REALITY CHECK…do you need one?

Actually, that’s the title – Reality Check – a new YA mystery novel by Falmouth author, Peter Abrahams.  Mr. Abrahams also produced the Echo Falls series with Ingrid Levin-Hill as the sharp, young ‘solvist’ of local mysteries and murders.  The new mystery concerns main characters who are in high school.  Cody Laredo is no academic but he’s a decent kid who’s mother died last year and  has a dad who sixpacks his way to compensate for the loss of his wife (never mind his son lost his mom).  He’s got a girlfriend – Clea – who’s smart, beautiful, kind and comes from the wealthy part of town. First Clea gets shipped off to live with an uncle in Thailand because of an A- in calc.  Then when Clea returns she learns she is being sent to boarding school in Vermont, a long, long way from Colorado and Cody.  The relationship is a solid one, though, and they keep in touch.  Cody suffers a sports injury that takes him off the team and ends up aimless….until a report in the news talks about a missing local girl from a private school in Vermont. It’s Clea.  Cody received a puzzling letter from Clea just before she disappeared.  Having no foreseeable future in anything, he gathers his money, jumps into the car, leaves a note for his dad and is off to help with the search to find Clea.  The characters are diverse from the tony, ‘snooty’ private school kids (surprisingly honest in their own well-funded way and some NOT so honest), to cops who seem to want everything told to them first (‘Tell no one else you’re helping out…’) and dark, scowling men who could be trouble and could be just dark, scowling men.  I read quite a few mysteries – yes, the Scandinavian writers are the darkest and best – and really enjoyed the story and writing.  There is a very dark part involving Clea’s beloved horse, Bud, but that’s all I’ll say.  Good summer reading but actually better than just for summer reading. Cody and Clea are sincere characters, well described and you feel their anxiety about having to separate ways.  Authentic and exciting.  Good story telling.