Portrait of a Shadow

Gr 8 Up–Mae’s sister, Inez, went missing over six months ago; the police and her parents have given up on finding her, and the trail has gone cold. But Mae is haunted by memories of her sister and stubbornly refuses to believe she is really gone. When she arrives at her sister’s Brooklyn apartment to clear out her things, she not only meets Inez’s mysterious and attractive neighbor, but also finds a large white painting in the space. The paint is peeling, and it is in an old and ornate frame, but, most importantly, there is something off about it—Mae isn’t sure what. What follows is a mysterious unraveling of the painting and the people who have owned it in the past and a quest to find out what actually happened to Inez. Metoui’s second novel is atmospheric and tense, with plenty of twists and turns, and is well paced and engaging.