THE SHE

Evan’s parents died in a tragic accident at sea eight years before he’s asked to visit Gray Shailey at the “nuthouse” as part of a helping-hands program; she’s been involved in a boating accident, too. Evan has concentrated on practical jokes and trying to forget the sounds he heard (“the She”) over the ship-to-shore radio the night of his parents’ death, but Gray slipped him some acid at a party and sent him on a bad trip that revived the memories. Evan’s slow journey toward discovery of the reality of the events is grippingly suspenseful and Gray’s gradual revelation as a pawn in her own right is equally intriguing. Few authors can combine the elements of supernatural possibilities and mystery detection without making their own bias known, yet Plum-Ucci manages to keep readers balanced on a see-saw between rationality and the powers of the dark. Gray, who is early on termed the “queen of the bitch patrol,” becomes central to the discovery of the truth and to Evan’s strength in dealing with his family and his fears. A seagoing thriller. (Fiction. YA)