Death Grip

by Jay Bennett

Shane Lockwood is lucky and he knows it. He's only a teenager, but considered a talented violinist whom the world adores. At the end of a successful concert tour in Venice, however, someone steals his precious violin. Then he starts receiving menacing phone calls, demanding a favor in exchange for his life. Amidst these murderous threats, Shane meets beautiful student, Laurie Carson, and falls head over heels in love. Then a dark question surfaces: could she be involved in this nightmare? As Shane desperately looks for answers, he is thrust into a world where danger lurks around every gondola--and where star-crossed love could turn quite sharply into double-crossed death....

Genres: Young Adult

152 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published September 1, 1993

About the author

Jay Bennett (born in New York City, December 24, 1912, died June 27, 2009 in Cherry Hill, NJ) was an American author and two-time winner of the Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America. Bennett won the Edgar for Best Juvenile novel in 1974 and 1975, for The Long Black Coat (Delacorte Press) and The Dangling Witness (Delacorte Press), respectively. He was the first author to win an Edgar in consecutive years. A third book, The Skeleton Man (Franklin Watts), was nominated in 1987. Bennett is best known among English teachers and young adults for these and other juvenile mysteries, like Deathman, Do Not Follow Me (Scholastic).

Reviews

[Logan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The ending of the book was surprising that I loved every moment of it. The author of the book leads you that Shane is going to be caught in the airport and end the book there, but instead he ends with an event that I never thought would occur. I will probably recommend this book to many of my friends that are looking for a mystery/thriller type of book because it will keep you on the edge of your seat.

[Devin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fast-paced, rapid-fire dialogue, short and quick read that leaves no gaps. Great psychological thriller!