First Post about The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin

Wow...
For the first 100 pages of this novel, I kept asking myself "Where's the mystery?  Am I missing something?"  And then it happened:  someone actually did die!  Obviously I didn't want a tragedy to occur, but now that it has, I'm wondering who did it.  There really are many suspects.  I'm trying not to give too much away here, since I know not everyone in class is reading this book.  It's a really interesting story so far though, so I highly recommend it. 

Will Halpin is one of the most fun narrators I've encountered in my recent reading.  He's always making jokes (oftentimes at his own expense) and referring to his weight issues in a semi-humorous, semi-tragic manner.  Now that I'm thinking about it a bit more, I'm wondering if I should be suspecting Will himself of committing the crime.  To fill in those who are not familiar with the novel, the murder occurs during a class field trip to a coal mine.  There's a point during the field trip in which all lights are turned off, so students are able to experience their surroundings as the miner's would have.  I remember when Will referred to this time period, his reference to it was very vague.  It would be horrible if Will committed the crime though, since I like him as a character and do not want him to go to (fictional) jail.  That would not be an ideal ending to the novel. 

At this point, it seems that all of the suspects mentioned by Devon Smiley and Will Halpin could have committed the crime.  The teacher, the bus driver, the kid named A.J....it seems that many people had a motive for killing the most popular kid at school (except the bus driver...I can't figure out what his motive would be).  Did I mention that Devon and Will are investigating the case together?  I think it's awesome that Will found a friend in Devon and that they are taking this case on themselves (even though they are still high school students).  Maybe they'll solve the case before the police do?

All of this talk of high school crime solvers makes me think of the days when I used to read Nancy Drew mysteries.  Maybe Devon and Will really are the modern-day version of the Hardy Boys?  They reference this series in the novel, and Will and Devon even take on the names of two Hardy Boys characters.  As a lover of anything mysterious or mystery-related, I'm thoroughly enjoying where this book is headed.  While reading about Will's daily high school adventures for the first portion of the novel was also interesting, I have a feeling that the next portion of the novel will be even more intriguing now that there's a mystery to solve. 

As a complete aside from all of this (and since I have no idea where to put this thought, but still wanted to express it), I am so glad that Will's mom let him keep the dog!  It was so strange how the dog just came up to Will, and it seemed like the whole thing was something Will really needed.  It sounds as though Will is an only child, so having a dog could help to provide some companionship.  This is especially important now that he's in a mainstream school; a school that does not provide much in the way of accommodations for Will.  Between becoming friends with Devon and keeping the dog, things seem to be looking up for Will.  I hope it continues.