I enjoyed Dana Middleton’s debut book, THE INFINITY YEAR OF AVALON JAMES, so I was very interested when I heard she had another book publishing soon. The second I read the blurb on the back of OPEN IF YOU DARE, I was hooked!

Like Birdie Adams didn’t have enough problems this summer. But Birdie’s Birdie. And if a long-buried box has “Open if you dare” written on its lid, then Birdie and her best friends, Ally and Rose, are going to open it.

And now, along with everything else that’s going on–Ally’s pitching slump, Rose’s banishment to Britain, and Birdie’s annoying younger sister being, you know, annoying–the best friends are caught up in solving a mystery planted by a dead girl forty years ago.

The idea of a long buried box and a dead girl was an invitation to read that I couldn’t refuse. I figured Ally’s pitching slump and Rose heading to Europe were story lines I would skim through to get to the heart – THE MYSTERY -but something amazing happened as I began to read. Ally and Rose came to life in a big way! Middleton did an amazing job weaving the three story lines together and making me care about each character. As a writer, it was like taking a class on character development.

At its heart, OPEN is a mystery and I enjoyed guessing along with Birdie as she followed the clues to a satisfying, and surprising, end.  OPEN IF YOU DARE should be on every mystery lover’s To-Be-Read list. I look forward to reading more from Middleton!

OPEN IF YOU DARE goes on sale October 17, 2017. To preorder, click HERE.