Praise for Death Spiral. "Death Spiral is the first YA novel published by an extension of Poisoned Pen Press-Poisoned Pencil. If this is an example of the quality of their coming publications, Pencil will be as successful as Pen." -Bookloons "A powerful, riveting debut." -Sarah Lovett, author of Dark Alchemy When loner Faith Flores finds her mother dead of an apparent overdose, she refuses to believe it. Unfortunately, the cops are all too eager to close the case and move on, sending a distraught and unsatisfied Faith to live with her Aunt T in the suburbs of Philadelphia. But Melinda, her mom's junkie friend, prompts Faith to begin digging, igniting her passion in science and her need for answers. Faith soon discovers her mother had participated in an experimental clinical trial to treat heroin addiction.

Then Melinda also dies from an apparent overdose. Now Faith is pulling out all the stops in her search for truth-lying to her best friend, her aunt, even the police. But when the medical examiner's body is found in the Schuylkill River, Faith realizes if she doesn't find who's behind the sinister science and its cover-up, she could be next. Like Death Spiral protagonist Faith Flores, Janie Chodosh is a scientist wannabe and a naturalist. She lives in New Mexico with her daughter, stepson, and husband, and has spent the last decade teaching high school English and middle school science. When not writing, Janie can be found trying to grow a garden in the arid southwest. Death Spiral is her first novel. www.

janiechodosh.com.