The Meadowbrook ­Murders

Gr 9 Up–Amy wakes up after a night of partying in the woods at her New England boarding school to discover her beloved roommate Sarah and Sarah’s boyfriend Ryan were violently murdered in their suite while she slept right next door. Her proximity to the crime scene makes her first in line to be questioned by the police, but Amy knows she didn’t have anything to do with their deaths. The school insists upon a new roommate, but prying journalist Liz and her desire for a fellowship-winning story are the last thing Amy and her boyfriend Joseph, who is the son of a coach but not a Meadowbrook student and therefore not allowed on campus, need. As the investigation heats up, Sarah and Ryan’s secrets begin to be revealed, and it turns out that Amy may not have known her as well as she thought. Both Amy and Liz will need to be careful as they pick apart those secrets or they may find themselves in the killer’s way, too. Compelling if not always entirely likable characters are tangled in a web of desperation and hidden motivations; short chapters and good pacing keep the pages turning, while red herrings keep the solution just out of reach.