Guy Langman: Crime Scene Procrastinator

Berk (The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin) is back with another irreverent mixture of wisecracking humor, teenage insecurity, and the occasional corpse. When underachieving class clown Guy Langman joins his school’s forensics club, it’s both to help deal him with the death of his father and to meet girls. Unfortunately, his plan to get closer to the lovely Raquel Flores fails when she falls for his best friend, Anoop. Guy throws himself into the lesson plan, mastering the art of fingerprinting and using his knowledge to pry into the mysteries of his father’s checkered past. Then, during a forensics competition, he finds a real dead body. Convinced that recent events tie into one another, Guy tries to get to the heart of the matter, with help from the rest of the club. A somewhat thin and disjointed plot is balanced by many laugh-out-loud moments and entertaining interactions between characters, especially Guy’s banter with fellow club member Maureen. Berk has keen talent for characterization and fine insights into the teenage mind. Ages 12–up. Agent: Ted Malawer, Upstart Crow Literary. (Mar.)