II read this book ages ago and loved it. I don't have much to say, but I did order it for my library at the time.

Oh, Moxie has the fate of the people she loves in her hands. Moxie is a rule follower until she is forced to find some stolen art from a Boston museum. I liken this book to a modern Nancy Drew.

Moxie lives in Jamaica Plain near Boston with her mother and grandmother. Her grandfather, Grumps, is in a rest home because he has Alzheimers. When Moxie is approached by a red haired woman who gives her a message for her grandfather that Sully Cupcakes wants his stuff back. Grumps doesn’t have enough lucid days to give Moxie any clues; he just tells her that Sully is dangerous. Moxie and her friend Ollie have a great summer after 8th grade planned- they have been given train passes and permission to travel into Boston as long as they are together, and plan to go on lots of sightseeing trips. Moxie continues to be harassed by the red haired woman, however, so tries to figure out what “stuff” she is talking about. She eventually realizes that it is artwork that was stolen in March of 1990o from the Isabell Stewart Gardner museum, and finds out that her grandfather, a carpenter, did work for organized crime bosses and may have hidden the paintings in buildings that he helped to renovate. When Moxie and Ollie uncover some of the paintings in the state house attic, they know they are on to something. It’s dangerous, though, and when Ollie’s phone is answered by the red headed woman, Moxie fears he’s been kidnapped. This doesn’t stop her from uncovering other treasures, even when she has to call 911 to come and get some of them so that she can escape from the Old North Church with being attacked! Their quest takes them into the Green Monster and Fenway Stadium, as well as all over the city.
Strengths: This is a book where the setting becomes a character in the book. I’ve only been to Boston once recently, but the details of the city are excellent and add a lot to the story. The theft is based on one that really occurred, but as it has not yet been solved, this story is all conjecture about what might have happened. Moxie is fun, and her need to explore on her own is tempered nicely by the concern shown by her mother and grandmother when she does. I do like this author’s other books and would be very happy if Moxie were to show up in another mystery book. Fans of Beil’s Red Blazer Girls will be glad to take their sleuthing skills to Boston.
Weaknesses: Moxie behaves in ways that would be very dangerous in real life, and this gave me a little pause. The red headed woman was super creepy and dangerous.

When our library was doing geocaching programming one summer, I was excited to recommend this book to teach kids about geocaching. Fun summer read for kids that like puzzle/scavenger hunt mysteries.