Who Killed My Daughter?

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

On July 16, 1989, Kaitlyn Arquette, a part-time college student and the author's daughter, was shot as she drove home in Albuquerque, N.M. She died the next day. The police department initially suspected that she had been the victim of a random shooting. The police ineptly handled developments in the case, charges Duncan, not because of incompetence, but due to laziness and stubborn adherence to the theory of the moment. Duncan's appeals to the FBI for help went unheeded. She turned to psychics, who offered leads, and to a private detective, who was ineffectual. Gradually it surfaced that the naive Kait had become involved through her live-in Southeast Asian boyfriend with a Vietnamese gang of drug smugglers who also dealt in insurance fraud, a gang that probably used Mexican Americans as hit men. The case is still unsolved, according to the author, and there are clues galore to be pursued. Readers critical of either Duncan's contacts with paranormals or her talking to God and to her dead daughter may be put off by the book, but many will be sympathetic to this mother's plight. The book could well be a top seller. Duncan, author of 39 young adult suspense novels, won the 1991 Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement, jointly sponsored by School Library Journal and the Young Adult Library Services Association. Photos not seen by PW. Time-Life Book Digest condensation selection. (June)

Library Journal

Duncan, a highly acclaimed author of young adult literature, here tells the story of her agonizing search for her daughter's murderers. The police wrote off the crime as a ``random shooting,'' but Duncan could not accept that verdict and set about her own investigation of what really happened. Her sleuthing took her on a labyrinth of clues from the police, psychics, private investigators, and a newspaper reporter unafraid of printing the truth. This book is especially well written, perhaps because Duncan's writing comes directly from her broken heart and anguished soul. Recommended for true crime collections.-- Belinda J. Pugh, Kings Bay Base Lib., Ga.

School Library Journal

YA-- Reading like the suspense mysteries that have made her famous, Duncan's account of her daughter's murder in New Mexico in 1989 is horrifying and at the same time thought provoking. She put all else aside as she followed up on every lead, sought the help of psychics and private investigators, and convinced an aggressive investigative reporter to help. The further she delved into the events of that fateful night, the more mysterious the pieces of the fragmented puzzle became. At the same time, the official stand of the Albuquerque police continued to be that Kait's murder was a random, drive-by shooting. The connection of Kait's Vietnamese boyfriend to an insurance scam and possible drug dealing appeared to be ignored by the APD. Throughout the first year of Duncan's investigation, several members of the family experienced death threats. Selling their family home, she and her husband tried to hide through an unlisted phone number in an apartment complex. After over a year of despair and frustration, the author turned to what she does best as a healing exercise--writing about what had happened. This book will find readers of all ages, and should be a part of all collections serving young adults. All of the elements of a suspenseful mystery are here--intrigue, turns and twists at every corner, cover-ups, and page-turning action; the sobering fact is that, this time, they're true.-- Barbara Lynn, Econo-Clad Books, Topeka, KS