Defender — Graham McNamee

From the Edgar Award­-winning author of Acceleration comes a mystery about an old murder and new truths, perfect for fans of Barry Lyga, Madeleine Roux, and Michelle Gagnon.

They call her Tiny, but Tyne Greer is six foot six, a high school basketball star who is hoping the game will be her ticket out of the slum. She lives in a run-down building called The Zoo, where her father is the superintendent. One day she discovers a crack in the wall of an abandoned basement room. And sealed up in the wall is a girl's body. Horrified, she runs to get her dad. But after he goes to take a look, he comes back and tells Tyne that nothing's there. No girl. No body. He tells her she must be seeing things in the dark.

Tyne is sure it was real, though, and when she finds evidence that the body was moved from the hole in the wall, she knows the only one who could have done it is her father. But why? What is he hiding?

Tyne's search for answers uncovers a conspiracy of secrets and lies in her family. The closer she gets to the truth, the more dangerous it becomes for her. Because some will do anything to bury the past . . . and keep her silent.