The Killer in Me

Gr 9 Up—Seventeen-year-old Vermont native Nina has intimate knowledge of a serial killer living in New Mexico. She knows his methods of selecting and disposing of victims, the steps he takes to make sure he will never be caught, and the name he chose for himself: the Thief. Nina finally has an opportunity to do something with her knowledge, so she turns to her former best friend Warren, but unwilling to tell him how she knows of the Thief, Nina lies. Although Warren is skeptical of her story and concerned for her mental well-being, his longtime crush on Nina compels him to help, and the teens set out to track the killer. But when she finally meets the Thief, he seems anything but the homicidal sociopath the protagonist has described. Could she have been wrong? What if there is no Thief? Is there a way to truly find out? Flowing and expressive prose paints a clear picture of Nina and Warren as they follow the Thief, wavering between certainty and doubt, both with regard to the killer and each other. The teens are smart, self-aware, believable characters, and a budding romance between the two adds another layer to the work without detracting from the story line. Nina's secret and multiple plot twists will keep readers guessing until the end.