Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Mo LoBeau gives Flavia de Luce a run for her money in the detective business. With her steadfast sidekick/best friend Dale she takes on the mystery of her missing birth mother, the murder of nasty Mr. Jesse, a kidnapping as well as finding of lost pets.
Like Flavia and other child detectives, Mo is precocious and wise beyond her years. This is not a story to read expecting realism. It’s a fun ride at a country carnival, a small town filled to the brim with quirky characters drawn with a nice broad brush, a few mysteries and a murder thrown in. My only issue with the story is the addition of some pretty severe domestic violence and child abuse, which doesn’t have a place in a story this comic.
If you’re looking for a mystery for your preteen who is too old for Nancy Drew but maybe not ready for the hard core mysteries, this is a charming first in series.
