Ages 14+
“A dark, well-constructed mystery with a strong voice.” ~ Kirkus
“Clever high school noir” - Horn Book
“School drama, romance, and mystery make a heady mash-up and an involving quick pick.” ~ Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
“Everything about this book is clever and fast-paced and smart... this book just hits it out of the park.” - Cristin (Children's and YA buyer, McNally Jackson)
“A marriage of genres so perfectly done, one wonders why this teenage Humphrey Bogart isn't already a series.” - Mabel's Fables Bookstore, Toronto
“Brilliantly voiced thriller with a stunning climax” - The Bookbag UK
“Forget the mean streets. In High & Dry, the classrooms and hallways offer plenty of intrigue and danger. Sarah Skilton cleverly blends the best and scariest parts of senior year — first love, changing friendships, growing up— with a twisting, turning, didn’t-see-it-coming mystery.”
— Kimberly Reid, author of MY OWN WORST FRENEMY
Framed for a stranger’s near-fatal overdose at a party, blackmailed into finding a mysterious flash drive everyone in school seems anxious to suppress, and pressured by his shady best friend to throw an upcoming match, high school soccer player Charlie Dixon is juggling more than his share of drama. Add in a broken heart and the drinking he’s been doing to soothe it, and he’s near the breaking point. In this fast-paced, layered mystery, Charlie spends a frantic week trying to clear his name, win back the girl of his dreams, and escape a past friendship that may be responsible for all his current problems. This book captures the tone and style of the best crime fiction while also telling a high-stakes story of peer pressure gone tragically awry.
