One Killer Problem
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
A darkly funny and thoroughly queer mystery thriller with a touch of camp, for fans of Kara Thomas and Kit Frick by way of Only Murders in the Building.
When Gianna “Gigi” Ricci lands in detention again, she doesn’t expect the glorified study hall to be her alibi.
But when she and her friends receive a mysterious email directing them to her favorite teacher, Mr. Ford's, room, they find him lying in a pool of blood. But calling the math teacher’s death an accident doesn’t add up, and Gigi needs all the help she can get to find the truth. Luckily, she’s friends with her high school’s Mystery Club, and so with her best friend, Sean, and longtime crush, Mari, Gigi sets out to solve a murder.
But it turns out that murderers are extremely unwilling to be caught, and the deeper Gigi gets in this mystery, the more dangerous things become. Between fending off a murderer, continual flare-ups of her IBS, and her archnemesis turning flirtatious, making it out of junior year is going to be one killer problem.
With a wry, hilarious voice and a main character who is the walking definition of a disaster bi, this book is an ode to cozy mysteries, queer found families, and fighting for the people you love, no matter what.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Queer teen romance blossoms during a homicide investigation in this kindhearted whodunit from Winans (The Otherwoods). Sixteen-year-old Gigi Ricci knows that her math teacher, Mr. Ford, was murdered. The Cleveland police might believe he fell off a ladder while hanging a punny cat poster, but Mr. Ford disliked both cats and puns and wouldn't have stayed late on a Friday to decorate. Furthermore, the school's Mystery and Thriller Literary Scholars—comprising Gigi's best friend Sean, and her secret crush, Mari—received an anonymous email summoning them to Mr. Ford's room within moments of Gigi discovering the body. Mr. Ford was always supportive of Gigi, who catches a lot of flak regarding her financial precarity and her identity as a queer martial artist with IBS and "anger issues." So, since no other adults seem interested in seeking justice for Mr. Ford, and Sean and Mari need more club members to merit a meeting space, Gigi agrees to sign up in exchange for the puzzle-savvy duo's help in investigating his death. The campy central mystery is half-baked, but Gigi's nuanced emotional arc and candid first-person-present narration buoy Winans's inclusive, empowering tale. Most characters are queer and cue as white. Ages 13–up.
