Fine Young People

In this solid outing, Bruno (Ordinary Hazards) uses the framework of a whodunit to drive at deeper questions of faith and family. At the prestigious St. Ignatius High School in the Pittsburgh suburbs, seniors Frankie Northrup and Shivani Badlani research the mysterious death 18 years ago of St. Ignatius hockey star Woolf Whiting for their journalism class. Woolf was found dead of an apparent overdose in the school’s chapel during a game, and police labeled the incident a suicide after a halfhearted investigation. Frankie and Shivani interview those closest to Woolf at the time—his girlfriend, Susanna Mercer; his sister Maddie Whiting; and his best friend, Vince Mahoney—learning explosive secrets about their school in the process. Bruno nimbly toggles between Frankie and Shiv’s investigation and chapters chronicling the lives of their interview subjects, playing fair with readers and planting a few major surprises along the way. For the most part, though, mystery-solving takes a backseat to weightier considerations of growing up and finding purpose. A less assured writer might have failed to make it all coalesce, but Bruno pulls it off, thanks to her keen sense of what’s at stake for her teenage characters and Frankie’s indelible voice. It’s a winner. Agent: Samantha Shea, Georges Borchardt, Inc. (July)