That Kind of Girl

That Kind of Girl

In this gripping YA thriller perfect for fans of Jessica Goodman and Amber Smith, two girls from opposite worlds play a dangerous game of cat and mouse when a rich classmate is murdered and they become prime suspects. The race is on to find out which one is a killer. Sixteen-year-old amateur sleuth Roxie is shrewd, nimble, cunning, and only a little bit damaged. She also has a real knack for finding things, making her the perfect go-to detective for her rich classmates at St. Margaret when they’re looking to retrieve the things they’ve “lost"— no questions asked. So when queen bee Kirsten Montgomery-Wiggins pays Roxie a hefty sum to track down a mysterious blonde who “stole” her phone, Roxie accepts. Although Kirsten and Roxie have bad blood between them, Roxie could really use the cash. But that same night, Roxie finds Kirsten murdered in her mansion, and police zero in on her as a prime suspect. On the outskirts of town in a trailer park, Inez, a part-time maid and part-time sex-worker, keeps finding blood everywhere. Crusted in her earring, threaded into her shoelace. She should really toss her shoes so there’s nothing to tie her to the body. How could the night have gone so wrong? She really thought she was working her way to a better life, but now she could be headed to jail if the wrong someone puts two and two together. Roxie doesn’t know who she’s looking for and Inez doesn’t know who she’s hiding from. But all roads seem to lead to Montgomery House, as Roxie works to clear her own name and Inez attempts to stay one step ahead of the law and the men who hurt her. Praise for That Kind of Girl : “Two young women’s lives collide after a gruesome murder …Told through alternating perspectives, this fast-paced mystery builds a trail of clues , culminating in a jaw-dropping conclusion …An engaging and suspenseful read.”— Kirkus Reviews Natalie C. Anderson is an American writer and international development professional living in Geneva, Switzerland. She has spent the last decade working with nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and the United Nations on refugee relief and development, mainly in Africa. She was selected as the 2014-2015 Associates of the Boston Public Library Children's Writer-in-Residence, where she wrote her debut novel, City of Saints & Thieves . Roxie The halls of Saint Magdalene Preparatory Academy ring with the dulcet tones of well-­turned-­out girls. On the brink of rarefied womanhood, they leisurely make their way to class. Straightened hair, tidy uniforms. A hum like a content bass line. But beneath it all I can make out a sweet vibrato: Scheming, backstabbing, and lying. I like this sound. It’s the sound of money. On this bright and normal Monday morning, Great-­Aunt Regina’s diamond necklace treasure hunt is fading into the background. I put in a few hours at the restaurant Saturday afternoon, but eventually Uncle Lenny clocked me out early. I’d protested weakly, then dragged myself home, gone to my room, and passed out like a rock. We haven’t talked about the hunt since. I’m happy to let Uncle Lenny and Aunt Lori handle it. They’re heading to Mont­gomery House today, in fact, for a first go. They know how to play the game. They’ll find the necklace and we’ll all soon be a few million richer. Batty old rich lady gets a final chuckle. Happily ever after without me having to puzzle through that particular poetry again. Meanwhile, I have plenty to keep me busy. I wait tables as many weekends and nights as Uncle Lenny will let me, but my real bread and butter comes from being Saint Magdalene Prep’s resident snoop. My forte is finding things. Uncle Lenny doesn’t know about this. But I figure he doesn’t need to know everything, especially since most of the jobs are not so PG as finding lost puppies. Most involve looking at people’s hairy junk on the dark web. In addition to lost dogs, Saint Maggie’s girls need me to find evidence of cheating boyfriends. They need me to find evidence of cheating boyfriends cheating with their best friends. Evidence of cheating boyfriends cheating with their best friends’ boyfriends. I’m not choosy. I’ll find jewelry, pets, money. But mostly what people need help with are the nudie photos and videos given in earnest to those same cheating boyfriends. Gifts that now need tracking down and obliterating. What I do isn’t rocket science, but it takes a certain skill set that I spent the first half of my life unintentionally developing. That is,“being as sneaky as a greased copperhead,” as Pastor once put it. My phone buzzes in my pocket. It’s my best friend, Nina. Nina: Got a potential new client for you. Me: Great. Who? Nina’s been a Saint Maggie’s girl since kindergarten. She knows everyone and sniffs out a lot of jobs for me. Nina: Kirsten Montgomery-­Wiggins. I blink at the name. Nina: Don’t kill me. It takes me a second to find my thumbs. But when I do, my response is swift. Me: Nope. Nina: She seems desp