A scandalous 1902 criminal case in Pittsburgh is the inspiration for Coles's (Another Kind of Monday) sassy, suspenseful YA novel. Dee Armstrong, a freshman journalism student at the University of Pittsburgh, is fascinated by one of the city's most notorious crimes. Kate Soffel, wife of a prison warden, was accused and convicted of an adulterous affair with a prisoner, and of assisting the prisoner and his brother in a jailbreak. Dee wrote an award-winning paper on the topic and its sensational press coverage during her senior year of high school. Now her obsession with the case has led her to reexamine it. A controversial and power-hungry TV journalist who produced a documentary on Soffel approaches Dee, in response to a letter the teen wrote, and asks Dee to help discover Soffel's "real" story. Dee soon finds herself meeting one of Soffel's relatives, scouring local cemeteries and fighting off the backstabbing TV woman. Coles provides copious—but never tedious—historical details that drape his story in authenticity. Dee and her friends make a likable detective team, even though they sometimes arrive at conclusions too conveniently. Their playful, honest exchanges keep the proceedings on track. A subplot about Dee's mother feels tacked on, but does not detract from the book's main thrust. Most intriguing of all, though, is Coles's revelation in an author's note that he eventually located Soffel's final resting place and is bound to secrecy regarding its whereabouts. Ages 12-up. (June)
