Jennifer Allison has worked as a news reporter and a high school English teacher, and she has also held numerous odd jobs—piano player in a shopping mall, assembly-line worker for General Motors, waitress, preschool teacher—that have helped her generate ideas for characters and stories. She lives in Chicago with her husband and their three children.
Gr 5-8-Gilda Joyce is back with another mystery in the latest installment (Dutton, 2009) in Jennifer Allison's popular series. This psychic investigator in training, with a penchant for spy savvy fashions and hairdos, has slightly exaggerated her actual age (she said she was 15) so that she could get a summer internship at the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C. When a spot as a counselor in the Museum's Spy Camp opens up, Gilda convinces the director to give her a shot. After visiting a former Russian spy's home to retrieve items he is donating to the Museum, odd things begin to happen. Gilda also begins having psychic dreams and, while investigating a cemetery where Abraham Lincoln's son was once buried, discovers secret "dead drop" messages. She follows the clues with some assistance from her campers, and ultimately uncovers a CIA mole. As the pieces begin to come together, listeners are treated not only to fully-voiced and entirely convincing characters but also to glimpses inside the world of spies, our nation's capital, and historical references to Lincoln. Narrator Jessica Almasy is perfectly cast as Gilda Joyce. While part of a series, this title stands firmly on its own and would make for a fun listening experience.-Stephanie A. Squicciarini, Fairport Public Library, NY Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.
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