Children's Fiction Mysteries & Detective Stories
Raw Deal
- Publisher
- Playfort Publishing
- Initial publish date
- Nov 2011
- Category
- Mysteries & Detective Stories
-
Paperback / softback
- ISBN
- 9780981316451
- Publish Date
- Nov 2011
- List Price
- $9.95
Classroom Resources
Where to buy it
Description
A simple favour that turns deadly… It's a chance for the new kid, Colin, to score points with popular Jace Turpin. All Colin has to do is take over Jace's early-morning shift at the burger joint. Flip some patties, sizzle up some fries… Easy. Then Colin gets kidnapped. The simple favour turns into a complicated murder puzzle - with Colin as the suspect. Now the heat is truly on.
About the author
Scottish-born and mystery-minded, Melanie Jackson is the author of Orca's Dinah Galloway Mystery Series for eight-to-11-year-olds, and young-adult suspensers such as The Big Dip and High Wire. Melanie, who lives in Vancouver with her husband Bart, is a business/advertising writer and editor. She's a member of the Vancouver Sun's Book Club, which reviews current novels in print and online. Melanie likes hiking, piano, English/Scottish history—and continually learning from the kids she works with as a writing mentor with the Vancouver School Board.
Melanie teaches a mystery unit to Grades 8 and 9 at two Vancouver secondary schools. She welcomes schools’ inquiries about her presentations for intermediate and secondary classes. For more information, e-mail Melanie or visit her blog.
Excerpt: Raw Deal (by (author) Melanie Jackson)
Saturday, October 19, 10:02 a.m. She aims the gun at my heart. “Go on, Colin. Jump.” We’re on the Capilano Suspension Bridge. Far below, Capilano River swirls and foams over the jagged canyon rocks. I step sideways to glance down. The bridge sways. My guts twist. Ray steps sideways, too. In her white-knuckle grip, the gun follows me like a homing device. “You’re going to jump,” she says. “If you don’t, I’ll shoot you.” She can’t mean it, not with those picnickers back there, in the park. She can’t take the chance they’ll look up. She’s bluffing. She has to be. I think of that rushing current, those sharp, pointy rocks. “Forget it,” I tell her. Ray shrugs, and fires.
Editorial Reviews
Writing in first person narration, Melanie Jackson crafts this enthralling mystery novel clearly with her audience of reluctant readers in mind. Jackson writes in short, simple sentences, and uses action-based language, which is appropriate for her target audience. Any reluctant reader would be undaunted by the physical layout of the book: the font is big, and the page count is well under 100 pages. At every turn, Colin learns that people are not always as they seem, for better or for worse. For the most part, the plot is fast-paced and follows a linear progression. However, after reading the resolution of the mystery, I actually felt slightly misled. Given the information in the story, there would have been no way to infer the conclusion. On the positive side, this resulted in a very thrilling and suspenseful ending. Overall, Jackson writes a very entertaining and gripping mystery, one which is realistically set in the region of North Vancouver. This quick read is sure to please any adolescent reader with a taste for fast cars, guns, and double agents! - Dorothea Wilson-Scorgie
