at an alternative boarding school in western Massachusetts. An institution for at-risk kids and--in Madeline's case--court appointed teachers, much of her time at the Santangelo Academy is spent keeping her mentally disturbed pupils from going off in expectantly unpredictable ways. Still she’s popular with the kids, her toned-down rebellious streak and neverending supply of 60's reminisces (book is set in 1989) never failing to resonate with students, and warrant some backbiting from the other, less-liked faculty in the process.When a student, Fay Perry, becomes pregnant by her boyfriend Mooney LaChance, Madeline is the only one to know of their predicament just prior to both kids sudden and shocking death by poisoning. Despite the hush-hush attitude assumed by the school’s eccentric headmaster, David Santangelo, along with much of the faculty, Madeline knows something’s amiss and becomes determined to have the truth realized even if it means being implicated in the ongoing investigation. Of course her part-time sleuthing’s not so popular with everyone, evident when certain "accidents" start to befall Madeline at seemingly every turn. Finding herself in too deep to back out now, Madeline must fight not only solve the mystery of the poisoned teens, but to clear her name and preserve her reputation in the process.
Cornelia Read's second Madeline Dare novel dishes out some serious attitude accompanying its heroine as she strives to peg the real menace at Santangelo Academy. Along the way, she encounters some particularly disturbing, off-the-wall characters at what could almost pass as a halfway house for the underaged. It's a place where curious, compelling and downright dangerous episodes are merely an on-the-job hazard. It's also what makes this a perfect 'read' (no pun intended) for fans of whodunit capers and amateur sleuth novels. (MYS READ)
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