Customer Reviews

Dead Ball Foul: A Silver Dagger Mystery - Young Reader Edition

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Like many small American towns, Judsonville, Virginia is obsessed with football. This year everyone looks especially forward to the annual Homecoming game when the local high school team plays its' arch rival Jackson.

The anticipated event is tarnished when someone kills a referee. The police lean towards a student Aaron as the prime suspect. Aaron's pal Tricia believes he could not murder anyone and teaming up with her boyfriend Luke sets off to prove she is right. Neither Tricia nor Luke realizes how much danger their investigation places them in, as a killer wants to remain anonymous.

DEAD BALL FOUL is clearly a young adult novel that will surprise other mystery readers with how good the plot is. Judsonville seems like a real place and the lead couple and support cast makes the small town feel even more genuine. Younger than the careers of many favorite authors, high school senior Kayla McGrady debuts with a wonderful who-done-it that will take the sub-genre by storm. Additionally, the well written novel will stun those older readers with its fabulous story line and deep rooted characterizations.

Harriet Klausner

When it says that these books are written for a juvenile by a juvenile, they mean it. If I'd been about 9, it would probably have been a good read, but I would not recommend this for anyone over the age of 12. Some of the ways that the clues all just 'fell together' seemed a bit far fetched at times, and did hold me back some from really getting into the story. The ending was so straight from an action movie that it made me quirk my eyebrows in slight disbelief. However, it had a fast-paced and easy to follow plot, with likable characters. There were rich descriptions, though sometimes they tended to get a little wordy. This wouldn't be a book that I would buy for a kid, but I would encourage him to at least check it out of the library. Overall, it was an fairly enjoyable book, but I would only recommend reading it once.

What is the skinny on Dead Ball Foul? There is no skinny in the world of Kayla McGrady, since she has laced the tale with layer upon layer of cake-like mystery. You will wonder whodunit all the way to the last satisfying page. This book is thick, full of hugely real characters who will have you hungering for more as you chuckle a happy tune. There is no fudging in Judsonville, not with superstar know-it-all Tricia Lakely on the case. [...]

i read this god forsaken book to my son, and by the end of the first chapter he successfully guessed every plot twist and the ending. this wouldn't have been too bad, if only he was older than 6. as a reader myself i cannot even dream of recommending this foul bit to anyone even to those younger than 12. I will give it two stars however, for being a first try. if the book had impressed me more i might look into the next one she writes but i don't think i'll be doing that. bottom line, stick to the classics.