A vibrant retelling.
A mysterious stranger captivates in this reimagining of a Robert Louis Stevenson tale.
Gabriel Utterson sets out as a student at the London School for Medical Studies determined to become a successful professional despite the discriminatory hiring practices of the Victorian era. He takes a room at a nearby boardinghouse for Black students run by kindhearted Miss Laurie. There he meets handsome fellow resident Henry Jekyll, whose father teaches at the university they both attend. Gabriel’s budding relationship with Henry causes much campus gossip, straining Dr. Jekyll’s already tenuous position as an underappreciated, often disrespected instructor. The whirlwind romance between Henry and Gabriel soon unravels due to the combined racism and homophobia pervading the medical school establishment. Amid scandalous hints of their affair, Henry’s father is fired, and both young men are expelled from the institution in disgrace. Henry becomes secretive—and an oddly familiar man named Hyde is spotted coming and going freely from the Jekyll home, sparking Gabriel’s jealousy and curiosity. He is taken on as law clerk by the lecherous Sir Danvers Carew, a powerful White man working in medical law, but Carew’s escalating harassment of Gabriel eventually leads to violence that sends Gabriel to a friend’s house for help. He follows a twisting path to uncovering Henry’s secret. Addressing invisibility, power, and passion, Bayron’s updated classic simmers with Gothic imagery, romance, and a robust exploration of what it means to be whole.
A vibrant retelling. (content warning, author’s note) (Historical mystery. 13-18)Pub Date: March 7, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-250-83356-3
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: Dec. 23, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2023
A treat for mystery readers who enjoy being kept in suspense.
Everyone believes that Salil Singh killed his girlfriend, Andrea Bell, five years ago—except Pippa Fitz-Amobi.
Pip has known and liked Sal since childhood; he’d supported her when she was being bullied in middle school. For her senior capstone project, Pip researches the disappearance of former Fairview High student Andie, last seen on April 18, 2014, by her younger sister, Becca. The original investigation concluded with most of the evidence pointing to Sal, who was found dead in the woods, apparently by suicide. Andie’s body was never recovered, and Sal was assumed by most to be guilty of abduction and murder. Unable to ignore the gaps in the case, Pip sets out to prove Sal’s innocence, beginning with interviewing his younger brother, Ravi. With his help, Pip digs deeper, unveiling unsavory facts about Andie and the real reason Sal’s friends couldn’t provide him with an alibi. But someone is watching, and Pip may be in more danger than she realizes. Pip’s sleuthing is both impressive and accessible. Online articles about the case and interview transcripts are provided throughout, and Pip’s capstone logs offer insights into her thought processes as new evidence and suspects arise. Jackson’s debut is well-executed and surprises readers with a connective web of interesting characters and motives. Pip and Andie are white, and Sal is of Indian descent.
A treat for mystery readers who enjoy being kept in suspense. (Mystery. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9848-9636-0
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2019
A lukewarm thriller.
In England, a group of teenagers tries to stay alive when a long weekend in an abandoned castle goes wrong.
When Bessie and her friends decide to join a party their classmate Allegra is throwing in her family’s abandoned castle before it’s converted into apartments, they think the biggest issues they’ll face are making it there before a big storm hits and keeping their plans secret from their parents and teachers. Once they arrive at the castle, however, Bessie and best friend Kashvi discover menacing graffiti and evidence that someone has been staying in the cellar. They also learn that protestors from the nearby village are angry about the development plans for the castle—one of them even argues that it would be better to burn it down. A handful of classmates manage to get there before the storm gets too severe. But when the teens wake up the next day to discover one of their own dead, and the storm makes it impossible for them to leave, they quickly realize that they’re in danger. But is the killer one of the members of the Facebook protestors’ group…or one of their own? Despite the book’s intriguing setup, the prose is dominated by repetitive conversations that convey little substance. Still, readers may still find themselves propelled forward by a need to discover the identity of the murderer. The central cast is racially diverse.
A lukewarm thriller. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Dec. 3, 2024
ISBN: 9780593704080
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2024
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