The Case of the Bad Twin
Piper Investigations Book 1
June 1, 2020
SEG Publishing
“A 13-year-old Veronica Mars!”
Meet Penny-Ann Piper, a junior P.I. with attitude. In her opinion, rogue armadillos, moped drivers, shark sightings, summer heat, Florida humidity, and a one-speed beach bike are all part of the great adventure of living on an island.
She’s the daughter of a con artist, the niece of a hippie, and the sole proprietor of Piper Investigations.
On summer break and in dire need of money, Penny-Ann talks her new pal Diamond into helping her solve her first real case. Truth is, Penny-Ann knows zilch about being a P.I., but Diamond does and she’s good at it.
The assignment: catch Rocco Garcia, an annoying (but also cute) surfer boy who is on the run for stealing the island’s mascot. Enter twin MMA fighters, a sneaky frenemy, a mysterious kid on a skateboard, and a runaway bobcat. Suddenly, there’s more to this missing mascot business than anyone realizes.
It seems someone will do anything to get Penny-Ann to back off the case…
For the past three years, Penny-Ann Piper has lived on Piper Island with her Aunt Grace after her mother’s incarceration. She’s done everything she could to fit in and make things better. Her latest achievement is creating a time capsule to commemorate her family’s founding of the island. Everything’s good to go until someone steals the time capsule. Penny-Ann is determined that her hard work will not be in vain, so she creates Piper Investigations and decides to find the cuprits herself.
In Penny-Ann, Shannon Greenland, has created a feisty young woman who discovers secrets around the island as well as information about herself. While Penny-Ann struck me as a very young 13-year old, I was nevertheless intrigued by her investigation of the theft and the wide range of characters involved in the plot.
The Case of the Bad Twin is humorous and involving and would be the perfect book for a Middle Grade reader who likes mysteries. Greenland managed to keep this reader guessing about who instigated the crime.
Besides the mystery, Penny-Ann also has to deal with all of the ramifications of a community who knows her mother and thinks that Penny-Ann might be cut from the same cloth. Her fears and insecurities regarding this are very well handled.
Add in a new best friend in Diamond, whose father is a private detective, and the seedlings of a romance with cute Rocco, and The Case of the Bad Twin becomes a very well-rounded story.
And, yes, I could very well see Penny-Ann as a budding Veronica Mars.
I received a copy from Booksprout in exchange for an honest review.
rating:
4 out of 5 butterflies
One thought on “Review of The Case of the Bad Twin”