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
Review
Children's Literature
This title's likable hero and fast-paced action will hook most mystery readers instantly. Furthermore, the combination of Luke's entertaining antics and the unusual forensic details should help get even reluctant readers interested.
School Library Journal
This is a suspenseful, thoughtful, and humorous addition to the series.
