Hero Complex

August 15, 2014
A budding teen detective digs up past secrets to expose current vices in this fast-paced, plot-driven mystery sequel. Keaton boarding school and scholarship student Devon Mackintosh is still recovering from the murder of her crush object, Hutch, when she is knocked unconscious while attending her friend Cleo's luxury yacht party. Devon is convinced that someone wants her to stop asking questions about both the lurid circumstances of Hutch's death and the two powerful families that are connected by it. When Devon succeeds in uncovering that connection, she is pulled into a world of adult corruption and danger. One of the families' patriarchs hands her an old diary from World War II shortly before he dies, and as she reads and researches its contents, Devon makes a startling discovery about her own origins and that of her beloved boarding school. The novel is billed as a stand-alone, but readers are strongly recommended to start with the first Devon Mackintosh title, Escape Theory (2013), as many of its details are germane to this sequel. While there is enough plot here for whodunit enthusiasts, the thinly sketched secondary characters and paint-by-numbers prose ensure disappointment for readers seeking more than a standard-issue mystery. Solid plotting, so-so characterization. (Mystery. 12-16)

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July 1, 2014

Gr 8 Up-Devon thought life would get back to normal after she uncovered the truth of Hutch's death in Escape Theory (Soho Teen, 2013). She tries to relax with Cleo at a yacht party on New Year's Eve, but is attacked when she gets lost trying to find Cleo. Assuming this attack is related to Hutch's murder, Devon tries to put the clues together. As in the previous volume, not everyone is willing to believe Devon about the attack or the events that follow. Meanwhile, Reed Hutchins gives Devon his diary right before he dies, with the instructions "Follow our footsteps." Devon works to unravel these puzzles with the help of Bodhi and Raven Elliot, Reed's sole heirs, before the threats become too real. Familiarity with the first book will make this sequel's pace easier to follow. References to drugs, teen pregnancy, and underage drinking still factor in this installment. Devon is the most fully developed, but the secondary characters assert themselves in the narrative once in a while. Twists and turns keep the plot moving. Purchase this title where mysteries and the first book are popular.-Natalie Struecker, Rock Island Public Library, IL

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2014
Grades 9-12 After uncovering a murder in Escape Theory (2013), Devon finds herself caught up in the tricky, deceptive aftermath. While at a tony New Year's Eve party on a yacht, she wanders into a dark room where she is clubbed from behind and left dangling off the edge of the boat. Everyone thinks that she just had too much to drink, but she is determined to prove that she is not just paranoid; she was attacked. She recruits her closest friends at Keaton, her well-heeled boarding school, to dig into the secrets of the wealthy families who seem to be pulling all the strings. Soon she is being followed and surreptitiously photographed, and it will take all of her determination and investigative skills to uncover the truth, a truth that has consequences for her very identity. While some of the plot details are a bit muddy, Froley keeps the momentum going with an even pace and pulse-pounding suspense. Teen readers enamored by a Gossip Girl atmosphere of staggering wealth will be elated, as will fans of ballsy and enterprising teen-girl detectives.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2015
Teen sleuth Devon Mackintosh uncovers more secrets at her Bay-Area boarding school in this sequel to Escape Theory. After an anonymous hit man attacks her on a yacht, Devon investigates various wealthy families with interests in her previously solved case. Interweaving plot lines lead to an unexpected conclusion, but the large cast of characters may confuse readers who missed the first book.

(Copyright 2015 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)