Dead Good Detectives (Dead Good Detectives #1)

by Jenny McLachlan (Author) Chloe Dominique (Illustrator)

Reading Level: 4th − 5th Grade

From the UK's bestselling author of the Land of Roar series comes this first book in a spooky, swashbuckling duology!

Sid Jones and her best friend, Zen, like to play in their local graveyard--but they never expected their ghostly games to suddenly turn real. When Sid accidentally frees the spirit of Ezekiel "Bones" Kittow, a pirate who died nearly three hundred years prior, he asks her to help him find his long-lost treasure so his soul can finally be at rest. The only problem? He can't remember where, or even what, the treasure is.With nothing but a spectral hand-drawn map to help guide their search, Sid, Bones, Zen, and an annoyingly loud ghost parrot set out to complete their quest.

But haunting their every step is Old Scratch, a creepy specter who runs the eerie graveyard prison keeping Bones, his crew, and many other spirits trapped. Old Scratch won't let Bones be free without a fight, and in the end, there may be much more sinister threats to face down. . . .

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Kirkus

A series opener—big on heart and short on horror—that offers fun ghostly escapades.

ALA/Booklist

All in all, in this particular case, the “Arghhh!” also stands for recommended.

Publishers Weekly

Sidonie May Jones, 12, enjoys spending time in the graveyard where her mother is buried. There, she works on her map of Fathom, the pirate-obsessed, seaside town she calls home. While exploring the graveyard's oldest corners, she discovers a long-hidden headstone for Ezekiel "Bones" Kittow, an 18th-century pirate whose ghost she inadvertently frees from his captivity inside a nearby mausoleum. Now haunted by Bones and his parrot, Sid is the only one who can help the wayward spirit take care of his unfinished business and move on to the afterlife. But Bones is being hunted by Old Scratch, his former captor. Worse, if Sid and her best friend Zen don't solve the riddle surrounding Bones's lost treasure, he'll be doomed to become a mindless wraith. This upbeat piece by McLachlan (the Land of Roar series), the first in a series, boasts ghost pirates, puzzles, and buried treasure galore. It's a lively nautical adventure and a celebration of owning one's weirdness, standing up to peer pressure, and sticking by friends when the going gets tough. Sid reads as white; Zen is Black. Ages 8-12. Agent: Julia Churchill, A.M. Heath Literary. (July)

Copyright 2024 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes



Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9780063329829
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
HarperCollins
Publication date
July 09, 2024
Series
Dead Good Detectives
BISAC categories
JUV039060 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Friendship
JUV037000 - Juvenile Fiction | Fantasy & Magic
JUV013060 - Juvenile Fiction | Family | Parents
JUV001020 - Juvenile Fiction | Action & Adventure | Pirates
JUV069000 - Juvenile Fiction | Ghost Stories
Library of Congress categories
Friendship
Adventure and adventurers
Magic
Adventure stories
Ghosts
Ghost stories
Cemeteries
Pirates
Spirits
Action and adventure fiction
Child detectives

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