Starred review from December 19, 2022
A gothic novel of corrosive values that’s centered around a family reunion, Lincoln’s manor-set murder mystery maintains a Knives Out feel by way of Lemony Snicket. As the story opens, scores of relatives are poised to descend upon Swift House for the event, which is also a family-wide hunt for the treasure hoard that Grand-Uncle Vile once secreted on the estate. Named fatefully from the Family Dictionary, dauntless 13-year-old Shenanigan longs to find the treasure, and keeps a list of the idiosyncratic home’s possible hiding places, including suspicious paintings. She dreads the family gathering, but when an attempt is made on Arch-Aunt Schadenfreude’s life, Shenanigan, frustrated with her adult relations’ inadequate sleuthing, enlists the help of sister Phenomena and nonbinary cousin Erf. The initially whimsical story takes a darker tone as murders ensue and the family begins to close ranks, but crackling puns outpace the body count as this archly told, never muddled debut whodunit reveals a roster of distinct characters, a labyrinthine setting and plot, and a mystery that is as clever and impish as its heroine. The family’s members have varying skin tones. Final art not seen by PW. Ages 8–12. Agent: Zoë Plant, Bent Agency.
Starred review from November 15, 2022
A treasure hunt and murder mystery with a family that's rather eccentric (adjective: zany, whimsical, oddball). Shenanigan Swift, like the rest of the Swift family, is destined to grow up like the name randomly chosen for her from the dictionary. When the family converges for a reunion and treasure hunt, Shenanigan meets most of her relatives for the first time. Used to primarily interacting with her overbearing sisters, Phenomena and Felicity, she's fascinated by her rude, more-than-slightly criminal cousins. Cousin Erf, who is nonbinary and recently decided to choose their own preferred name, prompts Shenanigan to wonder if she must be a troublemaker just because the dictionary said so. Amid the chaos of family and Shenanigan's quest for hidden treasure, Arch-Aunt Schadenfreude, the matriarch of the Swift clan, is murdered. The sisters, aided by Phenomena's Junior Forensics Kit and a chalkboard where they plot and record data, might be able to solve the mystery, but first they have to stop fighting with one another. The narrative voice includes jokes and viewpoints that will be appreciated by sophisticated younger readers as well as those who are older than Shenanigan; overall, the humor and action are spot-on for middle-grade audiences. The members of the British Swift family have a variety of skin tones, and several characters are LGBTQ+. Final art not seen. An absolutely delightful debut with heartwarming character growth and a clever, genre-savvy country-house mystery. (author's note) (Mystery. 10-13)
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Starred review from November 1, 2022
Grades 5-7 *Starred Review* Taking the classic manor house whodunit for a wild ride, Lincoln mixes hidden rooms and agendas, a sprawling family with unusual naming practices, gender identity discoveries, high comedy and low punning, murder, and more, then stirs briskly. Raffish young Shenanigan Swift is sure she can find an ancestor's long-hidden treasure. But her search is derailed as the rare but regular gathering of her far-flung clan at ramshackle Swift House leads to a series of macabre murders and murder attempts that only she and STEM-oriented sister Phenomena, fashion-obsessed older sib Felicity, and newly met nonbinary cousin Erf seem to be set on investigating. While clues, suspects, and terrific set pieces (including a Scrabble "duel to the death" that turns out exactly as advertised) pile up, the author not only pitches her young investigators into situations both life-threatening and comical, but pulls in a large supporting cast--memorable for more than just their monikers--for perceptive explorations of family ties, pressures, and responsibilities. In the wake of introductory authorial comments about the vagaries of language, readers will also get plenty of food for thought in the ways that family matriarch Schadenfreude Swift's seemingly repressive observation that "you can't help your name" takes on liberating nuances for Shenanigan as well as her sibs and other relatives. In finest genre tradition, the suspenseful denouement is positively writhing with twists. Finished art not seen.
COPYRIGHT(2022) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
October 20, 2023
Gr 4 Up-The Swift family has a long and proud history, and in that history are two very important features: everyone receives a name from the family dictionary, and one of the early Swifts hid a large treasure somewhere on the estate. Once every decade, the whole family gathers together to search for it. Shenanigan Swift has lived on the family estate her whole life, but she is about to experience her first Swift reunion and she is determined to be the one who finds the treasure. However, when the matriarch of the family, Great Aunt Schadenfreude, is severely injured, Shenanigan ends up spending the whole reunion hunting for a murderer instead of treasure. Reminiscent of classic detective novels, this book features a delightfully complex and often outrageous series of events leading to the solving of the mystery. Shenanigan learns she can be more than her name, creating a lovely level of depth that especially matters in her relationship with her two sisters. The language and vocabulary are quite advanced, which makes for a captivating read in the right hands, but could be frustrating for some middle graders. Shenanigan, her sisters, and the majority of the Swifts read white. Two characters are Black, and two Swifts read as trans and nonbinary. VERDICT Fans of Agatha Christie or Trenton Lee Stewart's The Mysterious Benedict Society will love this fresh spin on a classic caper.-Mariah Smitala
Copyright 2023 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
January 1, 2023
When the large extended Swift family gathers at the ancestral home for their regular reunion, they hunt, as they always do, for the long-hidden family treasure. This time, however, there is a murderer in their midst and the bodies start accumulating. Who is killing off Swifts and why? Playing with the tropes of the classic mid-century isolated country house detective novel, Lincoln whips up a witty confection of highly colorful characters (Arch-Aunt Schadenfreude, twins Flora and Fauna); dynamic wordplay; and a plot dense with action, suspense, double-dealing, innovative murder weapons, and a well-orchestrated eleventh-hour reveal. (Not to give anything away, but beware a punster.) Our window on this world is the observant, energetic Shenanigan Swift, a charmingly flawed middle-grader eager to solve the crimes while making sense of family, relationships, and adult life. Fans of Marthe Jocelyn's Aggie Morton mysteries and Polly Horvath's gothic fiction will feel right at home in this inventive, exuberant world. A bonus in this American edition of a British import is a lively introductory essay on dictionaries and the evolution of English that could well inspire a budding lexicographer.
(Copyright 2023 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)