And Then There Were Four by Nancy Werlin - OPTIONAL

Werlin, Nancy And Then There Were Four, 415 pages.  Dial (Penguin), 2017.  $19.  Language: R (30+ swears, 4 ‘f’); Mature Content: PG (same sex kiss); Violence: PG-13 (suicide, death, stabbing).

Why was Saralinda invited to a meeting of the Student Leaders Club at Rockland Academy?  She’s a day student, she struggles dealing with the consequences of being born with a club foot, and really never puts herself out in classes.  But here she is with four fellow students – all prettier, smarter, richer, and mostly more personable than Rachel.  Then the roof comes crashing down.  It takes the kids a while, but they realize that something is really wrong here.  Unless they can put together the hidden motives and stay half a step against the enemy, death for all of them may be inevitable.

At first I thought that 400+ pages was pretty excessive for a murder mystery, but the text is not dense, the personalities are intriguing, and the action, once it really gets going, will grab your attention.  That action approaches unbelievable, but the tension and drama holds up as you will be glued to the pages as you rush towards the resolution.  Werlin pulls off a major coup – I was shocked at one of the twists, because I did not see it coming (that’s a rareity!).

HS – OPTIONAL.  Cindy, Library Teacher