The Poisoned Pencil Announces Debut Title, Death Spiral by Janie Chodosh

The Poisoned Pencil, the new young adult mystery imprint of Poisoned Pen Press, has announced its debut title: Death Spiral by Janie Chodosh.

"Typically, young adult fiction is published without categories or subgenres, unlike adult fiction, which is published with any number of subcategories, such as romance, mystery, thriller, science fiction, and others," said Robert Rosenwald, Publisher at The Poisoned Pencil. "YA, to most publishers, is just an age designation with an untapped market. For us, it's a chance to give mysteries to an audience that is constantly facing the unknown, the unexpected, and even the dangerous."

Death Spiral seems like an apt first choice for the imprint. Here's a synopsis:

Faith Flores is a work in progress. She wants to go to college and study science, but she's not exactly college material. Thanks to her junkie mom, Faith has never known a stable life.  But when her mom drops dead, Faith is the only one who cries. The cops say it was an overdose, but Faith doesn't buy it.   Her search for the truth leads Faith from the drug houses and methadone clinics of North Philly to the million-dollar science labs of the pharmaceutical industry.

Death Spiral will be published in April 2014 in trade paperback and ebook format.