May 19, 2014
Harrington (The Dead and Buried) unfurls another gripping whodunit that will keep readers guessing. After Morgan Tulley’s brooding boyfriend is killed in a hit-and-run accident, she wants answers. Why was Flynn standing alone outside an abandoned amusement park that night? Why did he suddenly break up with her just before he died? And why did his death seem so intentional? Three months later, when Morgan uploads Flynn’s photo to a social media site as a tribute, she finds an image of Evan, a boy from a neighboring town who is a dead ringer for Flynn. Morgan enlists the help of her best friend Toni and, eventually, Evan to get to the bottom of the mystery. Thanks to Harrington’s ability to weave suspenseful yet believable stories full of hidden clues and false leads, what the teenagers uncover about Flynn’s death goes beyond what most readers will see coming. As in her previous novels, Harrington’s fully defined characters and vivid settings set the stage for a riveting read. Ages 12–up. Agent: Scott Miller, Trident Media Group.
June 1, 2014
Her boyfriend was supposed to be dead.It's been three months since Morgan's secretive, aloof boyfriend, Flynn, died in a hit-and-run accident. In her economically depressed central Massachusetts town, in which Stell Pharmaceuticals went under and brought down other businesses with it, everyone's moved on-except Morgan. In an attempt at closure, the teen enters Flynn's photo into "FriendShare," a social media facial-recognition program. She finds only questions, though, when his photo brings up an identical look-alike named Evan in a neighboring town. Morgan can't help but wonder if her ex-boyfriend was a liar-and even if he's really dead. Her evenly paced, past-tense narration recounts her investigation to discover the real identities of both Flynn and Evan-or if they're one and the same. In the process, she finds a clean romance and a dirty conspiracy involving Stell Pharmaceuticals. As the ring of townsfolk involved widens, Morgan fears that she may be the next "accident" victim.The teen's likable, tenacious character and the story's Hollywood-like ending keep this debut on the lighter side, making it just right for late-summer beach reading. (Thriller. 13-18)
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May 1, 2014
Grades 7-12 Life was pretty hard in depressed River's End after Stell Pharmaceuticals closed shop. Then Flynnwho's been dating Morgan for a scant three monthsis left for dead by a hit-and-run-driver. Three months later, seeking closure, Morgan's BFF Toni suggests uploading an image to FriendShare. The computer screen shoots back a message to tag the photo as Evan Murphy rather than Flynn Doyle. From that moment forward, Morgan enters a dangerous adventure of false identities, death threats for whistle-blowing, homesteading on abandoned property, and a cop on the take. Throughout Harrington's lively plot twists, her protagonist has one sure thing that all teens know they can bank onthe unadulterated mutual understanding and affection that best friends share as they explore romance while the world around them spirals out of control. Mystery fans will keep turning the page with one hand and crossing fingers for true love with the other.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)