Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In June 2010, in Wildwood, Tenn., 17-year-old Thea Delacroix, the heroine of this engrossing mystery from Stevens (Dress Codes for Small Towns), and her friends are still searching for her Kentucky cousin, Aulus McClaghen, a teen who went missing a year earlier. She fears Aulus is a victim of the Gemini Thief, who, since 2001, has been kidnapping three children at a time, holding them for 13 months, then releasing them without harm. This pattern changes with the discovery of the body of one of the kidnapped boys with Aulus's key chain stuffed in his mouth, one made by Thea's father, who soon becomes the FBI's primary suspect. The letters written by Aulus while captive, addressed to real-life kidnapping victim Elizabeth Smart, allow the reader to experience the boy's fears and courage. A surprising culprit is revealed at the heartbreaking, though hopeful, ending. Stevens takes a good swing at resolving lost faith and trust while trying to rebuild the strengths and bonds of family and friends. Ages 13--up. (Mar.)
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Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 8 Up--The hunt for a serial kidnapper in Tennessee intensifies when one captive is discovered dead. For almost 10 years, the Gemini Thief periodically abducts three boys in June and keeps them captive but unharmed for a full year. Thea Delacroix suspects, though, that there was a fourth abductee in the latest cycle of June Boys--her cousin Aulus, who mysteriously disappeared around the same time. Thea, along with her boyfriend Nick and friends Tank and Gladys, have spent the last year combing through evidence in their quest to find her cousin and identify the kidnapper. When Aulus's keychain is found on the recently discovered June Boy's body, Thea begins to suspect that the kidnapper may be closer to home. Mystery enthusiasts will enjoy this intricately plotted small-town thriller. The gradually intensifying narrative will leave readers guessing about the Gemini Thief's identity. Repeated use of red herrings will give some readers whiplash as they follow Thea's investigation into her father's background in an attempt to identify the true kidnapper. Interspersed amidst her search are candid letters written in captivity by Aulus that add important context and increase emotional stakes. Readers pulled in by the overall story line will be willing to overlook pacing issues and inconsistent character development. VERDICT Hand this intense read to teens who enjoy mystery thrillers.--Pearl Derlaga, York County Public Library, VA
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A girl struggles to uncover the identity of a kidnapper before her cousin's time runs out.Almost every June, three Tennessee boys disappear. They're kept in an underground bunker for 13 months before being released; 12 have been taken so far. The mysterious kidnapper is known as the Gemini Thief: an adult of average height and weight dressed in a welding helmet and a black racing jumpsuit. Thea believes the Thief took her cousin, Aulus McClaghen, the year before and that he was not a runaway. When the body of a known Gemini Thief victim turns up with Aulus' keychain, fear escalatesand her eccentric father immediately comes under scrutiny as the last person to see Aulus before his disappearance and the one who gave him the distinctive keychain. The two had been working on Thea's father's passion project, a castle he claimed God asked him to build. Despite the pain of evidence pointing toward her father's guilt, she'll stop at nothing to find Aulus. Two distinct narratives unfold through Thea's first-person perspective and Aulus' letters written within the bunker. Though the final reveal is surprising and chilling, both Thea's and Aulus' journeys feel meandering until they finally reach sudden crescendos. Each red herring is a bit too hammered in, and truly tense moments are few and far between. One of Thea's friends is black while all other characters are white. A slow-burn story that could do with more sparks. (Fiction. 14-18) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
