In the 1980s, Kate Meaney is hard at work as a junior detective. Busy trailing "suspects" and carefully observing everything around her at the newly opened Green Oaks shopping mall, she forms an unlikely friendship with Adrian, the son of a local shopkeeper. But when this curious, independent-spirited young girl disappears, Adrian falls under suspicion and is hounded out of his home by the press. Then, in 2003, Adrian's sister Lisa - stuck in a dead-end relationship - is working as a manager at Your Music, a discount record store. Every day she tears her hair out at the outrageous behavior of her customers and colleagues. But along with a security guard, Kurt, she becomes entranced by the little girl glimpsed on the mall's surveillance cameras. As their after-hours friendship intensifies, Lisa and Kurt investigate how these sightings might be connected to the unsettling history of Green Oaks itself.
Reviews
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Junior detective Kate Meaney, who solves "crimes" at her local mall along with her stuffed monkey, goes missing. Her one true friend-- 22-year-old Adrian--is blamed. Catherine Skinner shines as Kate. Skinner imbues her with all the wonder, curiosity, and busyness of a child who is keeping her mind active to avoid the emotional pain of having lost her parents. Skinner stumbles, however, after Kate is kidnapped and the book's focus shifts from Kate's perspective to an examination of the crime scene--the local mall. Skinner's sharp accent and high-pitched voice don't help a mystery derailed by tedious details about a shopping mall. J.T. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine
About the Author
Catherine O'Flynn was born in Birmingham, England, in 1970, where she grew up in and around her parents' candy store. She has been a teacher, web editor, and mystery shopper - and this, her first novel, draws on her experience of working in record stores. After spending several years in Barcelona, she now lives in Birmingham.
