Synopses & Reviews
First Day of 7th Grade — To Do:
- Find locker
- Soccer tryouts, 3 p.m.
- Solve murder case
It's the middle of the night. Junior high starts tomorrow. Madison Kincaid jolts awake to the sound of a phone call from the jailhouse. It's a new case for her father, a renowned defense attorney: Someone's been accused of murdering Madison's second-grade teacher. But no body has turned up. Bent on becoming a lawyer just like her dad, Madison's determined to help him crack the case.
At school the next day, Madison finds she's got not one but two mysteries on her plate. Her best friend, Ann, is nowhere to be found. With the help of Jake Stephenson, a fellow soccer player at Pettygrove Junior High, Madison hits the sidewalks of Portland, Oregon, ready to find out just what's hiding behind these two vanishing acts.
Review
“Best-selling adult author Margolin teams up with his daughter in this youth debut that pulls a few Nancy Drew parallels into a wholly contemporary story. A budding romance and vivid court scenes give readers more reasons to hope for future installments of Madisons adventures.” ALA Booklist
About the Author
Phillip Margolin has written eighteen novels, many of them
New York Times bestsellers, including the recent
Worthy Brown's Daughter,
Sleight of Hand, and the Washington Trilogy. Each displays a unique, compelling insider's view of criminal behavior, which comes from his long background as a criminal defense attorney who has handled thirty murder cases. Winner of the Distinguished Northwest Writer Award, he lives in Portland, Oregon.
Phillip Margolin has written more than a dozen New York Times bestselling mysteries for adults, including Gone, But Not Forgotten; Executive Privilege; and Wild Justice. With Vanishing Acts, he is achieving two new firsts—his first book for young readers and his first book with his daughter, Ami Margolin Rome.
Ami Margolin Rome works in education philanthropy and is a former Peace Corps volunteer. Like Madison, Ami grew up in Portland, Oregon, with a criminal defense attorney for a father. She still lives in Portland today, near her father.