A SKELETON IN THE CLOSET

An aspiring sleuth from London endeavors to uncover the truth behind her ancestor’s death.

Twelve-and-three-quarters-year-old Mizzy sees herself as “Mizzy the Marvellous, world-famous detective.” Unfortunately, it feels like everyone else sees her as a baby. Her parents are so protective that “you’d think people with Down syndrome aren’t capable of anything,” and they dismiss Mizzy’s sleuthing by comparing her to her Great Aunt Jane, who was dubbed by some an “interfering sticky-beak” for observing and writing stories about the neighbors (to others, she was “a brilliantly perceptive surveiller”). When Mizzy discovers Great Aunt Jane’s diaries while staying with her cousins for the summer holidays, everything changes. Apparently Great Aunt Jane was murdered—and revealing her killer at Grandma Mabel’s 80th birthday party would show everyone that Mizzy definitely isn’t a baby. But as Mizzy interviews the quirky members of her extended family and pores over her phonetically spelled notes (with suspects humorously caricatured in Magoogan’s cartoonlike illustrations), she realizes that deducing whodunit could be more difficult—and more dangerous—than she thought. Though some relatives feel underdeveloped, readers will root for Mizzy as she uncovers family secrets and pieces together a surprisingly complex case. Mizzy—whom debut author Hatcher-Smith, a speech-language pathologist, modeled on kids she’s worked with—is appealingly multifaceted. Her desire to be taken seriously will resonate, and her growth is poignant and satisfying. Most characters read white. 

This auspicious series opener will leave readers eager for the next case.