Davis, Brooke Lauren. After Dark with Roxie Clark. Bloomsbury, 2022. 978-1-547-60614-6. 341 p. $18.99. Grades 9-12.

The Clark women of Whistler, Indiana, are rumored to be cursed; they tend to die young, tragically, and memorably. With her popular ghost tour, After Dark with Roxie Clark, 17-year old Roxie puts her flair for the dramatic (and her penchant for all things gruesome) to profitable effect by showcasing stories from her unique family history. She only shares the stories that she’s painstakingly researched, fact-checked, and (okay) sometimes embellished for her customers. She’s less at ease discussing the still-unsolved murder of her older sister’s boyfriend, whose mutilated remains were found a year ago in one of Whistler’s many cornfields. Having dropped out of college, Skylar is now obsessed with solving Collin’s murder herself, leaving no one off the suspect list. She pulls a reluctant Roxie into her investigation, uncovering dangerous and painful secrets that make even the fearless Roxie Clark realize how vulnerable she is.

THOUGHTS: A genuinely cool lead character, slow-burn romance, and deft plot twists will have readers ready to hop aboard Roxie’s tour bus; her ghost stories are the star of this fantastic young adult thriller!

Mystery          Amy V. Pickett, Ridley SD