Diamonds in the Shadow by Caroline Cooney

This book surprised me, and I gave it a rating of four out of five. Jared's family is hosting a refugee family of four people from Africa, but he gets the feeling that they're not who they seem to be. The parents don't seem to pay much attention to their son and daughter, and Jared doesn't see a family resemblance. The daughter does not speak and does not seem to hear others. The son is very protective of his grandparents' cremated ashes that he's keeping in cardboard boxes. Jared later discovers black diamonds are hidden in the boxes, but he can't figure out what is going on. Jared's family is unaware that there was a fifth refugee on board the plane from Africa, and this murderer will do anything to get his hands on the diamonds.

I was expecting a plot in which an African family needed to learn to adapt to the American culture, and that is how the book begins. However, I quickly became aware that the plot was more of a mystery, and I enjoyed trying to figure out the secrets of the refugees. The suspense builds to an exciting climax when the fifth refugee discovers the location of the family.

Lexile level from lexile.com 750