Uncovering Sadie's Secrets: A Bianca Balducci Mystery

by Libby Sternberg

Overview

Allow us to introduce Bianca Balducci, a normal fifteen-year-old girl attending a co-ed parochial school in Baltimore, Maryland. She worries about her hair, her clothes, her would-be boyfriend Doug . . . and solving real-life mysteries?

That’s right! Watch out Nancy Drew, Bianca is on the case and this case revolves around Sadie Sinclair, the new girl Bianca has gone out of her way to befriend, only to discover that she's more than a little odd, and hiding something really BIG!

Did someone actually see Sadie, who's only fifteen, driving a car? Why did she freak out at the idea of playing the lead in the school play? And why is Sadie being stalked by a nefarious duo of grown-ups?

To figure out what's causing Sadie's perpetual weirdness, Bianca enlists the help of her private-eye sister Connie, her best friend and planner extraordinaire Kerrie, and eventually her boyfriend-in-waiting Doug.

Before too long, Bianca & Company realize that Sadie is involved in something quite serious, and Bianca, unable to contain her desire to know the truth, finds herself tangled in more and more messes, with almost no time left for homework, or for the dreamy Doug. Just before time runs out on helping her new friend, Bianca finally uncovers Sadie's secrets, and, in the process, learns a lesson or two that all do-gooder sleuths would benefit from learning themselves.

Combining slapstick with intelligent wit, Uncovering Sadie's Secrets is a delightful, thoroughly entertaining mystery that pulls, grabs, and sticks while providing laugh-out-loud moments and smiles throughout.

An Edgar finalist.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781890862695
Publisher:	Bancroft Press
Publication date:	01/01/2003
Series:	Bianca Balducci Mystery , #1
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	190
File size:	325 KB

About the Author

Libby Malin Sternberg was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland and is still in love with the city of crabcakes, steamy summers, and ethnic neighborhoods. (What’s not to love about a city that names its football team after an Edgar Allan Poe character?)

Libby earned both bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Peabody Conservatory of Music and also attended the summer American School of Music in Fontainebleau, France.

After graduating from Peabody, she worked as a Spanish gypsy, a Russian courtier, a Middle-Eastern slave, a Japanese Geisha, a Chinese peasant, and a French courtesan--that is, she sang as a union chorister in both Baltimore and Washington Operas, where she regularly had the thrill of walking through the stage doors of the Kennedy Center Opera House before being costumed and wigged for performance. She also sang with small opera and choral companies in the region.

Alas, singing didn’t pay all the bills so she turned to writing, working in a public relations office and then as a freelancer for various trade organizations and small newspapers.

During a period of self-unemployment, she took her sister’s advice and decided to pursue an unfulfilled dream--writing fiction. Her first young adult novel, Uncovering Sadie’s Secrets, was a nominee for the prestigious Edgar Allan Poe award from Mystery Writers of America. The second in that mystery series was released in hardcover in November 2004. A third mystery in the series was released in 2008. She's also written a historical YA mystery, The Case Against My Brother. She is the author of two women's fiction books (writing as Libby Malin)--Loves Me, Loves Me Not and Fire Me!--and is under contract for a third. All of her books have received critical acclaim.

For many years, she and her family lived in Vermont, where she worked as an education reform advocate, contributed occasional commentaries to Vermont Public Radio and was a member of the Vermont Commission on Women.

She is married, with three children, and now resides in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Editorial Reviews

"A delightfully written page-turner mystery about a high school sophomore developing a boyfriend while embroiling herself in the mysteries surrounding a new student at St. John’s, and doing all the regular everyday things girls her age do, all while surrounded by a just-offbeat-enough group of family and friends. The next book in this new series is due out in April, and both should be on your shelves!” (NAMED THE BOOK TO ITS YA TOP 40 IN 2003)

Pennsylvania School Librarians Association

“Bianca’s quest leads to one zany mix-up after another. She is caring, energetic, and endearing, and readers will laugh appreciatively at her bumbling attempts to court Doug while playing private eye. This light and enjoyable mystery will be especially appreciated by female readers and is appropriate for school and public libraries.”

Dotsy Harland, VOYA

"Sternberg’s writing mimics the social speech of a typical 15-year-old girl; it’s chock-full of hyperbole and self-confidence-boosting assertions. The author exposes her protagonist’s hopes, fears, and insecurities with a fresh voice, and she keeps Sadie’s real secrets a mystery until the end. A great start to what looks like a continuing series.”

School Library Journal

“While Sternberg emphasizes mystery and action elements, she doesn't ignore deeper issues. She portrays Bianca as someone who genuinely cares about Sadie, the school’s new girl, even while digging into Sadie's past, rationalizing her actions with the idea the she's really helping the girl. It's an extra entertainment for mystery fans, one for those who want a puzzle without a ghost or a murder."

Kirkus Reviews

“Sternberg's first novel is an entertaining teen mystery-romance narrated by 15-year-old high-school sophomore Bianca Balducci. Nancy Drew fans and other young mystery aficionados will be pleased."

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