Byars, Betsy. Dead Letter: A Herculeah Jones Mystery. Viking, 1996. ISBN 0-670-86860-4. $13.99. 147 pp. B 6-9 FI Reviewed by Caroline M. Maxwell Dead Letter is about a girl named Herculeah Jones who finds a letter in the lining of a coat she bought at a used-clothing store. The letter says the person who wrote it is going to be killed. Herculeah finds out that this person was named Amanda Cole, and she lived on Elm Street, not far from Herculeah's home. Herculeah goes to Elm Street and gets caught by the murderer, who turns out to be Amanda Cole's nephew. The nephew shuts her up in a stable with an attack dog. Just when all seems to be lost, she is rescued by her friend, Meat, and some construction workers. The nephew is then arrested. I had a few problems with this book. When Herculeah found and read the letter, I wondered how she knew that the writer was a woman. Also, I didn't like how the story kept switching from Herculeah's point-of-view to Meat's point-of- view. However, I liked the suspense of the story and the way the reader could tell what all the characters were like from the moment they were introduced. Overall, I would say this is a pretty good book. *This reviewer is a talented young readerûage 11.
