No Such Person

by Caroline B. Cooney

Overview

From the author of the multimillion-copy bestseller The Face on the Milk Carton comes a riveting thriller about two sisters—one accused of murder, the other desperate to prove her sister’s innocence . . . even as she begins to doubt it herself.
 
Shortly after the Allerdons arrive at their cozy family cottage on the river, Lander meets and is smitten with a handsome young man, and they begin to date. But Miranda has a bad feeling about her perfect sister’s new boyfriend. And when the cops come knocking on her family’s front door, Miranda can’t help feeling that Lander’s boyfriend has something to do with it.

The police tell Miranda and her family that Lander has been arrested. But Miranda doubts the supposedly solid evidence they say they have against her sister and decides to dig deeper. There’s only one problem: the more she learns, the more she wonders why everything keeps pointing to Lander’s guilt.
 
“No one writes suspense like Cooney. . . . Haunting, harrowing, and hard to put down.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Cooney has hit it out of the ballpark yet again. A must-read.” —VOYA
 
“Jangling suspense juxtaposed with cozy details. An enticing balance between intimacy and cool detachment.” —Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
 
“Full of twists and turns . . . has all the elements that keep young mystery lovers coming back for more.” —SLJ

“[A] cleverly plotted novel rooted in suspense. . . . Fully satisfying.” —Booklist

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780375990847
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	07/14/2015
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.90(d)
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

CAROLINE B. COONEY is the author of the Janie series, which includes the bestselling The Face on the Milk Carton. She has also written Code Orange and Diamonds in the Shadow, as well as hundreds of other mystery and thriller novels.

Visit Caroline at carolinebcooneybooks.com and follow her on Facebook and Pinterest.

Editorial Reviews

★ 05/04/2015
Jangling suspense juxtaposed with cozy details of family life keeps thriller master Cooney’s latest zooming along. While spending the summer at their family’s home on the Connecticut River, easy-going 15-year-old Miranda Allerdon and her driven, med-school-bound sister, Lander, witness what appears to be a freak water-skiing accident. Miranda is one of the few bystanders to see that the boy driving the motorboat seemed to intentionally maneuver the water-skier he was towing in front of a giant barge. Ignoring Miranda’s suspicions, Lander is smitten with the motorboat driver and begins dating him. Miranda’s talents get a chance to shine when another apparent accident, chillingly teased in the opening pages of the novel, thrusts Lander outside the boundaries of her carefully planned life. An unexpected romance for Miranda provides a sweet counterpoint to the novel’s knife-edge mayhem. Viewed in isolation, some of the plot twists edge toward the incredible, but Cooney’s knack for distinctive characterizations grounds the story firmly in the familiar world, while the third-person narration strikes an enticing balance between intimacy and cool detachment. Ages 12–up. (July)

Publishers Weekly

"Jangling suspense juxtaposed with cozy details of family life keeps thriller master Cooney’s latest zooming along." — Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

"Cleverly plotted . . . rooted in suspense . . . fully satisfying. Mystery fans will be delighted."— Booklist

"Full of twists and turns . . . has all the elements that keep young mystery lovers coming back for more."— School Library Journal

"No one writes suspense like Cooney. Haunting, harrowing . . . hard to put down."— Kirkus Reviews

"Cooney has hit it out of the ballpark yet again.  A must read . . ."—VOYA

From the Publisher

Though Miranda and Lander Allerdon are sisters, they could not be more different. Miranda likes to daydream and never sticks with the same extracurricular activity for more than a season. Lander is the practical older sister who is driven by her desire to practice medicine. Another summer begins, and the family is spending it in their usual destination—their cottage on the Connecticut River. To an outsider, nothing has changed; the local kids still come over to use the Allerdon’s dock, and Miranda spends the majority of each day babysitting. But as Lander focuses harder on her studies for acceptance to medical school, Miranda feels cast aside even more. Lander then meets a boy, Jason, and though there is mystery and suspicion wrapped around him, Lander completely changes, becoming carefree and neglecting her responsibilities. When Lander is then arrested for murder, Miranda steps up to solve the case and get her sister released from jail. After all, Lander could not possibly be enough in love with Jason to kill for him, right? For fans of young adult mystery, Cooney has hit it out of the ballpark yet again. The setup of the novel—the backstory of the relationship between the two sisters, the information about the cottage and the neighbors who constantly visit, and the way Cooney leads readers into the tragedy—engages readers right away. Chapters alternate between the voices of Miranda and Lander, and the difference in each voice is very striking. No Such Person is a must-read for all the Cooney fans out there, but also for fans of mystery. This book will be hard to keep on the shelves. Reviewer: Brandi Young; Ages 11 to 15.

VOYA, June 2015 (Vol. 38, No. 2) - Brandi Young

04/01/2015
Gr 7–10—Miranda and Lander Allerdon have a deeply rooted sibling rivalry. Miranda, the youngest, is a dreamer who sleeps in late and choose new hobbies on a whim. Lander, on the other hand, is overachieving, on her way to medical school and, as a result, has a slight superiority complex. They are spending the summer with their parents at their small, rustic cabin on the Connecticut River. When Lander is unexpectedly arrested on homicide and drug possession charges, Miranda instantly suspects Lander's new boyfriend, who has conveniently disappeared after the arrest. While Lander sits in jail and Miranda agonizes from the cabin, they not only obsess over who the real murderer might be, but also meditate on their relationship. The story is told from both sisters' perspectives, allowing readers to piece together the murder mystery from each viewpoint. Although this juxtaposition is engaging, the characters ultimately act predictably and parts of the story do not hold water. However, the plot is full of twists and turns, making it a fun and quick pick, especially for reluctant readers. VERDICT Although this title follows the predictable formula commonly found in Cooney's thrillers, it also has all of the elements that keep young mystery lovers coming back for more.—Jaclyn Anderson, Madison County Library System, MS

School Library Journal

2015-03-17
Slowly and methodically, the tale unfolds of how two sisters spending the summer at their family cottage on the shore of the Connecticut River find themselves at the center of a murder investigation. Fifteen-year-old Miranda has always walked in the shadow of her older sister, rising med student Lander, yet it is Miranda who shines here, as she alone musters the courage and determination to do what it takes to save her family. Interestingly, the story is told from two perspectives, both those of close third-person narrators. This clever technique allows just enough distance between story and readers to maintain the gauzy, unsettling haze that keeps the truth just out of sight. Unfortunately, the cast of characters feels slightly unbalanced, particularly when it comes to Miranda's parents and other secondary characters, who are surprisingly underdeveloped given their ultimate roles. If readers can suspend disbelief just long enough to believe that a young teen like Miranda would be left on her own under such dangerous circumstances, they won't regret going along for the ride. No one writes suspense like Cooney, and this novel will ensnare readers from Page 1 and keep them turning the pages until they, like the nameless young woman at the center of the opening chapter, know for certain who is dead and who is the killer. Haunting, harrowing, and hard to put down. (Mystery. 13 & up)

Kirkus Reviews