What a treasure it was to have stumbled upon this book! And to think I almost returned it to the library without reading it! Don’t let anyone ever box in a genre because Jess Lourey just proved that a crime drama can be sweet, sentimental, and hilarious as well as thrilling. Set in 1983 in a small town in Minnesota, a 12 year old girl named Cassandra is our protagonist and living in the midst of her unconventional family and volatile father. Cass is trying to figure out who the masked man is that’s attacking and molesting the community’s adolescent boys and her peers. Could it be a dirty-seeming cop who seems to have an odd connection with Cassie’s own father; a well-liked band teacher about which rumors swirl; an odd and loner neighbor; a bus driver that’s familiar with all the boys on his route who also happen to be victims; her friend’s quiet father that lives across the road; or more darkly to Cass, her own drunk and swinging father? When a sweet boy whom she has a huge crush on (and whom she describes as a feather haired Greek god) disappears she doubles down on her own investigations. Replete with Dynasty and Flash Dance references, funny expressions (“honest to Betsy”), and all the angst and bravery that goes along with being a twelve year old girl, I’ll admit that Cass became very endearing to me as a lead character. I loved everything about this book-it was surprisingly delightful.
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