Meet Scarlett, a smart, sarcastic fifteen-year-old, ready to take on crime in her hometown. When Scarlett agrees to investigate a local boy's suicide, she figures she's in for an easy case and a quick buck. But it doesn't take long for suicide to start looking a lot like murder. As Scarlett finds herself deep in a world of cults, curses, and the seemingly supernatural, she discovers that her own family secrets may have more to do with the situation than she thinks...and that cracking the case could lead to solving her father's murder. Jennifer Latham delivers a compelling story and a character to remember in this one-of-a-kind debut novel.
Reviews with the most likes.
I've heard this compared to Veronica Mars, and I think that's a valid comparison to make (for adult readers, since most teens now don't know VM), and something I'm into. I don't generally like mysteries very much as a genre, but I love the character of Veronica, and I love the character of Scarlett. I definitely love that we have a Sudanese Muslim heroine who's not whitewashed on the cover! I think a lot of teens who like mysteries will be into this, and maybe also fans of [b:The Amulet of Samarkand 478600 The Amulet of Samarkand (Bartimaeus Trilogy, #1) Jonathan Stroud https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1275207089s/478600.jpg 1121748], since this draws from some of the same mythical background.The book revolves around an investigation of a teen suicide, and also there's a part where a dog gets hurt (spoiler: the dog does not die), but it's not especially graphic.Nitpick: I thought it was a little weird and grating that they italicized every non-English word in here? I know that can be part of in house style, but if she's constantly calling her parents Abbi and Ummi, like on every page, does it really need to be italicized? I vote no.
