July 10, 2023
A teenager’s half-sister goes missing during a family trip to a ski resort in this riveting mystery by McKay (The Assassin Game). Almost-16-year-old British Esme Gill and her parents are vacationing at the Moon Mountain Resort in New Hampshire, where her 19-year-old sister Gaia has been working. Chaos ensues at the resort when Gaia disappears the day after she and Esme attend a party. Because of her dyspraxia, Esme has difficulty remembering where and with whom she last saw Gaia: “Time, dates, names—it’s all a mash-up,” she says of her diagnosis. As authorities search for Gaia, Esme embarks on her own investigation, along the way befriending Bode, a local boy whose uncle works at the resort. But as she delves deeper into her sister’s disappearance, Esme unearths new-to-her secrets about Gaia and learns that everyone at the resort might have something to hide—even Bode. While the resolution feels convoluted, there’s no shortage of possible suspects with varying motives for Esme to puzzle through, leading to a packed-to-the-gills mystery laden with surprises. Esme’s tenacity and her whip-smart first-person perspective is the driving force behind this stimulating thriller. Most characters are white; Gaia is biracial (Black and white). Ages 12–17.