Shirley Link is brilliant, brazen and still a whole year away from her driver's permit. Sure, she's only 14 years old and has homework to do, but she'll put it aside for the right mystery! Shirley Link's kickoff adventure pits her against a thief who's stolen thirty thousand dollars from her school's safe. Usually, she'd wrap that kind of case up before Dr. Who. But there's one intriguing, frustrating detail. The half-ton safe disappeared too! Shirley must find the culprit quickly, or else her beloved principal, Mr. Reese, will lose his job. As she digs deeper, Mr. Reese looks more and more guilty. Will Shirley save him, or get him tossed in jail? ~~~ “There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact.” Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
When Jane Madarang's neighbor Natalie kills herself and leaves behind cryptic instructions, it's up to Jane and her classmates to unearth deadly secrets.
*****
Natalie Driscoll is dead.
She threw herself out a window and left her neighbor Jane to unravel their town's darkest secrets. Following Natalie's instructions leads Jane to three other high school students who all have something to hide. The four of them must carry out Natalie's final errand while solving the mysteries written in her diary. But the secrets they unearth may be far more dangerous than what they ever imagined.
Content and/or trigger warning: This story contains scenes of suicide, violence and murder that may be triggering for some readers.
[[word count: 100,000-150,000 words]]