The Less-Dead
By April Lurie
(Delacorte Books for Young Readers, Hardcover, 9780385736756, 240pp.)
Publication Date: January 12, 2010
Other Editions of This Title: Google eBook, Paperback, Library Binding
Categories: Mysteries, Espionage, & Detective Stories, Religious - Christian, Social Issues - Homosexuality
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Noah Nordstrom has been dissing the religious beliefs of his father, who hosts a popular Christian radio show and whom Noah accuses of spreading hate. When two local gay teens are murdered, Noah’s anti-evangelism intensifies—he’s convinced that the killer is a caller on his dad’s program.
Then Noah meets Will Reed, a cool guy. But when he learns that Will is gay, Noah gets a little weirded out. Especially since Will seems really into him. Noah gives Will the brush-off. Meanwhile, the killer is still at large . . . and soon Noah finds the next victim. It’s Will.
Racked with guilt, Noah decides to investigate. He knows the serial killer is targeting gay teens, but only those who live in foster homes, whose deaths are not that important to society; they are the less-dead. Noah, however, is determined to prove that someone cares. With the help of Will’s journal, which he pocketed at the scene of the crime and in which the killer has written clues, Noah closes in on an opponent more dangerous than he can guess.
April Lurie’s previous novels are The Latent Powers of Dylan Fontaine; Brothers, Boyfriends & Other Criminal Minds (a Texas Lonestar Book); and Dancing in the Streets of Brooklyn. She lives in Round Rock, Texas.
Review, Publishers Weekly, January 11, 2010:
"In her compelling mystery, Lurie draws attention to the prejudice and hatred many gay teens face ... Suspenseful and emotional."
Review, Kirkus Reviews, December 15, 2009:
"Lurie has wrought a compelling, edge-of-your-seat thriller that will keep readers riveted to the end."
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