Chaos Theory

Seventeen-year-old Kami is into science, way smarter than she should be, a little obtuse, and born to investigate. The kind of girl who excels in Martial Arts and runs a chaos theory experiment in her locker. Kami finds a way to focus her talents when she meets Daniel, whose younger sister Julia died from an overdose of prescription drugs—drugs that the cops think came from Daniel's stash. First Daniel turns up at Kami's MA class, and later she saves him from a couple of drug dealers at the local skate park. Neither episode endears him to her, but Kami views life as a series of data points, and in Daniel's case, the data do not add up. Her theory turns out to be correct: Daniel is taking he fall to protect his sister's reputation—and to work with the cops to find out who really supplied his sister with drugs. Kami assembles a team of sleuths to help Daniel meet those goals. Top of the list is her best friend Sandy, who can con anybody out of anything, every time. Sandy's boyfriend Sam, editor of the school newspaper, is researcher in chief. Then there is gorgeous Gavin, a computer genius whose abilities to help are hindered by the fact that he's already in trouble with the cops for hacking. Daniel's novice police handler provides a link to law enforcement. The trail leads to the local stables, where Julia kept a stash of drugs. The team next uncovers a link to the manufacturer of the drugs. Working with the police, Kami goes undercover as an intern at the pharmaceutical company that makes the drugs that killed Julia. But she's not the only undercover agent on the trail. In Chaos Theory, first time author M Evonne Dobson not only tells a fast-paced mystery, but also explores her protagonist's deep need to understand the chaotic lives of those around her, lives that refuse to be neat, clean, and simple. Especially when death happens to those you love. Set in Iowa, Chaos Theory is a young adult contemporary crime novel, the first in a proposed series tentatively called The Kami Files.