Dead Time (review)

When Rose was twelve, her mother and stepfather disappeared and were presumed dead, and she and her beloved stepbrother were separated to live with relatives. Five years later, Rose and Joshua are back in touch as he has moved to London, where she lives with her emotionally distant and demanding grandmother. Against her grandmother's wishes, they begin spending time together, and she is troubled to learn that Joshua is still searching for their parents, enlisting the help of his computer-geek roommate. She encourages him to let it go, but when she witnesses the murders of two of her classmates, she begins to understand how hard it is to wait for the police to follow their rule-bound procedures for investigating crime. Her sidestepping of those rules leads to answers about who killed her classmates but credibly compromises justice as her evidence is inadmissible. Nonetheless, in the process of her snooping, she accidentally stumbles upon some leads about her parents, and this promising series opener ends as she and Joshua find out that their parents are in fact alive. The pace here could certainly be tighter, and the storytelling is somewhat digressive; additionally, Rose's confusion over her more-than-sisterly feelings for Joshua is a bit clumsily handled. However, these sins aren't uncommon in series openers, where character and backstories need attention. By the end, Rose, Joshua, and the geeky roommate are starting to jell as a team, and the mystery of their parents' disappearance promises international intrigue to come in future volumes. Mystery fans weary of paranormal twists may welcome these teen sleuths who set out to solve ordinary crimes committed by ordinary people.