A lively, jaunty mystery with a terrific cast of characters.
In this middle-grade novel, a tween becomes entangled in a mystery when an unknown vandal targets the West Virginia shopping mall where she resides.
Twelve-year-old Chloe Lamont lives in a modest house with her mother—right in the middle of the Oasis Mall. Shoppers treat the family home like a novelty, often tossing coins into the chimney from the mall’s upper level. But living there has some advantages; Chloe’s mom, Ursula, runs one of the shops, and they’re minutes away from such conveniences as groceries and hair salons. But now, someone is damaging mall property, first egging a storefront. Subsequent vandalism shows a pattern, as it occurs in the early-morning hours inside the locked mall. Authorities naturally look at the Lamonts, who have opportunity though no apparent motive. But it only gets worse for Chloe and her mom, who notice items missing or disturbed in their home—things the vandal probably used, like eggs. It’s not just a question of who is doing the misdeeds, but also how someone stealthily bypasses their bolted doors. Meanwhile, Chloe starts a new school year in the seventh grade. She doesn’t make friends easily and dreads being stuck in a new teacher-formed group in English class. On the plus side, the group’s focus is on mysteries, Chloe’s favorite genre. As it turns out, the other members of the “Mystery Group” are a lively bunch and enjoy a good mystery as well. When they learn Chloe is living in the midst of one, the students realize that there’s an entire mall and a tiny home filled with potential clues.
Baer delivers a brisk, entertaining tale. The story’s young protagonist is appealing and sympathetic. Years ago, she lost her firefighter dad, who died heroically, and not long after, her grandfather as well; he had stopped a real estate developer from tearing down the Lamont home. Readers will surely embrace Chloe even with her flaws, such as moroseness being her temperament of choice. After all, peers at school mock her, and her backyard is “synthetic grass” that she vacuums. The author astutely concentrates on the Lamonts, including the eventual revelation of why Ursula deems her estranged parents “evil.” While the family’s living situation has more downsides than upsides, this breezy tale is not without humor. An amusing, recurring bit involves Chloe continually hearing about nature—in random shoppers’ conversations. She hears one woman while standing in the kitchen: “Whatever happened with that friend of yours who found the nest of opossums in her sock drawer?” Supporting characters are outstanding, particularly the members of the Mystery Group. The charming new guy at school, Robby Morales, draws Chloe out of her shell almost immediately while Ashley Elizabeth Hutzell, readers soon learn, isn’t as haughty as her reputation suggests. Despite the Mystery Group’s determination to solve the mall crimes, there’s unfortunately little in the way of evidence gathering or piecing together clues. Still, the students’ enthusiasm is infectious, and the big reveal is rewarding. Chloe, along with Robby and the others, is a prime candidate for a series of books or spinoffs.
A lively, jaunty mystery with a terrific cast of characters.Pub Date: March 22, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5092-3512-4
Page Count: 202
Publisher: Wild Rose Press
Review Posted Online: March 20, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
Funny delivery, but some jokes really miss the mark.
An animal ghost seeks closure after enduring aquatic atrocities.
In this sequel to The Incredibly Dead Pets of Rex Dexter (2020), sixth grader Rex is determined to once again use his ability to communicate with dead animals for the greater good. A ghost narwhal’s visit gives Rex his next opportunity in the form of the clue “bad water.” Rex enlists Darvish—his Pakistani American human best friend—and Drumstick—his “faithful (dead) chicken”—to help crack the case. But the mystery is only one of Rex’s many roadblocks. For starters, Sami Mulpepper hugged him at a dance, and now she’s his “accidental girlfriend.” Even worse, Darvish develops one of what Rex calls “Game Preoccupation Disorders” over role-playing game Monsters & Mayhem that may well threaten the pair’s friendship. Will Rex become “a Sherlock without a Watson,” or can the two make amends in time to solve the mystery? This second outing effectively carries the “ghost-mist” torch from its predecessor without feeling too much like a formulaic carbon copy. Spouting terms like plausible deniability and in flagrante delicto, Rex makes for a hilariously bombastic (if unlikable) first-person narrator. The over-the-top style is contagious, and black-and-white illustrations throughout add cartoony punchlines to various scenes. Unfortunately, scenes in which humor comes at the expense of those with less status are downright cringeworthy, as when Rex, who reads as White, riffs on the impossibility of his ever pronouncing Darvish’s surname or he plays dumb by staring into space and drooling.
Funny delivery, but some jokes really miss the mark. (Paranormal mystery. 8-12)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7595-5523-5
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2021
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