The Virtual Life of Lexie Diamond.

Foyt, Victoria (author).

When Lexie’s mother dies in an automobile crash, Lexie’s father seems too quick to recover and fall in love with Jane. An eighth-grader who sees herself as having no social skills, and few social interests, Lexie spends most of her free time surfing the Web, and she is both delighted and mystified when her mother seems to emerge from new software she has been given. These emotions, however, are compromised by her mother’s announcement that she is the victim of murder, not an accident, and Lexie must help solve the mystery of the killer’s identity. Foyt’s plot twists combine some fun—Lexie makes friends with the school fashionista—with lots of wish fulfillment, and Lexie is an easy target for both cheering and eye rolling. The puppy-love subplot involving Lexie’s mystery e-pal seems an unnecessary bit of frosting on an otherwise inventive wedge of cake.