Latitude Zero

by Diana Renn

Genres: YA Mysteries & Thrillers

Synopsis

When a bicycle racing champion dies suddenly, a teen sleuth travels to Ecuador to solve the mystery.

“I have to run,” said Juan Carlos. “You will call? Please? It is very important.”
“Yes. I will call. Definitely. At two.”
 
That’s what Tessa promises. But by two o’clock, young Ecuadorian cycling superstar Juan Carlos is dead, and Tessa, one of the last people ever to speak to him, is left with nothing but questions. The media deems Juan Carlos’s death a tragic accident at a charity bike ride, but Tessa, an aspiring investigative journalist herself, knows that something more is going on. While she grapples with her own grief and guilt, she is being stalked by spies with an insidious connection to the dead cycling champion. Tessa’s pursuit of an explanation for Juan Carlos’s untimely death leads her from the quiet New England backwoods to bustling bike shops and ultimately to Ecuador itself, Juan Carlos’s homeland. As the ride grows bumpy, Tessa no longer knows who’s a suspect and who is an ally. The only thing she knows for sure is that she must uncover the truth of why Juan Carlos has died and race to find the real villain—before the trail goes cold.

Release date: July 3, 2014

Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers

Print pages: 448

Sample

Excerpt from Latitude Zero

The two of them peered into the container, as if scanning the bikes.
“It’s good,” the guy muttered. “Let’s get out of here.”
Then they both jumped off the back of the container.
SLAM. The door closed.
SCREECH. The metal bar outside the door slid across the latch.
“Hey!” I shouted. “Let me out!”
CLICK. CLICK. CLICK. The tumblers in the padlocks turned.
I squeezed out of the tangle of bikes I’d wedged myself into, and made my way to that space by the doors. I banged on the doors. “I’m trapped in here! Let me out!” I cried.
Then I was thrown against the doors, as the truck went into reverse.