From the first paragraph, Giles's (Shattering Glass
) story grabs readers' attention, and doesn't let go: "She's dead, isn't she? If she was alive, I wouldn't be handcuffed to a table in an interview room. You'd take her statement before you'd come at me for a confession, right?" Kyle Kirby blames Cass McBride for his younger brother's suicide, and exacts a terrible revenge: he kidnaps 17-year-old Cass from her house, and buries her alive, with a walkie-talkie so he can upbraid her, while she tries to outthink her captor. Alternating chapters in the teens' first-person narrative, with an interspersing of chapters from detective Ben Grey's perspective, build the suspense, as the detective races to discover Cass's whereabouts before it's too late. At times, the chapters can be confusing, as they skip back and forth between past and present. But the dialogue between Cass and Kyle, and their thoughts, make for compelling reading. The two teens must confront some unpleasant truths about themselves and the events that led to David's suicide, and they also come to a better understanding of each other. Giles does a terrific job of creating two well-rounded characters, and of withholding the outcome of Cass's fate until the very end. Readers will be riveted. Ages 15-up. (Nov.)
