Murder for the Modern Girl
by Kendall Kulper
High School    Holiday    464 pp.   g
5/22    978-0-8234-4972-9    $19.99
e-book ed.  978-0-8234-5287-3    $11.99

There’s an “angel killer” stalking the streets in this flapper-era dark fantasy set in late-1920s Chicago. Ruby ­Newhouse only strikes men with bad intentions, and since she happens to have telepathic abilities, she’s able to enter the dark minds of her victims. She kills for fun, because she’s a girl after a good time, but never anyone innocent. ­Shapeshifter Guy, seemingly meek and mousy, works at the city morgue and is doggedly determined to catch the angel killer. But sparks fly between Guy and Ruby before either of them learns the other’s secrets, changing the course of their plans. With a dangerous criminal conspiracy targeting Ruby’s beloved father, she and Guy must pursue the truth at all costs, even if it means their own identities might be exposed. Secondary characters add even more zing to the story: a flinty reporter makes an unlikely ally, as does a gorgeous socialite with more depth than meets the eye. As the bodies pile up, readers will be breathless to witness the final showdown. Fast-paced; glamorously chaotic; and, with its grisly undertones, somewhat uncomfortably unforgettable.

From the July/August 2022 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.