Publishers Weekly
05/27/2019
In this fast-paced thriller, a gay teen visiting New York City is caught between terrorists and authorities after a hotel hookup via app goes horribly wrong. Mistaken for a hacker in possession of vital data, Aidan Jamison is targeted by a ruthless organization known as the Swans, who think that he can help them pursue their murderous agenda against anti-LGBTQ politicians and activists. Unable to persuade them that they’ve got the wrong guy, Aidan goes on the run across New York State, only to get pulled into the FBI ’s custody. Trusting no one and increasingly sympathetic to the Swans’ pro-LGBTQ mission, Aidan desperately seeks to become more than a pawn in everyone else’s plans. Milman (Scream All Night) deftly portrays a modern teen in an unwinnable situation. Aidan is genre savvy, resourceful, and resilient even as he wrestles with self-doubt and past trauma. As he pinballs from one perilous situation to the next, however, the story bogs down under its own increasing implausibility, with the Swans losing credibility as their plans unfold. Nevertheless, this timely, if over-the-top, thriller is rife with humorous asides, pop culture references, and historical anchors that reinforce its parallels to current political and cultural headlines. Ages 12–up. Agent: Victoria Marini, Irene Goodman Agency. (Aug.)
From the Publisher
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*"What could have been just a clever reconstruction of classic mystery conventions is elevated by wry humor and genuine emotional intensity. As a thriller, it's twisted and engaging; as a character study, it has lingering, affecting aftershocks."—Booklist *starred review*
"An addicting read...Don't swipe left on this one."—Kirkus Reviews
"In this fast-paced thriller, Milman deftly portrays a modern teen in an unwinnable situation. Aidan is genre savvy, resourceful, and resilient even as he wrestles with self-doubt and past trauma."—Publishers Weekly
"With a narrative voice as witty as his situation is dire, Aidan is a remarkably sympathetic though unlikely action hero."—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
"Brilliant, darkly funny and heart-wrenching. I couldn't put it down."—April Henry, NYT bestselling author of Girl, Stolen and The Night She Disappeared
"Equal parts hilarious and heart racing, Swipe Right for Murder crackles with enough energy to rival its New York City backdrop."—Kara Thomas, author of The Cheerleaders and The Darkest Corners
"A spellbinding North by Northwest for the digital age...it's like Hitchcock binged every season of Black Mirror and wrote a book about it. Wait, why aren't you reading yet?"—Lindsay Champion, author of Someday, Somewhere
"Two parts rocket fuel, one part moral quandaries, one part laugh-until-your-teeth-ache humor, Swipe Right for Murder is a delicious thrill-ride that will keep you riveted to the end."—Kit Frick, author of See All the Stars and All Eyes On Us
"I read it in one sitting because I couldn't tear myself away. A funny, sexy knockout of a book, and a new pinnacle for page-turning gay YA for me.I'm obsessed."—Cale Dietrich, author of The Love Interest
"Derek Milman combines explosively propulsive storytelling and a razor-sharp wit in this sexy, inventive thriller. A truly exciting read."—Maxine Kaplan, author of The Accidental Bad Girl
Kirkus Reviews
2019-04-16
Seventeen-year-old Aidan Jamison stumbles into a terrorist plot in Milman's (Scream All Night, 2018) woozy page-turner.
Alone in New York for health tests, Aidan uses an app to hook up with an older gentleman at his hotel. Following the encounter and a brief siesta, Aidan wakes up to find his companion dead. A phone conversation with a mysterious man results in a case of mistaken identity, and Aidan must go on the run or else face the consequences for the death of his one-time lover. Even worse, he's now a target of the Swans, a domestic terrorist network targeting anti-gay groups and politicians. The Swans believe Aidan holds a key piece of code necessary for the group's cyberwarfare efforts. As the body count ramps up, Aidan goes in deeper to uncover the terrorist plot, struggling to reconcile his mixed feelings over the Swans' actions. Things shake up when he meets Shiloh, an older man who offers help at suspiciously opportune moments. An addicting read, Milman's second novel interrogates the costs of political extremism as a tool for social change before curbing these efforts in favor of propping up a somewhat generic villain during the book's third act. The author nonetheless plumbs richer emotional depths via Aidan's struggles to make peace with his brother's unexpected death and a torturous affair with a former friend's father. A white default is assumed.
Don't swipe left on this one. (Thriller. 14-18)
