A Hole in Juan

Amanda Pepper is coping with her new marriage, the arrival of her husband Mackenzie's nephew, and strange occurrences at Philly Prep where she is an English teacher. Juan Reyes, the new chemistry teacher, is not well liked by students or faculty. He keeps reminding his colleagues that he's only at Philly Prep until his doctoral disertation is complete. The students hate him because his tests are difficult and he doesn't believe in giving a break. Grade point averages are now meaning something to the seniors. Juan confides in Amanda that strange things are happening in his classroom--items go missing then are returned. Then the unthinkable happens, before school there is an explosion in the chemistry lab and Reyes is severely injured. Amanda is sure that it was no accident and begins to investigate but then strange things begin happening in her classroom. Is it due to Halloween approaching or is she the next on the "hit list." The school scenes are so realistic that you will begin to understand the inner workings of a high school. The characters are realistic and fully developed. This would be a great beach read.

Amanda Pepper is coping with newlywed status, a visiting 16-year-old nephew, and strange happenings at school. New science teacher Juan Reyes is intensely disliked by his students. But does the dislike go as far as atttempted murder? An "accidental" explosion in the science lab causes Reyes to go to ICU in critical condition. None of the clues come together though to point to the real reason for her unease at school. With each Amanda Pepper book, I know that the author had to have been a teacher. More of this book, than previous books, takes place in the classroom and in school. The behind the scenes problems of a principal who only cares about the bottom line and cares little for the actual education process and colleagues who do not see beyond their classrooms, plus trying to understand teenagers make this an interesting and satisfying reading experience.

One day schoolteacher and newlywed Amanda Pepper gets a phone call from a colleague who is ill. She wants Amanda to attend the school party on Friday in her place. Amanda agrees. She's not exactly over the moon about the idea, but what can you do when someone is sick. Juan Reyes is a new science teacher. He is a strict authoritarian who wears monogramed shirts. Needless to say, he is not the student's favorite teacher, in fact they've nicknamed him Dr. Jar. Juan thinks the students are acting up more than they normally do and Amanda tells him that there have been several pranks played by the students lately. However, when an explosion goes off in his lab and Reyes is taken to the ICU, the level of pranks has been taken up a notch. Amanda believes there is a secret group of resentful students who are behind it, even though the police seem to think it was an accident. She believes she has to get to the bottom of it all, before something else, something worse happens. As usual, Gillian Roberts has written a very tight, very nice mystery. Amanda is the perfect amateur sleuth. This is a charming, fun read, with just the right amount of danger and suspense. I really enjoyed it.

Another school year has begun at Philadelphia Prep. Amanda Pepper, with mixed feelings as always, returns to teaching English to a student body that is less than motivated to excel. A new teacher hired over the summer, Juan Reyes, who is a chemistry doctorate, finds the students "...a disappointment. Sloppy thinkers, lazy, only interested in their petty lives." Of course, the teenagers sense this attitude and proceed to make his life miserable. Odd things begin to happen to Mr. Reyes. But odd things begin to happen to Amanda as well. They were called "tricks," as they were attributed to the approach of Halloween. (In Philadelphia, it is a tradition for children to pull harmless pranks on the night before Halloween.) As this night of tradition draws even closer, the tricks take a deadly twist--both for the faculty and students. Amanda Pepper must use her sleuthing skills to uncover the perpetrators before the fateful night arrives. I loved this book--the characters, and the plotline. As an avid reader of action and adventure stories, this book had plenty to keep me interested. And, I appreciated the lack of violence and cuss words. Being a teacher myself, I empathized with the daily struggles of the main characters. The book is a quick read and I read it cover to cover on a Friday night. Good for relaxing on a cold winter's night! Armchair Interviews says: Grab this book and a mug of hot cocoa on a cold winter night, and enjoy!

I like the Amanda Pepper series and was euphoric when I heard about Gillian's latest entry, A HOLE IN JUAN. I ordered a copy and am awaiting a great read. If you're a fan of the series, do not hesitate. Read the book. If you're a newbie to Amanda's adventures, start from the beginning and work your way to the latest novel. They're a treat, never disappointing. Bess