The Bloodwater Mysteries: Snatched (review)

Dumpy, nosy Roni can smell a good story (probably unprintable) for the high-school newspaper from a mile away, and she's scenting one with the beautiful social goddess Alicia. First, Alicia has been appearing at school with obvious signs of assault; next, she goes missing altogether. Roni's certainly going to crack this case for her "Crime Corner" column. Aiding her in the effort is nerdy freshman Brian, considerably in awe of the upperclassman columnist, and an unlikely ally except for the fact that his mother is a local police detective, officially assigned to the missing girl's investigation. Together Roni and Brian comb the dark corners of Bloodwater, interview the eccentrics of Wolf Spider Island, and generally do the teen-detective thing, quite accidentally stumbling across Alicia in the process. The victim may have been found, but the mystery surrounding her disappearance lies uncomfortably close to home, waiting to be untangled. This debut volume of the Bloodwater Mysteries series pulls its ingredients right out of the middle-school- mystery cabinet: mismatched partners in crime-stopping; kvetchy banter; an irresistible compulsion to do anything parents forbid; a solution tidily wrapped up in a couple of hundred pages; the unmistakable hint of more mayhem to come. Readers will sniff out the red herring right away, although the true culprit behind Alicia's troubles may come as a bit of a surprise. Thrill seekers will be better off with Joan Lowery Nixon, but kids who favor an undemanding whodunit with a sprinkling of humor have come to the right place.