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A review by lauriehnatiuk
Pepper's Rules for Secret Sleuthing by Briana McDonald
4.0
I am using a new review format. You can find few more details about 5-4-3-2-1 here.
5 - Sentence Summary
Pepper and her father are visiting his Aunt Florence's mansion after recently passing away to help his sister put her affairs in order. Pepper's aunt (her dad's sister) and cousin Andrew are staying at the mansion after the recent divorce of her aunt and settling into a very different life. Pepper, too, is still adjusting after her mom died on duty as a police detective, and wants to follow in her footsteps and carries her mom's rules for detective work on her at all times, and looks for cases to investigate in her everyday life. Pepper thinks her great aunt died under suspicious circumstances and believes her aunt and Andrew are hiding something. With a new neighbourhood friend Jacob, the two embark on a dangerous path to find out exactly what happened to her great aunt and what is going on in the mansion.
For further details, please refer to this GoodReads Link.
4 - Opinions
It is great to see more and more books where we have transgender characters, and that's all we need to know - just like we know if the character is a sibling or only child. It is simply information about the character, and the fact that they are transgender is not an integral part of the story. We need more books like this, please. Pepper's Rules for Secret Sleuthing is one of those rare books where a murder has taken place, instead of the all too mundane cases such as looking for a missing pet. This age group wants something with an edge, and Pepper's Rules for Secret Sleuthing will provide readers with that tension they desire.
Not only does this mystery have an edge, but it is a sophisticated one with plot twists that readers may be surprised at or not see coming, keeping them turning the pages. Finally, the characters are well developed and relevant, especially with Pepper questioning the "crushes" that she is experiencing and wondering about herself and how to share that with her dad. I really enjoyed this book, and readers will too if they get past the book cover. The cover is deceiving, coming off like it would be more light-hearted rather than suspenseful.
5 - Sentence Summary
Pepper and her father are visiting his Aunt Florence's mansion after recently passing away to help his sister put her affairs in order. Pepper's aunt (her dad's sister) and cousin Andrew are staying at the mansion after the recent divorce of her aunt and settling into a very different life. Pepper, too, is still adjusting after her mom died on duty as a police detective, and wants to follow in her footsteps and carries her mom's rules for detective work on her at all times, and looks for cases to investigate in her everyday life. Pepper thinks her great aunt died under suspicious circumstances and believes her aunt and Andrew are hiding something. With a new neighbourhood friend Jacob, the two embark on a dangerous path to find out exactly what happened to her great aunt and what is going on in the mansion.
For further details, please refer to this GoodReads Link.
4 - Opinions
It is great to see more and more books where we have transgender characters, and that's all we need to know - just like we know if the character is a sibling or only child. It is simply information about the character, and the fact that they are transgender is not an integral part of the story. We need more books like this, please. Pepper's Rules for Secret Sleuthing is one of those rare books where a murder has taken place, instead of the all too mundane cases such as looking for a missing pet. This age group wants something with an edge, and Pepper's Rules for Secret Sleuthing will provide readers with that tension they desire.
Not only does this mystery have an edge, but it is a sophisticated one with plot twists that readers may be surprised at or not see coming, keeping them turning the pages. Finally, the characters are well developed and relevant, especially with Pepper questioning the "crushes" that she is experiencing and wondering about herself and how to share that with her dad. I really enjoyed this book, and readers will too if they get past the book cover. The cover is deceiving, coming off like it would be more light-hearted rather than suspenseful.