16 year-old Barrie Dupre, who is caught up in a murder investigation linked to her mother's hair salon. Her mother was in prison for about ten years and now she and Barrie are trying to rebuild a life together. But . . . murder changes everything.

Where did you get the idea?

I first used the idea of a mother going to prison in my novel Everybody’s Daughter. Actually, I pretty much lifted the entire back story of Close to a Killer (a mom goes to prison after using a bomb during a political protest) from that novel. In the first novel the mom who goes to prison is a minor character. Years later, I was still interested in the What If? of the scenario and so I brought mother and daughter front and center for CTAK. I didn’t want to connect the two books, though, so I changed the characters’ names and the setting.

Is this one your favorite?

Yes! I loved researching prisons and beauty salons. I loved the challenge of writing a murder story where the heroine does not play detective. Finally, I like Barrie a lot.

		ALA Quick Pick
		ALA Best Books for Young Adults
		New York Public Library’s Books for the Teen Age
		“[An] intriguing mystery.” KLIATT, starred
		“A taut whodunit . . .” Kirkus Reviews
		“Difficult to put down . . .” School Library Journal