Dangerous Deception [Paperback]

Award-winning author Peg Kehret returns with a suspenseful thriller for middle graders!

Peg Kehret includes humor, animal rescue, and heart-pounding suspense in this story about good intentions gone wrong. Sixth-grader Emmy Rushford decides to provide food for a needy family, but the project turns perilous when Emmy must deal with a car crash, a cat thrown into a Dumpster, and a belligerent neighbor. Then she discovers an apartment full of stolen goods. Her courageous efforts to help hungry children, rescue the cat, and break up a ring of thieves soon put her life at risk.

 Praise for Dangerous Deception

A diverting, fast-paced thriller.  —Kirkus ReviewsPeg Kehret is the winner of more than forty state young reader awards. She lives in Washington State with her rescued dog and two rescued cats.

CHAPTER ONE

I only intended to help two children who were hungry and had no money for food. That’s an admirable goal for a sixth-grade girl, isn’t it? You can’t get in trouble for doing unto others as you would have them do unto you. Right?

Wrong! I may have had noble intentions, but I still ended up causing a car crash, being abducted by a thug, and smuggling a scared cat on a city bus by sticking him inside my T-shirt, a maneuver I do not recommend unless you’re wearing a steel undershirt.

I wasn’t.

It all began when Mom got sick. I know it wasn’t her fault. Nobody would choose to spend half the day moaning in bed and the other half dashing to the bathroom. Still, it was a terrible time for her to get the flu. I suppose there isn’t a good time to have the flu, but Mom is especially busy in April.

She works in the children’s department at Dunbar’s, the biggest department store in Cedar Hill. Every April Dunbar’s has a big contest, “Make Your Dunbar’s Dream Come True.” The entry forms look like ló,