Sammy Keyes and the Showdown in Sin City

By Wendelin Van Draanen

"The most winning junior detective ever in teen lit. (Take that, Nancy Drew!)" —Midwest Children's Book Review

In this pivotal book in the Sammy Keyes series, Sammy tackles the persistent mysteries of her own life. Mysteries like: Who is her father? And why has her mother kept it such a secret? How long can she manage to hide out in Grams' seniors-only building before someone catches on? Is her mother really planning to marry her boyfriend's father? (Ew.) And why, why is Heather Acosta so nasty?

During one crazy weekend in Las Vegas, with the help of an entire army of Elvis impersonators, Sammy finally gets some answers. But of course knowledge comes at a price—and solving the mysteries of her own life will cost Sammy more than she ever meant to pay. . . .

The Sammy Keyes mysteries are fast-paced, funny, thoroughly modern, and true whodunits. Each mystery is exciting and dramatic, but it's the drama in Sammy's personal life that keeps readers coming back to see what happens next with her love interest Casey, her soap-star mother, and her mysterious father.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Jan 8, 2013
• ISBN: 9780307974082

Wendelin Van Draanen

Wendelin Van Draanen has written more than thirty novels for young readers and teens. She is the author of the 18-book Edgar-winning Sammy Keyes series—often called “The new Nancy Drew”—and wrote Flipped, which was named a Top 100 Children’s Novel for the 21st Century by School Library Journal and became a Warner Brothers feature film, with Rob Reiner directing. A classroom teacher for fifteen years, Wendelin resides in California where she can be spotted riding shopping carts across parking lots. She and her husband, Mark Parsons, have two sons and enjoy the three R’s: Reading, Running, and Rock’n’Roll.

Reviews for Sammy Keyes and the Showdown in Sin City

[mutantpudding · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Less mystery and more adventure but I enjoyed it, and appreciated that it moved some of Sammys relationships forward.

[tafadhali · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This may be my new favorite volume in the series. No real "mystery" in the traditional sense, but a wonderful pay-off to a lot of the emotional themes and character dynamics in the series, and an ending that really shook up status quo in a way that I think will pay off for future books.

[blu1starr12 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book was by far my favorite book in the series. It was not like the typical Sammy Keyes story line, but that didn't mean it wasn't amazing. I can tell this series is coming to a close as Wendelin Van Draanen begins to tie up loose ends. Five stars!