Follow Me

September 1, 2017
The teenage detectives from The Amateurs (2016) return, sent on a chase by their adversary. It's three months after Seneca, Aerin, Maddox, and Madison discovered who killed Seneca's mother and Aerin's sister, but the escape of the killer--their former friend, Brett--is haunting them. Then Chelsea Dawson, an Instagram-obsessed white girl, disappears. The next day, the disappearance is inexplicably posted on Case Not Closed, a cold-case message board, with a post from Brett that draws the Amateurs' suspicions. While biracial Seneca takes the lead in the investigation, torn between catching Brett and dealing with her confusing feelings for white boy Maddox, white girl Aerin is weepy and distracted by thoughts of her sister. Korean-American Madison barely registers in solving the case or with readers, and Maddox seems mostly concerned about how white boy Jeff, Chelsea's ex and a suspect in her disappearance, is apparently putting the moves on Seneca. Throughout the novel, Brett is spinning his web to teach Chelsea a lesson and make the Amateurs realize they're outclassed. While there's enough back story to explain their first case, the immature and two-dimensional foursome are amateurs in both name and ability. Unlike the first, this so-called mystery is utterly lacking in suspense or tension, overflows with leaps of logic, and offers nothing to indicate the teen detectives are any match for Brett--a fatal flaw. Skip. (Mystery. 14-16)

COPYRIGHT(2017) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

October 1, 2017
Grades 9-12 Three months after teen sleuths Seneca, Aerin, Maddox, and Madison (aka the Amateurs) uncovered secrets about the murder of Aerin's sister, an Instagram star goes missingand she looks eerily like Aerin's sister. Shortly after, a message appears on the Case Not Closed message board, for cold cases, and the group receives a letter from their former friend (and suspected killer) Brett, challenging them to solve the case. There is enough backstory that readers can jump right into this plot-driven mystery, where the characters' development is of less concern than proving their amateur-detective status. Indeed amateurs, they constantly impede investigations, and the number of people who readily offer information is a bit unbelievable. As the second book in the series, this functions as a placeholder, setting up developments in the overall mystery without answering any questions left at the end of The Amateurs (2016). Dedicated fans will pick it up, but it's a supplemental purchase only where the first was popular.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)