The Girl Is Trouble

May 1, 2012
Teen detective Iris Anderson struggles to solve parallel mysteries while coming to terms with her Jewish identity in World War II-era New York City in this engrossing follow-up to The Girl is Murder (2011). It's only been a month since Iris helped her gumshoe dad solve the disappearance of one of her classmates. Now her father is reluctantly allowing her to assist him on cases, but when Iris finds some disturbing crime-scene photos of her deceased mother in his office, she almost regrets her decision. Iris had been told her mother committed suicide. The photos indicate foul play, though, and Iris is determined to find out the truth. Meanwhile, she has also been hired by the Jewish Student Federation at school to uncover who is leaving anti-Semitic notes in members' lockers. The investigation stirs up Iris's feelings of guilt over her own Jewish heritage, which she has essentially ignored. Emotionally distraught and personally involved in both cases, Iris is a prime target for bad boy Benny's romantic overtures. But are his intentions as sweet as they seem? Or is Iris flirting with danger? Haines delves deeper into Iris' intriguing character in this compelling, self-contained sequel while doing a bang-up job of maintaining the ace period setting. A solid addition to what is turning into a swell series. (Historical mystery. 12 & up)

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October 1, 2012

Gr 7-10-This sequel to The Girl Is Murder (Roaring Brook, 2011) finds Iris Anderson, a New York City teen circa 1942, both willing and unwilling to investigate her mother's death. It helps that her father and uncle work as private investigators, because from them she has learned things like how to pick locks. But when a safe left open accidentally reveals photographs of her mother that tell a different story from what the newspapers reported, Iris must confront truths and lies in her own Jewish family. She is plausibly misled by immature impressions of adults, which slow the plot down somewhat but are not distracting. Iris and Pearl build and test their friendship as other kids at their elite private school question their bond because Pearl is unpopular. Iris also gets close to an Italian working-class boy and school misfit, who may or may not become a love interest. These teens spy on one another, adding a layer of interest that draws readers in to more serious issues, such as anti-Semitism. The historical setting gives Iris's probing a certain edge; readers want to know what happened to her mom, but they'll need to understand the bigger picture of how Germans and Americans perceived one another leading up to and during the World War II. Pop is appealing as both a respectful father and grieving husband, but will he stay alive long enough to be there for his daughter? This absorbing novel works on three levels-as the story of the relationship between a daughter and parent, as a drama among teen peers, and as historical fiction.-Georgia Christgau, Middle College High School, Long Island City, NY

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2012
Grades 7-10 Teen sleuth Iris Anderson returns, but she is now sanctioned by her pop to help in his 1940s detective work. And there are more than a few mysteries, like who is writing threatening notes to the Jewish students at P.S. 110. Iris also learns that her mother's recent death was a murder, not suicide, so she is determined to find out the who, what, and why. Though more convoluted than the previous book, The Girl Is Murder (2011), this sequel's high stakes up the ante for Iris. A solid mix of history and mystery.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2013
Iris ([cf2]The Girl is Murder[cf1]), 1940s girl sleuth, investigates two mysteries: anti-Semitic notes anonymously sent to Jewish classmates; and her mother's suicide, which turns out to have been murder. Haines does an admirable job capturing the uneasy mood of wartime NYC, and Iris's internal struggles with the complexity of human nature further develop her well-meaning, if sometimes impulsive, character.

(Copyright 2013 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)