An original, fast-paced mystery featuring a strong message about inclusion.
In the West Texas town of Marfa, trouble brews between humans and monsters when the monsters’ prized crown is stolen and chupacabra Calvin Shadevale disappears.
Detective Price seems sure that Cal took off with the sacred crown that the monsters use at the annual Marfa Monster Festival to honor the Monarch of Fright. There are many humans, including the mayor, who are ready to use the crime as an excuse to shut down Vince Vance’s Vintage Trailer Park Inn for Monsters. But 13-year-old Elvira, Vince’s daughter, doesn’t believe Cal is the culprit; she insists he’s a victim. The situation becomes even more suspicious when more monsters go missing. Elvira, who has a racially ambiguous human dad and a siren mom, wishes everyone could get along. Eager to solve the mystery and calm tensions, she joins forces with her human friend (and secret crush) Emilio Salinas, and chupacabra best friend, Maribel Akecheta—together they’re “the best sleuths in Marfa.” Their investigations take them to a mausoleum, the mayor’s office, and a ghost town as they encounter colorful witnesses and suspects, including a banshee, a vampire, a jackalope, and decidedly unfriendly ghosts. As they hurtle toward the finale, the trio discover a duplicitous villain and an unlikely ally. This compelling story offers food for thought about discrimination. Elvira’s humorous and engaging first-person voice flows easily.
An original, fast-paced mystery featuring a strong message about inclusion. (Mystery. 8-12)Pub Date: July 15, 2025
ISBN: 9780063348578
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Storytide/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: April 19, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
Contagiously goofy and fun.
Area 51 gets its first new resident in 5 years—and a new mystery.
When her grandma moves into a kid-free retirement home, 12-year-old orphan Priya “Sky” Patel-Baum and Spike, her pet hedgehog, relocate to Area 51 to live with Sky’s eccentric Uncle Anish. At 51, humans and Break Throughs (government-speak for aliens) live together off-grid in harmony. Unfortunately, several Zdstrammars (one of many Break Through species) mysteriously disappear, disrupting the base’s harmony and contributing to feelings of suspicion. Despite being deputy head of the Federal Bureau of Alien Investigations, Uncle Anish becomes a prime suspect. Can Sky and Elvis, her alien classmate, prove Uncle Anish’s innocence and find the missing Zdstrammars before it’s too late? YA author Buxbaum’s middle-grade debut is a rip-roaring series opener complete with over-the-top characters and jokes galore. Naidu’s black-and-white cartoon illustrations extend the comedy with ongoing commentary that smartly interacts with the prose. The cast of Break Through species—like Audiotooters, Galzorian, and Sanitizoria—have hilariously creative on-the-nose names with illustrations to match. Sky is coded biracial, with a White dad and Indian mom. Aliens appear in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors; Elvis shape-shifts but looks like a brown-skinned boy to Sky. Though the main mystery is neatly wrapped up, the cliffhanger ending promises more laughs.
Contagiously goofy and fun. (Mystery. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-42946-4
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2022
Delightful fun for budding mystery fans.
Only children, rejoice! A cozy mystery just for you! (People with siblings will probably enjoy it too.)
Debut novelist Cornett introduces the One and Onlys, a trio of mystery-solving only kids: Gloria Longshanks “Shanks” Hill, Alexander “Peephole” Calloway, and narrator Paul (alas, no nickname) Marconi. The trio has a knack for finding and solving low-level mysteries, but they come up against a true head-scratcher when the yard of a resident of their small town is covered in rubber ducks overnight. Working ahead of Officer Portnoy, who’s a little on the slow side, can Paul, Shanks, and Peephole solve the mystery? Cornett has a lot of fun with this adventure, dropping additional side mysteries, a subplot about small businesses, big corporations, and economics, and a town’s love of bratwurst into the mix. Most importantly, he plays fair with the clues throughout, allowing astute readers to potentially solve the case ahead of the trio. The tone and mystery are perfect for younger readers who want to test their detective skills but are put off by anything scary or gory. The pacing would serve well for chapter-by-chapter read-alouds. If there are any quibbles, it’s the lack of diversity of the cast, as it defaults white. Diversity exists in small towns, and this one is crying out for more. Hopefully a sequel will introduce additional faces.
Delightful fun for budding mystery fans. (Mystery. 8-12)Pub Date: April 14, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9848-3003-6
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Dec. 21, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
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