Based on an actual event from her youth, Mary Downing Hahn's (Wait Till Helen Comes) latest novel probes the lingering effects of violence and shows how its survivors begin to piece together their fractured lives.
In the Baltimore heat of 1956, Nora is eager to be done with her junior year of high school so she can begin a "sinful" summer of boys, beaches, cigarettes and beer. The final day of class proves to be one she'll never forget--two girls are killed on their walk to school, and "It's as if the whole world has changed. Nothing is what it used to be. It will never be the same again."
Nora's contemplation of the horror that has beset her neighborhood crowds out her dreams of summer fun. She thinks about how she could have been the one who died; how no God would let innocent girls be murdered; how the killer is still out there somewhere. Hahn explores the thoughts and diaries of various characters in alternating chapters. She offers a complex portrait of a town in the aftermath of such a crime, as well as a glimpse into the twisted psyche of Mister Death: "He smiles at himself. The man you meet at the top of the stairs, that's who he is: the man who isn't there. The man you should pay attention to, the man you shouldn't offend. Vengeance is mine, sayeth the man who isn't there."
This haunting narrative will leave readers with a chilling sense of unease. --Julia Smith, blogger and children's bookseller emerita