JOPLIN, Mo. —
‘The Girl is Murder’
By Kathryn Miller Haines
Teen fiction
Iris’ life is upside down. Her pop is home from the Navy because of an injury he sustained at the bombing of Pearl Harbor, her mother is dead, and Iris is about to start her sophomore year at the Lower East Side’s P.S. 110 -- a far cry from her former posh Upper East Side private school.
As Iris struggles to find her place in school and with her pop, she begins to realize that Pop’s detective business isn’t doing so well. His ill-fitting prosthetic leg slows him down and makes him memorable to those he is investigating. Obviously, Pop needs help, and Iris thinks she’s just the girl for the job.
After secretly but successfully documenting the affair of a client’s unfaithful wife -- a case Pop struggled with considerably -- Iris thinks her pop will welcome her help with open arms.
Of course, this is not the case. Pop tells Iris, in no uncertain terms, that she is to leave the detecting to him and to concentrate on being a teenager.
When a boy at Iris’ new school goes missing and Pop is hired to find him, Iris decides that she will be Pop’s assistant even if she has to lie to almost everyone in order to make that happen.
Iris’ former good girl persona is shed fairly quickly as she manipulates the truth to her pop and her new friends to find out what happened to Tom. She forms a tentative bond with one of the girls from Tom’s old gang, The Rainbows, and finds herself hanging out with the “wrong” crowd, swing dancing in Harlem and even drinking a little alcohol.
Getting into trouble and lying gets Iris to the bottom of things, but repairing the relationships damaged along the way may prove just a difficult as solving the mystery.
Initially, I hesitated to buy “The Girl is Murder” because the cover art, while capturing the 1940s noir vibe fairly well, doesn’t exactly scream “I’m a good book! Check me out!” (You know we all really do judge books by their covers, right?)
Cover art aside, I am very thankful I decided to trust my gut and get this book. Haines sets the 1940s stage so well I felt like I was watching a movie from that era.
The characters are solid, believable people who make the pages fly with their witty, slang-filled dialogue. The mystery surrounding Tom’s disappearance is well constructed with enough twists to keep readers interested. And Iris’ struggle to navigate her new surroundings and fit in are painfully real.
I was most intrigued by the little details of life in the early 1940s -- rationing, racial and class tension, patriotism, etc. I am not typically a reader of historical fiction, but add a little mystery to the history and I’m all in.
“The Girl is Murder” is an excellent choice for teens and adults who like historical fiction or mysteries. The sequel, “The Girl is Trouble” will be out next summer -- with a cover that looks very similar to this one. Maybe I’m wrong about the cover’s appeal.
Cari Rerat is the teen librarian for the Joplin Public Library.
Lifestyles
Cari Rerat, book review: Mystery plants you squarely in the 1940s
- Lifestyles
-
-
Amanda Stone: Do-it-yourself popsicles can be made from fruit, yogurt
It all started with a little white lie involving the blasted ice cream truck. I may have led my innocent toddler to believe that it is a music truck.
-
Cheryle Finley: Vidalia onion worthy of its own festival
Vidalia onions, the state vegetable of Georgia, are grown in season during late spring and early summer. First grown near Vidalia, Ga., in the 1930s, these onions are becoming more popular each year.
-
Benji Tunnell: Outside of the theater, movies are still entertaining
Every once in a while, I like to take a break from the weekly movie grind and explore some other entertainment avenues. Being a movie geek, I often gravitate toward film-related stuff.
-
Jeremiah Tucker: New Vampire Weekend album has shades of 'Pet Sounds'
The New York band's third full-length release, "Modern Vampires of the City," an instant classic and the best album of the year, feels like a sequel to that song. It is a record about being on the cusp of real, out-of-your-20s, unromantic adulthood and the terror that accompanies the narrowing of your options.
-
Joe Hadsall: Grilling cookbook packed with inspiration
With a healthy supply of flat irons, I've been able to experiment with a new grilling cookbook that has turned out to pretty handy and comprehensive.
-
Craig Tally: Science, theology can coexist
It doesn't seem to matter that there are scientists who express faith in God, and there are religionists who have a high regard for science. Indeed, there are many people of faith who embrace the discoveries of science without fear and trembling.
-
Joplin church among United Methodists participating in worldwide event
Byers Avenue United Methodist will be among churches around the globe uniting for Change the World, the fourth annual such event that has spread like wildfire throughout the United Methodist denomination.
-
Jeana Gockley: Library lines up reading club books
The Joplin Public Library's annual Summer Reading Club kicks off on Tuesday, May 28, so in preparation for a great summer of reading, I have been digging for titles that fit with this year's "Dig Into Reading" theme.
-
Frankie Meyer: Information is only as good as its source
Those details later become crucial as contradictory information is found, which it will be. How can one decide which detail is correct if the sources of the details are unknown?
-
Ryan Richardson: Groups give tips for preventing dog bites
When I was a teenager in the '90s I had an unfortunate incident with my neighbor's dog, a Brittany, that I had grown up with. It took a chunk out of my thigh when I went into the neighbors' yard to retrieve a ball.
- More Lifestyles Headlines
-
