Gaslit

Gripping first-person narration from Davidhizar (Silent Sister) keeps readers on their toes across this enticing murder mystery. High schooler Ella Forrester is nursing a migraine—brought about by a recently diagnosed brain tumor—when she arrives at her aunt Julie’s house for a babysitting gig. Upon realizing that the house is filled with natural gas, and that Julie and her two sons are unconscious, Ella calls 911 and attempts to rescue the family; she’s able to save the boys before passing out from the fumes herself. Following her discharge from the hospital, Ella returns to the house and encounters Julie’s neighbor Dominic. Together, they search the home and discover that a gas pipe was intentionally unhooked, turning the family tragedy into a murder investigation. As Ella’s list of possible perpetrators grows, so too do her romantic feelings for Dominic. But when her number one suspect is seemingly proven innocent and her migraines—and the occasional hallucinatory episodes that attend them—become more frequent, she worries about whether she has what it takes to reveal the truth. Standard red herrings and twists demonstrate the author’s genre savvy, making this an ideal pick-up for fans of fast-paced, suspenseful mystery fare. Main characters read as white. Ages 12–up. Agent: Molly Ker Hawn, Bent Agency. (Jan.)