Lately, I have been craving more and more mysteries. I’ve been loving Robert Galraith’s Corman Strike series (yes, yes, JK Rowling), however I haven’t really come across something fun in the YA genre until now. Enter Stephanie Tromly’s Trouble is a Friend of Mine.
The holy trinity of my Nancy Drew, Mrs. Plum in the library with the candlestick, mystery-loving self.
Trouble Is a Friend of Mine
Tromly opens the book in a dire and yet somewhat cooky situation with our narrator and protagonist, Zoe. We then go back to the start of all the trouble, when Zoe moved from New York City to a small town in New York state with her mom who is freshly divorced from her cheating father. Beyond the normal angsty and will-likely-need-therapy-the-rest-of-my-life-because-parents feelings of our teen-aged years, Zoe doesn’t really know who she is. She’s trying to figure that out and struggling a bit. Changing schools halfway through high school doesn’t help the situation, but things are mellow until Digby enters Zoe’s world. She now, somehow she finds herself becoming party of a Scooby gang trying to solve the mystery of a missing teen and perhaps an older mystery of a missing child.
Digby is the Sherlock/Veronica of their group, where Zoe is a bit more of the Xander (throwing multiple tv references together is a specialty of Digby’s). And while I contemplated whether Digby was somewhere on the spectrum, he worms his way from annoying to someone Zoe enjoys. While she crushes and is fantasizing on, but doesn’t want to admit her attraction to good-guy and jock Henry, the third member of their scooby group, Digby and Zoe unknowingly become extremely close.
The group plans and executes heists by the skin of their teeth while trying to gather information on possible suspects on the missing girl(s). It’s a fun ride along side this zany group of characters trying to do what the adults in the book can’t seem to manage.
Official Summary from Amazon:
Sherlock meets Veronica Mars meets Ferris Bueller’s Day Off in this story of a wisecracking girl who meets a weird but brilliant boy and their roller-coaster of a semester that’s one part awkward, three parts thrilling, and five parts awesome
When Philip Digby first shows up on her doorstep, Zoe Webster is not impressed. He’s rude and he treats her like a book he’s already read and knows the ending to. But before she knows it, Digby–annoying, brilliant and somehow attractive?–has dragged her into a series of hilarious and dangerous situations all related to an investigation into the kidnapping of a local teenage girl. A kidnapping that may be connected to the tragic disappearance of his own sister eight years ago.
When it comes to Digby, Zoe just can’t say no. Digby gets her, even though she barely gets herself. But is Digby a hero, or is his manic quest an indication of a desperate attempt to repair his broken family and exercise his own obsessive compulsive tendencies?
A romance where the leading man is decidedly unromantic, a crime novel where catching the crook isn’t the only hook, a friendship story where they aren’t even sure they like each other–this is a contemporary debut with razor-sharp dialogue, ridiculously funny action, and the most charismatic dynamic duo you’ve ever met.
This is a quick, easy read, perfect for the beach or long car rides to whatever weekend getaway you have planned. I personally prefer my women protagonists to be a bit more on the Veronica Mars/Buffy kickass side of the equation, but Zoe does have some pretty substantial moments of bravery. Her wise-cracking moments seem to be mostly aimed at her mom, which hurt my heart a bit since they are both in pain. This could be a sign of me finally growing up. ::pats self on back:: While Digby definitely lacks some social skills (hence my “on the spectrum” comments,) he does care in some not so obvious ways. You find yourself rooting for him in the end.
Stephanie Tromly’s Trouble is a Friend of Mine comes out on August 4th.
Which are your favorite mystery books? What are your fav mystery tv shows or movies?
