YA Review: The Perfect Shot by Elaine Marie Alphin

This book opens with a description of the murder of Amanda, her little brother, and mother as they return from the swimming pool on a summer day.  Amanda's boyfriend, Brian, is just a few feet away outside playing basketball, but he doesn't hear anything unusual.  When Amanda's father is put on trial for the murders Brian is surprised, but doesn't have any evidence to show otherwise... or so he thinks.  But when Brian starts investigating the long-ago case of Leo Frank, a man who was lynched for a murder he didn't commit, Brian suspects that something is amiss in the case against Amanda's father.  The drama is played out in and on the courts-- legal and basketball-- as Brian tries to make the perfect shot.  This is a popular book in my high school library, especially among boys, although the length is sometimes a turn-off to struggling readers.