Famous Last Words

July 15, 2014
Willa uses her mysterious ability to communicate with the beyond to track a murdering psychopath.After moving to Los Angeles with her mother and stepdad, Willa discovers a ghostly presence haunting their new home. The local news is consumed with reports of a serial killer stalking up-and-coming actresses, and it doesn't take long for Willa to figure out that their specter is one of the butcher's victims. It's a clever premise, and the whodunit fails in only one aspect: It's incredibly obvious who did it. Once the killer is introduced as an ancillary character, even novice detectives will be able to point and cry, "Guilty!" Luckily, the characters and their investigation more than make up for this. The procedural elements are well-executed and complemented by characters that readers will truly come to care about and a romance that resonates. Alender enhances the mystery by setting it in Hollywood, a town where no one is quite who they seem to be. The result is a mystery that's worth it for the chase if not for its conclusion.A compelling supernatural thriller. (Paranormal mystery. 12-16)

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August 1, 2014

Gr 8 Up-Willa's new stepdad, Jonathan, is a movie director, which is how she finds herself transplanted to Hollywood from suburban Connecticut. Willa isn't particularly thrilled about her mom remarrying-she is still reeling from her father's death two years ago. But for her mom's sake she is determined to make it work. On the plus side there's Marnie, a new friend at school, and Reed, Jonathan's cute, young assistant who seems to like Willa as much as she likes him. Unfortunately, there's also a murderer, aka the Hollywood Killer, on the loose who enjoys re-creating iconic scenes from classic movies, such as the final attack scene from Hitchcock's The Birds. The murderer's victims-always young aspiring actresses-play the starring roles. Wyatt, Willa's unfriendly chemistry lab partner at school, seems oddly obsessed with the crimes. As if that weren't enough, Willa's new house is haunted. The ghost is desperate to tell her something; Willa thinks it might have something to do with the Hollywood Killer. The plot moves at a breakneck pace as Alender has jam-packed her latest novel with murder, ghosts, and romance. At the heart of this story, however, is Willa coming to terms with her father's death. Fans of the author's "Bad Girls Don't Die" series (Disney-Hyperion), as well as readers who enjoy suspense and supernatural elements with their romance, won't be disappointed.-Ragan O'Malley, Saint Ann's School, Brooklyn, NY

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