The Pineville Heist


Young Adult - Mystery
196 Pages
Reviewed on 01/01/2014
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    Book Review

Reviewed by Karen Pirnot for Readers' Favorite

The Pineville Heist by Lee Chambers portrays a group of young male teens who discover a backpack full of money and decide to try to hunt down the thieves. They all get more than they bargained for when the local sheriff and his deputy get involved. In their attempts to hide from the robbers, the teens in turn, become the hunted. One of the boys is shot and another disappears. His friend Aaron has no idea what has happened to the two boys, but he doggedly pursues the robbers despite common sense telling him they are dangerous. Aaron and his drama teacher are trapped in the school and there is then one bloody and gory scene after another as they attempt to escape while holding the robbers accountable.

I felt the aggressive, ongoing pursuit was oftentimes at the expense of real character development. Some young adults reading the book may attempt to identify with Aaron but most will consider his attempts to play the hero a bit far-fetched. There were enough clues that most readers will know well in advance who the real bad guys are. The underlying theme is one which some teens will recognize in their own lives; attempting to gain the support and respect of a distant parent. In this respect, Lee Chambers' The Pineville Heist accomplished its goal in admirable fashion. Given the sophistication of modern communication and ongoing security surveillance, it was a bit of a stretch that the teens were seemingly in the fray alone, but for the most part, the story was one which will captivate the young mind.