There's long been conjecture about the sexual orientations of the three teenage-girl sleuths who anchor the Nancy Drew books, the classic series for mystery-loving tweens and teens. Conversely, Robin Talley's queer young adult thriller Everything Glittered centers on a trio of adolescent girls who are taking risks both romantically and in their detective work.
Set in 1927--peak Prohibition--in Washington, D.C., the novel begins with 17-year-old narrator Gertie Pound and friends Milly and Clara from her all-girls finishing school plotting to visit a speakeasy, a gathering spot full of young women "who care more for adventures than debutante gowns." But first there's drama at the school faculty party: a missing diamond earring, the sound of a gunshot outside, and a figure running down the alley. None of this derails the girls' speakeasy outing, during which Mrs. Rose, their firebrand headmistress, is found dead in her office, surrounded by bottles of booze; her death, according to the newspaper, has been "ruled an accidental poisoning following the illegal consumption of liquor."
As Everything Glittered follows the girls' efforts to unearth the truth about Mrs. Rose's death, the snaky plotting serves up several gasp-making surprises. Talley (Our Own Private Universe; Pulp) may be nodding to Nancy Drew with the book's girl-sleuth trio, hidden indoor spaces, and menace-oozing suspects, but unlike Nancy, Gertie is as focused on her potential love interests-slash-fellow investigators as she is on the case. Her search for justice for Mrs. Rose parallels a search of the more personal sort: for "people like me." --Nell Beram, freelance writer and YA author