Ugh! Can you believe my parents have left me sans cell-phone for the whole summer!?!?!
I’m sorry. That was rude. My name is Cathy Banks. It used to be Bankovsky, but it got shortened way back like a zillion years ago when those Eastern European relatives of mine stopped over on Ellis Island. I’m fifteen-years old, a Gemini, and a vegan. OK, I cheat sometimes with ice cream, but other than that, no animal flesh for me, thank you very much. Oh, and some might say I have a slightly overactive imagination.
So, how do I spend my time? Well, before my parents shipped me off to Beach Point, Rhode Island, I guess I spent a lot of time texting my friends, drawing in my sketchpad, and reading mystery books. My favorite books are the ones my aunt writes. You might have heard of her: Robert McCabe. Yeah, that Roberta McCabe. I know, I know, you loved The Private Lives of Serial Killers. That’s what everybody says.
But this summer, the ‘rents, who are going through the most psychotic divorce ever, decided I might be better off spending the summer with my aunt. Yes, my aunt is awesome, but she is living this totally techno-free existence in a beach bungalow—and I no longer have a cell phone, which as I mentioned before is a serious inconvenience. My parents also made me get a job. At least I snagged some summer employment at this little place called Ocean View Books, which is right by the beach. It’s sort of like being at the beach. OK, not really, but I’m trying to stay positive. The guy who owns it, Arnie Hopper, creeps me out a bit, but I get to work with this very cool girl named Lauren. She’s sarcastic and funny and knows a whole lot about serial killers. It’s certainly a good time to be up on your Serial Killer 101.
Oh, did I forget to mention there’s a serial killer on the loose in Beach Point? Yep. They call him (or her) the Sea Side Strangler. Freaky, right? He’s killed four college girls, all with brown hair and brown eyes. I have been seriously considering dying my hair and getting some colored contacts.
But serial killer or no serial killer, I am not going to spend my summer hiding out. I met some really cool kids at the beach. Luke, Carl, Carrie, Allie, and Doug. Ah. . .Doug. Yes, you got me. I have a major, major crush. Too bad he’s dating Allie. But I can dream, can’t I.
So anyway, I don’t have to work today, so we are all going to hang out on Allie’s boat. Lauren from the bookstore is also joining us, although, she got kind of weird when I asked her to hang out. She joked yesterday that she was being followed, but I am pretty sure she was just being a goofball. Or maybe she wasn’t joking. I mean, she does have brown hair and brown eyes, and she looks a whole lot like the Sea Side Strangler’s last victim. And Aunt Bobbie keeps telling me that I shouldn’t trust everyone I meet.
But I’m just being paranoid. I am determined to have an awesome summer. I mean, it’s not like people are going to start disappearing or dead bodies are going to start washing up on shore.
You can read more about Cathy in Swimming Alone, published by Fire & Ice, an imprint of Melange Books.
About Swimming Alone
The Sea Side Strangler is on the loose in Beach Point, where fifteen-year-old Cathy Banks is spending the summer with her aunt (who happens to be mystery writer Roberta McCabe). Although thrilled to be away from her psychotic, divorcing parents, with no cell phone or internet access, Cathy is positive that her summer is going to be wretched. Just when she begins to make friends, and even finds a crush to drool over, her new friend Lauren vanishes. When a body surfaces in Beach Point Bay, Cathy is forced to face the question: has the Sea Side Strangler struck again?
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GIVEAWAY: Leave a comment by 12 a.m. eastern on Friday, September 18 for the chance to win a print copy of Swimming Alone. (US entries only, please.) Good luck everyone!
Meet the author
Nina Mansfield’s debut young adult mystery novel, Swimming Alone was recently published by Fire & Ice YA, and is available in paperback and as an e-book. Her plays have been produced throughout the United States and in Canada, England, Ireland, Scotland, Australia and Peru. They are published by Smith and Kraus, Original Works, One Act Play Depot and YouthPLAYS. Her short mystery fiction has appeared in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine and Mysterical-E. She is a member of the Mystery Writers of America, International Thriller Writers, Sisters in Crime, the Dramatists Guild, and the Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.
Reach out to Nina at www.ninamansfield.com, on Facebook and on Twitter
Very intriguing! Sounds great! Thanks for the chance!
This sounds really good. I’m always up for a good YA mystery!
Love the set up! And I like Cathy already.
This sounds good. I enjoy reading YA mysteries and so does my granddaughter. Thank you for the opportunity to win a print copy of Swimming Alone!
Interesting pov.
sounds like fun. Would love to join Cathy in her escapades.
thanks.
Wow Nina! 😮 Sounds like a terrific debut YA novel! I would love to read it-and will add it to my wish list! Thanks Dru and Nina for the opportunity to win a copy. Fingers crossed! 🙂
What a fabulous feature and great giveaway. Thanks Dru and Nina.
A very interesting post. Sounds like a great series debut. Thanks for the chance to win a copy.
Sounds good…I would love to read more!
Although I’m far from being a YA, this sounds like a good book. Thanks for the intro.
Sounds like a good book. Thanks for a chance to win a copy.
That does sound like an adventurous summer already. I’m betting on one her friend Carrie as the killer. I’m not going to tell you why though, just a hunch. Thanks for the chance to win a copy.
I would love to win this one to share with my teenaged granddaughters – after I read it, of course.
I don’t read a lot of YA books unless they are really good and this sounds good.
Just might be a good book. Sometimes YA are too juvenile sounding, but this one would seem to have a story line that is interesting.
This looks like fun–I like Cathy’s ‘voice’ a lot, thanks for introducing us and for the chance to win!
Sounds like a good book.
Frankly I don’t read YA (not even Nancy Drew), but I’ll make an exception in this case. I also am curious if Carl has pegged Carrie correctly.
Thanks for this great giveaway! How I’d like to join you on the beach right now. Call is definitely knocking on our door here in Ohio.
I’ld like to give this book a try….
Thank you for the giveaway….
contest is closed.