Who Are You?

Edgar-winning author Nixon combines test tube babies, art dealers and forged masterpieces with the usual teen concerns like boyfriends and uncooperative parents to cook up her most recent fast-paced mystery. As the novel opens, 16-year-old Kristi Evans and her parents are puzzled when police show up at the house to inform them that a wealthy man, Douglas Merson, has been shot, and has been keeping a secret file on Kristi. Her parents, both accountants, are concerned but preoccupied (its tax season) and too busy to play private eyeor to notice that their daughters on the case. As she delves into the mystery, Kristi uncovers facts that prompt her to start questioning her past. She wants to be an artist, but her practical parents think its a foolish dream. On the other hand, Mr. Merson, whom she visits while he recovers from the shooting, respects her plans, is a painter himself, and offers to send her to art school. But why his interest in Kristi? Add to that a mysterious connection between Mersons son (under an alias) and Kristis mother, and the ingredients are here to hook and hold readers until all is resolved at the finish. Ages 12-up. (May)