Philadelphia English teacher Amanda Pepper joins forces with her husband, C.K. Mackenzie, to investigate when a yearly tradition in which children play harmless pranks throughout the city on the night before Halloween turns deadly. - (Baker & Taylor)
Philadelphia English teacher Amanda Pepper joins forces with her private eye husband, C. K. Mackenzie, to investigate when a yearly tradition in which children play harmless pranks throughout the city on the night before Halloween turns deadly, leaving a new teacher near death. 15,000 first printing. - (Baker & Taylor)
No matter the season, the Philadelphia private school where Amanda Pepper teaches English is never a center of tranquility. But with Halloween and the annual Mischief Night party only days away, the hope is that nothing more than old-fashioned vandalism and pranks will take place.
No such luck. Trouble erupts long before the witching hour, as the school is plagued by a series of mishaps ranging from the trivial to the potentially deadly - and most of which seem to center on a group of popular seniors.
A fire alarm rings during a test; all the orange and black paint is stolen from the art room; the mustard packets are taken from the cafeteria. Perhaps more serious: chemicals and equipment disappear from the science lab, as does one of Amanda's exams and her attendance book. And the dapper new science instructor, Juan Reyes, receives a threatening message recalling that a teacher was once flayed to death by his students.
As Amanda juggles teaching, moonlighting as a private investigator with her husband, C. K. Mackenzie, and coping with C. K.'s visiting sixteen-year-old high-school-dropout nephew, she tries to find out what, or who, is behind the ominous events. - (Blackwell North Amer)
No matter the season, the Philadelphia private school where Amanda Pepper teaches English is never a center of tranquility. But with Halloween and the annual Mischief Night party only days away, the hope is that nothing more than old-fashioned vandalism and pranks will take place.
No such luck. Trouble erupts long before the witching hour, as the school is plagued by a series of mishaps ranging from the trivial to the potentially deadly–and most of which seem to center on a group of popular seniors.
A fire alarm rings during a test; all the orange and black paint is stolen from the art room; the mustard packets are taken from the cafeteria. Perhaps more serious: chemicals and equipment disappear from the science lab, as does one of Amanda’s exams and her attendance book. And the dapper new science instructor, Juan Reyes, receives a threatening message recalling that a teacher was once flayed to death by his students.
As Amanda juggles teaching, moonlighting as a private investigator with her husband, C. K. Mackenzie, and coping with C.K.’s visiting sixteen-year-old high school-dropout nephew, she tries to find out what, or who, is behind the ominous events.
Before she can unmask the tricksters, the turmoil in the school increases when students rise up against the administration’s censuring (and censoring) of a campus poet. Then unrest escalates into a lethally explosive menace, and Amanda receives a warning that there is more–and far worse–to come. - (Random House, Inc.)
Gillian Roberts won the Anthony Award for Best First Mystery for Caught Dead in Philadelphia. She is also the author of Philly Stakes, I’d Rather Be in Philadelphia, With Friends Like These . . ., How I Spent My Summer Vacation, In the Dead of Summer, The Mummers’ Curse, The Bluest Blood, Adam and Evil, Helen Hath No Fury, Claire and Present Danger, and Till the End of Tom, among others. Formerly an English teacher in Philadelphia, Gillian Roberts now lives in California. Her website address is www.GillianRoberts.com–and she enjoys receiving fan e-mail at Judygilly@aol.com. - (Random House, Inc.)
Booklist Reviews
Philadelphia English teacher and amateur sleuth Amanda Pepper returns in another entertaining adventure. It's the week before Halloween, and students and faculty at Amanda's school are falling victim to mysterious events that are too ominous to merely be called pranks. Teaming up with her private-eye husband, Amanda determines to find out what's going on and why. As usual, Roberts keeps the story moving swiftly and fairly lightly. Another solid entry in a reliable, contemporary-cozy series. - ((Reviewed February 15, 2006)) Copyright 2006 Booklist Reviews.
Booklist Reviews
In the final Amanda Pepper mystery, the amateur sleuth contemplates leaving her teaching job to join her husband, who is helping his parents dig out after a hurricane. But saying good-bye to her home isn't easy, especially when there is one last case to solve. A woman is dead, apparently a suicide, but Amanda's good friend believes it's murder. Fans of Roberts' popular series may find this one tough going, but only because it's not easy to bid farewell to an old friend. On the other hand, the series ends on a high note, proving again that the sorrow of parting can be sweet. ((Reviewed January 1 & 15, 2007)) Copyright 2007 Booklist Reviews.
