From Goodreads:  Whistling in the Dark captivated readers with the story of ten-year-old Sally O’Malley and her sister, Troo, during Milwaukee’s summer of 1959. The novel became a New York Times bestseller and was named a Midwest Honor Award winner.

In Good Graces, it’s one year later, and a heat wave has everyone in the close-knit Milwaukee neighborhood on edge. None more so than Sally O’Malley, who remains deeply traumatized by the sudden death of her daddy and her near escape from a murderer and molester the previous summer. Although outwardly she and her sister, Troo, are more secure, Sally’s confidence in her own judgment and much of her faith have been whittled away. When a series of disquieting events unfold in the neighborhood-a string of home burglaries, the escape from reform school of a nemesis, and the mysterious disappearance of an orphan, crimes that may involve the increasingly rebellious Troo-Sally is called upon to rise above her inner demons. She made a deathbed promise to her daddy to keep Troo safe, a promise she can’t break, even if her life depends on it. But when events reach a crisis point, will Sally have the courage and discernment to make the right choices? Or will her false assumptions lead her and those she loves into danger once again?

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Of course, I’ve done this backwards and read the sequel, Good Graces, prior to reading the prequel, Whilstling in the Dark.  Do I recommend doing this?  Well, I do it a lot, unfortunately, because I can’t always get a hold of the prequels, and while I usually never have an issue with it, what I will say is that Good Graces gives away multiple spoilers to Whistling in the Dark.  So, I now know all the main things that happen in the prequel, which is all my fault, so I don’t recommend reading this series backwards as it will ruin some things for you. 

That aside, I thought this novel was pretty good.  My main issue is with Sally as she seems to have a very unhealthy relationship with her sister, Troo.  Sally is obsessed with her sister, mainly due to the traumatic experiences in her life, but Sally’s entire existence seems to dwell around protecting her sister, Troo, and Troo is hell bent on getting away from Sally and rebelling.  I did find myself getting upset with the redundancy of Sally, constantly talking about keeping an eye on Troo, and I found Troo’s actions appalling on more than one occasion, but overall, I enjoyed the mystery of the novel.  One thing I will say for Kagen is that she kept me guessing!  The way she set up the story made me think it was going in a completely different direction and I was shocked when I finally realized what was really good on.  Three stars.

I received an ARC of this novel from Penguin Group (USA), via Netgalley, prior to its release on September 1st, in exchange for an honest review.