Sketchy Behavior

Drawing Conclusions or Drafting Disaster?Other than harboring a somewhat obsessive fondness for Crispix and completely swearing-off boys after a bad date (don’t ask), sixteen-year-old Kate Carter is about as ordinary as they come, except for her two notable talents: art and sarcasm. After an introduction to forensic sketching in her elective art class, Kate discovers a third and most unexpected gift: criminal profiling. Her photo-quality sketch helps the police catch a wanted murderer and earns her celebrity status in South Woodhaven Falls. But when that murderer appears to be using his friends to exact revenge, Kate goes from local hero to possible target. Will she manage to survive? Will life ever be normal again? And will local news anchor Ted Deffle ever stop sending her flowers?

Sixteen-year-old Kate Carter sees her life as typical and unremarkable. Her days are filled with school, homework, and television viewing with her best friend, Maddy. Having sworn off dating after one disastrous experience, she has a pleasant, if perfunctory, relationship with her parents, and only the vaguest sense of who God might be. This all changes dramatically after her well-meaning art teacher introduces Kate and her classmates to forensic sketching. Before Kate knows it, her sketch of a notorious murderer is making headlines. As Kate loses her anonymity and her sense of security, she and her mother begin to seek spiritual solace at church, and soon Kate finds herself engrossed by the Psalms and Gospel of Luke. Additionally, Kate’s world opens up beyond the confines of her friendship with Maddy, and she meets a boy who might even make her reconsider her dating ban. Though it is occasionally difficult to suspend disbelief, especially when a sketch artist gets such sustained celebrity treatment, Kate’s wit and self-deprecation, combined with Mangum’s entertaining take on the crime thriller genre, make for pleasurable reading.

Erynn Mangum is the author of the Miss Match and the Cool Beans series. She’s nuts about all things coffee, is crazy for pink, and adores the Food Network. Erynn lives with her husband, Jon, and their son in Albuquerque, New Mexico.