Denise Mealy | The Children’s Book Review | December 21, 2014
By C.L. Gaber and V.C. Stanley
Age Range: 12 and up
Hardcover: 303 pages
Publisher: Merit Press 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4405-7051-3
What to expect: Girl detectives, Mysteries, Romance, Friendship.
Jex Malone is going to spend summer vacation in the worst place on Earth: her dad’s house. She hasn’t seen him in years, unless you count the annual Christmas meet-up where he flies in, takes her to dinner, and awkwardly asks about school before flying back home. So instead of pretending she’s busy, her mom (and the court system) are forcing her to fly to Las Vegas for some serious bonding time while camping out on his cramped, pull-out couch. At least since her dad is a detective, he works a lot.
So when Jex gets bored and starts snooping, she stumbles on a cold case that she knows all too well. It’s about a missing girl named Patty, from her own neighborhood – and Jex remembers it’s the reason why her parents split up. So when the neighbor girls come by to find out who Detective Malone’s long-lost daughter really is, Jex meets a group of well-suited new detective friends. What better way to pass the time in their boring little neighborhood than to figure out who killed Patty? They’re instant friends, naming their newly-formed Detective Agency The Drew-ids (after the famous Nancy Drew). But the clues are adding up at a dizzying speed, and as Jex and her friends draw ever closer to solving the crime, they risk ruining their own lives as well.
This exciting mystery is like a re-imagined Nancy Drew saga, where feisty girls get together to solve crimes and have fun along the way. Great for younger teens and anyone who likes television shows like CSI and Law and Order, Jex Malone is sure to entertain readers until the shocking conclusion. Gaber and Stanley pull readers through a fun mystery that doesn’t get too heavy on the blood and gore, and instead focuses on friendships, cleverness and bravery.
Add this book to your collection: Jex Malone, by C.L. Gaber and V.C. Stanley
About the Authors
C.L. Gaber is a well-known entertainment journalist, syndicated worldwide through the New York Times Syndicate. She also interviews A-listers from Jennifer Lawrence to Robert Pattinson for the Chicago Sun-Times. A movie-loving kid in Chicago, she grew up to earn a degree from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State. Now she lives Nevada with her husband Ron, once her high school boyfriend; her stepdaughter, Sabrina; and their dogs, Colt and Georgie.
Veteran reporter V.C. Stanley covered breaking news for the Associated Press and was an investigative reporter for the Tampa Tribune, and is now a speechwriter at the University of South Florida. She grew up riding horses and hiking the woods of her native southern Oregon before earning a journalism degree from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State. She is married to Doug and is mom to Nicholas. The authors of Jex Malone met on their first day of college in a journalism class and became forever friends–a friendship that, just like the Drew-Ids, proves that the new friend who shows up out of nowhere might be the best present fate can ever hand you.
Jex Malone, by C.L. Gaber and V.C. Stanley, was reviewed by Denise Mealy. Follow along with our Teen Romance Books tag, as well as our Young Adult Books category, to discover more great novels for teens.