Everyone has secrets…

Who killed Annabel Harper?

When a popular teen beauty’s body is discovered by the pool at an elite tennis club, the regulars are shocked—especially twelve-year-old Evie and her best friend, Chelsea. While everyone else is haunted by Annabel’s death, Evie and Chelsea jump on the case, dogging the footsteps of the lead detective as he investigates.

THE UNDERDOGS by Sara Hammel is an exciting murder mystery with an unexpected twist.

When popular teen Annabel Harper is murdered at an elite tennis club, Evie and her best friend Chelsea set out to find the killer. From spying on the lead detective to conducting their own informal investigation, the two are intent on solving the crime.

Librarians will find youth re-reading this middle grade book looking for hidden clues to the book’s amazing twist. Ask readers to take a pledge of silence so they don’t give away the unexpected reveal near the end of the book. Although the mystery itself will be enough to keep most readers happy, it’s the unique twist that will keep this title circulating.

To learn more about the author, go to http://www.sarahammelbooks.com/.

Published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux an imprint of Macmillan on May 31, 2016. ARC courtesy of the publisher. ( )

This story is a murder mystery. Pay attention to the chapter titles--Before and After, which represent before the murder and after the murder. I was ignoring the titles and just reading along, which made me very confused until I figured out that we were going back in time and then back to the present.

Annabel Harper is dead. She was murdered at the elite tennis club where Chelsea and Evie spend the summer because their parents work there. Evie is ignored by most of the people and treated badly by one of the rich tennis kids. Everyone loves Chelsea, so it’s hard on Chelsea to see Evie being treated badly. Evie deals with rejection by eating, which doesn’t help because then she’s teased for her weight. Evie is also ignored by her father. Evie was dropped off by her mother because she didn’t want to be a parent and surprised her dad with a kid. He doesn’t seem to mind, but he does forget her a lot. Chelsea wants more for Evie.

Evie is twelve and Chelsea is her best friend. Chelsea’s life hasn’t been easy either. Hints are given and eventually her story is revealed, but she has disabilities from abuse that keeps her from being fully mobile. Evie and Chelsea decide to solve the murder by following the detective and listening to his questions of the involved parties. It’s a tense summer of wondering who could kill someone who was really nice, but learning information could put them in danger.

I thought the novel was really cute and sweet. Discovering who murdered Annabel isn’t the surprise in the novel. There are other surprises that will make the novel more interesting. Do NOT read ahead; you will ruin the book! This is a solid middle school mystery. Give it a chance. ( )