Kyle:
"She's dead, isn't she? If she was alive, I wouldn't be handcuffed to a table in an interview room. You'd take her statement before you'd come at me for a confession, right?"
Cass:
David Kirby's funeral was this morning. I didn't go. It would look beyond strange if I did.
I wasn't sure he'd . . . done what he did because of that stupid note. I wish I hadn't left it lying around. Well, I wish I hadn't written it.
Ben:
At ten fifteen Saturday morning the lieutenant ripped a page out of his notebook and slapped it on Detective Ben Gray's desk. "Possible missing kid in Sterling Meadows. Roger Oakley's first on scene. Says we need a look."
Kyle Kirby blames Cass McBride for his brother David's death.
So he buries her alive.
With an air supply and a walkie-talkie.
Because he doesn't just want her to die -- he wants her to suffer first.
But he doesn't realize that he's allowed Cass to bring her most powerful weapon with her: Words.
I'm mildly claustrophobic, so I may have been hypersensitive -- but at times, this book made me feel like I wasn't getting enough oxygen. I never connected emotionally with the characters*, but that didn't stop me from being fascinated by their situation. So fascinated, in fact, that due to incessant yakking at the break table, I stomped outside to finish it in the (extremely cold) peace and quiet.
Short chapters, dialogue-heavy, high suspense... I love giving Gail Giles' books to my reluctant readers. More often than not, they eat them up in a matter of days -- these are kids that rarely even FINISH books -- and come back clamoring for more. Cass McBride will be no exception.
It'll be an easy one to recommend. As it's a story about power and manipulation and popularity AND it's a detective story, I'll feel comfortable recommending it to a broad range of teens -- from fans of Gossip Girl to fans of CSI.
*I don't usually, with characters in psychological thrillers. Not sure why.
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