The library is open, and it’s time to read Caleb Roehrig’s new YA thriller, Death Prefers Blondes.
Margo Manning is a wealthy teen socialite by day and a badass thief by night. Whether it’s rococo paintings at the Los Angeles Museum of Fine Art or the czarist diamond collection of a Russian mobster, no target is safe from Margo and her expert team of cat burglars. In addition to being very good at what they do, her crew has the benefit of knowing they’re the most fabulous thieves in the business—quite literally, because they pull off all their heists in drag!
Why would teen drag queens and a tabloid star choose a dangerous life of crime? For Margo, it’s mostly about being truly excellent at something outside of the view of her overbearing father. But for the queens, it’s life or death. Brothers Axel and Joaquin have a father in prison, a sick mother and a sea of debt. Leif’s homophobic parents no longer want to help him pay for the dance school that is his ticket to freedom, and Davon is desperate to get his addict drag mother away from their bad neighborhood and into rehab.
When a multi-million dollar heist comes their way, it seems like too good an opportunity to pass up. It could be the last job—the one that allows them all to close this chapter of their lives for good. But it turns out that this particular robbery has consequences they can’t shake. As one thing snowballs into the next, it becomes clear that the future of Margo’s family legacy is at stake—along with her life and the lives of everyone she loves. In order to protect them, she’ll have to orchestrate their biggest heist yet, stretching everyone’s abilities to the limit and risking everything they all hold dear.
If there’s one thing this genre requires, it’s a competent posse of deeply damaged human beings who are great at really specialized skills and terrible at life. Margo’s team certainly fits the bill, and whether they’re boosting cars, hiding in tight spaces or kickboxing with the enemy, it’s satisfying to see them take on the best laid security plans of the one percent. Likewise, the trials and tribulations the queens face in their daily lives feel believable and heartbreaking.