Preview of Playing Murder Summary:

Readers who like the challenge of solving a murder will find this skillfully plotted novel an exciting one.

However, of even greater interest is Scoppettone's handling of her main character, the would-be detective Anna Parker, who must discard her own stereotypical attitudes as she learns that the victim, whom she had idealized, was not the person she thought him to be. In the course of making this discovery, she realizes the psychological complexity of the suspects whose possible motives for murdering her hero shock her into reconsidering her own values.

Anna Parker's family—her parents, twin brother, and younger sister—move under a cloud from a New Jersey suburb to a Maine seaside resort. Her twin brother Bill has stolen money from his Columbia High School football team and the consequent embarrassment makes it difficult for the family, especially her father who teaches in the school...