Spin, written by Lamar Giles, reviewed by Bethany Bratney

Summary: When local DJ on the verge of stardom, Paris Secord (aka DJ Parsec), is murdered, no one is more crushed than her former best friend, Kya, and her superfan, Fatima “Fuse” Fallon. Unfortunately, Kya and Fuse have never liked each other, so mourning the loss together is out of the question. When the police trail turns cold, and Paris’ obsessed fan-base, Parsec Nation, starts demanding justice, Kya and Fuse feel forced to step in. As the two people closest to her, and the ones who found her body, they have as good a chance as anyone to hunt down Parsec’s killer. But they will have to work closely to solve the crime, and they each have secrets about their relationships with Paris that threaten their credibility.

Straight Talk for Librarians: Lamar Giles has spun together a fast-paced, music-forward whodunit in Spin. The industry lingo and insights will appeal to aficionados and real-life superfans, and the mystery, complete with obsessed-fan kidnappers and secret-laden characters, will keep readers turning pages. Well-read sleuths may sniff out the killer before the book reveals him or her, but multiple red herrings will delay that point significantly. As with Giles other books, nearly all of the characters are African-American, providing much needed representation in the YA world, particularly within the mystery genre.