Signed Sealed Dead

July 15, 2024
Letters from an unknown sender lead a transplanted English girl toward the answers in an old murder case. Despite some misgivings, Paige Carmichael is determined to make the best of her new life in the U.S., including finding things to love about the very old, very big, potentially haunted house her dad insisted on. The pool and the view of the Atlantic from her bedroom are nice, as are Madison and Carter Garcia-Moore, the twins who live on the same street and who quickly take Paige under their wing. A poster for a local memorial event for the victims of a 1990s killer known as the Shorehaven Ripper sparks Paige's raging true-crime obsession, to say nothing of the ominous letter that appears in her mailbox suggesting that something important may be hidden in the walls of her house. That something turns out to be the diary of one of the murdered girls, which Paige must quickly use to untangle her family's connections to the story before she becomes a victim herself. Though Murphy covers a whole lot of ground with the topics in this novel, everything fits together smoothly for an enjoyably confounding mystery. The incredibly fast pace doesn't leave much room for character development, though the characters are complex and well balanced enough and with mostly believable motivations, making this an excellent choice for voracious teen thriller readers. Main characters read white; the twins have two moms. Compellingly puzzling.(Thriller. 13-18)

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September 1, 2024

Gr 8 Up-Paige and her parents have just made the move from England to America. Things had been tough in England over the past year and the family hopes the move will be a chance for a fresh start, especially since the small town is where Paige's father grew up. But the picturesque town has a dark past, and from the day of their arrival, things begin to go wrong. It starts when Paige receives a handwritten letter in the mail, taunting her that there are secrets in the new house. It only escalates from there as Paige learns about the town's history from the 1990s, when five teen girls were murdered. The murderer, seemingly driven by the satanic panic, was never caught. When the murders begin again with one of Paige's new classmates, no one is certain if it is a copycat killer or the original murderer. It's up to Paige and her new friends to figure out what is going on before more girls are murdered. The story hooks readers from the first chapter and is well paced, though it does end a bit abruptly, with the mystery wrapping up too quickly and cleanly. However, readers looking for a fast-paced story or fans of a good mystery will still enjoy it. Paige reads as white with some side characters implied to be people of color. VERDICT Readers will find themselves drawn into the dark story of this small town. With only some violence and brief description of dead bodies, it would be acceptable for younger teen readers.-Hannah Pohl

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