Manya's parents are rather embarassing. They run a joke shop, Pranks a Million, and are very enthusiastic about their work, even driving a car that is decorated to look like a clown. The family lives in an apartment over the shop, which is next door to Delia's Divine Diva's, a lingerie shop owned by Manya's best friend Isaac's single mother. Business isn't great, but her father uses the extra time working in the "Funcubator" coming up with premium, high quality, "artisanal" pranks to set the shop apart. Two older, retired gentlemen, Gary and Sarge, often hang out in the shop, dusting and straightening merchandise. Both Manya and Isaace are very interested in science, and when a Serious Science camp is offered at the local Natural History Museum, they really want to attend, even though the $100 registration fee is a reach for their families. The camp goes well, but when Manya's parents plan a visit to her school, things go badly wrong. Their gravy blaster gun explodes, killing a newly hired custodian, Mr. Honig. Both parents are arrested and taken to jail pending an investigation, and Manya is left in Delia's care. When forensics show that a lethal chemical was added to the prank, things don't look good, despite the high priced attorney Delia has hired. When Isaac and Manya start investigating, they find out secrets about the parents past that may have some bearing on what happened. Will they be able to count out suspects like Gary and a troublesome school mate and prove the parents' innocence?
Strengths: Murder mysteries are absolutely the number one request I get from students, which shouldn't be a surprise to the publishing world, based on how many ADULT murder mysteries are published every year, and on how many television shows have a CSI bent. There is a nice set up to the story before the murder, so I came to know and like Manya and Isaac, and to want Pranks a Million to succeed. When the murder occurred, it was clear from the beginning that the parents were innocent even though the situation looked bad, so it made sense for the kids to investigate and to try to figure out who framed the parents. The mystery was very well developed, and explained a lot about the parents, but I don't want to ruin the surprises there. This was rather dark in the end, and there are multiple off page murders; it would make a great episode of my current guilty pleasure, the German SOKO Potsdam mysteries. I especially appreciated that Delia was there when Manya's parents were taken into custody; when I was in middle school, one of my friend's fathers was taken into custody for tax evasion, and it was very traumatic for her.
Weaknesses: While I loved the mix of humor and murder mystery, my students who really like murder mysteries might not want a book with a whoopee cushion on the cover. Still, this is better than another mystery about missing dogs. I also wish we knew a tiny bit more about Mr. Honig so his death was more wrenching.
What I really think: We need more murder mysteries, so add this to a short but effective list that includes April Henry's work, Souder's Coop Knows the Scoop or The Radcliffe Riddle, Sorrell's First Shot, or McDonald's Pepper's Rules for Secret Sleuthing. We're so desperate for this genre at my school that Ferguson's 2006 The Christopher Killer series still circulates really well.