From Publishers Weekly
Katie and her mom have come to Kluney, Tex., to escape trouble for a while, but trouble seems to be lurking around every corner. In her career as an investigative reporter, Katie's mom has run afoul of those who don't appreciate her efforts to bring to light the illegal dumping of certain toxic wastes, and now Katie, missing her city friends and ballet lessons, unwillingly finds herself involved in a puzzle of her own--the disappearance of the only girl to have befriended her. In her usual taut, thrillingly grim style, Nixon merges mystery with moral outrage and stand-taking; she develops parallel mother-daughter investigations deftly, allowing the mysteries to intersect momentarily and then dart off on separate paths. Strong female characters deliver a mandate to question authority and to adhere to personal convictions, even in the face of threats and ridicule. Affecting and fast-paced, this mystery delivers just the right amount of shivers to satisfy without eclipsing its message. Ages 12-up. Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Grade 7-10-Eve Gillian takes a leave of absence from her job as an investigative reporter to write a novel, and she and her teenaged daughter, Katie, settle temporarily in a small, Texas seaside town. Threatening letters and spooky nighttime visitors keep mother and daughter on edge; the local sheriff isn't sympathetic; Katie begrudges leaving her Houston high school; and the townspeople fear for their jobs at the local waste disposal plant once Eve starts poking around. Then two people are murdered, and Katie uncovers a cabal of teenaged boys dedicated to petty and not-so-petty crime. A few scenes are suspenseful, but overall the mystery just isn't very mysterious. The characters are flat, except for the pitiful murdered girl so desperate for attention, and the villain isn't very ominous. The workings of the plot are too transparent and the red herrings too red. The setting is surprisingly generic and lacks a convincing sense of place. Nixon has a long string of suspenseful page-turners, but Shadowmaker is, unfortunately, not one of her stronger efforts.Kathy Fritts, Jesuit High School, Portland, ORCopyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Gr. 7-9. Katie Gillian's mother, a famous investigative journalist, is taking six months off to write a novel. In order to afford the leave, she and Katie move away from Houston (and Katie's performing-arts high school) to live in an inherited house on the Gulf Coast. Locals, young and old, aren't friendly, dance classes for Katie don't exist, and prowlers harass the isolated house at night. When Katie's mother is brought evidence of toxic waste dumping, she can't refuse to investigate. Katie finds that what's going on at the high school is related, and she struggles to understand her mother's passion for probing. Nixon deftly weaves the ordinary difficulties of a new kid in school into a suspenseful mystery. The conclusion to the waste-dumping plot comes too easily, but some of Nixon's characters are interestingly complicated. Mary Harris Veeder

From Kirkus Reviews
Katie Gillian and her journalist mother have moved from Houston to a small coastal Texas town so that Mom can write a novel in peace. Katie's resentful; she misses her beloved ballet lessons and, at her new school, she's assigned to help Lana Jean improve her English-class journal, which is as strange as the girl herself: it's an account of the activities of Travis, a hunk with whom Lana Jean is infatuated. Meanwhile, the Gillians are plagued by a series of attacks on their house and a burglary. When Katie and Lana Jean go to a carnival, Lana, obviously shadowing Travis once again, disappears. Next morning, a carnival worker is found murdered. Is this related to the violence at the Gillians' home--or to illegal toxic waste disposal by the town's major employer, which Mrs. Gillian has been investigating? When Lana Jean, too, is murdered, Katie realizes everyone's in danger- -and also that Lana Jean's journal (in which Travis is now very interested) may contain a crucial clue. With believable characters caught in a web of violence and intrigue, Nixon is nearly at the top of her form in this smoothly knit novel. Teenage mystery aficionados will love it. (Fiction. 12+) -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Card catalog description
Soon after she and her mother come to the small Texas town of Kluney and experience a series of menacing events, Katie begins to suspect that there is something sinister going on.

ANNOTATION

Soon after she and her mother come to the small Texas town of Kluney and experience a series of menacing events, Katie begins to suspect that there is something sinister going on.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Soon after she and her mother come to the small Texas town of Kluney and experience a series of menacing events, Katie begins to suspect there is something sinister going on involving a secret gang of high school students and a company illegally storing toxic waste.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Katie and her mom have come to Kluney, Tex., to escape trouble for a while, but trouble seems to be lurking around every corner. In her career as an investigative reporter, Katie's mom has run afoul of those who don't appreciate her efforts to bring to light the illegal dumping of certain toxic wastes, and now Katie, missing her city friends and ballet lessons, unwillingly finds herself involved in a puzzle of her own--the disappearance of the only girl to have befriended her. In her usual taut, thrillingly grim style, Nixon merges mystery with moral outrage and stand-taking; she develops parallel mother-daughter investigations deftly, allowing the mysteries to intersect momentarily and then dart off on separate paths. Strong female characters deliver a mandate to question authority and to adhere to personal convictions, even in the face of threats and ridicule. Affecting and fast-paced, this mystery delivers just the right amount of shivers to satisfy without eclipsing its message. Ages 12-up. (May)

The ALAN Review - Earl Lomax

Katie Gillian's mother is an investigative reporter who always manages to dig up a lot of trouble along with the facts of her stories. Katie and her mother decide to leave Houston and live in a quiet Texas coastal town in order for Mrs. Gillian to write a novel. They are both surprised when they discover that urban corruption has found its way into small-town America. Katie encounters the typical problems of a teenager enrolling in a new school, but she also gets entangled in the disappearance and murder of a teenage girlfriend. Meanwhile, Katie's mother stirs up trouble by investigating the possibility of toxic waste dumping in town. It's easy to see why Joan Lowery Nixon is the only three-time winner of the Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America, and why she is called "the grande dame of mysteries for young readers." Dialogue and characterization sparkle. This is a fine book.

School Library Journal

Gr 7-10-Eve Gillian takes a leave of absence from her job as an investigative reporter to write a novel, and she and her teenaged daughter, Katie, settle temporarily in a small, Texas seaside town. Threatening letters and spooky nighttime visitors keep mother and daughter on edge; the local sheriff isn't sympathetic; Katie begrudges leaving her Houston high school; and the townspeople fear for their jobs at the local waste disposal plant once Eve starts poking around. Then two people are murdered, and Katie uncovers a cabal of teenaged boys dedicated to petty and not-so-petty crime. A few scenes are suspenseful, but overall the mystery just isn't very mysterious. The characters are flat, except for the pitiful murdered girl so desperate for attention, and the villain isn't very ominous. The workings of the plot are too transparent and the red herrings too red. The setting is surprisingly generic and lacks a convincing sense of place. Nixon has a long string of suspenseful page-turners, but Shadowmaker is, unfortunately, not one of her stronger efforts.-Kathy Fritts, Jesuit High School, Portland, OR

BookList - Mary Harris Veeder