My rating is 4 Stars (out of 5) – I can’t think of many middle-grade books that deal with murder (like a real murder). This is not particularly helpful to the reader, especially when it takes you out of the book.

I couldn’t remember who was the girl and who was the boy. But then there were Liberty and Justice, the twins. And Beau’s fine, since that’s a real name. Coop is fine (his full name is Cooper) since he’s the protagonist. (I did figure it out just slightly before the kids do in the book.) WHAT’S NOT COOL…ġ) The one thing that bothered me-and I have seen this in a lot of books lately-is the fact that there are a lot of unique names in the book. I will say that I was kept guessing… which is good for a murder-mystery. So, yeah, one of the characters in the story IS indeed a murderer. Coop and his friends are trying to find a murderer. There is a nice little reference to the Hardy Boys (although, personally, I think that could have been a stronger thread in the book). He’s also a police officer, so things get a little awkward when Coop starts breaking a few laws.ħ) This book is a whodunit. I love Coop’s interior monologue at this point: “That was the first thing we’d ever agreed on in our lives.”Ħ) I did like the character, Tick, who is a father-figure for Coop. There’s a moment in the story when the boys discuss their mutual agreement to not get along. Especially with regards to Coop’s nemesis, Beau (the bully). ĥ) There are some nice upping-the-ante moments. And they get into plenty of mischief, including a break-in to the funeral parlour. I love it when grandfathers like Gramps are in books!Ĥ) I enjoyed Coop’s friends, the twins named Liberty and Justice. Two things to be thankful for.” He isn’t perfect (you’ll find that out in the book), but he has so much wisdom. “Gramps had a third rule: You can’t leave a bad situation without finding two good things about it. And then the details roll in⁠-like the fact that the skeleton is wearing a dress⁠-that keeps us wanting to read more.ģ) I love Coop’s Gramps. Can I just say how much I love this? (Actually, who doesn’t love a good book store setting!)Ģ) This book starts off with immediate action and interest with the digging up of the skeleton.

WHAT’S COOL…ġ) Coop’s mom owns a bookstore in their small town. But then Coop discovers that the murder victim just might be somebody closer to him than he realized. Of course, it’s not easy when your nemesis⁠-i.e. Coop and his friends are particularly interested in using their detective brains to discover what actually happened.

Pretty exciting stuff for the sleepy town of Windy Bottom, Georgia. Basic plot: When the local playground gets a make-over, the workers dig up a skeleton.

Coop knows the scoop