Book Review: Trouble at the Tangerine by Gillian McDunn

Publisher’s description

Award-winning author Gillian McDunn pens a delightfully quirky mystery that examines the meaning of home, perfect for fans of The Vanderbeekers series.

Simon’s family is always on the move. Every few months, they load up their van, “Vincent Van Go,” and set off for a new adventure. According to his dad, you can’t live an extraordinary life by staying in one place. But all Simon wants is to settle down, so he’s hatched a plan: to make their latest apartment in the Tangerine Pines building his forever home.

When a priceless necklace is stolen, clues indicate the thief might actually be another neighbor. Simon worries he’ll have to move again if the thief isn’t caught. He usually doesn’t go looking for trouble, but if retrieving the necklace means establishing home, Simon is willing to risk it. With the help of his neighbor Amaya, pet sitter, plant-waterer, and podcaster extraordinaire, Simon is determined to crack the case and finally put down roots.

Amanda’s thoughts

Another excellent read where my general reaction when I finished was “thanks for having me–I had a great time!”

I really like middle grade mysteries. I’m not so hot on YA mysteries and really only read adult mysteries if it’s an author I already like who’s dabbling in something new. But middle grade mysteries? I could read them all day long. Every day. And this one was such a great read. There were two main reasons I loved this: it’s a solid mystery and the characters are wonderful.

Simon is really tired of his parents moving their family around every few months. He’s always the new kid, always having to (try to) make new friends, never able to really connect with anyone. His parents can work from anywhere and love the adventure of constant movement. Their social media details every piece of their journeys and people love it. But Simon doesn’t. He’d rather stay out of pictures. And he’d rather his parents show the whole entire truth of things. Not every second of their lives is perfect and Instagram-worthy. He’s desperately hoping they can make this new move stick. But when a VERY expensive piece of jewelry is stolen from the building their first night there, things don’t look great, especially as other break-ins occur. Simon teams up with the bursting-with-personality Amaya to do some investigating of their own. Suddenly everyone in the building is a possible suspect. And, Simon learns, hardly anyone is exactly what they seem to be at first glance. As they investigate, they learn more about the neighbors and think they have leads, only for things to take some surprising turns as it all starts to come to light what really happened.

This well-developed mystery is a solid read with a satisfying conclusion. Here’s to hoping Simon, who has had plenty of adventure just while in their new city, finally gets the stable and permanent home he longs for!

Review copy (ARC) courtesy of the publisher

ISBN-13: 9781547611003
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA
Publication date: 04/02/2024
Age Range: 8 – 11 Years

Filed under: Book Reviews