British charm radiates from every panel of this graphic novel. Teenage Charlotte is a beautiful rich kid who gets everything she wants, but a poor Photoshop job on a fake ID gets her busted when she tries to get into a nightclub. Her punishment is to spend the summer in the country with her grandparents at the country club they run (“It’s like a crummy idea for a reality show that might be funny if it weren’t actually starring me
”). Geraldine, one of her grandfather’s employees, tells Charlotte that there is a dark secret at the heart of her family; a few days later, Geraldine is found dead in a water trap on the golf course. Due to ritualistic aspects of the murder, suspicion first falls on a pack of neighborhood “goth” teens, but Charlotte begins to suspect her grandfather may be guilty of a crime of passion. While Charlotte juggles a blossoming romance with the drudgery of running the country club’s pro shop, a bona fide mystery begins to emerge—and the payoff, which involves human sacrifice, a secret coven and odd astrological symbols, is both satisfying and humorous. While the target audience for the Minx imprint is girls, most boys will also find this fun. Ages 10-up. (July)
