Framed & Dangerous

Framed & Dangerous (Sleuth or Dare, 3) by Kim Harrington, June 1, 2012. 192 pages. Published by Scholastic. Source:

Who's the culprit?
Norah and Darcy are still in a fight, but crime doesn't stop just because the girls aren't speaking. Someone has set fire to their school's brand-new field house. And the prime suspect is Zane Munro, the cute boy Norah can't help crushing on.
When Zane asks Partners in Crime for help, Norah and Darcy must band together to investigate. Norah knows Zane is innocent, but the clues are not in his favor. Can she and Darcy mend their friendship, crack the case, and clear Zane's name before it's too late?

First Sentence:

A dark cloud followed me to school Monday morning. 

There are not enough words to express how excited I was when I received all three books for review, especially since I had only asked to review the first one.

Nooo, the fabulous Partners in Crime duo is not speaking to one another. That was basically my thought going from the end of Sleepover Stakeout and into Framed & Dangerous because Norah and Darcy should be eternal friends and hated seeing them fighting and miserable but all too stubborn to apologize. Personal feelings aside, the break in their friendship definitely made for some grueling reading because you really noticed how well they work together and that Partners in Crime needs the both of them to make it work.

One of the things I like about mystery books is when the mystery hits close to home for a character. While the latest mystery in Framed & Dangerous may not have been within Norah or Darcy's family, I liked that it had to with one of their crushes-although I felt they were a little young to have crushes, but I'd probably be the only one to think that. Why do I like when a mystery is personal for the characters, well, that would be because the urgency in which the work to discover the truth and solve the mystery is amped up. Also because it makes the outcome all the more important to them because they have something at stake, like the loss of a friend or something, which is what made the clearing of Zane's name all the more interesting.

I really like the way that Ms Harrington ended Framed & Dangerous-and possibly the series. What makes the ending so good is that all the loose ends were tied off and the book ended in such a way that left me pleased with the outcome. Other than the ending of book three, I really enjoyed how each of the 'cases' evolved throughout the series and how much the characters changed in the process.

I am saddened after reading Framed & Dangerous, not because it was good or anything bad. But because I do believe that it was the final book...or at least the last one the was announced. Kim Harrington's Sleuth or Dare series has been such a joy to read that I am sad to say farewell to the awesomeness of her writing and the wonderful characters in it.

Final Verdict: Framed & Dangerous is another hit in the brilliant Kim Harrington's Sleuth or Dare series.

Framed & Dangerous earns 5 out of 5 pineapples.