Very slow start in my opinion, although it did pick up towards the end. The topic was dark enough to unsettle some readers, but in general it's a pretty solid middle grade mystery novel. I did enjoy the playful narrative style as well

E ARC provided by Netgalley.com



Coop and his mother live in Windy Bottom, Georgia with his grandfather, who helps them run A Whole Latte Books cafe and bookstore with his friends' Justice and Liberty's parents. Coop's father died while serving in the military, and while the loss is still felt, Coop is glad to have the presence of his grandfather, who served the town as doctor for many years. When a body is unearthed during the building of a new playground, Coop wants to investigate. Even though it could be murder, it's something different and exciting. When the body turns out to be that of his grandmother Tabby, who was thought to leave his grandfather and his father Steven in the late 1970s, things take a different turn, especially when his grandfather is considered as a suspect. With the help of his father's best friend and local constabulary, Tick, Coop is able to talk to local residents to find out a lot of information about his family's past, as well as town secrets that lead to solving this decades old, but personally important, case.

Strengths: This is a text book example of a perfect middle grade novel! It's just 200 pages, which means it is tightly edited and fast paced. It's an actual murder mystery, and the fact that it is a long gone grandmother makes it both highly personal but also not as painful as it could be. There's buy in without horrible raw emotion. I loved the descriptions of the grandmother and her fashions from the 1970s. The turns of phrase were brilliant; I could happily quote half of the brilliant but off the cuff descriptions if I had the finished book. This had a great twist at the end. I thought I knew who the murderer was, and I thought I was right, but then it took a totally different turn! The small town interactions, as well as the cafe/bookstore, make this a perfect cozy mystery (ala Braun's Cat Who mysteries) for the younger set, something I really haven't seen.
Weaknesses: Coop occasionally does some stupid things, and unless I missed something (which is entirely possible), the issue with Beau's father is unresolved.
What I really think: I would love to see a whole series of these, and I'm not usually one for series! Definitely purchasing, and can't wait to hand to students.

I liked this one. It was a little deeper than most middle grade, but the characters were great and the story had enough twists and turns to keep me guessing.

ARC Copy...That was some good mystery and who done it in a small town with...it gets kind of risky also when the suspects are all eccentric like the rest of the townspeople. I like also there is multiple plots, and clues going on yet Coop himself never gives up on following a lead most of the time for the sake of his beloved ones.

This is a murder mystery. The mystery is who killed Coops grandmother, whom everyone assumed just up and ran away from home one day. There are a lot of suspects, but the police seem to be focused on Coop's grandfather.

Coop and his mother only came to the small Georgian town, five years before, so they don't know his grandfather all that well, but he doesn't believe that he could ever murder anyone. So while all the evidence points his way, Coop goes out of his way to find out who really did it.

Intersting, although too much character development for me. I know, I know, we always complain that people are one dimensional, but I really didn't care about some of the secondary characters enough to know that they couldn't spell, or know large words.

Other than that, I have to say I didn't figure out the mystery until just about the time that Coop did.

Also good was how the bully was shown to not be that bad, and actually helped solve the mystery.

Little slow in the beginning, but it finally picked up speed about half way through.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.