Take one super bright, smartarse teen geek, add in a bunch of high school friends with super fast brains and even faster fingers, and we have the super-sleuth crazy gang of the techno age.

Sidonie Rubin is a teenager with a conscience and life threatening observation skills. When she makes a passing comment about a recent murder while on a school trip to the local precinct, she, and her friends, suddenly become the local law enforcement experts on LARPS (Live Action Role Play). Partly from pique at not being invited, partly from ego to prove herself right, Sid is determined to show that the murdered woman was dressed for an evening out when she was found, and therefore part of that modern phenomena, steam-punk cosplay.

Sid and her diverse group of friends – the quick brained best friend Jimmy, the gorgeous UN brat Imani, sex goddess Ari and Vikram the surprise package – spend their waking hours digging through the murdered woman’s online life in search of the illusive link to her death. And of course, being headstrong teenagers, once found they cannot leave it alone, which leads directly to the flashback that encompasses the story, Sid flying off the balcony in the New York Public Library in a gravity defying attempt to catch the murderer.

This is a hilarious, action packed, fast paced story that may be about a bunch of YA’s but is adult in humour and intellect. The plot is slightly insane, given the local cops call in the teenagers to start with, and the majority of the crime solving is via cyber space, while the resolution is very much in the real world and the whole is actually a momentary “life before the eye’s” flash back while Sid falls through the air.

Both the writing and the characters are extremely witty. None are quite what their image would suggest. Jimmy, the star Quarterback who wants to be a Supreme Court Judge, has chosen as his best friend the school geek, and manages keep up with her in all her glorious geekdom. Ari, large girl, large personality, buxom blonde (well blue and pink this week) isn’t just the life and soul, she’s a caregiver, nurturer and ‘tough love’ kinda girl. Vikram the loser is actually the one who cracks the case and revels hidden skills, and Imani, gorgeous, cosmopolitan linguist, cant add up well enough to pass her SATs. Their interplay and banter is, quite frankly, joyful. It fills up the page, the mind, and warms the heart, while exercising the ‘belly-laugh’ muscles on a regular basis.

Sid is, literally, a laugh a minute. While written as a first person stream of consciousness, in breathtaking inner monologue style, she manages to fall, trip, embarrass and laugh at herself throughout. From her clumsy slapstick to her embarrassing crush Stefani Deoul has created an adorable over confident, self conscious and over enthusiastic teenager who you cannot help but love.

The subtitle “A Sid Rubin Silicon Alley Adventure” suggests a series and I, for one, feel like chaining the author to her own cyber space to ensure the next adventure is well under way. Absolutely loved this, it stays in the mind, resonates in the heart and makes you smile at the memory. If this doesn’t win awards I will eat my top hat. ( )