No One Else Can Have You by Kathleen Hale

No One Else Can Have You by Kathleen Hale

Small towns are nothing if not friendly. Friendship, Wisconsin (population: 689 688) is no different. Around here, everyone wears a smile. And no one ever locks their doors. Until, that is, high school sweetheart Ruth Fried is found murdered. Strung up like a scarecrow in the middle of a cornfield.

Unfortunately, Friendship’s police are more adept at looking for lost pets than catching killers. So Ruth’s best friend, Kippy Bushman, armed with only her tenacious Midwestern spirit and Ruth’s secret diary (which Ruth’s mother had asked her to read in order to redact any, you know, sex parts), sets out to find the murderer. But in a quiet town like Friendship—where no one is a suspect—anyone could be the killer.

"No One Else Can Have You" was set up to be a perfect mystery, mixed with humor about living in Friendship, Wisconsin. Picture an adolescent's version of Fargo. Kippy Bushman is determined to find the killer of her long-time friend, Ruth. Ruth is discovered in a corn field, attached to a stake, with straw jammed down her throat as if she were a scarecrow herself. Only someone truly disturbed could commit such a heinous crime. Kippy must rely on the help of her father, Dom, friend, Ralph, and Ruth's brother Davy to solve the mystery and apprehend the criminal. With the use of Ruth's diary, Kippy is destined for some outrageous surprises.
The plot does move somewhat slow and I found myself skimming certain parts that were not relevant to the story. The book could probably have been shortened by 100 pages. Every curse word imaginable is also used, so only mature adolescent readers should read this title.