Review – Secrets of the Broken House by Taryn Souders
Synopsis
In the small, southern town of Everson, goats can run for mayor, the mail is always late, and nothing all that bad ever happens. That is, until thirteen-year-old Tucker finds Miss Geraldine dead at the bottom of her stairs. At first glance, it looks like an accident. But Tucker has always had a knack for noticing details that others overlook, and the details surrounding Miss Geraldine’s death just aren’t adding up.
Miss Geraldine was miserable and mean. Miss Geraldine was murdered.
The whole town seems to have reason to want her dead, which makes Tucker’s search for the truth nearly impossible. The more he investigates for clues, the more danger he finds himself in, and the more he realizes that maybe Everson was never as safe as he once thought it was. Anyone could be the killer, and in a small town that loves to gossip, if Tucker isn’t careful, he could be the next one to have an “accident”.
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Review
Middle school Psych edition!
Tucker may be a young man, but his dad has taught him to be observant. This reminded me so much of the show Psych, and how Shawn grew up knowing how to spot the little things. This comes in handy when Geraldine is found dead at the bottom of her stairs. Was it an accident, or was it more?
I really enjoyed the interaction between Tucker and his friends, Clemmie and Sadie. This trio offers something unique in solving the case. Plus, most adults ignore kids and don’t think about what they say around them. This gives them an edge. The one difference is that Tucker shares everything with his dad so that the killer can be found.
This may be a middle-grade novel, but I think any adult will also find it entertaining and engaging, with a mystery to solve. I picked up on a clue or two, but I wasn’t sure how it fit in until the end, when the killer is revealed. Ok, that might have been a minor spoiler, but you discover pretty quickly that it is doubtful that Geraldine fell or that it was an accident.
I have to admit that I didn’t suspect this one character. They are hidden in plain sight!
We give this book 5 paws up.
About the Author
I was born in Dallas, Texas, and lived all over before settling down in Florida with my husband, David, and our three kids, one cat, and one dog.
I never planned to be a writer—I was a middle school math teacher for a couple of years. But being a voracious reader as a kid gave me a love for words (and working with middle-schoolers gave me a sense of humor). It seemed like a good idea to combine the two (words and humor), and voila, a book was born.
My middle grade novels have been named to multiple state award lists, including the Pennsylvania’s Young Readers Choice Awards, Georgia’s Children’s Book Awards, Alaska’s Battle of the Books, Ohio’s Buckeye Children and Teen’s Book Awards, Wisconsin’s Golden Archer Awards, Alabama’s Camellia Children’s Choice Book Award, Nebraska’s Golden Sower Awards, Missouri’s Mark Twain Book Award, Indiana’s Young Hoosier Book Award and Florida’s Sunshine State Young Readers Awards.
While I’m somewhat decent at math, I’m terrible at science and have an intense dislike of tarantulas.
