Scanners. Max Elliot Anderson. TBCN Inc. December 2017. 160
pp. ISBN: 9780938447115. YA Fiction.
We walk into a grocery store,
supermarket, clothing store, book store, etc.
We buy an item or items and pay after the bar code is scanned for each
item. We never think twice about how
that happens or how it can be misused for criminal purposes. This is Alex Peterman’s story about how he
solves a crime happening in Gilbert’s Grocery Store, owned by Alex’s father. For several weeks his father has discovered
that thousands of dollars are missing each week, particularly on weekends.
Alex and his friends Noah Bates
and Tim Price, who also work in the store set about trying to find out who is
stealing massive amounts of money. They
also have a project going on at school.
While watching the normal activities in the store, they decide to
research the bar codes on every product and also the background of tattoos as
one of the deliverers of groceries sports an unusual tattoo.
The story is fairly, evenly
paced but picks up when the boys notice some shady events. Some of it is very funny as the boys in their
boredom play some harmless but crazy games in the store’s aisles.
When they see one particular
man sneaking around and looking very suspicious, they think they have their criminal. Imagine their surprise when they attend a regional
food convention and see the same character lurking around.
No spoilers here – keep
reading and discover just how bar codes can be used for wrongdoing and how the
boys capture the criminals in a dangerous but exciting manner.
Fun read with plenty of
suspense and a few good laughs mixed in between the mystery!
