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The Swifts by Beth Lincoln
Apr. 9th, 2023 10:11 pmThe Blurb On The Back:
On the day they are born, each Swift is brought before the ancient Family Dictionary.
They are given a name and a definition, and it is assumed they will grow up to match.
Meet Shenanigan Swift …
She has other ideas.
Shenanigan Swift doesn’t believe in destiny
So what if her relatives all think she’s fated to be a troublemaker, just because of her name? Shenanigan knows she can be whatever she wants - pirate, explorer, or ever detective.
Which is lucky, really, because when one of the Family tries to murder Arch-Aunt Schadenfreude, someone has to work out whodunnit.
With the help of her sisters and cousin, Shenanigan grudgingly takes on the case, but more murders, a hidden treasure, and an awful lot of suspects make things seriously complicated.
Can Shenanigan catch the killer before the whole household is picked off? And in a Family where definitions are so important, can she learn to define herself?
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
Beth Lincoln's crime novel for readers aged 9+ (the first in a series) is a gloriously quirky affair filled with murder, mayhem and nominative determinism and illustrated by Claire Powell with spiky vim. It has a vibe of The Addams Family as re-imagined by Wes Anderson with Lincoln injecting humour and heart into the plot as well as villainy and deception. It’s one of the best children’s debuts I’ve read and I will definitely check out the next book.
THE SWIFTS was released in the United Kingdom on 2nd February 2023. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.
They are given a name and a definition, and it is assumed they will grow up to match.
Meet Shenanigan Swift …
She has other ideas.
Shenanigan Swift doesn’t believe in destiny
So what if her relatives all think she’s fated to be a troublemaker, just because of her name? Shenanigan knows she can be whatever she wants - pirate, explorer, or ever detective.
Which is lucky, really, because when one of the Family tries to murder Arch-Aunt Schadenfreude, someone has to work out whodunnit.
With the help of her sisters and cousin, Shenanigan grudgingly takes on the case, but more murders, a hidden treasure, and an awful lot of suspects make things seriously complicated.
Can Shenanigan catch the killer before the whole household is picked off? And in a Family where definitions are so important, can she learn to define herself?
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
Beth Lincoln's crime novel for readers aged 9+ (the first in a series) is a gloriously quirky affair filled with murder, mayhem and nominative determinism and illustrated by Claire Powell with spiky vim. It has a vibe of The Addams Family as re-imagined by Wes Anderson with Lincoln injecting humour and heart into the plot as well as villainy and deception. It’s one of the best children’s debuts I’ve read and I will definitely check out the next book.
THE SWIFTS was released in the United Kingdom on 2nd February 2023. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.
