca Podos' The Mystery of Hollow Places (2016) and Kit Frick's I Killed Zoe Spanos (2020).
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May 1, 2022
Gr 9 Up-One small, coastal Californian town has a lot of terrible history. Castle Cove has had its share of missing people, loss of fortune, and unexplained deaths. The town was just settling back down after Alice's runaway stunt the previous summer and now her ex-best friend, Brooke, is missing. Brooke isn't just any Castle Cove citizen, but the granddaughter of billionaire make-up icon Lillian Levy. It still takes the police a bit too long to really start the search, thanks to Alice's antics. Alice's parents aren't around a lot, even after she was missing for days, so she's been matched up with a peer tutor to make sure her academic work gets back on track. Lucky for Iris, peer tutoring comes with a paycheck which she desperately needs to get her and her mom out of Castle Cove as soon as possible. The unlikely friendship between Iris and Alice forms as they study, search for Brooke, and learn more about each other than either was willing to reveal. Alice's obsession with the OG mystery queen, Agatha Christie, is intertwined in her POV chapters and adds charm to this mystery that is reminiscent of Karen M. McManus's work. VERDICT A great title to add to high school mystery shelves to satiate those readers who are hungry for thrillers featuring characters their own age.-Samantha Hull
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