Black Rabbit Summer by Kevin Brooks

Peter is having sort of a lazy summer. Better yet, he’s in the midst of a lazy teenage boy life. When Nicole calls saying that she wants to get the group together one last time before she and her twin brother move with the family to Paris, how can he say no? Even when a little voice in his head is telling him not to go.

The night that Peter, Nicole, Eric, Pauly, and Raymond meet up at “for old time’s sake” changes everything for everyone. Stella Ross, a childhood friend turned famous model/actress/star, goes missing from the carnival and it seems that everyone who saw her that night is being considered a suspect, especially Raymond, who has also gone missing. Peter’s dad, the cop, gets kicked off the case because Peter was one of last people to be seen talking to Stella and Raymond. But all Peter wants to do is find his friend and prove his innocence, so he can’t seem to keep away from the wrong people at the wrong times.

This is a full-fledged mystery, complete with distrust, last-minute twists, and a touch of gore. Brooks doesn’t hold back for the sake of his readers, so this book is only recommended for older mystery readers who have a taste for the bizarre. At times predictable, and at other times just too weird to completely grasp, this mystery manages to pull the reader along, whether he likes it or not.

Call number: YA BROOKS (Teen Room)

Reviewed by kate the librarian