A proficient, sympathetic hero elevates this straightforward but entertaining thriller.
A teenager adjusts to his new life and family while trying to solve a decades-old murder in this YA mystery.
Sage Christopher isn’t exactly distraught when his father, Marty, dies in a car accident. This alcoholic, abusive, and hapless con man, the only family Sage has known, wasn’t much of a dad. Still, the 13-year-old Las Vegas denizen is surprised when a social worker sends him to live with grandparents on the other side of the country. He meets them for the first time, and Pops and Gram show him nothing but kindness and hospitality. Regardless, Sage has plans to high-tail it out of Evansville, Connecticut—but first he’s got a murder to look into. Marty left behind indications that he was shaking down a killer in this small East Coast town. The apparent victim was a local newspaper tycoon missing for nearly 20 years, and the paper has a standing million-dollar reward for whomever finds him. All Sage has to go on is a threatening note the killer sent Marty, coldly asserting that “Murder is easy” and signing it “C.” That could be any number of people, from a few townsfolk to Pops and Gram, who share their grandson’s surname. Sage nevertheless quickly whittles down his suspect list and zeroes in on a potential murderer. He looks for clues in old newspaper articles and the rooms he searches when alone. This puts him closer to a million-dollar payout but may also catch the attention of someone who’s made it abundantly clear that killing won’t be a problem.
Troy aptly develops this story’s young protagonist; he’s an unfortunate kid without a real home or a dependable family who suddenly has both. Sage begins the story living in a seedy motel room. The foster-care system just wants to get rid of him, with the social worker practically pushing him onto an eastbound train. His grandparents are sweet but not cloying; Gram cooks regular meals for this food-insecure teen but subtly gives him the chore of washing dishes afterward. In addition, the teen valiantly stands up against the school bully and makes several new friends, most notably Sonny. Sage compares Sonny to Jimmy Olsen (Superman’s photojournalist friend). But the mystery plot is not quite as enthralling. Sage doesn’t do much investigating, and none of the clues he digs up are entirely unexpected. Still, he’s a street-smart teen who utilizes skills that Marty taught him, such as furtively eavesdropping on others and successfully stashing any evidence he’s collected. The author blankets the overall narrative in suspense, as Sage at one point feels an unknown murderer has eyes on him. Even when he’s sure he’s identified the culprit, he can’t always ensure his safety. There are touches of humor as well. Sage eliminates Chester as the killer C not because he’s a floppy-eared bloodhound—the dog is simply too lazy to commit a murder. This budding investigative journalist may pop up in a sequel, especially since readers never get to see a couple of Sage’s skills in action.
A proficient, sympathetic hero elevates this straightforward but entertaining thriller.Pub Date: March 31, 2022
ISBN: 979-8424748578
Page Count: 286
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Sept. 21, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A descriptive and atmospheric paranormal social thriller that could be a bit tighter.
After a Nigerian British girl goes off to an exclusive boarding school that seems to prey on less-privileged students, she discovers there might be some truth behind an urban legend.
Ife Adebola joins the Urban Achievers scholarship program at pricey, high-pressure Nithercott School, arriving shortly after a student called Leon mysteriously disappeared. Gossip says he’s a victim of the glowing-eyed Changing Man who targets the lonely, leaving them changed. Ife doesn’t believe in the myth, but amid the stresses of Nithercott’s competitive, privileged, majority-white environment, where she is constantly reminded of her state school background, she does miss her friends and family. When Malika, a fellow Black scholarship student, disappears and then returns, acting strangely devoid of personality, Ife worries the Changing Man is real—and that she’s next. Ife joins forces with classmate Bijal and Benny, Leon’s younger brother, to uncover the truth about who the Changing Man is and what he wants. Culminating in a detailed, gory, and extended climactic battle, this verbose thriller tempts readers with a nefarious mystery involving racial and class-based violence but never quite lives up to its potential and peters out thematically by its explosive finale. However, this debut offers highly visually evocative and eerie descriptions of characters and events and will appeal to fans of creature horror, social commentary, and dark academia.
A descriptive and atmospheric paranormal social thriller that could be a bit tighter. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9781250868138
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: June 8, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2023
Intervals of intense suspense and a well-crafted puzzle blend to create a thrill ride of a story.
Red Kenny and her friends’ spring break road trip veers off course when they are detained by a sniper.
Since her police captain mother’s murder, Red has been inseparable from Maddy Lavoy, though it’s often difficult for Red to witness the warm family dynamics Maddy and her brother, Oliver, share with their mother, an assistant DA and Red’s late mother’s best friend. Red, the Lavoy siblings, and three other friends—Reyna Flores-Serrano, Arthur Moore, and Simon Yoo—embark in a borrowed RV on a journey to Gulf Shores but instead find themselves in the crosshairs of a long-range rifle held by a man demanding that one of them reveal an important secret. As Red battles internally with her guilt and grief over her mother’s death, her companions become increasingly volatile and paranoid as the group tries to discern whose secret is the one the hostage taker is after. The sometimes-tedious, sometimes-intense moment-by-moment breakdown of events in the 31-foot RV (that seems much smaller as the night wears on) magnifies the claustrophobia. Subtle indications that no one can really be trusted alternate with mind-blowing revelations. Toxic masculinity is often at war with common sense and good judgment, and moral ambiguity abounds. Red, Arthur, and the Lavoy siblings read White; Reyna is Mexican American, and Simon is cued as biracial (Korean and White). (This review has been updated to correct a character’s name.)
Intervals of intense suspense and a well-crafted puzzle blend to create a thrill ride of a story. (maps) (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 29, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-37416-0
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2022
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