Dear Killer

April 14, 2014
Seventeen-year-old Kit is secretly London's dreaded "Perfect Killer," a nihilistic serial killer trained by her mother to carry out murder as part of a higher calling, choosing her victims from anonymous letters sent to her. As her body count grows, the police remain stymiedâuntil Kit starts losing her focus. From making one murder personal to befriending a victim and outright flirting with the policeman unofficially assigned to the Perfect Killer case, it seems as though Kit's carefully constructed façade is finally crumbling. But she's still committed to carrying out one last assignment, heedless of the consequences. This tense page-turner was a finalist in the 2011 Amazon Breakthrough Novel contest and represents Ewell's debut. She expertly captures Kit's dispassionate yet conflicted state of being, chronicling the chaotic swirl of emotions as the routine breaks down. However, Kit's point of view leads many other characters to feel less developed. The almost hypnotic nature of the storyline doesn't quite make up for moments of implausibility (including Kit's success and general modus operandi) and other plot holes in an otherwise solid thriller. Ages 13âup. Agent: Alice Martell, the Martell Agency.

February 1, 2014
This unusual and absorbing debut looks at a serial killer through the eyes of the killer herself. Seventeen-year-old Kit has been trained by her mother from an early age to kill by hand and leave no clues; she takes great pride in the name she's earned from the police: the Perfect Killer. She enjoys her high school philosophy class, where they discuss "moral nihilism," a code she feels she understands. She calls herself a serial killer, but she operates as an assassin, taking requests for murders from letters addressed to "Dear Killer" stashed in a shabby London restroom. It's all good, until classmate Michael asks the Perfect Killer to take out another, Maggie. Kit wrestles over which she ought to kill: Michael, who clearly deserves it but whose death has not been requested, or Maggie, who has become her only friend. Further complicating matters is her growing friendship with the detective assigned to her case. Although readers may disagree with Kit's take on morality, nevertheless they can watch her with fascination and even some sympathy as she commits her flawless crimes. Even as tension rises, Kit's moral struggle holds center stage and builds to her final choice. Unfortunately, though the book is nominally set in London, poor worldbuilding keeps readers from rooting themselves there; Kit's school, in particular, might as well be in Dubuque. Chilling and fascinating at the same time, despite flaws. (Suspense. 13-16)

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October 15, 2013
Grades 8-12 Novels about teens pursued by or pursuing serial killers are fairly common, but rare is the story told by a teen serial killer. Ewell's debut novel, written at age 17, is a chilling look at a young woman trained in moral nihilism and untraceable killing techniques. Kit's mother accepted commissions from those who wanted someone dead, perfecting a technique she has passed on to her daughter. Kit's murders have received lots of press, earning her the nickname the Perfect Killer. One night, Kit's mother brings home an attractive young dinner guest who also happens to be the detective investigating the Perfect Killer cases, and Kit can't resist the urge to toy with him. Set in posh districts of London and Kit's exclusive private school, Ewell's narrative presents a beautifully nuanced and entirely believable portrait of a young woman slowly cracking as she finds herself applying the consequences of her amorality to those she has befriended. With thoughtful discussion on philosophy and human nature, as well as satisfyingly detailed and gory descriptions of murders, Ewell's book offers plenty for readers to savor and discuss.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2014
A seventeen-year-old murderer for hire, Kit is (anonymously) known in London as the "Perfect Killer" because her crimes are impossible to trace. But when she gets a request to kill someone she knows, Kit's meticulousness and resolve begin to crumble. Readers who are up for inhabiting the perverse mind of a serial killer will be fully gripped by Ewell's disturbing, gruesome story.

(Copyright 2014 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)