Charlotte Illes Is Not a Detective
A Modern and Witty Mystery
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
For everyone who grew up wanting to be Harriet the Spy or Nancy Drew, this witty and charming series from a TikTok sensation offers a modern, millennial-friendly spin on cozy mysteries, featuring an irresistible heroine and one-time child detective who’s now a directionless twentysomething—until another mystery comes calling.
The downside about being a famous child detective is that sooner or later, you have to grow up . . .
As a kid, Charlotte Illes’ uncanny sleuthing abilities made her a minor celebrity. But in high school, she hung up her detective’s hat and stashed away the signature blue landline in her “office”—aka garage—convinced that finding her adult purpose would be as easy as tracking down missing pudding cups or locating stolen diamonds.
Now 25, Charlotte has a nagging fear that she hit her peak in middle school. She’s living with her mom, scrolling through job listings, and her love life consists mostly of first dates. When it comes to knowing what to do next, Charlotte hasn’t got a clue.
And then, her old blue phone rings . . .
Reluctantly, Charlotte is pulled back into the mystery-solving world she knew—just one more time. But that world is a whole lot more complicated for an adult. As a kid, she was able to crack the case and still get her homework done on time. Now she’s dealing with dead bodies, missing persons, and villains who actually see her as a viable threat. And the detective skills she was once so eager to never use again are the only things that can stop a killer ready to make sure her next retirement is permanent . . .
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Siegel's easygoing debut (based on a character she debuted on TikTok) checks in on the eponymous sleuth 15 years after she gained semi-fame as a child detective. Charlotte's early cases involved identifying a crayon thief in her kindergarten class, tracking down a culprit who stole $500,000 from a charity auction, and investigating a diamond heist at a local jewelry store. In high school, she put sleuthing behind her in hopes of pivoting to a more sensible career, but at 25, she's still living with her mother in New Jersey, casually searching for work and making a habit of going on bad first dates. One day, she gets a call from her brother Landon asking for her help: his software developer girlfriend, Olivia, has been receiving threatening anonymous messages and is desperate for Charlotte to investigate. Meanwhile, a delivery driver for the app Olivia works on is found shot to death in a local park. Are the two crimes connected? Charlotte reluctantly comes out of retirement and launches an investigation that puts her in far greater danger than the obstacles she faced as a prepubescent gumshoe. Siegel has whipped up an amusing premise and populated it with charming characters, but her plotting is loose, and the mystery lacks tension. There's potential here, but it's not quite realized.