Finding the Forger

by Libby Sternberg

Book Overview

"Bianca Balducci, everybody's favorite teenage amateur sleuth, is back on the case, and this time the resourceful Baltimorean has her hands more than full.On top of school (St. John's), her two... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0843955031
• ISBN13: 9780843955033
• Release Date: January 2006
• Publisher: Leisure Books
• Length: 194 Pages
• Weight: 0.23 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 4.3" x 6.8"
• Age Range: 11 to 15 years
• Grade Range: Grades 6 to 10

Customer Reviews

A can't-miss, must-own novel for all mystery lovers

Sophomore, Bianca Balducci, finally feels like life is settling down, and falling into place for her. She's got a great boyfriend, found a new friend, Sarah, who has a super cool internship job, she can sing the song "Amazing Grace" to the tune of the "Gilligan's Island" theme song, and she's helping her private-eye sister on a new case. But then things change. Suddenly, things aren't as simple as they were for, oh...five minutes. Bianca's boyfriend is paying way too much attention to her best friend, her hair stinks thanks to one of those home perm kits, and the super cute security guard at the art museum - who also happens to be Sarah's secret crush - is the prime suspect in the forgery case that Bianca and her sis are trying to solve. Now, Bianca must find a way to discover the truth, before her first serious relationship is over, Sarah's almost-relationship is destroyed, and the surprise party for her best friend, Kerrie, is no longer a surprise. Otherwise, her teenagedom will be ruined forever. Mix one part Nancy Drew, one part Mia Thermopolis (THE PRINCESS DIARIES), and one part Carrie Bradshaw (SEX AND THE CITY), and you come out with the very whacked out, yet hilariously funny, Bianca Balducci. Bianca is the girl that every teenager wants to be - sans the bad-smelling hair. She's tough, headstrong, sassy, and fashionable. Libby Sternberg created an enjoyable piece of teen fiction with UNCOVERING SADIE'S SECRETS, but she's struck gold with FINDING THE FORGER. A can't-miss, must-own novel for all mystery lovers. Erika Sorocco Book Review Columnist for The Community Bugle Newspaper

Excellent amateur sleuth tale

The police believe that City Art Museum security guard and college student Hector Gonzalez is a suspect in an art forgery scam. Worried for her boyfriend, high school senior Sarah decides to hire private investigator Connie Balducci to prove his innocence. Connie's sophomore sister Bianca insisting she works for her sibling (well almost - she is on the short list for a summer clerk job) "interrogates" Sarah until the older woman breaks down and explains why she needs a sleuth. Emboldened by her recent success in helping Sarah (see UNCOVERING SADIE'S SECRETS) Bianca investigates to help Sarah. Bianca also tries to help her best friend Kerrie as her pal detests how much the newcomer to her family, Sarah, has become the focus of her parents. Connie wants Bianca to cease her inquiries, but soon helps her younger sister. Bianca becomes upset when her boyfriend Doug spends too much time with Kerrie and not with her. Still sleuthing is obviously in her genes so Bianca begins snooping as only a teen can. Though obviously targeted for teen readers, adults (especially us geriatrics who cut our teeth on Nancy Drew) will enjoy this solid amateur sleuth (sorry Bianca, but the pro gets paid) investigative tale. Bianca is a delightful lead character whose asides to the audience are witty as the "weight of the universe" pressures of loving relationships, complex investigations and botched home perms are wryly explained. The who-done-it is cleverly designed assuming that the audience can think rather than just dumbed down as Libby Sternberg respects the young crowd that serves as the center of FINDING THE FORGER. Harriet Klausner