48 Hours: The Vanishing by Gabrielle Lord

Scholastic, 2017. ISBN 9781743629758
(Age: 12+) "One kidnapping. One cold case. Two amateur investigators. Only 48 hours to solve the crime . . . Jazz's best friend Anika has been kidnapped! She can't call the cops, so Jazz forges a shaky truce with her brilliant nemesis, Phoenix, to help her investigate. Together, they uncover clues and crime scene evidence. Sneaking into a forensic lab, they test DNA, fingerprints and more, to piece the clues together. The results are shocking. Could it really lead to a twenty-year-old murder case? In a race against time, Jazz and Phoenix only have 48 HOURS to collect the evidence, profile the kidnapper and find their schoolmate's location, or Anika will die. The clock is ticking . . . (Publisher)
This is the first book in a series based around two inquisitive teen detectives who must solve three intriguing yet dangerous crimes. Jazz, the female lead character is obsessed with crime and solving them. When her best friend, Anika, is kidnapped she thinks she is the best person to find her. To make matters worse the friends were having an argument, as friends often do, before Ankia was kidnapped. As a result, Jazz feels terribly guilty. I absolutely loved this book and found myself picking it up whenever I had the chance. The lead characters are 14 so it is a read for an older audience. It is action packed, with each page leaving you on the edge of your seat. Persistence, determination, friendship and the ability to follow things through will resonate with the reader.
A must read for both boys and girls 12 and up who love criminal investigation, code breaking, forensics and kidnapping.
Kathryn Schumacher