Signed Sealed Dead

Gr 8 Up–Paige and her parents have just made the move from England to America. Things had been tough in England over the past year and the family hopes the move will be a chance for a fresh start, especially since the small town is where Paige’s father grew up. But the picturesque town has a dark past, and from the day of their arrival, things begin to go wrong. It starts when Paige receives a handwritten letter in the mail, taunting her that there are secrets in the new house. It only escalates from there as Paige learns about the town’s history from the 1990s, when five teen girls were murdered. The murderer, seemingly driven by the satanic panic, was never caught. When the murders begin again with one of Paige’s new classmates, no one is certain if it is a copycat killer or the original murderer. It’s up to Paige and her new friends to figure out what is going on before more girls are murdered. The story hooks readers from the first chapter and is well paced, though it does end a bit abruptly, with the mystery wrapping up too quickly and cleanly. However, readers looking for a fast-paced story or fans of a good mystery will still enjoy it. Paige reads as white with some side characters implied to be people of color.