Charlie Hope was not expecting to spend his summer trying to solve a murder.

Helping his mother run the family hotel doesn’t usually offer much excitement. The only other people around are Penny Price, a spoiled child actor and star of the hit TV series Little Miss Murder being shot in town, and Mr. Ignato, an elderly resident at the hotel. When Mr. Ignato dies from a fall down the stairs, Charlie suspects foul play. Nobody believes him except for Penny, who jumps at the chance to solve a real murder. The two of them discover that Mr. Ignato was once a famous international jewel thief who stole a million-dollar diamond that was never recovered. Is Mr. Ignato’s criminal past related to his untimely death? And can Charlie and Penny prove that it wasn’t an accident?

Murder at the Hotel Hopeless is part of the Orca Soundings series of hi-lo novels and written at a 3.0 reading level.
Orca Soundings are short, high-interest novels written specifically for teens. These edgy stories with compelling characters and gripping storylines are ones they will want to read.
Orca's hi-lo is printed in an ultra-readable, highly-accessible format with dyslexia-friendly, more readable font, increased spacing between words and lines and cream-colored paper to minimize contrast so readers can focus more easily.