A Long Stretch of Bad Days

2024 Whippoorwill Award Honor Book 2025–2026 MASL Gateway Award Finalist From award-winning author Mindy McGinnis comes a thrilling and gripping YA mystery about a small town’s past and the secrets unearthed by way of two teen girls—and a podcast. Perfect for fans of Sadie, The Cheerleaders, and A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder. A lifetime of hard work has put Lydia Chass on track to attend a prestigious journalism program and leave Henley behind—until a school error leaves her a credit short of graduating. Bristal Jamison has a bad reputation and a foul mouth, but she also needs one more credit to graduate. An unexpected partnership forms as the two remake Lydia’s town history podcast to investigate the Long Stretch of Bad Days—a week when Henley was hit by a tornado and a flash flood as well as its first, only, and unsolved murder. As their investigation unearths buried secrets, some don’t want them to see the light. When the threats escalate, the girls have to uncover the truth before the dark history of Henley catches up with them. Unlikely Allies: Lydia Chass is on the fast track to an Ivy League journalism school. Bristal Jamison is on the fast track to detention. A shared graduation requirement forces them together to solve a crime the town forgot. Cold Case Investigation: They reopen the town’s only unsolved murder, which occurred during the infamous Long Stretch of Bad Days—a week that also brought a devastating tornado and a flash flood. Dark History: The deeper Lydia and Bristal dig into Henley's past, the more dangerous their present becomes. Someone wants the truth to stay buried with the dead. Amateur Sleuths: Armed with a microphone and recording equipment, the two teens turn a school project into a real-time investigation, putting themselves in the path of a killer.