Tag, You’re Dead

Six teenagers play a high-stakes game of tag through Chicago in this engrossing standalone from the pseudonymous Lane (Leave Tomorrow Behind and five other Stella Crown mysteries as Judy Clemens). Unattractive socialite Brandy Inkrott loathes naturally pretty, popular girls, so her wealthy parents gift her with the chance to kill Laura Wingfield, a stranger who’s everything Brandy isn’t. Robert Matthews, a politician’s son, believes he’d be the star of his high school basketball team with Tyrese Broadstreet out of the way. Brilliant Charles Akida simply wants a challenge, but to convince equally astute Amanda Paniagua to take the game seriously, he has to appear to pose a lethal threat to her. The “Its” know tagging their “Runner” means committing murder, but they don’t realize that if they fail, the game’s mysterious referee has a twist in store for them—and the hunters will become the hunted. Despite one-dimensional characters and a lack of development, readers will enjoy seeing how each Runner draws on his or her best qualities to try to survive the game. [em]Agent: Uwe Stender, Triada US Literary Agency. (July) [/em]