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Summary
Summary
When 16-year-old Scarlett Wakefield transfers from St. Tabby's to Wakefield Hall Collegiate, she is relieved that no one knows her dark, haunting secret. A few months ago, Scarlett was invited to an elite party with a guest list full of the hottest names in British society, including Dan McAndrew. Before the party, Scarlett had only imagined what it would be like to have her first kiss with Dan, but on the penthouse terrace, Dan leaned in close and she no longer had to wonder. Their kiss was beautiful and perfect and magical, and then . . . Dan McAndrew took his last breath as she held him in her arms. No one knows how or why Dan died, and everyone at St. Tabby's believes Scarlett had something to do with it. But now that she's safely hidden away at Wakefield Hall, Scarlett would rather forget that it ever happened. Only she can't. Especially when she receives an anonymous note that will set her on the path to clearing her name and finding out what really happened to the first and last boy she kissed.
Author Notes
Lauren Henderson was born & bred in London, where she worked as a journalist, a club bartender, & at other poorly paid jobs before going to Tuscany on holiday & never returning home.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 8 Up-Seconds into her first kiss, Scarlett watches her dream guy, Dan, fall to the floor dead. Traumatized, she switches from one posh English girls' school to another, where a mysterious note forces her to question whether he died naturally or was murdered. Sharp, witty narration makes Scarlett's simple sleuthing a lark. Teens will find themselves enamored with Henderson's sassy British colloquialisms and the protagonist's pluck. Her gymnastics skills, which surface at key moments throughout the story, will inspire oohs and aahs as well. A cliff-hanger ending might frustrate readers looking for resolution, but like a complicated tumbling sequence, this lithe mystery has great momentum.-Shelley Huntington, New York Public Library (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Turning for the first time to YA, Henderson (the Sam Jones mysteries; Jane Austen's Guide to Dating) kicks off her Scarlett Wakefield series with a mostly captivating mystery. Sixteen-year-old Scarlett is trapped in social obscurity at St. Tabitha's, an ultra-ritzy, all-girls' school in London. Used to spending her free time at gymnastics practice and watching movies with her only two friends, Scarlett is stunned when the school's poshest set invites her to one of their parties. She eagerly accepts, hoping to see her longtime crush, Dan McAndrew, the most golden of the boys from the neighboring school. But when she and Dan actually kiss, he drops dead at her feet-and her classmates brand Scarlett a murderer. Forced to flee to Wakefield Hall Collegiate, a private school in the English countryside where her aristocratic grandmother reigns as headmistress, Scarlett launches her own investigation to discover the cause of death and clear her name. The marriage of chick lit and murder can be awkward: Scarlett can barely breathe in Dan's presence, but Henderson can't let readers get invested in him lest the treatment of his death seem casual. However, this author knows just how to time even the smallest revelations for maximum drama, and her mini-sleuth has a natural glamour and intelligence that Nancy Drew can only dream of. The audience will be rivited. Ages 14-up. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
After her first kiss results in the sudden death of the boy she kisses, sixteen-year-old Scarlett becomes determined to figure out the truth and restore her good name. She uses her talents for observation, humor, and gymnastics along the way. The ending feels largely unresolved, but the mystery features many twists that will keep readers guessing. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
Stylish, sassy prose spins a whodunit that doesn't quite satisfy. Sixteen-year-old Scarlett Wakefield suffers from the usual teenage-girl angst: to be part of the popular crowd and to kiss Dan, one of the most popular boys in her class. When these wishes are granted with an invitation to a posh party, Scarlett finds herself among the glitzy girls and their upscale lifestyle and in the arms of her adored Dan. When she and Dan kiss, he suddenly, horribly dies of anaphylactic shock. Nicknamed "the Kiss of Death Girl," Scarlett is sent to live with her grandmother at Wakefield Hall. Finding an anonymous note in her desk, she discovers that she may not be to blame for Dan's death and finds herself embroiled in mystery. Reminiscent of a young Stephanie Plum, Scarlett's sharp sense of self-deprecating humor shines. While a breezy blend of mystery and mean-girl fun, Henderson's offering doesn't provide its reader enough of a resolution to be fulfilling; they may be disappointed to work their way through to find that too many threads have been left dangling in order to carry over to a sequel. (Fiction. YA) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Fans of Libba Bray's books will enjoy this contemporary British murder mystery featuring 16-year-old Scarlett Wakefield, an orphaned heiress who believes that her first kiss kills her longtime crush, Dan McAndrew. Although she is not charged with Dan's death, Scarlett feels responsible, and her subsequent expulsion from her exclusive London private school doesn't help. Scarlett retreats to her grandmother's private girls' school, where she tries to put herself back together and find out who, and what, really killed Dan. Henderson knows how to construct a murder mystery. Her pacing and exposition of clues are skillful, and intriguing secondary characters abound. The many Briticisms make sense in context and will not deter American readers. Scarlett is a talented gymnast, and her training episodes capture the sport's excitement and the athletes' constant striving for perfection. An abrupt ending will leave readers gasping with anticipation for a sequel that will hopefully pick up the fast-paced story's loose threads.--Carton, Debbie Copyright 2008 Booklist