From Booklist
Gr. 6-9. The plot may not be entirely watertight, but fans of melodramatic crime dramas will suck up this rain-soaked page-turner in the Traces series. Set in a decrepit alternate or future London where whites are a persecuted minority, the story features teenage forensic investigator Luke Harding and his robot sidekick. Called on to look into a doctor's murder, Luke finds himself trailing a serial killer into a world of slums, exotic snakes, and an illegal Brown Supremacist cult that meets in the decaying Underground. While folding in plenty of action and on-stage violence, Rose calls on his background as a chemistry professor to provide specific scent and residue clues, and gives Luke an amusingly literal-minded robot companion, a clever foe, and a subplot involving a love interest before wrapping things up with a dose of just deserts. The offbeat but well-envisioned locales bode well for future episodes. See
Naughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman on p.1796 for another take on a society where minority roles are reversed.
John PetersCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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Product Description
When there's a murder mystery to solve, The Authorities send in their top forensic team. Luke Harding runs fast, thinks even quicker and has the best detective instincts around. His right-hand robot is Malc, equipped with lasers, scanners and technology for finding clues at the toughest of crime scenes. Together, Luke and Malc have the talent to crack any crime - and a good joke, too. Welcome to the thrilling world of Traces. Aged just 16, Luke Harding is the youngest Forensic Investigator ever. In the slums of London, Luke and Malc investigate a doctor's murder. They find a bullet wound to her head, but rain has washed away the bullet - and all other clues. As more innocent victims die, pressure builds on Luke and Malc to find the culprit before the bizarre shooting spree becomes an all-out massacre.
