Nobody's Child - Hardcover

Dawson, Janet

4.26

555 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 044990976X ISBN 13: 9780449909768

Publisher: Ballantine Books, 1995

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"Janet Dawson writes with a deft, sure hand, much the way her sleuth Jeri Howard detects. With both author and sleuth, you know you're in the hands of true professionals."
--Julie Smith
Across the glorious San Francisco Bay lies Berkeley, California, as famous for students and activism as it is for the charm of the town itself. But the complexities and troubles of the big city have made their home here and no one feels safe anymore.
A decomposing body buried in an empty lot has been dug up by a construction company, and Jeri Howard's demanding, imperious client, Naomi Smith, thinks the victim could be her daughter, Maureen, who ran away from her comfortable home two years ago. Jeri dislikes her client, but as a survivor of the mother-daughter wars herself, she is determined to discover the identity of the dead woman and how she was killed. What worries her just as much, though, is the missing child Maureen was last seen carrying--both of them sick, broke, and sleeping among the hopeless and homeless in the threatening shadows of Peoples Park.
Posing as a homeless person, Jeri probes the darkening heart of the once-beautiful city, peering behind the lace curtains of middle-class respectability to find out why Maureen ran from home and how she ended up on the streets. In her desperate search to save a child that nobody seems to want, Jeri hits a wall of suburban silence and urban distress.
Here is a mystery as real and believable as today's changing world, as intriguing as the stories strangers have to tell, as hopeful as the fate of a child who finds someone to love.

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From the Publisher:

Whenever I feel homesick for the San Francisco Bay Area, Janet Dawson takes me there. From the rugged coastlines of Monterey and Carmel to the quirky, wholly unique character of Berkeley, she captures the essence of Northern California. Another reason I enjoy her mysteries is that they deal with serious, complex themes. I admire that skill: giving a story meat without weighing it down. It's a balancing act Janet Dawson performs with precision--especially with Nobody's Child.

Grant Neumann, Copy Director

From School Library Journal:

YA?An absorbing mystery that begins when P.I. Jeri Howard is hired by a woman to find out if a recently discovered body is that of her missing teenaged daughter, Maureen. Jeri starts by interviewing the people who befriended the girl during her two years as a runaway. This takes her from the exclusive upper-class neighborhood of her client's home in Oakland, CA, to the colorful but dangerous street life of Berkeley. The trail also leads to a warm and supportive family of organic farmers. Maureen's story is that of a young woman who made some poor decisions and trusted the wrong people. The development of minor characters is excellent, and the dialogue between the diverse people in the story is realistic. One of the strengths of the novel is the interaction between the detective and the street people she meets. The problems of homelessness are presented by many voices: the victims, the social workers, the church volunteers, and the local business people. The issues are not resolved, but many questions are raised. As Jeri unravels the mystery of Maureen's life and death, she begins to gain an understanding of her own problems and some insight into those of her family. The ending is suspenseful but the identity of the murderer is somewhat predictable. Teens should enjoy this well-written mystery with its many young characters and its interesting locations.?Penny Stevens, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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