The hilarious first installment in a campy new series. Nightshade, California, is home to the psychic Giordano sisters. Daisy Giordano believes a vampire is attacking girls all over town. She suspects cheerleader Samantha Devereaux, who returns to school from summer break with a new look--she appears to be dead. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Fans who mourn the loss of TV's Veronica Mars are in for a treat as Perez (Unexpected Development) delivers a wise-cracking, boy-lusting, determined sleuth of a high school protagonist named Daisy Giordano. Daisy comes from a crime-solving family of female psychics--Mom gets premonitions, sister Rose can listen in on people's thoughts and sister Poppy has the gift of telekinesis. To Daisy's chagrin, she's the only "normal" in the family--a nonpsychic. She doesn't let this unfortunate genetic deficiency stop her from investigating the mysterious deaths of high school girls around Nightshade, Daisy's wacky hometown, especially when sleuthing gets her face time with Ryan Mendez, Daisy's hottie crush and son of the town police chief. With a suspect cheerleading coach and an even more suspect cheerleading captain--beautiful Samantha "the Divine" Devereaux, who shows up for school pale and dragging a coffin everywhere--this quick, lighter-than-air spoof of the undead, cheerleaders and popularity is pure pleasure. Teens will be glad to know two sequels are already in the pipeline. Ages 12-up. (Sept.) Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

Gr 7 Up-Nightshade, CA, is downright strange and full of the unexpected. When the girl-to-be, cheerleader Samantha Devereaux, begins the school year with a completely new look, Daisy Giordano gets suspicious. The fact that Samantha appears dead doesn't seem to bother anyone, and before long looking dead becomes the rage. Being dead takes on a whole new meaning when a girl is mysterious attacked and turns up in the morgue, and other cheerleaders are stricken with seizures. Daisy and her psychic sisters get to work investigating the goings-on and learn that the culprit is really a vampire, and Daisy is determined to get to the bottom of things. This is the witty and humorous first installment in a series; it provides romance, mystery, friendship, adventure, and the supernatural all rolled up in a fast-paced, plot-twisting story. Readers will identify with Daisy and her struggle to accept and appreciate who she really is and what she has to offer. The slapstick humor and tough attitudes mixed with the occult make this an entertaining choice for teen libraries.-Donna Rosenblum, Floral Park Memorial High School, NY Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

Perez's latest, which appears to be the first in a series, is an outrageous concoction part mystery, part supernatural thriller, part comedy that succeeds, nevertheless, thanks to quick pacing and occasionally sparkling dialogue. It also helps that Perez builds some normal teen issues (romance, friendship, popularity) into a plot featuring sole-sucking vampires, psychics, telekenesis, and the walking dead. Heroine Daisy Giordano is no tough Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Nor is she a new-age Nancy Drew. But  her adventures with family, friends, first boyfriend, and an assortment of otherworldly others provide an entertaining alternative to the usual teen problem-novel fare.--Zvirin, Stephanie Copyright 2008 Booklist From: Syndetics Solutions, Inc. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.