This is another winner that I discovered through the What Should I Read Next? podcast that I mentioned yesterday. I think this time she was actually interviewing the author.

In this book, a teenaged boy’s father has agreed to turn state’s evidence against a crime lord, and he and his family (self, wife, and son) are placed in witness protection. However, the crime lord has gone under ground, delaying the trial indefinitely; and the boy’s father can’t stop breaking the law, even in witness protection. Which means that they keep getting moved to new communities, being assigned new identities and new backstories. It’s grown a little tiring for the witness protection marshal assigned to watch over them, for the boy, and for his mom. WitSec has told them that, if they mess this one up, they will be kicked out of witness protection (which, in most cases, means that the crime lord will find them and they will quickly be at risk of revenge). They are told to keep a low profile and do their jobs: for dad, a bookkeeper, a low-level bookkeeping job at the mall; for mom, stay-at-home mom, much to her annoyance and boredom; and for the boy, go to school and keep out of trouble.

Unfortunately, this feels impossible. The dad immediately starts acting evasive in a way that tells the mom and son that he has gotten caught up in something else shady. The mom reacts by trying to contact old friends to get the cash to take her son and run. The son immediately makes enemies with the school bully and star quarterback who notices the boy admire a cheerleader who happens to be the quarterback’s ex-girlfriend; and the boy makes friends with the high school paper editor and only reporter – and brother of the cheerleader – who draws him into reporting for the paper, and promises to let him in on the super-top-secret scoop he is working on.

When the boy discovers the editor’s bloody body in the newsroom – supposedly he committed suicide – only his mom’s assertive and timely intervention ensure that he isn’t hauled away by the local sheriff – something WitSec would definitely not consider “low profile.” The boy and the sister team up because neither one believes that the editor killed himself; but all they have to go on are the mismatch between the town’s suspiciously positive crime statistics and the complaints from everyone they know about the actual crime happening in the town.

This brings under their eye the mayor (who is clearly up to no good with the boy’s father), the school bully, the newpaper editor’s drug-dealing uncle – or could it be someone else?

This was a fun book to read. The boy and his teen friends come across as totally believable to me, and so do the adults. The kid’s behavior – covering for his dad with his mom – seems justifiable as that of a kid who doesn’t want his parents to get divorced. And the twist at the end, explaining the other reason he did this – as well as the reason that his dad turned state’s evidence to begin with, completely took me by surprise. So did the ultimate culprit.

Taking me completely by surprise is not an easy thing to do.

The kid’s perspective is the main thing that hooked me on this book – his voice seems unique, as well as the way he is constantly trying to read the people around him, figure out how to keep from getting kicked out of Witness Protection, and also still get what he wants out of various situations – it seems totally unique.

And engrossing. I started this on a plane and finished it up the next morning. A real page-turner.

Great book.