The Body of Christopher Creed, by Carol Plum Ucci

The Body of Christopher Creed
by Carol Plum-Ucci

Harcourt, NY 2000

… a town has to feel genuinely sorry for how they mistreated the weird guy who’s gone. To feel genuinely sorry, you have to be honest. And Steepleton needs its lies like a toad needs bugs. (p.10)

No one knows what happened to Christopher Creed, the bullied boy known as the class freak. He simply vanished, leaving only a cryptic farewell note to the school principal. Torey Adams, one of Creed’s tormentors is determined to discover the truth, but in doing so, he implicates himself in the the boy's disappearance. I dug the mystery's supernatural elements and the author's realistic portrayal of both the bully and the bullied, and the ending left me relieved, sad, and satisfied.

Bottom Line:

Thought-provoking in a, Would I have befriended Chris Creed? and Do I gossip too much? way; a keeps-you-guessing mystery.

Early Autumn, by Robert B. Parker

Early Autumn

by Robert Parker

Random House, NY 1981

Classic. Detective. Novel.
No one is a cool as Boston Private Investigator Spencer. He runs at least 5 miles a day, quotes Shakespeare and Frost, boxes, has a whit sharp as an heiress's stiletto, and he could charm a raccoon out of the garbage. When a pretty blond asks Spenser to help her get her son back from her ex-husband, Spenser collects the 15-year-old kid with no problem. But when he realizes that Paul's parents are only using him as a pawn, Spenser does his own kidnapping.

I admit that I am totally biased - I LOVE detective stories. Reading a good mystery feels like sipping hot coffee on the back porch under chilly gray autumn skies. So, needless to say, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Spenser's so clever that I actually stopped to reread a few sentences just so I could take a moment to enjoy his crackerjack whit.

Bottom Line:

Love detective stories? Don't miss this one. Never tried the genre? This is an excellent start.

The Killer's Cousin, by Nancy Werlin

The Killer’s Cousin
by Nancy Werlin

Dial Books, NY 1998


David missed his senior year in high school and needs to go to stay with his aunt, uncle and cousin in Cambridge, Massachusetts in order to complete it. He gets to stay in their attic apartment and basically come and go as he pleases. Sounds like a pretty great senior year, right? Well, not really. David missed his senior year because he was going through a nationally publicized trial in which he was accused of murdering his girlfriend. He was acquitted, but his picture appeared on television and newspapers across the country and now his face is easily recognized. Circumstances in Cambridge present more barriers to his “fresh start.” First of all, his aunt and uncle don’t talk to one another, they communicate through David’s eleven-year-old cousin, Lily. Second, David may not be the only occupant of the attic apartment. There is a strange humming sound that occasionally accompanies the appearance of the ghost of Lily’s deceased older sister Kathy. Third, Lily appears to be somewhat of a sociopath. All David wants is a fresh start, but to get one he may need to confront major family secrets and his own past. It seems so clear at the beginning, but as the story unfolds the reader begins to wonder who the “killer’s cousin” really is.

     The Prologue, hinting at David’s past, hooked me from the very start. His story from the beginning seemed a familiar one; one that we’ve seen played out in newspapers and Today Show interviews of the accused and acquitted. Lily is excellently portrayed as an aggressively meddlesome character - the little sister from hell.  I am a big fan of ghost stories and while I wished that there were some more supernatural elements to the story it has a nice creepiness level as it is. As an avid mystery reader I was impressed at how Werlin kept the reader guessing until the end.


Bottom Line:
You won't know the truth until the end; set in Cambridge; great mystery