[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Peachtree Publishing Company in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]
Summary
It’s been 3 years since Mayor Thornton banned chocolate and sweets from the town. Three years since the Farnsworth Chocolate Factory closed and the owner disappeared.
Nelle Faulkner is a private detective on summer break. Eddie deMenthe is her latest client, a candy bootlegger looking for someone who can find things. Precious things. Stolen things.
But Nelle’s case only gets more complicated. Someone breaks into her office. The police come to her house. And Eddie goes missing. Something in the secret chocolate trade is rotten. Something beyond just smuggling.
Review
This was fun. The premise was interesting – the candy ban, kids as smugglers. And then the larger secrets and motives that Nelle discovers as she investigates.
I liked Nelle and the other kids she ends up working with. The focus of the book was more on the action than character development. I would have enjoyed more on the characters. There were hints at the toll of the smuggling scheme on the kids; I would have loved to see that explored a lot more. I found that piece fascinating.
The mystery had a few twists – some I predicted and others that surprised me. I think kids will enjoy this story . Mystery fans will get a kick out of trying to solve the case before Nelle.
Like Nelle, I wanted more in the end, but overall the story is fun, and the solution is solid. This could be a fun read-aloud selection or good for use in a book club.
Rating: ♥♥♥½*
*♥♥♥½=Good+