It's
Marvelous Middle Grade Monday
at
at
and #IMWAYR day
at
January 6, 2026 by Sourcebooks Young Readers
E ARC provided by Netgalley
Tucker lives in the small town of Everson with his father, the chief of police, and his mother, a pharmacist. He has a good friend in Clemmie, who comes to stay with her grandmother, Mama E, who runs the local beauty parlor. There's plenty of gossip in town, and everyone knows that Geraldine Guss (aka "Fussy Gussy") is a cantakerous old woman who has bever gotten over the death of her brother, the town postal inspector. When the town threatens to condemn her house, Ms. Geraldine asks Mama E. if Clemmie can help her clean some antiques for appraisal. She also suspects that the mayor, an electricion, is sabotaging her power box. Clemmie agrees to help, as long as Tucker can as well, and the two are paid by taking possession of an abandoned row boat that Ms. Geraldine has. Their friend Sadie helps as well. Tucker is very observant, and the group makes a list of all of the furniture. This helps when Mr. Linus comes to appraise it. He doesn't offer enough money for Ms. Geraldine's taste, and she yells at him and breaks his fountain pen. The next day, the group returns to help, but Ms. Geraldine doesn't answer the door. Peering inside, Tucker sees Ms. Geraldine sprawled at the bottom of the stairs. The kids break in, and discover that their employer is dead. They follow the correct procedures, calling 911 and not touching anything but the bowl that they accidentally knock over. They take Van Gogh, Ms. Geraldine's cat, and go next door to Miss Rowena's house. Everyone is upset about the death, and the children all are retrieved by caring adults as the rumors start to swirl. Tucker talks to his father and is allowed to check the scene for clues with the permission of the assistant investigator and makes a suspect board. Along with Sadie and Clemmie, he investigates everyone from Mr. Linus, the mayor and his wife, local postal carrier Turtle, and even Miss Rowena, who is set to inherit everything. He also has to deal with his best friend, Aiden, with whom he had a falling out over a fishing contest. Using his skills, Tucker is able to find the culprit, which puts him in some danger!
Strengths: One of my favorite books as a child was Encyclopedia Brown, and Tucker's situation echoes this brilliantly. Everson is a close knit town with lots of quirky characters, and is small enough for the kids to wander about investigating. There are plenty of suspects who all seem plausible (my bet was on Mr. Linus!), and there were enough red herrings that the culprit, when revealed, is quite a surprise! I loved that both of Tucker's parents are around, but give him room to explore. Having some friend drama with Aiden adds some nice tween tension to this, and the kids act like kids, not mini adults. Tucker even forgets some major clues but remembers them in time. The ending had some great feel good elements. This will be a hugely popular title with my students, who are constantly asking for murder mysteries!
Weaknesses: There has been a societal shift in what elderly people look like, but literature hasn't quite caught up with it. My father would be 91, and rarely wore anything but jeans; anyone younger would have been part of the youth movement of the 1960s. Ms. Geraldine and Miss Rowena weren't necessarily portrayed in skirts and cardigans, but they FELT that way. Maybe it was the antique furniture. I'd love to see more older characters fashioned after Pierce Brosnan's or Helen Mirren's characters in the film adaptation of Osman's The Thursday Murder Club.
What I really think: Souders' other titles like The Mystery of the Radcliffe Riddle and Coop Knows the Scoop have some elements of classic adult murder mysteries in them, but Secrets of the Broken House absolutely nails the formula for cozy middle grade MURDER. Ms. Geraldine is old and not pleasant; she dies in a bloodless and not too violent way (even when the mystery is solved), the children have logical access to the scene and the suspects, and it doesn't hurt that Tucker's father is the chief of police. I would be perfectly happy to read more books with Tucker, and would love to see Aiden get involved in the solving of more murders in Everson. There are thousands of murder mysteries for adults, but not many for grades 4-8. This is perfect!
Weaknesses: There has been a societal shift in what elderly people look like, but literature hasn't quite caught up with it. My father would be 91, and rarely wore anything but jeans; anyone younger would have been part of the youth movement of the 1960s. Ms. Geraldine and Miss Rowena weren't necessarily portrayed in skirts and cardigans, but they FELT that way. Maybe it was the antique furniture. I'd love to see more older characters fashioned after Pierce Brosnan's or Helen Mirren's characters in the film adaptation of Osman's The Thursday Murder Club.
What I really think: Souders' other titles like The Mystery of the Radcliffe Riddle and Coop Knows the Scoop have some elements of classic adult murder mysteries in them, but Secrets of the Broken House absolutely nails the formula for cozy middle grade MURDER. Ms. Geraldine is old and not pleasant; she dies in a bloodless and not too violent way (even when the mystery is solved), the children have logical access to the scene and the suspects, and it doesn't hurt that Tucker's father is the chief of police. I would be perfectly happy to read more books with Tucker, and would love to see Aiden get involved in the solving of more murders in Everson. There are thousands of murder mysteries for adults, but not many for grades 4-8. This is perfect!
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