Description
True crime buff Gus Green has always felt out of place in the world. He's overweight, gay, his injured mum's primary carer, and he only has two real friends: sporty Kane and feisty Shell, who are both dealing with their own problems.
Gus's life is flipped on its head one day when he finds a missing persons website with a digitally aged picture of a missing boy who looks eerily like him. Could he be a kidnapping victim? It would explain a lot about his patchy background, but what would that make his mum - his kidnapper?
As Gus and his friends dive into the mystery, their investigation reveals more questions than answers. Can they unravel the case before his world falls apart? And what will they do if the truth is too much to handle?
Review
Gus and his mum are struggling after his dad was killed in a car crash a few years ago, that also injured his mum. Gus looks after her a lot, and often escapes to his best friend Kane’s place next door for a break.
Gus is a true crime buff and loves nothing more than reading detective novels and listening to crime podcasts, which he then discusses in depth with his friend Shell.
One day Gus is looking at a missing persons website and sees a digitally aged photo of someone who looks exactly like him, but surely it can’t be? The missing boy Robin has been gone for years and there has been no trace of him.
This throws Gus into a tailspin. He has always felt out of place, and being gay and overweight hasn’t helped with this, but could he really be the missing boy? Does this mean his mum and dad are kidnappers? Is anything real in his world?
Gus, Shell and Kane decide to investigate for themselves and end up on a road trip to the town that Robin disappeared from. Can they solve this cold case mystery before it all becomes too much for Gus? And will Gus be able to handle the truth if they do manage to uncover it?
This is a great story about finding your identity and what family really means. Gus has many struggles, including self-harm and anxiety. He is lovable and kind-hearted and you can’t help but hope that he will find the truth he is so desperately looking for. Shell and Kane are so different from Gus, but each have struggles of their own with finding their identities, and together they help each other. The characters have such a wonderful bond and are integral to the whole story. It is also a fantastic crime story as you try and put the pieces together to unravel the mystery of the missing boy.
I loved this book and would highly recommend it for anyone from middle secondary and up who loves a good mystery with fantastic characters and strong themes of family and friends.
Reviewed by Michelle
