In the Dead of Summer (An Amanda Pepper Mystery)

This mystery is about a school teacher/sleuth who tries to solve a mystery involving racist hate crimes in her school. The book starts out well and remains interesting and fast- paced throughout. However, the ending fizzles. I would recommend this book for a good vacation airplane or beach read. out.

But this one is a bit more earnest and serious than some of the others. The subject is really "The unlovely side of the city of brotherly love" -- about hate. Each of Roberts' books uses a book as a theme, a hint of what the mystery is going to be about. In this mystery, the theme book (being studied by detective-teacher's Amanda Pepper's class of summer students) is Romeo and Juliet -- about two groups who hate each other. Amanda's boyfriend-who is homicide investigator for the Philly police -- is laid up with a bullet in his leg and a cast. Amanda is teaching summer school, and becomes concerned about some of what she observes in her classroom. Then one of her students is kidnapped. She's convinced some of her students know something about the crime. She ends up finding herself in some danger herself, since she's onto something big. I really like this series, but if you haven't read any by this author, I'd probably start at the beginning (which I didn't do!)

A young Vietnames boy is killed in a drive-by shooting in IN THE DEAD OF SUMMER. Then April Tuong is kidnapped outside a Chinatown massage parlor late one night. Amanda is curious and she starts asking questions beginning with students in her classroom.The good news for fans of Amanda Pepper is that C.K. MacKenzie, Sasha Berg and Macavity the cat are still very much alive at the end of the book.

As usual, Ms. Roberts deals with a contemporary issue while we entertain ourselves. The protagonist Ms. Amanda Pepper teaches more than English and we become her rapt students. The characters are realistic and draw us into this multi-layered tale of the mystery of humanity. Please keep writing Amanda Pepper mysteries!!!

Very solid mystery. While this book is a step below other Amanda Pepper books such as, "With Friends Like These", "The Bluest Blood", or "Caught Dead in Philadelphia", it is miles above "How I Spent My Summer Vacation" and "I'd Rather Be in Philadelphia".