Kevin Brooks is without a doubt one of the most interesting young adult authors to come out of the United Kingdom in the past several years. Like his earlier books, Black Rabbit Summer reflects his interest in detective novels and deals with teens facing repercussions and fallout from decisions they didn’t think through. Sixteen-year-old Pete, the narrator, and his once-close childhood friends Eric, Nicole, Pauly, and Raymond have grown up and apart since their days in primary school. Twins Eric and Nicole are about to move to France with their family. Before they leave, Nicole wants to get the group together in their old hideout and then attend a local carnival, just for old time’s sake. It quickly becomes obvious that they have nothing in common any longer—their interactions are awkward, their class differences more sharply defined. At the carnival, they go their separate ways. But the disappearance of a local teen celebrity at the carnival soon implicates gentle Raymond, who was seen with her and who has also disappeared. Pete is certain that his old friend—his true friend—is innocent. Determined to prove it, he begins to retrace Raymond’s steps that night, and in doing so he stumbles upon the footprints of all the others from the hideout. It turns out his old friends have secrets. Those secrets lead Pete down surprising paths, taking readers right along with him as the twists and turns draw ever closer to the heart of at least one mystery. (Ages 13–16)

A smart, tense murder mystery twined with an emotional exploration of the ways love, sex, class, and celebrity can forever change--or end--friendships.
Thoughtful Pete, tough Pauly, twins Eric and Nicole, strange Raymond: As kids they were tight; now they've grown up--and apart. They agree to get together one last time, but past hurts, personal histories, soon surface, and the party's over. The group splinters off into the night; into the noise and heat and chaos of the summer carnival. Days later, a girl goes missing. The prime suspect in her disappearance? One of their own--one of the old gang. Pete doesn't know what to believe: Could one of his childhood friends really be a cold-blooded killer?